Title

Personalization in Serious Games as a Multidimensional Design Space: Lessons from In-the-Wild Studies

Abstract

Personalization is widely regarded as a key driver of engagement and impact in serious games and gamified systems, yet the term is often used loosely, covering everything from tailoring a narrative to adjusting difficulty in real time. This talk explores game personalization as a multidimensional design and research space, drawing on findings from in-the-wild studies across different application contexts.

We frame personalization along four dimensions, organized around two core questions. The first concerns what is personalized: its granularity, from designing for a target group or context, to clustering users by engagement, behavioral stage, or player type, to adapting to individual player characteristics; and its target, i.e., which elements of the game are personalized, including narrative, mechanics, dynamics, feedback, and rewards. The second concerns how personalization unfolds: its timing, whether it is set once at design time or continuously adjusted during play; and the player’s agency in the process, i.e., whether adaptation is system-driven, player-driven, or negotiated between the two.

Grounded in psychological models of behavior and motivation, and enabled by AI techniques for user modeling and adaptation, personalization is inherently transdisciplinary, drawing on HCI, AI, and behavioral and social sciences alike. Rather than treating this as a purely theoretical exercise, the talk grounds the framework in a series of in-the-wild studies, discussing what these studies reveal about the actual impact of personalization, where current approaches fall short, and where the open challenges lie.

Bio

Annapaola Marconi is a Senior Researcher at Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK), Italy, where she has led the Motivational Digital Systems (MoDiS) research unit since 2015. She received her Ph.D. in Information and Communication Technologies from the University of Trento in 2008.

Her research focuses on the design, development, and evaluation of motivational and persuasive digital systems that leverage gamification, gameful design, artificial intelligence, and behavioral analytics to foster user engagement, motivation, and positive behavior change. Her work aims to create personalized, data-driven digital interventions capable of supporting individuals and communities in addressing complex societal challenges.

She has coordinated and contributed to numerous national and European research and innovation projects, with a strong emphasis on translating scientific advances into real-world solutions with measurable societal impact. Her research spans several application domains, including education, where she develops engaging learning experiences and digital tools for addressing sensitive social topics; environmental sustainability, through technologies that promote sustainable mobility, pro-environmental behaviors, and citizen participation in the green transition; and resilient societies, by designing digital solutions that strengthen civic engagement, inclusion, awareness, and community resilience.

Annapaola has authored numerous scientific publications in the fields of Human-Computer Interaction, gamification, intelligent systems, and behavior change technologies. She actively promotes interdisciplinary research, collaborating with academia, public institutions, industry, and civil society to transform cutting-edge research into innovative digital solutions that improve people’s quality of life and contribute to a more sustainable and resilient future.

Title

The Future of Game Narratives: Human Creativity and AI Collaboration

Abstract

Large Language Models (LLMs) are transforming how game narratives are conceived, designed, and experienced. Current research has largely focused on using AI to generate dialogue and story content. However, the broader impact of LLMs extends beyond content generation, opening new possibilities for collaboration between human creativity and artificial intelligence throughout the narrative design process. This keynote explores how Human-AI co-creation is reshaping game narratives and discusses the challenges of maintaining narrative coherence, creative ownership, transparency, and responsible AI practices.

Instead of replacing designers, AI is emerging as a creative partner that supports ideation, iteration, and the exploration of alternative narrative possibilities. Moreover, the talk stresses how Human-AI co-creative workflows can combine computational generation with human judgment to produce engaging narrative experiences. It also reflects on issues such as bias, cultural representation, authorship, and player expectations, highlighting the importance of designing AI systems that enhance rather than diminish human creativity.

Finally, the keynote outlines future research directions for Human-AI co-creation in game narratives, arguing that the greatest opportunity lies not in fully automated storytelling, but in building collaborative creative systems that empower designers and expand the possibilities of interactive storytelling.

Bio

Mustafa Can Gursesli is a postdoctoral researcher specializing in Human-Computer Interaction, Artificial Intelligence, Psychology, and Game Studies. He has international research experience focusing on serious games, gamification, facial emotion recognition, and digital well-being. Currently, he is a postdoctoral researcher at Tampere University in the Gamification Group.

Title

Designed for Fun, Played for More: The Serious Uses of Commercial Video Games in Everyday Life

Abstract

Unlike serious games, commercial video games are not typically designed with therapeutic, educational, or training objectives. Yet their significance can extend beyond mere enjoyment. Drawing on fifteen years of my research, this keynote explores how players appropriate these games for their own purposes and how play can have “serious” effects.

I discuss the potential of commercial video games in psychotherapy and mental health, particularly for supporting sense-making and helping people rework difficult life experiences. Research conducted in the context of collective crises, such as Italy’s COVID-19 lockdown, illustrates how gaming can help individuals rebuild routines, sustain relationships, and experience imagined mobility amid physical restrictions.

I also examine how games support identity formation, nurture imagination, and encourage reflection on life and moral choices. These findings invite us to consider how games designed for entertainment might support therapeutic and developmental goals without losing the qualities that make people want to play them.

Bio

Amon Rapp is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Turin. His research is situated within the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and focuses on how people interact with behavior change technologies, intelligent agents, and video games. He is also interested in qualitative and design research methods, as well as in the theoretical and methodological implications of phenomenology for the design of interactive systems. Over the years, his research has particularly explored the effects that commercial video games can have on players beyond individual gameplay sessions, for example, by increasing their self-awareness, influencing their habits, and supporting them during challenging periods in their lives.

He has authored more than 200 publications in leading international journals and conference proceedings in the field of Human-Computer Interaction. He currently teaches courses on Theories of Human-Computer Interaction and Design of Conversational Systems at the University of Turin. He has held leading organizational roles in several international conferences, serving as General Chair of NLDB 2024, JURIX 2025, and EKAW 2026, and as Program Chair of SportsHCI 2025. He also serves as an Associate Editor of Human–Computer Interaction (Taylor & Francis) and as a Senior Editor of the International Journal of Human–Computer Studies (Elsevier).