Gundolf S. Freyermuth is an academic, writer, and editor whose scholarship in Media and Game Studies centers on linear and non-linear audiovisuality, transmedia, and digital culture. He co-founded the Cologne Game Lab at the Technical University Cologne in 2010, now a leading European institution for games education and research. He retired in 2025.
Education and Professional Experience
Gundolf S. Freyermuth studied Comparative Literature at the Free University of Berlin, with an M.A. thesis on modern theater aesthetics and a Ph.D. thesis on digitalization’s impact on arts, entertainment, and communication.
Between 1980 and 1992, he worked as a writer, editor, and reporter for German magazines and, from 1993 to 2004, as a freelance writer covering literature, film, and digital media from the US West Coast. He has published over 25 books and approximately 500 papers, essays, and articles. He has also directed documentaries and written scripts for radio plays and feature films.
From 2004 to 2014, he was a professor of Comparative Media Studies at the ifs International Film School Cologne. He continued teaching there as an Associate Professor until his retirement in spring 2025.
From 2014 to 2025, he was a full professor of Media and Game Studies and co-director of the Cologne Game Lab at Technical University Cologne.
In 2020, he also served as a visiting professor at the University of Manchester.
Over the past 20 years, Freyermuth has lectured on media and game studies internationally, including in the United States (UCLA, CSU Long Beach, Vanderbilt, University of Arkansas), China (Shanghai Theatre Academy), Hong Kong (Lingnan University), Austria (Vienna, Salzburg, Klagenfurt), Hungary (Budapest), Belgium (Brussels), and France (Paris, Angouleme).
Teaching
Gundolf S. Freyermuth continues to teach in the four-semester M.A. program, Game Development and Research. His Media and Game Studies seminars aim to (1) establish a shared historical and theoretical foundation for students from diverse disciplines and cultures and (2) provide theoretical support for their practical projects.
Semester 1: The seminar introduces key research areas and contemporary issues in Media and Game Studies through lectures, readings, and discussions. Students gain an overview of digitalization and digital game history and explore the evolution of virtual reality and artificial intelligence within digital games.
Semester 2: The seminar introduces theoretical approaches relevant to students’ major semester projects. It integrates academic and artistic perspectives to demonstrate how historical knowledge and theoretical concepts can inform and expand creative practice, particularly in the production of Serious Games and the adaptation of linear content to nonlinear formats.
Semester 3: Students engage with central discussions in Media and Game Studies, focusing on concepts and theories related to their M.A. projects, and present their findings in the seminar.
Semester 4: No instruction (M.A. thesis).
In summary, the Media and Game Studies instruction aims to enhance students’ understanding and appreciation of the social, cultural, and academic contexts of game development. Students develop their ability to critically reflect on their creative work from historical and theoretical perspectives and practice academic presentation and writing skills in preparation for their M.A. thesis.
Research
Gundolf S. Freyermuth’s research focuses on the history and theory of audiovisual media, including film and games, as well as analog and digital textuality and network culture. He is currently completing the monograph Play: Audiovisuality in the Modern Era—Theater, Film, Television, Games.
Recent Academic Publications
Metaverse’s Modern Prehistory: Utopian Media from the Total Work of Art and Total Cinema to Cyberspace and Holodeck. In: Benjamin Beil / Gundolf S. Freyermuth / Isabelle Hamm / Vanessa Ossa (eds.): Gaming the Metaverse, Bielefeld: transcript 2025, p. 13-98, Open-Acces-Download: https://www.transcript-verlag.de/978-3-8376-7462-0/gaming-the-metaverse/
Film and Games as Alter Egos: Towards a Media Theory of Audio-Visual Play. In: Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds, December 2023, 16:1, pp. 9-32)
Towards the Ludic Cyborg: History and Theory of Authorship in Western Modernity. In: Joachim Friedmann (ed.): Narratives Crossing Boundaries: Storytelling in a Transmedial and Transdisciplinary Context, Bielefeld: transcript, September 2023, pp. 305-360, Open-Access-Download: https://www.transcript-verlag.de/978-3-8376-6486-7/narratives-crossing-boundaries/?number=978-3-8394-6486-1
Vegas, Disney, and the Metaverse: On the Material Anticipation of Virtual Worlds and Virtual Play in the Second Half of the 20th Century. In: Benjamin Beil / Gundolf S. Freyermuth / Hanns Christian Schmidt / Raven Rusch (eds.): Playful Materialities: The Stuff That Games Are Made Of, Bielefeld: transcript 2022, pp. 17-97 Open-Access-Download: https://www.transcript-verlag.de/978-3-8376-6200-9/playful-materialities/?number=978-3-8394-6200-3
Paratext | Paraplay. Contextualizing the Concept of Paratextuality. In: Benjamin Beil / Gundolf S. Freyermuth / Hanns Christian Schmidt / Raven Rusch (eds.): Paratextualizing Games. Investigations on the Paraphernalia and Peripheries of Play, Bielefeld: transcript 2021, pp. 13-52. Open-Access-Download: https://www.transcript-verlag.de/978-3-8376-5421-9/paratextualizing-games/?number=978-3-8394-5421-3
For a complete list of publications, see https://colognegamelab.de/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/25-03-CV-G-S-Freyermuth-English.pdf