Gundolf S. Freyermuth and Björn Bartholdy checking dates for the next “Clash of Realities” Conference, just after the previous edition had concluded. Credits: Martin Lorber, Electronic Arts (2016).
As a symbolic first post in honor of Prof. Em. Dr. Gundolf S. Freyermuth, we begin with a contribution by his longtime partner, collaborator, and friend, Prof. Björn Bartholdy. He is the co-founding director of the Cologne Game Lab—together with Gundolf S. Freyermuth—at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences. Björn Bartholdy also serves as Professor of Media Design and as the Vice Dean of the Faculty of Cultural Studies.
Find his contribution below:
Co-Founding the Cologne Game Lab
Gundolf has had a lasting impact on the Cologne Game Lab and on the broader field of game studies. As a co-founder, scholar, and entrepreneurial mind, he helped establish an academic environment in which game development, research, and critical reflection stand on equal footing. He pushed early for an understanding of games as cultural artefacts deserving rigorous analysis and for academic structures that could support this work sustainably. His contributions have helped position game studies as a serious research field within the German and international academic landscape.
What has always distinguished him is his combination of intellectual precision, openness to experimentation, and the practical drive to turn concepts into functioning programs. He brought together people, disciplines, and approaches that often would not have met otherwise, and he consistently encouraged new perspectives. Many careers—those of students, colleagues, and collaborators—benefited from his willingness to support and challenge in equal measure.
On a personal level, I want to thank him for the years of partnership, the inspiring conversations, the continued trust and his friendship. His thinking, his initiative, and his commitment to the development of the CGL have shaped my own work profoundly. The institution, the field, and many of us individually owe him more than can be captured in a short text. I am grateful for everything he has contributed—professionally and personally.