The following text is a speech by Su-Jin Song and Prof. Dr. Federico Alvarez Igarzábal, delivered at the Transformations Conference at CGL in September 2025. The occasion was Prof. Em. Dr. Gundolf S. Freyermuth’s retirement. The speech honors his work as a scholar and his legacy as co-founder of the Cologne Game Lab. It also includes anecdotes from CGL alumni collected by Su-Jin Song and Federico Alvarez Igarzábal. In them, alumni reminisce about the impact Gundolf S. Freyermuth had during their years at CGL and beyond.
Supervised by Gundolf S. Freyermuth, Su-Jin Song is a PhD candidate at the Kunstuniversität Linz (Austria) and the TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences Cologne (Germany) where she conducts her research as part of a joint doctoral program between the two institutions. Federico Alvarez Igarzábal is Professor of Digital Media and Game Studies at HBK Essen. He first met Gundolf S. Freyermuth while beginning his PhD at the University of Cologne. Soon after, Gundolf S. Freyermuth became his second doctoral advisor and hired him as a research assistant at CGL, a position he held for three years. Since then, they have maintained both a friendship and a lasting mentor–mentee relationship. In 2023, prior to his appointment at HBK Essen, Federico Alvarez Igarzábal stepped into Gundolf S. Freyermuth’s shoes as Substitute Professor of Media and Game Studies during Gundolf S. Freyermuth’s one-year sabbatical.
Check out their contribution below:
FEDERICO
Hello everyone. Hi Gundolf.
I’m Federico Alvarez Igarzábal, former PhD student and research and teaching fellow at CGL, where Gundolf was both my boss and supervisor. I also had the honor to step into his shoes as substitute professor for the year he was on sabbatical. Now I’m Professor for Digital Media and Game Studies at the HBK Essen.
SU-JIN
My name is Su-Jin Song, I am a graduate of the IFS International Filmschool Cologne and the Cologne Game Lab, where Gundolf was my professor at both institutes. Currently I work as a research and teaching fellow at the Cologne Game Lab.
Federico and I are thrilled to be here representing all CGL alumni to honor our teacher and mentor Gundolf Freyermuth.
As it happens, Federico was Gundolf’s first PhD student to finish his dissertation and I will be, now that he is Prof. Emeritus, his last. Meaning, each of us stands at one end of his tenure as a supervisor of aspiring game studies scholars. A time where he has helped many of us grow and solidify as the academics we wish to be.
As an international man of letters, Gundolf has several parallel careers: There’s Gundolf the journalist, Gundolf the novel and screenplay writer, and, as we all know, Gundolf the scholar. Talking to him is opening a treasure trove of curious, exciting, and sometimes outright bizarre anecdotes. Who else can tell you a story that involves Schwarzenegger and Bukowski fighting and then making peace over drinks? (It is true, you can ask him.) Those who know him can testify that there is always a Gundolf story to fit the occasion. It’s not easy to do justice to his vast life and career in a few words. What we want to honor today is his curiosity-driven, scholarly spirit that helped bring this place to life 15 years ago. Our beloved Cologne Game Lab.
The Cologne Game Lab, this child bore by the power duo of Gundolf Freyermuth and Björn Bartholdy, who founded the institute and have led it as co-directors, is certainly about the art of making games. It is, just as much, about understanding this medium, its historical roots, current social impact, and where it may take our culture in the future as the current dominant form of art and entertainment. This aspect of CGL is largely Gundolf’s doing. This is the part of his legacy that carries on with us as scholars.
FEDERICO
CGL quickly rose to become a focal point of games research in Germany and the world. Game Studies, still to this day a bourgeoning field, found in CGL a strong proponent. Aspiring and established scholars alike recognized it promptly as a leading force.
We are living in a time of crisis and transformations in our globalized society, as speakers through the course of this conference have emphasized. Rapidly evolving technologies like AI offer both opportunities and pose risks in the short and long term. The political climate is, let’s say, tense. It is not an exaggeration to say that we live in pretty uncertain times—it is rather an understatement. Scientific and scholarly research are at the foundation of any healthy society. Their purpose is to probe the world and generate knowledge. And to disseminate and apply this knowledge to navigate this uncertain world and to improve it.
Games and play may seem, to some, irrelevant or frivolous concerns; something that we can focus on when we have time to spare from dealing with urgent matters. But they would be wrong to think that. I’m preaching to the choir here, but it is important to emphasize that play and games are a fundamental part of the connective tissue of any society. Even when we do not notice it, it is there. It is part of how we bond and communicate on a daily basis and it is part of how we learn. The right to play is part of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, because it is essential for healthy development. Through play we can cope and we can flourish together. Whatever problems we are facing now, if we want to ensure a bright future for the coming generations, play must be part of the solution. Places like CGL, dedicated to the understanding of this aspect of our shared humanity are as vital today as ever. This is the gift that Gundolf and Björn gave us.
As a scholar, this is how I understand my role in society. CGL was a fundamental part of developing this view of academia. This institute gave me the support that I needed to focus on my PhD, and Gundolf’s mentoring had a profound influence on how I understand game and play studies. Scholarly work in general is not about concocting arcane theories from the ivory tower; it is about establishing an active dialogue with reality, be this specifically with game developers (in the case of game studies) or with society at large. In that deeply formative period at CGL, I understood that academia is the place where I want to be. To advance human knowledge, both by producing it through research and by disseminating it (through teaching, academic events, and publications) is one of the highest callings I can think of. To be able to play video games and claim that you are doing research, well, that is a nice bonus.
SU-JIN
I myself have known Gundolf since my studies. I first met him as a professor of media studies at the IFS International Film School Cologne, then later met him again during my master’s studies here at the Cologne Game Lab. It is no exaggeration to say that Gundolf introduced me to the academic world and specifically to game studies. And now here I am, working as a research and teaching fellow at the Cologne Game Lab, with one foot in the academic world and one foot in the practical world of filmmaking and games.
I think my parents are happy that Gundolf got me on the right track of academia, finally something solid and serious. Although they forget that it’s still about games and media, not law. Well, academia is the important part I guess. But seriously, I think Gundolf has inspired many students over the past decades through his teaching and often guided them down paths they might not have considered for themselves, if it hadn’t been for one piece of advice or another from Gundolf. I once asked him how he selects employees for CGL. At the time, he said that he always remembers good people when he comes across them and keeps a list. Then he asks them as soon as a position becomes available. This means that he sees people’s qualities and abilities very clearly. I am grateful that he saw qualities in me that I didn’t even know I had myself.
Gundolf, through his mentoring, has shaped the kind of researcher, teacher, and mentor that both of us, and many others, want to be. He is always ready to offer constructive feedback and to be an intellectual sparring partner. He pushes back but also listens with genuine interest. He offers a mentorship that also feels like a collaboration. Which we think is the best kind of mentorship.
One of the many ways in which he showed his support to us was through the Young Academics Workshop; an event that Federico, Curtis Maughan (both PhD candidates and employees at the CGL at that time) and Michael Debus started in 2017 as a part of the Clash of Realities conference. I myself joined the team in 2018. Its goal was to create a space for students and early-career researchers to present at the conference, which was lacking at the time. In his capacity as CGL co-director he made sure that YAW could grow as a platform for many to take their first steps in the intimidating world of academic events.
As a mentor, he was our first guest scholar, generously offering his time and feedback to each speaker during the extremely busy week of the Clash. And as an editor with Lisa Gotto, he gave us a space to publish the proceedings from each of these workshops as part of his book series with transcript. We have therefore already published two anthologies, which have following titles: “Violence | Perception | Video Games – New Directions in Game Research” and the second one “Mental Health | Atmospheres | Video Games – New Directions in Game Research II” For many participants, this was their first publication.
FEDERICO
So many students have passed through Gundolf’s classrooms and benefitted from his knowledge and support. Some may claim that his presence can feel somewhat intimidating. One former student confessed to us that, at first, they (and I quote) “thought that Gundolf was very scary.” CGL students have dealt with this impression they have of him with their characteristic sense of humor. I remember once staying on the paternoster past the ground floor, into the ground, just to see what would happen. I dipped into the darkness, swung around inside this box, and popped back up on the other side, quietly laughing to myself. Down there, a red light glows, illuminating the confined space, except someone (probably a student) had stuck Gundolf’s face over it. So there he was in the paternoster underworld, glowing red eyes and all, judging my questionable life choices.
I personally never felt intimidated by Gundolf. And I think it doesn’t take long to get past that stern veneer that some perceive and see that he is a truly kind person with a deep sense of fairness, who cares deeply for the people he takes under his wing, and for the work conducted at this institution.
SU-JIN
That is why, on behalf of all CGL alumni, we want to say, from the bottom of our hearts, Guldolf: thank you for your dedication to the study of play and games. Thank you for your support and guidance. Thank you for sharing with us your neverending supply of anecdotes. In short: Thank you for everything you have done for us.
We also conducted a short survey and gathered a few responses from other alumni and PhD candidates. How would you describe Gundolf in three adjectives? Of course, it’s almost impossible to describe Gundolf in just three adjectives. At least, that’s what most people said. But we did get a few responses, which were as follows:
Kind, brilliant, joyful.
scary, fierce, funny
eloquent, meticulous, rich
Cheery, Sophisticated, Scheming
great teacher, smart-ass and amusing
a walking and talking encyclopedia
Tough but Fair Media Wizard, and Game Studies OG
Reliable, ambitious, seemingly knows everyone and everything
And now some anecdotes about Gundolf that were shared with us by alumni. I would like to read them out, the people who submitted these anecdotes will know:
“I would put first that Gundolf is a person of „Gegenseitigkeit“: his loyalty meets yours, so does his respect and care for you and your work. He loves independent, self-initiative and actionable people, who are clever in their own particular way. These are foundations which make him a very generous and attentive mentor who opens up possibilities. He’s a person of lived experience and adventure which reads all what is labeled as “his theoretical work” grounded in life wisdom, not just thought experiments. He loves challenging the system, working hard to put visions into practice. Finally yes – adjectives but they only work with this preamble: witty, sharp, direct, inviting, challenging. He´s an institution.”
“I remember the time he was surprised we read the whole Holodeck book during the semester break because he had forgotten to specify the chapters he needed us to read, and then we looked at him very confused as to why he wanted to start the course on the 4th chapter.”
“I remember a day in my early semesters when we just started having classes with Prof. Gundolf. A classmate and I were looking for an empty room to practice our semester project presentation. It was a quiet Friday, I believe, all rooms were locked, and we couldn’t find anyone to ask about it. Luckily, Prof. Gundolf suddenly showed up at his room, and we found the courage to ask him about it. I remember my classmate talked to him in German, a bit formal and “Per Sie”, asking if he could unlock a room for us to work in. Prof. Gundolf’s response at the time, perhaps perfectly ordinary by German standards, came across as really kind and heartwarming to the project phase stressed-out me. He said, “Sure, but only if you ask me again, and this time, ‘Per Du’!” And from there, my respect for Prof. Gundolf only grew with time, even though the Media and Game Studies exams and presentations were my worst nightmares as a student!”
“Being the only student outside the EU in the class was not easy, as I had to juggle my studies with the load of paperwork for residence permit. However, CGL was for me an oasis amid the bureaucracy thanks to Gundolf, with whom I could always talk freely and frankly about any subject. I’ll also never forget that he was one of the first people to support my crazy idea of making a game jam in less than four months for the FemDev group at CGL in 2018. This taught me to always have courage because sometimes you just need to ask to make things happen.”
“I will always try to remember Gundolf’s catchy advice: Always go up, never go down. And if you can’t go up, go sideways.”“Gundolf vehemently clarifying to anyone who asks about his house in Arizona, that he lives “on a ranch – not on a farm!” And that the only animals there are snakes.”
FEDERICO
Here is a longer answer by a person, who also shares a big gratitude towards Gundolf, like many of us:
“The answer must be multilayered: Gundolf is the originator, the primary figure of so many wonderful anecdotes of his own while he is simultaneously the nexus of anecdotal multitudes from his truly remarkable life, which has zig zagged across the globe and through so many exciting fields, including German and international journalism, the tech industry, old and new Hollywood, and the cutting edge space of game-based education, you name it, Gundolf has a great story about it. And he is a great storyteller…he might be the best storyteller. So, what anecdotes come to mind when I think of Gundolf? All of them, all at once, a blur of intoxicating (and—if we’re hearing them over dinner—pretty intoxicated) stories — well-crafted, wonderfully clever, life-affirming stories.
With all that throat clearing aside, I’ll share a fun anecdote which I (somewhat) still remember. It was a few months before I, unfortunately, had to leave CGL. It was the end of a long week and Gundolf and I were grabbing dinner around the corner from CGL. Like so many of our CGL dinners, the evening was filled with classic Gundolf anecdotes, great wine, and great food—and did I mention the wine? On this particular evening, Gundolf and I were having such a great time—him sharing anecdotes, me listening and laughing—that after we finished a bottle and our meal and had already paid for the bill, we decided to have one final glass of wine. However, once we had finished that glass…Gundolf was mid-anecdote, and we couldn’t just stop there, even though we had already paid the bill. So, even though we had already closed out twice, we had to, of course, order another bottle of wine, which lasted through the next anecdote … and a few more. What an absurdly wonderful trail of receipts we left behind us. That’s what happens when you’re having the best of times listening to Gundolf share his anecdotes—full of laughs and so much wisdom.To end on a more serious note; I am incredibly grateful for how much I’ve learned from Gundolf, and for how much he’s done for me. Now, as a tenure-track faculty member at a top ten public university and absolutely loving my job, I can confidently say that I never would have made it here without Gundolf. I look forward to sharing many more anecdotes with him, and bottles of wine, in the years to come.”
SU-JIN
I guess, there’s nothing more to add to that.
We would like to thank everyone who shared their thoughts and anecdotes with us. We thank you, Gundolf, for enriching our academic lives so much. Let’s raise a glass together later.
by Su-Jin Song & Federico Alvarez Igarzábal