Game Design

With his expertise in game design methodologies, Professor Emmanuel Guardiola has worked in the game industry for major publishers such as Ubisoft, as well as for independent studios. He has contributed to more than 30 titles based on licenses spanning various genres, including Far Cry, Prince of Persia, Splinter Cell, and Frank Herbert’s Dune. During his time at Ubisoft, after conducting research on video game design, emotions, and meaning, he was one of the creators of the Game For Everyone brand, which was designed to deliver tangible benefits to users.

Professor Guardiola holds a PhD in computer science and currently serves as a professor of game design at the Cologne Game Lab – TH Köln. His teaching and research focus on models, processes, and characteristics of the gameplay experience, as well as how these insights can be applied to education, health, or humanitarian contexts. His work is regularly supported by national, European, and international grants, and he has received over 10 awards, including the Games for Change Europe Award, the Deutscher Entwicklerpreis for social impact, and the Interactive Author of the Year Award from the SACD (French Society of Authors).

One of his most notable projects, Antura & the Letters—which won the international EduApp4Syria competition and received an Erasmus+ grant—was developed for refugee children and uses mobile games to promote Arabic literacy and psychosocial well-being. The game has since been adapted to multiple refugee contexts, including in response to the war in Ukraine. Currently deployed in the field, it has garnered nearly 500,000 downloads. Antura has received numerous international awards in education and humanitarian aid, including recognition from the Red Cross and the UNHCR.

Another key project, the Victim Interview Simulator, aims to train police officers in managing the psychological state of survivors during initial contact. Funded by an EU Horizon grant, it has been implemented by law enforcement authorities in several countries. This simulator is now being adapted for use in additional contexts.

Publications

A selection of Prof. Dr. Guardiola’s publications can be found here.

Books

  • FA Igarzábal, E Guardiola, C Johann, K Tillmanns, C Comeau. Eds. Video Games and Mental Health: Perspectives of Psychology and Game Design. In press, Transcript 2025.
  • Guardiola, E. (2000).  Ecrire pour le jeu (Writing for game). Paris, Dixit. ISBN: 284481025X

Journal editor

Chapters

  • Guardiola, E. & Natkin, S (2017) Game Design Mise-en-scène practice: intention and means in JEU SERAI. In Lankoski, P. and Holopainen, J., eds. Game Design Research: An introduction to theory & practice. Pittsburgh, PA: ETC Press.
  • Guardiola, E., & Natkin, S. (2015). A game design methodology for generating a psychological profile of players. In Loh C.S., Sheng Y. & Ifenthaler D. (Eds). Serious Game Analytics. Berlin, Springer.
  •  Guardiola, E. (2006). L’histoire que nous faisons vivre au joueur: la structure ludo-narrative. (The story we let the player experience: the ludo-narrative structure).  In S Genvo (ed), Le Game Design de Jeux Vidéo. Approches de l’expression vidéoludique. Paris, L’Harmatan. ISBN: 2747591034

Articles

  • E.Guardiola, A. Czauderna (2024) Teaching and learning game design with the concept of gameplay loops. Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds 16 (1), 107-125
  • Nuri Wieland, Carmen Johann, Helle Larsen, Emmanuel Guardiola, Michael Klein, Reinout W Wiers (2024), Digitale spielebasierte Risikoprävention für impulsive und sensationslüsterne Jugendliche–Mixed Methods Evaluationsergebnisse einer motivierenden Intervention. Suchttherapie, 25, S01,  2024
  • A Mason, F Funken, E Guardiola, MP Jungblut, J Pause (2024) Balancing Education and Engagement. A Suggested Co-design Process for Historical Game Development. Digital Humanities Benelux Journal, 6, 2024
  • Iakimova, G., Koval-Saifi, N., Wittmann, M., Guardiola, E. (2022). A game to promote literacy and psychosocial well-being among Syrian refugee children. OSF Preprints. July 6. doi:10.31219/osf.io/7u946.
  • Czauderna, A. & Guardiola, E.  (2021). Remote Collaboration in Higher Game Development Education. Online Practices and Learning Processes of Students between Professional Routines and Psychosocial Challenges. In Higher Education Studies; Vol. 11, No. 2; 2021 ISSN 1925-4741   E-ISSN 1925-475X. Published by Canadian Center of Science  and Education
  • Czauderna, A. & Guardiola, E.  (2019). The Gameplay Loop Methodology as a Tool for Educational Game Design. In Electronic Journal of e-Learning 17(3):207-221
  • Guardiola, E., Natkin, S., Vrignaud P. & Soriano D. (2012). Du jeu utile au jeu sérieux : un exemple le projet JEU SERAI (From useful game to serious game : case study JEU SERAI).  Hermès, La revue. 01/2012; 62:85-92.

Proceedings

  • H Ibrahim, A Diab, M Khalil, E Guardiola (2024) Personalized Game Design for Balance Rehabilitation in Multiple Sclerosis: Insights from Neuroimaging and Neurophysiological Test. International Conference on Smart Systems and Power Management (IC2SPM)
  • Guardiola, E. (2019).Game and Humanitarian: From Awareness to Field Intervention. Best paper and Proceedings of the Game On Conference 2019, Breda, Netherlands
  • Guardiola, E (2019). Gameplay Definition: A Game Design Perspective. Proceedings of the Game On Conference 2019, Breda, Netherlands
  • Guardiola, E & Czauderna, A. (2018). Merging Gameplay and Learning in Educational Game Design: The Gameplay Loop Methodology in Antura and the Letters. Proceedings of the ECGBL 2018, Nice. 12th European Conference on Game Based Learning
  • Guardiola, E (2016). The Gameplay Loop: a Player Activity Model for Game Design and Analysis. In: Proceedings of the ACE 2016. New York, ACM
  • Guardiola, E., & Natkin, S. (2010). Player’s Model: Criteria for a Gameplay Profile Measure. In Proceedings ICEC 2010, Seoul. Berlin, Springer
  • Guardiola, E., & Natkin, S. (2005).  Game Theory and video game, a new approach of game theory to analyze and conceive game systems. CGAMES’05, Angoulême 01/2005. In Proceedings, CGAMES’05.  Wolverhampton, University of Wolverhampton.