Stefano Gualeni is an Italian

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, professor, and

game designer Game design is the process of creating and shaping the mechanics, systems, rules, and gameplay of a game. Game design processes apply to board games, card games, dice games, casino games, role-playing games, sports, Wargame (video games), war ga ...

who has created interactive websites and

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

s such as '' Tony Tough and the Night of Roasted Moths,'' '' Gua-Le-Ni; or, The Horrendous Parade,'' and '' Something Something Soup Something''. Gualeni is currently a

full professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a 'person who professes'. Professors ...

at the Institute of Digital Games of the

University of Malta The University of Malta (, UM, formerly UOM) is a higher education institution in Malta. It offers undergraduate bachelor's degrees, postgraduate master's degrees and postgraduate doctorates. It is a member of the European University Association, ...

, where he pursues academic research in the fields of

game design Game design is the process of creating and shaping the mechanics, systems, rules, and gameplay of a game. Game design processes apply to board games, card games, dice games, casino games, role-playing games, sports, Wargame (video games), war ga ...

, virtual worlds research, the

philosophy of technology The philosophy of technology is a sub-field of philosophy that studies the nature of technology and its social effects. Philosophical discussion of questions relating to technology (or its Greek ancestor ''techne'') dates back to the very dawn of ...

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

, and

existentialism Existentialism is a family of philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence. In examining meaning, purpose, and valu ...

. Since 2015, he is also a

visiting professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting scientist, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic fo ...

at the Laguna College of Art and Design of

Laguna Beach, California Laguna Beach (; ''Laguna'', Spanish language, Spanish for "Lagoon") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. Located in Southern California along the Pacific Ocean, this seaside resort city has a mild year-round climate, scenic c ...

. He had been a

visiting researcher In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting scientist, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic fo ...

in various international institutions, including the Centre of the Digital Humanities of the

University of Gothenburg The University of Gothenburg () is a List of universities in Sweden, university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg. Founded in 1891, the university is the third-oldest of the current List of universities in Sweden#Public universities, S ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

(2019), the Ritsumeikan Center for Game Studies (RCGS) at the

Ritsumeikan University is a private university in Kyoto, Japan, that traces its origin to 1869. In addition to its main campus in Kyoto, the university also has satellite campuses in Ibaraki, Osaka and Kusatsu, Shiga. Today, Ritsumeikan University is known as one o ...

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

(2023), and the Faculty of Media and Communication of the

Singidunum University Singidunum University () is a private university in Belgrade, Serbia which offers undergraduate, master and doctoral academics studies in three scientific fields – social sciences and humanities; technical sciences; and natural sciences and m ...

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

(2024).

Background

Stefano Gualeni was born in Lovere,

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in 1978, Gualeni graduated in 2004 in

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

at the Politecnico di Milano. His final thesis was developed in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and is supported by

ITESM Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM; ), also known as Technological Institute of Monterrey () or just Tec, is aresearch university based in Monterrey, Mexico, which has grown to include 35 campuses located across 25 cit ...

(Tec de Monterrey, Campus Ciudad de México).Stefano Gualeni's CV
/ref> Gualeni was awarded his

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in 2008 at the Utrecht School of the Arts. In his thesis, he proposed a model for digital

aesthetics Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste (sociology), taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Ph ...

inspired by

Martin Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; 26 September 1889 – 26 May 1976) was a German philosopher known for contributions to Phenomenology (philosophy), phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. His work covers a range of topics including metaphysics, art ...

existential phenomenology Existential phenomenology encompasses a wide range of thinkers who take up the view that philosophy must begin from experience like phenomenology, but argues for the temporality of personal existence as the framework for analysis of the human condi ...

. He obtained his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

(in the fields of

and

) at the

Erasmus University Rotterdam Erasmus University Rotterdam ( ; abbreviated as EUR) is a public research university located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The university is named after Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, a 15th-century Christian humanist and theologian. Erasmus M ...

in 2014. His dissertation, titled ''Augmented Ontologies'', focuses on virtual worlds in their role as mediators: as interactive, artificial environments where philosophical ideas, world-views, and thought-experiments can be experienced, manipulated, and communicated experientially.

Academic work

Gualeni's work takes place in the intersection between

continental philosophy Continental philosophy is a group of philosophies prominent in 20th-century continental Europe that derive from a broadly Kantianism, Kantian tradition.Continental philosophers usually identify such conditions with the transcendental subject or ...

and the design of

virtual world A virtual world (also called a virtual space or spaces) is a Computer simulation, computer-simulated environment which may be populated by many simultaneous users who can create a personal Avatar (computing), avatar and independently explore th ...

s. Given the practical and interdisciplinary focus of his research - and depending on the topics and the resources at hand - his output takes the form of academic texts,

literary fiction Literary fiction, serious fiction, high literature, or artistic literature, and sometimes just literature, encompasses fiction books and writings that are more character-driven rather than plot-driven, that examine the human condition, or that are ...

s, and/or of interactive digital experiences. In his articles and essays, he presents computers as instruments to prefigure and design ourselves and our worlds, and as gateways to experience alternative possibilities of being. In 2015, Gualeni released the book
Virtual Worlds as Philosophical Tools: How to Philosophize with a Digital Hammer
' with

Palgrave Macmillan Palgrave Macmillan is a British academic and trade publishing company headquartered in the London Borough of Camden. Its programme includes textbooks, journals, monographs, professional and reference works in print and online. It maintains offi ...

. Inspired by post-phenomenology and by

, the book attempts to answer questions such as: will experiencing worlds that are not 'actual' change our ways of structuring thought? Can virtual worlds open up new possibilities to philosophize? His 2020 book with Daniel Vella
''Virtual Existentialism: Meaning and Subjectivity in Virtual Worlds''
engages with the question of what it means to exist in virtual worlds. Drawing from the tradition of

, it introduces the notion of 'virtual subjectivity' and discusses the experiential and existential mechanisms by which can move into, and out of, virtual subjectivities. It also includes chapters that specifically leverage the work of Helmuth Plessner, Peter W. Zapffe,

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...

and Eugen Fink to think through the existential significance of the virtual. His contributions to the edited volumes ''Experience Machines: Philosophy in Virtual Worlds'', ''Towards a Philosophy of Digital Media'', and ''Perspectives on the European Videogame'' similarly focus on the experiential and existential effects and possibilities disclosed by virtual technologies. One of the central themes of Gualeni's work revolves around the fact that the history of philosophy has, until recently, merely been the history of written thought. He argues that we are, however, witnessing a technological shift in how philosophy is pursued, valued, and communicated. In that respect, Gualeni advances the claim that digital media can constitute an alternative and a complement to our almost-exclusively linguistic approach to developing and communicating thought. He considers virtual worlds to be philosophically viable and advantageous in contexts like

thought experiment A thought experiment is an imaginary scenario that is meant to elucidate or test an argument or theory. It is often an experiment that would be hard, impossible, or unethical to actually perform. It can also be an abstract hypothetical that is ...

s (where we can objectively test and evaluate possible courses of action and corresponding consequences), in the case of philosophical inquiries concerning non-actual state of affairs, and for speculative research into non-human phenomenologies.

Bibliography

Monographic books (non-fiction)

* Gualeni, S. 2024. ''Il videogioco del mondo: Istruzioni per l'uso''. Palermo (Italy): Time0. * Gualeni, S. & Fassone, R. 2022. ''Fictional Games: A Philosophy of Worldbuilding and Imaginary Play''. London (UK):

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

. * Gualeni, S. & Vella, D. 2020. ''Virtual Existentialism: Meaning and Subjectivity in Virtual Worlds.'' Basingstoke (UK): Palgrave. * Gualeni, S. 2015. ''Virtual Worlds as Philosophical Tools: How to Philosophize with a Digital Hammer.'' Basingstoke (UK):

Palgrave MacMillan Palgrave Macmillan is a British academic and trade publishing company headquartered in the London Borough of Camden. Its programme includes textbooks, journals, monographs, professional and reference works in print and online. It maintains offi ...

Novels (fiction)

* Gualeni, S. 2025. ''What We Owe the Dead''. Eindhoven (NL): Set Margins'. * Gualeni, S. 2023. ''The Clouds: An Experiment in Theory-Fiction''. New York (NY):

Routledge Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...

Book chapters

* Gualeni, S. & Vella, D. 2023
"Desasosiego al Jugar, una Perspectiva Existencial"
Marta Martín Núñez (ed.) ''Jugar el malestar. Ludonarrativas más allá de la diversión''. Santander (Spain): Shangrila, pp. 14-21. * Van de Mosselaer, N. & Gualeni, S. 2022
"Representing Imaginary Spaces: Fantasy, Fiction, and Virtuality"
In Gottwald, D., Vahdat, V., Turner-Rahman, G. (eds.) Virtual Interiorities. Pittsburgh (PA): ETC Press, Vol. 3, pp. 21–44. * Gualeni, S. & Vella, D. 2021
"Existential Ludology and Peter Wessel Zapffe"
In Navarro-Remesal, V. & Pérez-Latorre O. (eds.) ''Perspectives on the European Videogame''. Amsterdam (The Netherlands): Amsterdam University Press, pp. 175-192. *Gualeni, S. 2019
"Virtual World-Weariness: On Delaying the Experiential Erosion of Digital Environments"
In Gerber, A. and Goetz, U. (eds.) ''The Architectonics of Game Spaces: The Spatial Logic of the Virtual and its Meaning for the Real.'' Bielefeld (Germany): Transcript, pp. 153–165. * Gualeni, S. 2018
"A Philosophy of 'DOING' in the digital"
In Romele, A. and Terrone, E. (eds.), ''Towards a Philosophy of Digital Media''. Basingstoke (UK):

, pp. 225–255. * Gualeni, S. 2017
"VIRTUAL WELTSCHMERZ: Things to keep in mind while building experience machines and other tragic technologies"
In Silcox, M. (ed.), ''Experience Machines: The Philosophy of Virtual Worlds''. London (UK): Rowman and Littlefield International, pp. 113–136. * Gualeni, S. 2015
"Playing with Puzzling Philosophical Problems"
In Zagalo, N. and Branco, P. (eds.). ''Creativity in the Digital Age''. Springer Series on Cultural Computing, XIV. London (UK): Springer-Verlag, pp. 59–74.

Ludography

Playable academic works

Stefano is a philosopher who designs games

videogames A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual feedback from a display device, mo ...

and a game designer who is passionate about philosophy. Although his academic work largely takes the form of texts, he also designs virtual experiences that have the specific objective of disclosing thought experiments and ideas in ways that are interactive and negotiable (and perhaps even playful).Self-reflexive videogames: observations and corollaries on virtual worlds as philosophical artifacts
/ref> The following are part of his ongoing 'playable philosophy' project: *
Doors (the game)
' (2021): a weird, postmodern

point and click Point and click are one of the actions of a computer user moving a pointer to a certain location on a screen (''pointing'') and then pressing a button on a mouse or other pointing device (''click''). An example of point and click is in hypermed ...

adventure video game about how objects (and doors in particular) are represented within

*
"HERE"
' (2018): a mock- JRPG playfully invites to reflect on how many types of 'here' co-exist in a virtual world *'' Something Something Soup Something'' (2017): a short first-person adventure video game about analytical definitions and family resemblances *
Necessary Evil
' (2013): a self-reflexive game about the centrality of player-experience in video game design Other playable academic works: *
Construction BOOM!
' (2020): a strategic two-player tile-laying game meant as a

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

take on the unrestrained residential construction in Malta. The game was a finalist for SaltCON's 2021 Ion Award in the Strategy Category. *
CURIO
' (2021): a free, playful toolkit for primary school students to be used in class, part of a 3-year research project funded by the

Erasmus+ Erasmus+ is the European Commission's programme for education, training, youth, and sport for the 2021–2027 period, succeeding the previous programme (2014–2020). As an integrated programme, Erasmus+ offers more opportunities for the mobi ...

program

Commercial titles released as game designer

* '' Gua-Le-Ni; or, The Horrendous Parade'' (2011) (

iPad The iPad is a brand of tablet computers developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple that run the company's mobile operating systems iOS and later iPadOS. The IPad (1st generation), first-generation iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010. ...

) * ''Prezzemolo in una Giornata da Incubo'' (2007) ( DVD TV game) * '' Tony Tough 2: A Rake's Progress'' (2006) ( PC) * ''Midway Classics 2'' (2006) ( GBA) * ''Midway Classics 1'' (2006) ( GBA) * ''Dangerous Heaven'' (2005) ( DVD TV game) * '' Prezzemolo in una Giornata da Incubo'' (2003) ( PC) * '' Tony Tough and the Night of Roasted Moths'' (1997) ( PC) * ''Mikro Mortal Tennis'' (1996) (

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...

)

Other game industry credits

*Stefano is listed in the 'extra credits' of the 2013

Independent Games Festival The Independent Games Festival (IGF) is an annual festival at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), the largest annual gathering of the independent video game industry. Originally founded in 1998 to promote independent video game developers, ...

(IGF) 'Student Showcase finalist' videogame ''ATUM'' for having acted as project supervisor and game design consultant. *Stefano designed ''Necessary Evil'', a small, critical video game developed together with Dino Dini, Marcello Gòmez Maureira and Jimena Sànchez Sarquiz. The game was presented at the 2013 Digital Games Research Association conference in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

as an example of the meta-reflexive and critical potential of the medium. *Stefano is listed in the credits of the 2012 action-adventure video game '' The Unfinished Swan'' (

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...

, developed by '' Giant Sparrow'') for having tested early versions of the game and having provided design-related feedback. *Gualeni appears in the credits of Playlogic Entertainment's 2009

hack-and-slash Hack and slash, also known as hack and slay (H&S or HnS) or slash 'em up, refers to a type of gameplay that emphasizes combat with melee-based weapons (such as swords or blades). They may also feature projectile-based weapons as well (such as ...

video game '' Fairytale Fights'' (for

and

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...

) for having helped with quality assurance recruiting and training. *Stefano is thanked in the credits of the videogame ''EXP'' for having helped with the structuring of the game concept and having acted as project supervisor. ''EXP'' received honorable mention in the 2011

Student Showcase. *Stefano is in the 'special thanks' section of the credits of the videogame ''Chewy!'' for having provided

guidance. ''Chewy!'' was honored with the 'Best Design' award ($25,000) at the 2011 Independent Propeller Awards at the

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

(SXSW) festival in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

.2011 Independent Propeller Award winners announced

External links

Stefano Gualeni's Official website

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gualeni, Stefano Italian video game designers 21st-century Italian philosophers Video game researchers Philosophers of technology Speculative fiction writers Italian science fiction writers 1978 births Living people Polytechnic University of Milan alumni Utrecht School of the Arts alumni Erasmus University Rotterdam alumni People from Lovere Academic staff of the University of Malta