Dalila Martins and Maria Júlia Vieira, PhD candidates in the Doctoral Program in New Media and members of the DigiMedia Research Centre, took part in the 15th International Conference on Videogame Sciences and Arts, held in Maia, Porto, (on December 4 and 5).

Dalila presented the paper “‘I ended up not playing more…’ A Design Model to Support Completion of Narrative Serious Games for Mental Health”, an article that is part of her doctoral research. The paper addresses the final version of the Optimal Engagement Model for narrative serious games in the context of mental health.

Maria Júlia Vieira presented the paper “Unveiling Hidden Pioneers: Carla Vieira Faria’s Legacy in Portuguese Digital Game History”, co-authored with researcher Luciana Lima, which won the conference’s Best Paper Award.

The PhD researchers also presented a collaborative paper, “Aloy’s Challenge to Gender Stereotypes in Contemporary Video Game Narratives”, which examines the representation of women in digital games through a qualitative analysis of players’ perceptions of Aloy, the protagonist of the game Horizon Zero Dawn (2017).

The conference brought together researchers and professionals from the field of games, providing opportunities for discussion, feedback, and the exchange of ideas.