Sebastian Deterding

Prof Christoph Sebastian Deterding, Chair of Design Engineering, Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London

Research Expertise

Motivational Design
Game Design
Gamification
Design Ethics
Computational Creativity

Publications

From game design elements to gamefulness
Proceedings of the 15th International Academic MindTrek Conference: Envisioning Future Media Environments
2011
Gamification. using game-design elements in non-gaming contexts
CHI '11 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems
2011
Gamification for health and wellbeing: A systematic review of the literature
Internet Interventions
2016
Gamification
Interactions
2012
The Lens of Intrinsic Skill Atoms: A Method for Gameful Design
Human–Computer Interaction
2015
The Gameful World
Unknown Venue
2015
Du game design au gamefulness : définir la gamification
Sciences du jeu
2014
The Ambiguity of Games: Histories and Discourses of a Gameful World
The Gameful World
2015
24. Cookie Clicker
How to Play Video Games
2020
Make-Believe in Gameful and Playful Design
Human–Computer Interaction Series
2016
An Introduction to the Gameful World
The Gameful World
2015
Virtual Communities
Posttraditionale Gemeinschaften
Le chat de Schrödinger
Philosophie Magazine
2013
Living Room Wars: Remediation, Boardgames, and the Early History of Video Wargaming
Joystick Soldiers
2009
Introduction: Fetishism and Its Discontents
Fetishism and Its Discontents in Post-1960 American Fiction
2010
The Game Frame: Systemizing a Goffmanian Approach to Video Game Theory [Extended Abstract]
DiGRA Digital Library
2009
Copy and paste
Nature
2011
The Triumph of Expediency: The Impact of Google Scholar on Library Instruction
Google Scholar and More
2014
Player Rating Systems for Balancing Human Computation Games: Testing the Effect of Bipartiteness
DiGRA Digital Library
2016
Geschichte im Brettspiel
Mit Geschichte spielen
2021
Play it for Real: Sustained Seamless Life/Game Merger in Momentum
DiGRA Digital Library
2007
Henry Jenkins: Textuelles Wildern und Konvergenzkultur
Schlüsselwerke der Cultural Studies
2009
Introspektion Begriffe, Verfahren und Einwände in Psychologie und Kognitionswissenschaft
Phänomenologie und Soziologie
Searching for the Well-Played Game
The Well-Played Game
2013
Just Add Points?
Unknown Venue
2010
What Is a Subliminal Technique? An Ethical Perspective on AI-Driven Influence
2023 IEEE International Symposium on Ethics in Engineering, Science, and Technology (ETHICS)
2023
2012 International Conference on Communication Systems and Network Technologies
Unknown Venue
2012
Mediennutzungssituationen als Rahmungen. Ein Theorieangebot
Theorieanpassungen in der digitalen Medienwelt
2013
„Was geht hier eigentlich vor sich?“ Medienrealität, Mediensozialisation und Medienkompetenz aus rahmenanalytischer Perspektive
Medialität und Realität
2011
Critical Computer Games
Critical Play
2009
Newsgames – Procedural Rhetoric Meets Political Cartoons
DiGRA Digital Library
2009
Konvergenzkultur
Handbuch Cultural Studies und Medienanalyse
2015
Das ideale Schulbuch. Überlegungen zum Leitmedium des Geschichtsunterrichts
Historisches Lernen
1994
Early experiences with participation in persuasive technology design
Proceedings of the 12th Participatory Design Conference: Research Papers - Volume 1
2012
The hybrid agency of hybrid play
Hybrid Play
2020
Self-Determination Theory in HCI: Advancing the Field
Unknown Venue
2026
Advancing Self-Determination Theory via computational modelling: the case of competence and optimal challenge
Motivation and Emotion
2025
Designing for Curiosity in Cultural Heritage Experiences: A Scoping Review
Unknown Venue
2025
Why Self-Determination Theory Needs Computational Modelling: The Case of Competence and Optimal Challenge
Unknown Venue
2025
Domestic Cultures of Plant Care: A Moss Terrarium Probe
Unknown Venue
2025
The task-attention theory of game learning: a theory and research agenda
Human–Computer Interaction
2022
Applying the Barker School concept of ‘behaviour settings’ to virtual contexts
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
2024
Why Self-Determination Theory Needs Computational Modelling: The Case of Competence and Optimal Challenge
Unknown Venue
2024
Why Self-Determination Theory Needs Computational Modelling: The Case of Competence and Optimal Challenge
Unknown Venue
2024
Personalized Language Model Selection Through Gamified Elicitation of Contrastive Concept Preferences
IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics
2024
The Basic Needs in Games Scale (BANGS): A new tool for investigating positive and negative video game experiences
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies
2024
Ethical Games: Toward Evidence-Based Guidance for Safeguarding Players and Developers
Games: Research and Practice
2024
Advancing Self-Determination Theory With Computational Intrinsic Motivation: The Case of Competence
Unknown Venue
2024
How does Juicy Game Feedback Motivate? Testing Curiosity, Competence, and Effectance
Unknown Venue
2024
How does Juicy Game Feedback Motivate? Testing Curiosity, Competence, and Effectance
Proceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
2024
Definitions of “Role-Playing Games”
The Routledge Handbook of Role-Playing Game Studies
2024
Sociology and Role-Playing Games
The Routledge Handbook of Role-Playing Game Studies
2024
The Many Faces of Role-Playing Game Studies
The Routledge Handbook of Role-Playing Game Studies
2024
The Routledge Handbook of Role-Playing Game Studies
Unknown Venue
2024
Theater and Performance Studies and Role-Playing Games
The Routledge Handbook of Role-Playing Game Studies
2024
Supplemental Material for Registered Report Evidence Suggests No Relationship Between Objectively Tracked Video Game Playtime and Well-Being Over 3 Months
Technology, Mind, and Behavior
2024
Registered report evidence suggests no relationship between objectively tracked video game playtime and well-being over 3 months.
Technology, Mind, and Behavior
2024
Registered Report Evidence Suggests No Relationship Between Objectively-Tracked Video Game Playtime and Wellbeing Over 3 Months
Unknown Venue
2023
The Basic Needs in Games (BANG) Model of Video Game Play and Mental Health
Unknown Venue
2023
Objective Difficulty-Skill Balance Impacts Perceived Balance but Not Behaviour: A Test of Flow and Self-Determination Theory Predictions
Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
2023
‘I Just Wanted to Get It Over and Done With’: A Grounded Theory of Psychological Need Frustration in Video Games
Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
2023
“Conversations with pigeons”: Capturing Players’ Lived Experience of Perspective Challenging Games
Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
2023
The Basic Needs in Games Scale (BANGS): A New Tool for Investigating Positive and Negative Video Game Experiences
Unknown Venue
2023
Practical recommendations from a multi-perspective needs and challenges assessment of citizen science games
PLOS ONE
2023
Moral Agents for Sustainable Transitions: Ethics, Politics, Design
Extended Abstracts of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
2023
Games Futures I
Games: Research and Practice
2023
Inaugural Editorial: A Lighthouse for Games and Playable Media
Games: Research and Practice
2023
The Many Faces of Monetisation: Understanding the Diversity and Extremity of Player Spending in Mobile Games via Massive-scale Transactional Analysis
Games: Research and Practice
2023
Children and Young People’s Involvement in Designing Applied Games: Scoping Review
JMIR Serious Games
2023
Difficulty-skill balance does not affect engagement and enjoyment: a pre-registered study using artificial intelligence-controlled difficulty
Royal Society Open Science
2023
After COVID-19: Crises, Ethics, and Socio-Technical Change
IEEE Transactions on Technology and Society
2022
The Limits of 'Serious' Play
Representing Conflicts in Games
2022
The Many Faces of Monetisation: Understanding the diversity and extremity of spending in mobile games via massive-scale transactional analysis
Unknown Venue
2022
Children and Young People’s Involvement in Designing Applied Games: Scoping Review (Preprint)
Unknown Venue
2022
Difficulty-skill balance does not affect engagement and enjoyment: A pre-registered study using AI-controlled difficulty
Unknown Venue
2022
‘I Just Wanted to Get it Over and Done With’: A Grounded Theory of Psychological Need Frustration in Video Games
Unknown Venue
2022
Mastering uncertainty: A predictive processing account of enjoying uncertain success in video game play
Frontiers in Psychology
2022
Do People Use Games to Compensate for Psychological Needs During Crises? A Mixed-Methods Study of Gaming During COVID-19 Lockdowns
CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
2022
Prevalence and Salience of Problematic Microtransactions in Top-Grossing Mobile and PC Games: A Content Analysis of User Reviews
CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
2022
Self-Determination Theory in HCI: Shaping a Research Agenda
CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Extended Abstracts
2022
Trading Accuracy for Enjoyment? Data Quality and Player Experience in Data Collection Games
Unknown Venue
2022
Do People Use Games to Compensate for Psychological Needs During Crises? A Mixed-Methods Study of Gaming During COVID-19 Lockdowns
Unknown Venue
2022
Prevalence and Salience of Problematic Microtransactions in Top-Grossing Mobile and PC Games: A Content Analysis of User Reviews
Unknown Venue
2022
Not Very Effective: Validity Issues of the Effectance in Games Scale
Extended Abstracts of the 2021 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play
2021
Are You Open? A Content Analysis of Transparency and Openness Guidelines in HCI Journals
Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
2021
Reconstructing Creative Lego Models
Lecture Notes in Computer Science
2021
Citizen science breathes new life into participatory agricultural research. A review
Agronomy for Sustainable Development
2020
Health surveillance during covid-19 pandemic
BMJ
2020
Interaction Tension: A Sociological Model of Attention and Emotion Demands in Video Gaming
Media and Communication
2019
Collecting Pokémon or receiving rewards? How people functionalise badges in gamified online learning environments in the wild
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies
2019
Validity Threats in Quantitative Data Collection With Games: A Narrative Survey
Simulation & Gaming
2018
Gamification in Management: Between Choice Architecture and Humanistic Design
Journal of Management Inquiry
2018
"One of the baddies all along"
Proceedings of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play
2019
Ethereum Crypto-Games: Mechanics, Prevalence, and Gambling Similarities
Proceedings of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play
2019
Influencers in Multiplayer Online Shooters
Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
2019
The Role of Uncertainty in Moment-to-Moment Player Motivation
Proceedings of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play
2019
Alibis for Adult Play
Games and Culture
2017
Curious users of casual creators
Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games
2018
Definitions of “Role-Playing Games”
Role-Playing Game Studies
2018
Intrinsic elicitation
Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games
2018
Performance Studies and Role-Playing Games
Role-Playing Game Studies
2018
Sociology and Role-Playing Games
Role-Playing Game Studies
2018
The Many Faces of Role-Playing Game Studies
Role-Playing Game Studies
2018
Uses and Gratifications of Initiating Use of Gamified Learning Platforms
Extended Abstracts of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
2018
Why game designers should study magic
Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games
2018
The Pyrrhic Victory of Game Studies
Games and Culture
2016
Adapting Cognitive Task Analysis to Elicit the Skill Chain of a Game
Proceedings of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play
2017
Engagement effects of player rating system-based matchmaking for level ordering in human computation games
Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games
2017
How Multidisciplinary is Gamification Research?
Extended Abstracts Publication of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play
2017
How to Do Gameful Design
Extended Abstracts Publication of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play
2017
Mixed-Initiative Creative Interfaces
Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems
2017
The maturing of gamification research
Computers in Human Behavior
2017
Contextual Autonomy Support in Video Game Play
Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
2016
Embarrassing Interactions
Proceedings of the 33rd Annual ACM Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems
2015
Gamifying Research
Proceedings of the 33rd Annual ACM Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems
2015
Designing gamification
CHI '13 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems
2013
Gamification @ work
CHI '13 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems
2013
Social game studies at CHI 2011
CHI '11 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems
2011
Domestic Cultures of Plant Care: A Moss Terrarium Probe
Proceedings of the 2025 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference
2025
Role-Playing Game Studies
Unknown Venue
2018
The Basic Needs in Games Model of Video Game Play and Mental Health
Interacting with Computers
2024
Trading Accuracy for Enjoyment? Data Quality and Player Experience in Data Collection Games
CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
2022

Education

University of Hamburg

Ph.D., Communication and Media Studies / 2013

Westphalian Wilhelms University Mnster

M.A., Comparative Literature / 2004

Experience

Imperial College London

Chair of Design Engineering / 2022Present

Chair Dyson School of Design Engineering

Amazon UK Services Ltd.

Amazon Scholar / 20222025

University of York

Professor, Digital Creativity Labs / 20202022

Reader, Digital Creativity Labs / 20162020

Former research lead of Digital Creativity Labs UK Digital Economy Hub w 4 spokes 30+ researchers (2016-2021)

Northeastern University

Assistant Professor (TT), Game Design / 20142015

Rochester Institute of Technology

Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Interactive Games and Media / 20132014

Hans Bredow Institute for Media Research

Junior Researcher / PhD fellow / 20092013

Links & Social Media

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