You're cordially invited to the WORKSHOP to be held on Friday May 8, 2026 @ 18:30-20:00.
Workshop Title: Walden, a game: Turning Literary Ideas into Playable Experiences
Speaker: Vicky Karanika (Ph.D. Candidate, School of English AUTh)
Language of the event: English.
REGISTRATION FORM
To register, please click on this link and fill in your information.
Certificates of attendance will be provided. See the registration form.
ABSTRACT
The workshop examines how literary meaning can be reimagined through digital environments and game-based structures. Focusing on Walden, a game: Where I Lived, an educational version of the video game Walden, a game, the session explores how concepts such as space, interaction, and movement can function as core elements of literary interpretation. Drawing on key ideas from electronic literature and game studies, participants will consider how reading in digital contexts becomes a playable experience. In these interactive digital spaces, users navigate environments, make choices, and encounter constraints that shape their experience. In this framework, movement and interaction become a form of interpretation, and space operates as a narrative structure. The workshop combines brief theoretical input with hands-on activities. Participants will design and prototype short, interactive literary spaces using accessible tools such as powerpoint or google slides. These micro-projects will translate literary themes into navigable environments, encouraging participants to think of literature not only as text, but as a system of rules. By the end of the session, participants will have created and shared their own playable designs, gaining insight into how digital media transform reading into an interactive gaming practice.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Vicky Karanika (vkaranika@enl.auth.gr) is a PhD candidate in the Department of American Literature and Culture at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Informatics and Communications from the Technological Institute of Serres and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English Language and Literature from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She also earned a Master of Arts (MA) in Language, Literature, and Digital Media in Education from the School of English at the same institution. Currently, she serves as an English language instructor at a public primary school. Her research interests include electronic literature, experimental writing, art and literary movements, language pedagogy, and the integration of digital media in education. Her work particularly explores the intersection of literary studies and technology, focusing on the pedagogical applications of digital narratives and multimodal texts.
