Professor Game Podcast

Rob Alvarez
Professor Game Podcast

Professor Game is a weekly podcast where we interview gurus, experts and successful practitioners of games, gamification and game thinking that will bring us the best of their experiences to get ideas, insights and inspiration to make experiences meaningful.

  1. Failed Game Becomes a Hit — 8 Years Later with Dain Saint

    5D AGO

    Failed Game Becomes a Hit — 8 Years Later with Dain Saint

    🚀 Want your community buzzing and bringing in more revenue? Snag my free mini course with 3 killer gamification hacks: professorgame.com/freebie-3-gamification-hacks “Sometimes your idea isn’t broken — it’s just not ready yet.” In this immersive episode, Dain joins Rob to explore how interactive storytelling can drive real-world impact, from failed game prototypes that resurrected years later to transforming news stories into joyful community games. Tune in for deep insights on designing for emotion, embracing iteration, and why sometimes a pamphlet beats an app. dain saint (he/they) is a Philly-based storyteller, designer, and creative director making beautiful immersive experiences. They run Reckless Magic, an interactive storytelling label, and curate Futurefull, an interfuturist storytelling collective. Rob is a host and consultant at Professor Game as well as an expert, international speaker and advocate for the use of gamification and games-based solutions, especially in community building and education. He's also a professor and workshop facilitator for the topics of the podcast and LEGO SERIOUS PLAY (LSP) for top higher education institutions that include EFMD, IE Business School and EBS among others in Europe, America and Asia.   Guest Links and Info Website: dainsaint.com LinkedIn: Dain Saint Instagram: @dainsaint   Links to episode mentions: Recommended book: Immersive Storytelling for Real and Imagined Worlds by Margaret (Imagineering)  Emerging Strategy by Adrienne Maree Brown Favorite game: Hades Roll For Shoes Tag! Football / Soccer   Lets's do stuff together! 3 Gamification Hacks To Boost Your Community's Revenue LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Instagram TikTok YouTube Ask a question

    35 min
  2. When Computers Taught You to Create, Not Just Consume with Jesper Juul

    JUN 23

    When Computers Taught You to Create, Not Just Consume with Jesper Juul

    If you're struggling to make more money with your online community, check out my FREE resources to learn how to do just that: professorgame.com/freecommunity-web What can a 40-year-old machine teach us about loyalty, engagement, and creative freedom? In this episode, Jesper Juul returns to the Professor Game Podcast to talk about his new book Too Much Fun, diving deep into the legacy of the Commodore 64. From hacking and game development to subculture and hardware design, Jesper unpacks the "five lives" of the C64 and what they reveal about user retention, tinkering, and systems that last. If you're designing for engagement today, this is a nostalgia-fueled masterclass in getting it right—and where we started getting it wrong. Jesper Juul is a video game theorist and occasional developer working at the Royal Danish Academy. He has previously taught at MIT and New York University. His books include Half-Real, and recently “Too much Fun” about the Commodore 64, his first computer, on which he wrote games and demos. Here's his first episode on the podcast: Jesper Juul and Handmade Games Rob is a host and consultant at Professor Game as well as an expert, international speaker and advocate for the use of gamification and games-based solutions, especially in community building and education. He's also a professor and workshop facilitator for the topics of the podcast and LEGO SERIOUS PLAY (LSP) for top higher education institutions that include EFMD, IE Business School and EBS among others in Europe, America and Asia.   Guest Links and Info Website: jesperjuul.net X/Twitter: @jesperjuul BlueSky: @jesperjuul.bsky.social   Links to episode mentions: Jesper's new book: Too Much Fun: The Five Lives of the Commodore 64 Computer   Lets's do stuff together! Get started in Gamification for FREE! LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Instagram TikTok YouTube Ask a question

    34 min
  3. Coaching Leadership Through Role-Playing Games with Joe Lasley

    JUN 2

    Coaching Leadership Through Role-Playing Games with Joe Lasley

    🚀 Want your community buzzing and bringing in more revenue? Snag my free mini course with 3 killer gamification hacks: professorgame.com/freebie-3-gamification-hacks What happens when role-playing games become a leadership development tool? In this episode we interview Joe, founder of GameNamic Leadership, to explore how tabletop RPGs can unlock transformational learning, reshape team dynamics, and deliver lasting cultural change. From piloting immersive retreats to coaching teams in real time, Joe shares how combining leadership coaching with roleplay doesn't just gamify learning—it changes how people show up at work. ​Dr. Joe Lasley is an Assistant Professor of Leadership and Organizational Studies at the University of Southern Maine and the Founder of Gamenamic Leadership, where he merges academic rigor with the imaginative power of tabletop role-playing games to transform how individuals and teams learn to lead in the real world. He is an International Coaching Federation certified Leadership Coach, has a Ph.D. in Leadership Studies, ​and degrees in Organizational Psychology, Higher Education Administration, and Organizational Communication. In academia, Joe designs and teaches courses on leadership ​d​evelopment, systems thinking, organizational​ and group dynamics, with a focus on experiential and transformational learning. He has published peer-reviewed ​a​research on leadership development through role-playing games, led action research projects, and regularly presents at national and international conferences including I​nternational L​eadership A​ssociation, National Communication Association, and N​orth American S​imulation A​nd G​aming A​ssociation. As a consultant, ​Dr. Joe created LeadRPG, an innovative method that blends leadership ​d​evelopment with tabletop role-playing games to build emotionally intelligent, adaptive leaders​ and creative teams. ​W​ith the LeadRPG Team, he has developed immersive retreats, facilitated custom programs for mission-driven organizations and tech ​l​eaders, and produced game-based toolkits used for leadership coaching, team development, and reflective practice. With expertise spanning group dynamics, adaptive leadership, and game-based learning, ​Dr. Joe is committed to helping people unlock their potential, co-design shared experiences, and navigate complexity with creativity, purpose, and play.​ Rob is a host and consultant at Professor Game as well as an expert, international speaker and advocate for the use of gamification and games-based solutions, especially in education and learning. He's also a professor and workshop facilitator for the topics of the podcast and LEGO SERIOUS PLAY (LSP) for top higher education institutions that include EFMD, IE Business School and EBS among others in Europe, America and Asia.   Guest Links and Info Website: gamenamic.org Retreats: gamenamic.org/retreat LinkedIn: Joe Lasley LinkedIn: GameNamic Leadership   Links to episode mentions: Proposed guest: Gijs Recommended book: Playing and Reality by D.W. Winnicott Favorite game: Age of Wonders 4   Lets's do stuff together! 3 Gamification Hacks To Boost Your Community's Revenue LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Instagram TikTok YouTube Ask a question

    30 min
  4. The Great Gambit: Teaching Peace Through Play with Anders Kjellberg

    MAY 26

    The Great Gambit: Teaching Peace Through Play with Anders Kjellberg

    🔥 Losing users? Get free, expert-backed resources to boost retention with gamification: professorgame.com/freecommunity-web What happens when a teacher turns history into a simulation? We interview Swedish educator Anders Kjellberg, who co-created The Great Gambit, a role-playing simulation designed to help students understand the driving forces behind conflict—and how to prevent war. From sweaty failures to empowering classroom dynamics, Anders shares what worked, what didn’t, and how learning through games can activate students like never before. Anders works as a teacher in Swedish upper secondary school. His main subjects are History and Swedish but he is also part of the school's educational steering group and takes part in a collaborational project with other Nordic upper secondary shools. Apart from being a teacher, Anders is a musician, playing mostly bass, guitars and syntheizsers in several of bands and records a lot of music in his house up in the Swedish forests. Together with his friend Zhenya Luchaninau, he has created an educational tool/simulation to be used in history class in upper secondary school, called "The Great Gambit". The scene is a tumultous transitional period in Europes history, dealing with the years between 1871 and 1914: the build up to World War One. The purpose of the game is, to put it short: make the students understand the driving forces behind conflicts and wars and, hopefully, teach them to understand how a society can avoid such things. Rob is a host and consultant at Professor Game as well as an expert, international speaker and advocate for the use of gamification and games-based solutions, especially in education and learning. He's also a professor and workshop facilitator for the topics of the podcast and LEGO SERIOUS PLAY (LSP) for top higher education institutions that include EFMD, IE Business School and EBS among others in Europe, America and Asia.   Guest Links and Info Website: thegreatgambit.com LinkedIn: Anders Kjellberg Facebook: The Great Gambit Community   Links to episode mentions: Proposed guest: Neil Young Recommended book: Hang City (In Swedish) Favorite game: Who Knows Where   Lets's do stuff together! FREE Gamification Resources! LinkedIn YouTube Instagram Facebook Ask a question

    26 min
5
out of 5
91 Ratings

About

Professor Game is a weekly podcast where we interview gurus, experts and successful practitioners of games, gamification and game thinking that will bring us the best of their experiences to get ideas, insights and inspiration to make experiences meaningful.

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