Teaching

Teaching

Games as art.

My teaching focuses on supporting independent thinkers who can situate their creations in artistic contexts while cultivating their own voices as designers and researchers.
In the classroom, I emphasize lectures, close readings, and discussion that encourage students to rethink what games mean as art, and how they can use games as a medium of personal expression.

Teaching statement

Games are not only entertainment; they embody cognition, values, and interaction.
Through teaching, I guide students to analyze these aspects and confront fundamental questions such as “What is art?” and “How can games be framed as artistic practice?”.
Drawing from my own creative work, I show how play’s constraints and affordances shape expression and its relation to society.

Having studied and taught internationally, I also bring a multicultural perspective.
In my classes, I introduce not only Japanese but also international literature and case studies to broaden students’ perspectives on games as art.
By comparing global discourses—such as artistic research in Europe and cultural game studies in North America—with Japan’s own creative contexts, students learn to position their works within a wider cultural and theoretical framework.
This helps them understand how local expression can resonate globally, and how games can serve as a bridge between diverse artistic traditions.

Teaching methods

• Lecture + discussion.
  Reframing games within artistic and cultural contexts.
• Case study analysis.
  Close reading of shipped titles and relevant student work.
• Critical questions.
  Open prompts that connect personal making and social context.

Courses taught

• Game Studies (Japanese Private University in Saitama, 2018–2019) — Introduction to games as cultural and artistic media; history, theory, and critical analysis.
• Game Studies (Japanese Private University in Tokyo, 2025– ) — Undergraduate major course on games as cultural and artistic media, covering theory and analysis.

Future teaching topics

• Games as Artistic Research.
  Using game design as a method of inquiry in the arts.
• Empathy and Play.
  How interactive systems shape emotional and prosocial experiences.
• Puzzle Design and Narrative.
  Puzzles as tools for storytelling and collaboration.
• Global Perspectives in Game Studies.
  Cross-cultural approaches to play and design.

Opportunities

Open to guest lectures and seminar talks related to game studies and artistic practice.
Email: info@ponomae.com