Games as a form of art

He is the gaming enthusiast from Colombia who became a psychologist to understand why people so frequently act irrationally. Carlos Mauricio Castaño Díaz is now a Doctor of Learning Sciences and since last autumn a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Applied Information Technology.

However, he has not become that much wiser about people's lack of rationality, he says.

The Patricia building on Lindholmen, where the Department of Applied Information Technology is located, stands empty. The students are conspicuous by their absence. His colleagues as well. The pandemic is palpable in a number of ways, not least when it comes to the part of the job for which Carlos Mauricio Castaño Díaz is especially passionate, namely teaching. – I love teaching. I use my whole body when I lecture, and I am anxious to convey a story. And that aspect is much harder and more tedious when you are sitting in front of a screen, he says when we take the stairs up to his study.

His hair, which is dyed pink and blue, boasts a graphic chequered pattern. He also sees his hairstyle as a way to reach out and increase the commitment of his students. – But it also helps when I have to create a name for myself on YouTube.

Although Carlos Mauricio Castaño Díaz is a Doctor of Learning Sciences, very similar to pedagogy, he definitely does not see the university as the only obvious arena for his teaching. On his own YouTube channel Dr KryoDrage publishes films about how learning in association with computer gaming can work. – I work quite a lot in that way; I talk about things that many people, me included, like to do, such as gaming, and I use it as a tool to explain how the brain works.

Carlos Mauricio Castaño Díaz began his journey in the university world by completing a five-year psychology programme at the University of Antioquia, the same university his parents attended, which is located in his hometown of Medellin in Colombia. His mother was a microbiologist, and in the laboratory where she worked, he had an outlet for his curiosity and joy of discovery through constant experimentation. – It was my curiosity that drew me to research and research is still my strongest driving force. I want to understand how things are connected.

And it was precisely his desire to understand more about the outside world and his fellow human beings that was the main reason for him deciding to apply for the psychology programme. He says that as a young man he had an extremely difficult time understanding why people so often behave in the way that they do.

– People often act in a way that is neither rational nor good, neither for themselves nor for humanity. To understand this better, I felt the need to learn more about how human beings work. However, his psychology studies did not lead to work in clinical practice. Instead, he wanted to increase his knowledge and looked for a master’s programme that could offer the subjects he was passionate about and where it was possible to get full funding as a scholarship student.

He chose the University of Copenhagen, the only university where both of his criteria were met.

He based his Master's thesis on a study in which he designed a tool for analysing cognitive requirements in computer games. A project which, among other things, was based on developing a game for learning environments and which can be used in both a digital and physical format.

– I have always been a gamer and consider games to be an art. Computer games have a clear narrative and provide an experience that both evokes emotions and makes us reflect on ourselves. But computer games are also a phenomenon where different art forms meet and create something new.

It was during the work on his master’s thesis that Carlos Mauricio Castaño Díaz became obsessed with teaching, and realized how important it is for researchers to share their knowledge. – Research is totally useless if it only stays within the research world. Open research, accessible to all, is central to us being able to improve society together.

He elaborates on the danger of researchers who only want to talk to their colleagues, and how there is a tendency among some academics to only discuss issues with people who have the same status or level of knowledge as they have. – Why do they want to compete instead of making society better?

After completing his master’s degree, Carlos Mauricio Castaño Díaz continued his journey through Europe. This time to Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich for doctoral studies and a project that compared the different cognitive

People often act in a way that is neither rational nor good, neither for themselves nor for humanity.

CARLOS MAURICIO CASTANO DÍAZ

Carlos Mauricio Castaño Díaz

Born: In 1985 in Medellin, Colombia. Profession: Media psychologist and senior lecturer at the Department of Applied Information Technology. Research areas: media psychology and cognitive processes involving computer games, as well as different kinds of media phenomena from a cognitive perspective. Lives in: Mölndal. Hobbies: Computer games, knitting, crocheting, cooking and archery.

abilities used in the two computer games Dota 2 and League Of Legends. After about three years, he became a Doctor of Learning Sciences.

In addition to computer games, communication and cognition, his current focus areas are media psychology and studies of internet phenomena such as memes and creepy pasta, but also games as an art form.

But unfortunately, he has not become much wiser about human behaviour as the years have gone by, he states. – I have never been a good psychologist. My friends always joked about it, because I'm so bad at reading people and trying to interpret their facial expressions. But over the years, I have come to understand that it is because I have Asperger syndrome.

After working at Aarhus University for a time, he was told about a position at the University of Gothenburg. He took the chance and applied – despite the fact that the only connection he had with Sweden was through ABBA. – I love ABBA. I listened to all their music when I was growing up. But only in Spanish, they recorded the songs in many different languages. I can still only hear the Spanish lyrics in my head, he says and smiles.

Carlos Mauricio Castaño Díaz now lives in Mölndal, his husband is still at home in Denmark, and he longs for the Swedish summer. – I am really looking forward to experiencing the summer and to travelling along the coast. It is very beautiful here now, with the harbour and the sea. But this summer it will probably be even nicer.

Text: Hanna Jedvik Photo: Johan Wingborg