| Title | Unveiling the Path |
|---|---|
| Subtitle | Seeing and Doing Game Studies from a Sámi Perspective |
| Contributor | Outi Kaarina Laiti(author) |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.53288/0441.1.18 |
| Landing page | https://punctumbooks.com/titles/historiographies-of-game-studies-what-it-has-been-what-it-could-be/ |
| License | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ |
| Copyright | Outi Kaarina Laiti |
| Publisher | punctum books |
| Published on | 2025-07-25 |
| Long abstract | In this chapter I explore how a Sámi worldview can be present, and how to employ Sámi methodologies, in the field of game studies. In this chapter I continue the work of Indigenous methodological thinkers and ground my work in the long line of Sámi dutkama máttut, the methodological thinkers in all the fields where Sámi research is present. This chapter is an autoethnographic description of how my research on Sámi digital games has reshaped game studies, and it is based on my field notes and reflections on the process that led to a doctoral dissertation in the field of Sámi game studies. By describing the process of unveiling the path, I introduce a way to employ Sámi methodologies in game studies and discuss the ways in which Indigenous epistemologies can be present in game studies practice. Furthermore, I discuss how Indigenous and non-Indigenous game studies can form a dialogue without jeopardizing Indigenous sovereignty over research. |
| Page range | pp. 389–409 |
| Print length | 21 pages |
| Language | English (Original) |
Outi Kaarina Laiti (she/her) is a Sámi game researcher and designer. She is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki, focusing on the intersection of education, computer science, and Sámi culture in video games and programming. Laiti promotes Sámi game developers and has coached an elderly eSports team. She was recognized as one of GamesIndustry.biz’s 100 Game Changers in 2020 for her efforts to increase accessibility in the industry. Laiti has actively organized game development events in the Sámi homeland, Sápmi, and co-created Sami Game Jams to encourage Indigenous innovation and cultural representation in gaming. Her doctoral thesis “Old Ways of Knowing, New Ways of Playing,” published in January 2021, discusses the potential of collaborative game design to empower Indigenous Sámi.