Game Consulting
Deep Game Design Consulting
If you are working on a complex project, or are banging your head against a tricky issue (or stubborn colleagues) and would like a fresh / Deep Game design perspective on how to get unstuck, reach out. Let’s sit down, do some “metaphor archeology”, and gain clarity on what needs to be done, what the goals are, the obstacles and resources, and then figure out an approach that gets you to where you want to be!
Why Choose deep games Consulting?
A Holistic, Integrative Approach
Games are possibility spaces. In a game, we can explore and experiment, because we are free to play. To get unstuck, we need to allow ourselves to play. Play gets our back off the wall.
Whatever the issue you are trying to address, when we look at it through a Deep Game design lens, we do so playfully. We also do so with the help of metaphors, embedded in a system. Metaphor – as we know from cognitive linguists Mark Johnson and George Lakoff – is understanding and experiencing one thing in terms of another. Metaphors are rich with emotional content and bring unconscious worldviews and beliefs to the surface of the conversation. This is incredibly valuable to understand what the problem REALLY is.
What keeps us stuck is how we THINK and FEEL about things, not the issue itself. Issues do not exist in a vacuum without our perceptions. As long as we are unclear about how we think and feel about things, we cannot take skillful action to change them.
Looking at these metaphorical explorations through the lens of game design allows us to identify the rules that produce the issue. Games are rule based systems. Rules are clear and unambiguous. When we work to identify the rules that govern the problem at hand, we get very specific about how we believe things work. This specificity is already a big step towards possible solutions.
By clearly identifying the elements of the system that constitute the problem, we further dis-entangle complex problem spaces and turn them into possibility spaces. Every system element (be that another person, a material resource such as money, or an abstract concept, e.g. fear, which can be represented in a Deep Game metaphorically!) can be modified. Each modification impacts the entire system and leads to different system outcomes.
Metaphors, game system rules and modification of system elements lies the power of Deep Game Design to understand and resolve complex issues. The goal is NOT to make a game, but to use the process of deep game design to find solutions.
Professor, Practitioner & Coach
I’ve been creating award winning Deep Games for almost two decades and have taught hundreds of students from MIT, Cambridge, to DePaul University in Chicago, University of Technology in Vienna, Vienna University of Applied Arts, and Uppsala University. The core of my work, however, has been as a game design practitioner, building bridges to people, communities and organizations around subjects such as domestic violence prevention, mental health advocacy, resilience in youth living with gang-violence in South Chicago. I discovered soon that the Deep Games methodology got people sharing and talking and through co-creation facilitated solutions to complex problems on individual and organizational levels. I’ve been called a “coach” long before i got my first coaching certificate. Since then, however, ca. 2009, I’ve undergone several coaching educations, amongst which I found Strategic Intervention coaching (Robbins-Madanes), Neuroscience for Coaches (Coaches Rising), Somatic Coaching (Strozzi Institute) and a course on Interpersonal Neurobiology (Mindsight Institute) the most helpful. I have been actively coaching for over a decade, lately specializing more and more on “movement as metaphor”. I’m now also Lvl 2 CrossFit trainer and licensed personal trainer through Tränarakademien in Stockholm.
Ready to Transform Your Game Design?
Schedule a Free Consultation
Connect with us to discuss your goals and discover how deep game design consulting can empower your next project.
Deep Games Courses
Explore our core offerings—each designed to help you master transformative game design, foster connection, and create meaningful change.
Deep Games Foundations
An accessible introduction to the Deep Games approach—exploring what deep games are, why they matter, and how this method can spark creativity and personal growth. All materials and activities are asynchronous and self-paced.
Deep Games in Practice
Go beyond theory with hands-on, project-based learning. Apply the Deep Games approach through creative projects and case studies, with personalized feedback—entirely at your own pace.
Deep Games for Connection & Change
Learn to use Deep Game design with others to build connection, understand lived experiences, and foster transformation. Ideal for educators, coaches, and facilitators—fully asynchronous and self-paced.