Launched in 2022 and funded by the Creative Europe Programme, ImGame is a research-based digital platform that combines immersive aesthetics with serious gaming to foster public engagement with contemporary art. Developed by a consortium of academic, artistic, and municipal partners across Latvia, Hungary, and Greece, the project seeks to fill a critical gap in art education by creating a virtual environment where users can explore the conceptual foundations, historical antecedents, and intertextual dimensions of new media art.
At the core of ImGame is an innovative VR experience designed to introduce audiences—especially those outside traditional art institutions—to the aesthetic strategies of contemporary digital art. Rather than offering a linear history or didactic overview, ImGame immerses the user in a spatialised environment that privileges exploration, affective engagement, and playful interaction. Viewers navigate an abstract virtual world shaped by the logics of game design, where they encounter artworks and theoretical references embedded within dynamic spatial cues.
In this environment, the concept of immersion is not simply technological, but aesthetic and psychological. ImGame defines immersion as the temporary suspension of the real-world frame in favour of a constructed, affectively resonant digital experience. Comparable to the absorption one might feel while reading a compelling novel, this form of immersion is used to model how contemporary art invites contemplation, critical distance, and presence all at once.
The project has yielded not only a functional prototype—accessible via imgame.va.lv—but also significant theoretical output. Two major research articles have been published: ImGame Project: a Comprehensive Theory of Immersive Aesthetics and Innovation in Serious Gaming (2024) and ImGame: An Immersive Educational Environment to Teach Contemporary Art (2024), presented at international conferences including CSEDU (Angers), AIEEE (Valmiera), and UNLOCK. Collectively, these publications articulate a theoretical framework for immersive aesthetics, while also advancing discourse around serious art games as a pedagogical tool.
The project also supported the development of three emerging digital artists—Alvis Misjuns (Latvia), Kristóf Szabó (Hungary), and Vasilis Georgakopoulos (Greece)—whose works were integrated into the platform. This component reflects ImGame’s commitment to not only presenting but also producing contemporary digital culture.
Technically, ImGame introduces a novel node-based shader workflow built with A-Frame, allowing young creators to design multi-platform interactive experiences without advanced coding skills. This lowers the barrier of entry for creative technologists, making the project both educational and empowering.
By collecting and analysing current new media practices in Latvia, Greece, and Hungary, the research component of ImGame has also generated a comparative cultural map of immersive aesthetics across different European contexts. From ancient mythologies to theories of the sublime, the project ties together a diverse array of cultural reference points to offer users a richly contextualised encounter with digital art.
ImGame is not just a serious game or a VR prototype; it is a model for how interactive systems can be used to think with, about, and through contemporary art. It demonstrates that gaming can serve not only as entertainment, but as a medium for aesthetic education, critical reflection, and public access to complex cultural ideas.