In the last game project I've been involved in, we designed and implemented the media literacy videogame Data Defenders (2024). You can play it on Android or iOS or in your computer.


Nelson Zagalo is Full Professor of Digital Media at the University of Aveiro. His research focuses on the intersection of human experience and technology, with an increasing focus on meaning-making in Human-AI Interaction. He serves as the Scientific Coordinator of DigiMedia - Digital Media and Interaction Research Center.

He founded the Portuguese Society for Videogame Sciences and the Journal of Digital Media & Interaction. Over the years, he has worked as a scientific and technological consultant for companies, European and national funding programs, and higher education accreditation bodies.

He has coordinated and participated in more than twenty research projects with competitive national or European funding, and is the author of over two hundred peer-reviewed publications across journals, books, and international conferences.

Nelson is the author of Interactive Emotions, from Film to Videogames (2009), Videogames in Portugal: History, Technology and Art (2013), and Engagement Design. Designing for Interaction Motivations (2020). Artificial Media (2025) is coming out this July.

He published the blog Virtual Illusion (2003–2023) and now writes at Mirrors of Thought.


For his academic record, visit Ciencia Vitae, ORCID and follow work on Google Scholar, ResearchGate and SCOPUS.
To follow his presence on social media, see LinkedIn or  GoodReads.