Hello! Believe it or not, the Playing the Calm project is still alive, although progressing in very small steps. During the 2025/2026 academic year, I would like to celebrate the following milestones:
- Paradise lost: Childhood as a mythical space in Boku no Natsuyasumi and bokunatsulike games. The publication of an English-language journal article, admittedly behind a paywall, co-authored with my main academic reference, Víctor Navarro Remesal. In this piece, we connect bokunatsu-like games with the concept of furusato. Catalan Journal of Communication & Cultural Studies.
- Los Bokunatsu-like y la estética de la lentitud y lo cotidiano. The publication of a book chapter in Spanish, also co-authored with Víctor Navarro Remesal. Unfortunately, I cannot share the chapter publicly. However, it can be purchased through the following link. There is also a video that explains some of its main ideas. In a way, this may be the first text that most clearly defines what we mean by bokunatsu-like.
- Japanese childhoods, Time Travel and Moral Quandaries: From Hajimari no Mori to The Kids We Were / 日本の子供時代、タイムトラベル、そして道徳的苦悩: 『はじまりの森』から『忘れないで、おとなになっても。』へ. The publication of an English-language article, freely available in the journal Replaying Japan. Although the journal is not indexed, it is an honor for me to have published there because of my connection to Ritsumeikan University. In some sense, it is my way of expressing gratitude for the warm welcome I received during my predoctoral research stay. In this article, I apply questions of moral dilemmas to a number of very specific case studies.
And now that the summer of 2026 is here, I am going to try to sit down and write the book that I have been wanting to craft with such care and patience. Wish me luck!
Playing the Calm 