In 2016, a group of students at PUC-Rio gathered to create an interdisciplinary initiative to study and practice games – known today as Rio PUC Games (RPG). This movement is composed by students from different undergraduate courses, mostly Design, in which they operate on functions pertinent to game development: arts, programming, game design and production. Recognizing RPG as a singular initiative, the object of this thesis was to investigate it, seeking to describe, characterize and understand in which ways their activities can inspire new educational practices in the context of game design. Starting with a bibliographic review that spanned – beyond the classic literature on play and games – new paradigms arising from the cognitive sciences, cultural anthropology and computer science, we build a theoretical foundation on the ludic formation of society – from what is defined as the ludic spirit – and the expressive and persuasive potential of games. Next, we describe and analyze the characteristics of the video game industry, both national and international, by means of a critical discourse that pointed to its most current challenges. Additionally, we present and comment on the curriculum of relevant educational institutions dedicated to this field aiming at discussing which professional profiles are being prioritized; we then present the Design in Digital Media program at PUC-Rio and its curricular course. Finally, through a participatory observation that was conducted over almost three years, we analyzed the Rio PUC Games initiative in terms of its philosophy, structure, dynamics and practices, works and contributions, concluding that, in fact, RPG built a model of teaching where not only technical skills in games are developed, but also fundamental qualities for the professional of the 21st century, such as autonomy, confidence, organization, resilience, cooperation, leadership and companionship.