Gökçen Göksel was born in Istanbul to become a part of a big family whose roots are in Adana. Gökçen Göksel’s work in culture and games was inspired by long summer journeys with her family. She discovered unique local games from different regions during these vacations. Following visits to museums and ancient cities in each province, she realized her greatest passion is discovering new places.

Upon realizing her will to visit other cities as a part of her profession in the future, she decided to study in Travel and Tour Management field both at high school and university.  She continually came across remnants of old games in every ancient city and museum she visited during her studies. She began working to raise awareness of games carved on stones, which had gone unnoticed by many people. Initially compiling traditional and ancient games through in-depth archive research, Gökçen established the Oyun Atlası social initiative in 2018. The initiative aims to hand down cultural heritage through games and revive ancient ones. The initiative also manufactures traditional games with sustainable materials and passes down information about traditional games through workshops. Gökçen defines the Oyun Atlası as “the story of people who are passionate about games, seek their true selves in the labyrinth, and those who want to protect our shared heritage, game traditions and the gaming culture that have budded in these lands. It is the story of those who revive, witness, take part in, pave the way for, and tell the story of games."

Gökçen Göksel has successfully introduced approximately 1,500 people of all ages to the concepts of memory, game and culture through the workshops of Oyun Atlası.

Striving to revive old games and promote the relationship and communication-strengthening qualities of games, Gökçen Göksel continues to make a difference in the lives of game afficionados by passing down cultural heritage through traditional and ancient games with her Oyun Atlası.