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Living Game Worlds III: "Playing with Reality"
Abstract: This Brown Bag will provide and overview and discussion forum for Living Game Worlds III: "Playing with Reality," scheduled for Thursday, March 29, 2007, at the GVU Center. This year's symposium will focus on games that take on real-world topics in their various forms. It is sometimes challenging to classify these games as "documentary" since more often than not they entail simulation of real-world phenomena rather than documentation of real-world events. These types of games are commonly referred to by terms like "games for change," "persuasive games," "newsgaming," "serious games," and sometimes fall under the rubric of educational gaming, especially where historical incidents are involved. While this is a growing, it is safe to say, booming area, what are the challenges entailed in designing such games? How can we tackle "serious" or real-world topics with a medium that is supposed to be "fun"? Does "playing with reality" mean giving up some of the pleasures of gaming; or can we, just as we did with documentary film, add a new dimension to the audience experience? Can a documentary or nonfiction game have the same impact as say, a nonfiction comic book, such as Art Spiegelman's landmark Maus, or Harvey Pekar's My Cancer Year, by the very contradiction of its medium with its subject matter? This year's symposium will look at a range of genres that explore real-world content or topics as part of a gaming experience, and also address some of the potential risks and pitfalls inherent in merging play with reality. |
