the PLAYCUBE is home to a performative sweatshop today as students trace where all of their 'free campus t-shirts' come from; taking place on the Dartmouth College campus, 1-3pm today. Next week, on the 26th of August, we will host a locally produced Machinima show...
It looks like we have a bound book date for Critical Play, Mary Flanagan's new book! The time is now! watch for it. Eric Zimmerman says, "In Critical Play, Flanagan uncovers a secret history of games buried deep inside folk culture, experimental media, and the...
Look what we've done to Hanover! <the mobile unit PLAYCUBE in action> The PLAYCUBE, our unique mobile exhibition space, has been home to two events since its arrival on campus last week-- and these have been entirely unusual + much fun! We've attracted an interesting cross section...
Why we don’t spend more time playing games? Why is experiencing games viewed as less beneficial than spending the same amount of time reading a book?
For many reasons. I think that the graphic nature of virtual games, games that hand visualizations directly to the reader, make “reading” a bit easier; players don’t have to imagine anything, and rarely have time to apply what they are visualizing to their real lives. The frantic pace of most digital play leaves little room or time for reflection. Location: 304 North Fairbanks (near Thayer Dining, same white building as Tucker Found but different entrance). Time: 4-7pm Date: Tues, May 12th Join us for a TILTFACTOR OPEN HOUSE! ENCOUNTER our research with the National Science Foundation, Microsoft, Values at Play, and the Games and Learning Institute! PLAY our...
Check out local news footage here. Seven people were arrested at a war protest in Northeast Philadelphia this early May at a $12 million military gaming center at a mall which uses simulators (a-la America's Army) to lure in potential soldiers at age 13 and up.
So far the center has recruited twice as efficiently as rival, non-digital centers.
“War is not a game!” "You can't simulate the heat. You can't you know the cries of people who are getting killed. You can't simulate the noise when things are exploding around you," said Jesse Hamilton, an Iraq War Veteran who served in the Army.
The Army Experience Center presents the teenagers with video games in hopes that they might learn about life in the military. At least the Army believes games to be be educational!
Mary was recently interviewed for a new podcast interview featuring Tiltfactor along with Suzanne Seggerman. The discussion focused on games for change and is part of a cool series over at the Brainy Gamer. Everyone's preparing for the Games for Change festival in NYC --...
David Teten at The Virtual Handshake took some good notes from Friday's "Game Theory/Play Money" panel where our own Dr. Mary Flanagan spoke. I missed the event because I was working with students at a Center for 21st Century Skills meeting in Connecticut. All...
I love Massively Multiplayer Soba because it is simple and it works. In an academic paper, I might say the game explores tolerance and diversity by facilitating inter-cultural exchanges around regional cuisine. But really, Soba just gets strangers talking about food. We live in a country flayed by partisan divides, with too much time spent thinking about trivial differences. Even in New York where people from all over live side by side, it’s rare for us to take the time to interact with each other. But games give people excuses to be extroverts. And food is a universal passion. With Soba, we give strangers an excuse to discuss commonalities, and the results are just good.
This Saturday come join the Tiltfactor team at the 2008 Conflux Festival for the launch of our first urban game: Massively Multiplayer Soba. Participants will have the chance to explore some of the culinary/cultural mash-ups that make New York so unique. We'll be meeting new...