icould - choosing a games degree

http://icould.com/article/choosing-a-games-degree/

PLAYFUL 2010

24th Sept 2010 at Conway Hall - here's a summary of an interesting and enjoyable event:

Clashing with PICNIC in Amsterdam - check out at http://www.picnicnetwork.org/  
Toby Barnes (Mudlark) and remotely Stuart Candy (Futuryst) introduce proceedings...
HG Wells - Floor Games and Little Wars

Naomi Alderman - narrative in games
http://www.naomialderman.com
Raph Koster - Ola's Law - http://www.raphkoster.com/gaming/laws.shtml
Quickstart a narrative with desire, fear, secrets, character development.
Games generally written in second person, which is unusual - it happens to you - so the pleasure of getting to know a character is mitigated by giving the player autonomy over decisions the character can make; and character becomes necessarily bland or ambiguous.
Recommended interactive fiction - All Roads, Slouching towards Bedlam, The Act of Misdirection.
And games - Bioshock, Silent Hill, Shadow of the Colossus, Prince of Persia Sands of Time

Paul Bennun - http://www.somethinelse.com 
Papa Sangre, new audio game - http://www.papasangre.com/ - lose yourself in the game, freedom from the screen.

Jim - http://www.madeinme.com
Ladybird did it for books, Sesame Street for tv, so The Land if Me aims to inspire pre-school kids - without any traditional educational 'measureable outcomes'.
Toys vs. games - the game/play is not predetermined in a toy, depends who picks it up.  Where there's interest, there's learning.

Bea-Davy Sutherland - ethical games
Checks out Moshi Monsters and Club Penguin - http://vimeo.com/15278745

Nicholas Nova - evolution of game controllers
Neat tactile feedback on direction control cross.

Pat Kane - http://www.theplayethic.com/
http://oldjewstellingjokes.com/
Dispirited by Frankie Boyle's sardonic humour, but understanding its value as a social pressure valve ... temporary transcendence from routine and acceptance of life.  Also humour keeps alive the prospect of hope, represents a permanent oasis of cognitive freedom 
Paolo Virno - Wit and Innovation http://www.generation-online.org/p/fp_virno13.htm

Richard Hogg - contrarian
... makes choices based on being in the minority in everything ...

Tom Muller - http://www.hellomuller.com/
Graphic design in comics.

Jonathon Smith - Lego games
Our deepest conflict - what we really, really want vs. what is expected of us.
Lego - has infinite possibilities, systematised, has both overt and discreet affordances, can attain mastery.
In video games, there is conflict between freedom and constraints.  Particularly noticeable in boys over 5 (after school kicks in) is the dramatic orientation towards finding and dealing with expectations, rather than free play, which has informed the design of the games.

Spots vs. Stripes - http://www.spotsvstripes.com/homepage.aspx

Cadbury Pocket Games competition finalists - James Wallis (FlickRacer) and Sally (Eggathon).
Guy Debord - The Society of the Spectacle, psychogeography, 'sous les paves, la plage'

ShiftRunStop - http://shiftrunstop.co.uk/
Podcast with Dominik Diamond

Sebastian Deterding - http://cargocollective.com/codingconduct
Talking about gamification, badges and stats used as marketing tools. But real play has to be voluntary.  Theodore Sturgeon
James Carse - Finite and infinite games - http://www.worldtrans.org/pos/infinitegames.html

Margaret Robertson - Hide & Seek
What is Mindcraft?

Bertrand Duplat - http://www.volumique.com/en/
Paper video games - pawns and cards on top of ipads, iphones sailing on top of maps

Alexis Kennedy - Fail Better Games
Narrative engineers created Echo Bazaar (Fall London) and why gamers enjoy delicious misery.

Dom Hodge - Frukt -  and Dave Haynes - SoundCloud
Music mashups, smule, geocaching music, disco snake, isticks, other hack-day musical ideas