[game_edu] Meaningful Play 2008 Early Registration Ends Sept. 8

[Brian Winn]

Meaningful Play 2008 is an interdisciplinary academic conference that  
explores the potential of games to entertain, inform, educate, and  
persuade in meaningful ways.

The conference takes place October 9 - October 11 in East Lansing,  
Michigan USA and is hosted by Michigan State University.

The conference is for game designers, researchers, and students. The  
two primary themes of the conference are "exploring meaningful  
applications of games" and "issues in designing meaningful play". The  
first theme includes an examination of games (of all types) from  
primarily an academic research perspective. The second theme focuses  
on much more practical knowledge from the front-line of actual design,  
development, and use of games for meaningful purposes.

The conference includes thought-provoking keynotes from leaders in  
academia and industry, peer-reviewed paper presentations, panel  
sessions (including academic and industry discussions), roundtable  
discussions, an exciting poster session, and an exhibition of games.

The final keynote line-up for Meaningful Play 2008 includes:
*	Richard Hilleman, Chief Creative Office, Electronic Arts
*	Ian Bogost, Associate Professor at the Georgia Tech and Founding  
Partner at Persuasive Games LLC
*	Leigh Anne Cappello, Vice President and Play Futurist with the  
Future Now division of Hasbro
*	Ute Ritterfeld, Professor for Media Psychology at VU University  
Amsterdam and co-founded the Center for Advanced Media Research  
Amsterdam (CAMeRA at VU)
*	Nick Fortugno, co-founder and President of Rebel Monkey
*	Tracy Fullerton, Associate Professor in the Interactive Media  
Division of the USC School of Cinematic Arts and Director of the  
Electronic Arts Game Innovation Lab

The early registration for the conference ends September 8, 2008.

More details are available at:
http://meaningfulplay.msu.edu