[game_edu] Meaningful Play 2016 next week!

[winnb at msu.edu]

Don't miss you opportunity to attend Meaningful Play 2016. Meaningful Play 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 20 - October 22 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:

*** Six thought-provoking keynotes from leaders in academia and industry, including:

- Jacquelyn Ford Morie, Founder, CEO All These Worlds and CTO The Augmented Traveler Corp
- Richard Lemarchand, Associate Chair, University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts
- Isabela Granic, Professor and Chair, Developmental Psychopathology, Radboud University Nijmegen
- Halcyone "Cy" Wise, Owlmancer, Owlchemy Labs
- Michealene Cristini Risley, Human rights warrior, entrepreneur, storyteller
- Elizabeth LaPensée, Indigenous Game Designer, Michigan State University

*** Seven breakout speaker sessions featuring prominent members of industry and academia, including:

- The Nature and Boundaries of Play Science by Dr. Stuart Brown, M.D., psychiatrist, clinical researcher, founder of the National Institute for Play
- Using the Fundamental Pyramid to Create Engaging Games by Jared Riley 
- History Shaping Design by Julia Keren-Detar 
- Affection Games: The Casual World of Flirting, Hugging, Kissing and Making Love by Lindsay Grace
- Game Design and Tourism: Two Fields that Play Well Together! by Elizabeth Lawley 
- VR Experiences for Kids: Design Best Practices by Tobi Saulnier
- Verby Nouns: A Casual Well Played by Drew Davidson 

*** Over 70 peer-reviewed paper presentations presenting the latest game research coming out of academia, on a various topics such as:

- Gamification
- Beyond Just Crunching Numbers: Games for Learning Math and Science
- Thinking Differently about Games 4 Learning
- Games, Ethics and Rhetoric
- Classroom is a Game: Technological and Educational Insights for Games for Learning
- Understanding Games through the Lens of Narrative
- Gaming for the Sake of Healthy Mind and Body
- The World of MMOs
- Gender and Games
- Motivation, Engagement, and Enjoyment during Gameplay
- Modding: Design and Analysis
- Is it the Age of Dragon Age?
- Game Mechanics and Design Principles
- Game Evaluation
- Games: Legal, Economic, and Policy Insights
- Social Gaming and Collaborative Play
- Games and Data: Between Design and Research
- Observe, Listen, and Learn: Studying Games Using Ethnographic Methodology
- Innovation in Game Design
- Game Design and Designers

*** 10 exciting panel and roundtable discussions, including:

- Teaching Game Design to Various Audiences
- Finding Meaning in Emergent Play and What That Means for Design
- Passages and Pedagogies: Classroom Applications for the Twine Platform
- Meaningful Play Learning Postmortems
- Growing the Game Industry in Michigan: 2016 Update
- Playing with the News
- Keeping the Game a Game: Merging Evaluative Measures with Pedagogical Aims in a Foreign Language Video Game
- Meaningful Play Game Postmortems
- Metaphor and Transformational Game Design
- So What? An Inductive Approach to Developing Models for Serious Game Assessment

*** Eight workshops, including:

- First Person Researcher
- The Transformational Framework: A Pre-production Process for Teams Working on Transformational Games
- The Radical, Inclusive Approach to Learning to Code
- Using Non-digital Play for Facilitation of Learning Goals
- Twine Workshop and Game Jam
- Serious Games and Exercises Typology Workshop
- Integrating Video and Board Games into Classrooms
- Writing and Reviewing for Publication in a Scientific Journal

*** A poster session featuring 21 late-breaking advances and work-in-progress reports from ongoing research or design work

*** An exciting exhibition of over 50 innovative digital and non-digital games!!!

*** Six Special Events

- Conference Party - Chance to mix and mingle with conference goers at the Opening Reception, view late breaking research at the Poster Session, and play "meaningful" games at the Game Exhibition (appetizers and drinks provided).

- Industry/Student Meet'n'Greet - This is a great chance for students to meet with some of the companies attending Meaningful Play and pass on resumes. It is a great opportunity for companies to find fresh talent.

- Pure Michigan Game Exhibition and Celebration - During this energetic game exhibition and celebration, you can play games; meet and mingle with several Michigan-based game developers; and enjoy yourself with drinks and appetizers.

- Conference Wrap Up - Enjoy the provided lunch during the closing keynote with Elizabeth LaPensée, Indigenous Game Designer and professor at Michigan State University.

- Game Room - Build meaningful connections with your fellow conference goers while playing a digital or board game in the Meaningful Play Game Room.

For more details and to register, visit:
http://meaningfulplay.msu.edu