This is the presentation I gave to the government round table at GCAP. Present there were representatives from Screen Australia, Film Victoria, The Office for the Arts, State Government, and others. During the discussion, PricewaterhouseCooper presented details from their Australian Entertainment and Media Outlook, the IGEA talked about their recent Digital Australia report looking at changing audience information, and I was asked to talk about games and culture.
Unlike last year’s talk where I tried to give a reframing argument of how to think and talk about games and culture, I – quite last minute – decided to look at the part of creative industries that haven’t had as much exposure in recent discussions about games and government support or interest – that of the essential maker communities. Continue reading →
At the very real risk of overexposure, I’ll be speaking about my usual mix of games, writing, and Freeplay related stuff at:
The ATOM Screen Futures conference on Sunday 10th July, 12:00 – 1:00
Teaching games and games literacy
While videogames sit firmly in the limelight, there is a whole world of games out there that are more accessible, more easily read, and which teach tangible skills that can feed into digital games and interactive development.
Drawing from a recent Department of Education and Early Chidhood Development research project into teaching games and games literacy, this session will look at games and design from physical and pervasive games, board games, improvisation, experimentation, and design exercises with the aim of separating out the creative skills from the technical and providing a base to support greater games literacy in the classroom – whether or not the final outcome is a digital game or something else.
Monash University’s Computer Games Boot Camp on Thursday July 14th talking about writing for games and indie development.
The next TEDxMelbourne event on the evening of Tuesday July 19th talking about Gaming and Innovation.
VITTA‘s annual ICT Week event at BMW Edge on Wednesday July 27th talking about the changing shape of the industry and what that means for students & careers.
I’ll also be running on of their TwitterFEST sessions on play and the creative process, building on and discussing my piece in The Reader that you can read online here.
Through Freeplay, we’ve also organised a few playful storytelling things with them. Head over to the event on their website or Freeplay to learn more.
Early June, I’ll be up in Brisbane to talk at the IGDA / Creative Industry Precinct’s Game On program. There isn’t much detail on the site, but this is what I’ll be talking about:
The words we use to describe the space we work in – development, industry, culture, community – all describe structures built, either deliberately or as a byproduct of other processes, by people. In the face of a shifting industrial landscape, how can we build new structures that might better reflect how we’d like to live and work, what would the values of such a community look like, and what does it mean to connect with a wider creative, critical, and artistic culture? This year’s Freeplay will explore these ideas – along with many others – but before it does, co-director Paul Callaghan will talk about some of the history and philosophy behind Freeplay, what to expect from this year’s event, and what to think about into 2012 and beyond.
Everyone has an idea for the best game ever, the most awesome combination of favourite game x plus sensational game y, but what is it really like to be a game designer? These panellists talk about the experience of designing a game for the first time.
Game Stories: How to make yours much, much better.
Panel presentation with Mark Angeli and Jackie Turnure - powerpoint
There are many ways to tell an interactive narrative – scripted sequences, cut scenes, emergent storylines to name a few – our panel of expers will argue about when to use what to improve your story and whether you need one at all.
Burning down the Shed.
Chair of panel with Greg Costikyan, Mark Angeli, and Katharine Neil
This is our Australian Indie Answer to the GDC’s ‘Burning down the house’ session. Angry game developers vent their spleen.
