Interdisciplinary Games Symposium

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October 28

4:00pm - 5:30pm

Anderson Academic Commons, Room 301

Audience: Alumni,  Current Student,  Faculty,  Neighbor or Friend,  Prospective Student,  Staff

In “Living in a Scored Society,” Esteban Gomez, associate professor in the Department of Anthropology, will discuss the role gaming plays in a society where actions and practices are rated and scored, shaping everything from your credit worthiness to performance evaluations at the workplace. In this short talk, Professor Gomez will discuss the ways digital capitalism exploits the human drive for play.
 
In “Game Narratives,” Richard Colby, teaching professor in the University Writing Program, will explore the question 'what makes for a good story in a game?' There are plenty of ways to go about embedding narratives in games. Some games like Minecraft rely on emergent narratives, or those that the player brings to the game. Other games rely on scripting everything, some even appearing more like a visual novel. During this symposium, we will talk about stories that resonate, that drive gameplay and connect with players as well as player types and how narrative strategies appeal to different types of players.