Highlights of the Serious Games Summit at GDC 2008

Ben Sawyer noted recently on his serious games listserv that the 2008 Game Developers Conference is coming up Feb. 18-22 in San Francisco. Of most interest during the conference will be the Serious Games Summit. Here are some brief highlights of the summit:

The NSF-Funded WolfQuest (screenshot below) will be featured in a discussion by David Schaller from eduweb. This game has players assuming the roles of wolves in Yellowstone National Park and learning about their habitats and nature. Sawyer and Peter Smith over at U. Central Florida will present a taxonomy for serious games. Sawyer will also serve along with Eric Zimmerman at Gamelab as moderator for a panel discussion on the difficulties of measuring learning in games.

Most all the discussions look very interesting. Check out the Serious Games Summit page for a list of all the topics that will be covered.

CFP: 5th Annual Games For Change

G4C CALL FOR PROPOSALS 2008

Games for Change is happy to announce a call for proposals for the
5th Annual Games for Change Festival on June 2 – 4 at Parsons, the
New School for design in New York City.

PROPOSALS ARE DUE FEBRUARY 11th to events at gamesforchange.org.

Confirmed speakers include Jim Gee and Henry Jenkins in a keynote
conversation (in honor of our Fifth!) and many others!

Exciting new activities and partners are in the works, including a
day-long 101 workshop for those new to the field (aimed especially at
non-profits) on the first day of the festival June 2nd, confirmed
presenters there include Barry Joseph (Global Kids), Eric Zimmerman
(GameLab), Heather Chaplin, (journalist/author) Katie Salen (Gamelab
Institute of Play) Ian Bogost (Persuasive Games) and Alan Gershenfeld
(E-Line Ventures, formerly of Activision). Along with 2 full days of
festival programming on June 3rd and 4th, there will be media and
funders briefings, working group breakfasts, Expo Night and lots of
networking!

For a list of panel criteria, please see below.

Please send your panel proposal to events at gamesforchange.org

We look forward to seeing your proposals! New voices and
perspectives welcome!

Suzanne

CRITERIA:
- The best way to get a sense of what kind of panels we do, please
see our previous events: 2006 & 2007: http://www.gamesforchange.org/
conference/2006
http://www.gamesforchange.org/conference/2007
We are looking for:
- Presenters with both expertise and the ability to communicate their
knowledge effectively and engagingly – don’t be dull!
- Lively discussions rather than dry Powerpoint presentations
- A diversity of opinion is best. Try to include differing
viewpoints, a little constructive conflict, a lively debate
- Panels can be 45 mins, 60 mins or 90 mins (in special circumstances)
- No advertisements! No product presentations or software tutorials
- Show your game during the Expo Night, not during your panel
- You can show parts of the game, gameplay specifics, etc. to
illustrate or clarify a point
- Moderators can be non-experts, though should be well-informed and
good at sparking discussion. Best if they are neutral parties, not
product-promoters. Journalists are great, other possibilities
include professors, department heads, etc. People who speak often in
front of classes or audiences.

Suzanne Seggerman
President, Co-founder
Games for Change
http://www.gamesforchange.org