Workshop

Hosted by: Society for Visual Anthropology

Of interest to: Students, Generalists, Practicing/ Applied Anthropologists.

Primary Theme: Practicing / Applied Career Development, Technical Skill Development

(5-0690) Gamer's Workshop: Anthropological Approaches to Game Design

Level of Audience: Beginning

Click here to register for this workshop and add it to your existing Annual Meeting registration.

From Bateson’s and Mead’s “Democracies and Dictators” to Tsing’s and Pollman’s “Global Futures”, anthropologists have taken an interest in designing games to teach and communicate anthropological ideas. In this workshop, we will discuss tabletop, card, roleplaying, and computer games to explore themes in social, behavioral, and cultural theory such as play, cooperation, evolution and change, symbols, and power. The experiential and empathetic qualities of games can be a powerful medium for learning. In this workshop, we will engage gaming from a variety of perspectives, culminating in game design and play-testing. Game designers will introduce game design as a platform for the critique of power and the articulation of marginalized voices. Panelists will discuss and analyze how the narratives and mechanics of games convey meaning and engage players in a worldview. Since many popular games are based on colonial and Eurocentric premises, we will invite participants to reimagine, “hack”, and decolonize games. The workshop includes a creative, hands-on design lab (maker space), facilitated by an experienced game designer, where we will learn about the basic elements of game design. Workshop participants will develop games based on anthropological theory and method. We will prototype and play-test the games produced in the workshop, as well as other anthro-inspired games and arcade games, during #AnthropologyCon II at the Hammer Theatre Center (off-site). For more information on the events taking place at #AnthropologyCon II, visit: www.anthropologycon.org
 

Learning Objectives:

• Design games using a variety of different media and platforms.
• Connect anthropological research and pedagogy to game design.
• Critique neo-liberal gamification using anthropological concepts and research.

Organizer(s)

• Samuel Collins

  Professor
  Towson University

• Krista Harper

  Professor
  University of Massachusetts Amherst

Workshop Presenter(s)

• Marc Lorenc

  University of Massachusetts Amherst

• Matthew Durington

  Towson University