Grand Text Auto

For Immediate Release

January 22, 2014

Hanover, NH — A photograph or a piece of film might stay in a library storage box for one hundred years and be seen by very few visitors. What if that image or that film could be digitized and posted online, so that the public could not only see it, but help librarians discover its subject? Or identify the speaker in an archival video? And what if the public could contribute that new knowledge through play?

We are excited to launch Play Southend, an online game to imagine the future of Southend-On-Sea in the UK, tomorrow at the Village Green arts and music festival! Play Southend draws on open participatory techniques to develop a collective vision of the town created by its communities. In the game, players — of all ages and experiences — take on challenges, such as obstacles and prizes, that are entirely created by community members. Players play over time and the world grows through endless drawings.

The first ever “Different Games” conference in 2013 was a resounding success. What a receptive community and the organizers, presenters, and attendees were all passionate, smart, and offered so much as game designers, writers, and researchers. I’ve never been to a conference that started off by following an inclusiveness statement, and now that I have, I think it is a great idea to get folks on the same page and open for what is to come. I sat in on the Queering Games panel run by Naomi Clark and Riley MacLeod; then went to the Twine workshop and read great IF/games by the Twine community. After that, there was a tremendous modding exercise of Awkward Moment where huge groups make their own in order to provoke discussion.

The world we live in is constantly changing, and there has been a shift toward looking for new solutions to old problems through creative thinking. I have a great interest in social change through social enterprise and the ways in which organizations can strategize to maximize improvements in people’s well being. My work at Tiltfactor has only expanded my interest in making change in the world through creative thinking. As a former Mathematics major, I learned how to break down difficult problems into a series of tractable steps in order to find a solution. I was taught the habit of critical thinking: testing my conclusions to make sure they are based on adequate data and accurate reasoning. As necessary as this thinking is, I felt that I did not “think outside the box” enough. I was challenged but not challenged outside of my analytical thinking skills. I was looking for answers without really developing and acknowledging the ways in which I was getting there. The work I have done at Tiltfactor, especially having the opportunity to participate in game design, has allowed me to dive into my creative thinking and incorporate it not only to my work at the lab but outside of it as well.

What a busy summer at the Tiltfactor Laboratory! As we have been preparing for GenCon and working on our games, we also spent some time at the AVA Gallery in Lebanon, NH hosting a Gamecrafting Workshop for local youth.

We had a wonderful week getting to know our campers and helping them design games! On Monday, campers played games such as Awkward Moment™ and Battleship to learn about games and what makes a game fun. On Tuesday, campers incorporated the game design ideas they learned from Dr. Flanagan and the Tilt staff to create the first prototypes of their games.

(PDF version here)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
cont…@tiltfactor.org
603.646.1007

Tiltfactor Laboratory is pleased to announce that ZOMBIEPOX™ has been selected for the IndieCade showcase at the 2012 annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) trade show at the Los Angeles Convention Center from June 5th to June 7th. E3 is presented by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and is the world’s premier trade show for video game and related industries, with last year’s attendance peaking at 46,800.
http://www.e3expo.com/

Attention NH/VT Upper Valley kids!

The Tilt team is heading to the library, and we’re bringing our games with us!

On November 12th, we will bring many classic games (such as Set, Uno, and Apples to Apples) as well as our own mid-design stage games for some fun times.

We hope you’ll join us as with games, it’s always the more the merrier!

Game Day
Saturday, Nov. 12
1-4PM
Lebanon Public Library

Mark your Calendars!

It looks like we have a bound book date for Critical Play, Mary Flanagan’s new book! The time is now! watch for it.

Eric Zimmerman says, “In Critical Play, Flanagan uncovers a secret history of games buried deep inside folk culture, experimental media, and the world of art. Critical Play should be required reading for anyone who cares about the cultural importance and future potential of games.”

Tiltfactor says, “HURRAY!” and is exited to launch the book.

Look what we’ve done to Hanover!  <the mobile unit PLAYCUBE in action>

The PLAYCUBE, our unique mobile exhibition space, has been home to two events since its arrival on campus last week– and these have been entirely unusual + much fun! We’ve attracted an interesting cross section of students, faculty, staff, and community members; the most compelling aspect of the project thus far for me is the way in which the mobile unit attracts curious passersby to engage with creative ideas– and especially those who might not frequent arts events or a museum.

www.jesperjuul.com
gambit.mit.edu

Juul believes that there’s something missing from academic game studies.

We are beginning to understand that games are not static artifacts. Games are dynamically created and changed by the players who engage with them and the cultures within which they are played. Each play session is a completely different experience with different motivating factors and very different meanings.

Games can be:
-rule based systems that you master
– fictional worlds that you imagine
– social phenomena that you play with other people
– self-expressions that show who you are.