Game Poetics for Planetary Care Game Jam
For preregistered participants only.
The goal of this workshop is to explore how poetic game experiences can inform digital narratives that support planetary care.听
This practical workshop explores poetry as a lens for designing games, focusing on minimalist game mechanics to bring about an emotionally resonant, poetic experience. Based on Jordan Magnuson鈥檚 framework for poetic game design and Jon Stone鈥檚 concept of ludokinetic poetry, the workshop is grounded in the practical work of game designers and digital poets.听
In this workshop, we direct this lens towards the topic of planetary care, focusing on raising awareness of sustainability and environmental issues, and enabling people to be better equipped for actively engage in planetary care. We urge participants to explore game mechanics that afford poetic experiences can add a systemic, experiential component that allows for unique engagement with themes of planetary care.
The workshop is exploratory and we highlight the value that the design process itself may have for better understanding the poetic potential of game design. The outcome of the workshop are minimalist prototypes that explore and exemplify poetic game design and adapt it to planetary care thinking, which may form the starting point for future submissions to alternative publication channels, for example .听
The workshop is rigged towards graduate students focusing on theoretical, analytical, and design-oriented perspectives on games, interactive narratives, and digital media across disciplines and does not require previous experience with game design or associated software tools.听
The workshop is organized by the Center for Digital Narrative in collaboration with The EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Intelligent Games and Game Intelligence (iGGi). Workshop facilitators are Kristine J酶rgensen (University of Bergen) and Doris C. Rusch (Uppsala University/University of Bergen), with keynotes and guidance by Jason Nelson (University of Bergen), Jordan Magnuson (University of Southampton) and Jon Stone (Anglia Ruskin University).听
Workshop structure:听
Day 1: Getting started听
09.00-09.30: Welcome and introduction, Kristine J酶rgensen, University of Bergen
09.30-10.15: Keynote: Jordan Magnuson, University of Southampton: Games As Poems: Reimagining Videogames Through the Lens of Lyric Poetry
10.15-11.00: Keynote: Jon Stone, Anglia Ruskin University: 鈥淏ut If You鈥檙e Here Then Who鈥檚 Flying the Plane?鈥: A Short Introduction to Ludokinetic Poetry
11.00-10.15: Break听
11.15-12.15: Icebreaker exercise: Doris C. Rusch, Uppsala University and University of Bergen: Embodied Imagination: Poetics from Place and Body听
12.15-13.15: Lunch
13.15-14.00: Keynote: Jason Nelson, University of Bergen: Run! Your work is alive!: Experimental processes in making digital playlands and game-like interfaces
14.00-14.15: Break
14.15-14.30: Group formation听
14.30-16.15: Ideation and conceptualization work, with support from organizers
16.15-17.00: Presentation of selected concepts for tomorrow鈥檚 prototyping
Day 2: Prototyping
09.00-09.15: Welcome and introduction to today鈥檚 goal and work format, by Kristine J酶rgensen听
09.15-12.00: Iterative prototyping in groups, with support from organizers
12.00-13.00: Lunch听
13.00-16.00: Iterative prototyping continued, with support from organizers
16.00-17.00: Presentation of prototypes, sum up and evaluation
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19.00: Dinner, courtesy of iGGi
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Resources:听
In preparation for this workshop, participants should familiarize themselves with the following theoretical framework and design tools:听
Books:听
Magnuson, Jordan (2023). Game Poems. Videogame Design as Lyrical Practice. Amherst. 听[]
Stone, Jon (2022). Dual Wield: The Interplay of Poetry and Videogames. De Gruyter.听
Tool:听
For this workshop, we will focus on the browser-based game editor Bitsy, which is free to use and accessible for beginners.
Bitsy can be accessed here: 听
Tutorial material:
Step by step text tutorial for getting started with Bitsy:
Step by step video tutorial series for getting started with Bitsy:
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Game poem examples:
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Workshop participants:
Group 1:听
Luiza Stepanyan Gossian (Queen Mary University of London)
Oc茅ane Lissillour (University of York)
Elin Fest酶y (Kristiania University College)
Toby Best (Queen Mary University of London)
Group 2:听
Alex Flint (University of York)
Lauren Winter (University of York)
Kristian A. Bj酶rkelo (University of Bergen/Nord University)
Group 3:听
Doruk Balci (University of York)
Philip Smith (Queen Mary University of London)
Haoyuan Tang (University of Bergen)
Group 4:听
Tamsin Isaac (University of York)
Cameron Johnston (Queen Mary University of London)
Tegan Pyke (University of Bergen)
Group 5听
Nicole Levermore (University of York)
George Long (Queen Mary University of London)
Tom Legierse (University of Bergen)
Group 6:听
Joshua Kritz (Queen Mary University of London)
Prakriti Nayak (Queen Mary University of London)
Dom Ford (University of Bergen)
Keynotes:
Jordan Magnuson (University of Southampton)
Jason Nelson (University of Bergen)
Jon Stone (Anglia Ruskin University)
Organizers:
Kristine J酶rgensen (University of Bergen)
Doris C. Rusch (University of Bergen/Uppsala University)