PLAY15

PLAY invites international games experts to Hamburg in September

Hamburg, 24 August, 2015 – At 17th and 18th of September, the international PLAY Conference invites scientists, game designer, teaching students and game enthusiasts for the second time to Hamburg in order to deal with the „system computer game“ and „Playing with feelings“ in talks with high-quality guests. Among those, there is the well-known scientist and game designer Aki Järvinen (FI) and game directors of the popular episodic adventure „Life is Strange“, Raoul Barbet and Michel Koch from DONTNOD Entertainment (FR).

The PLAY Conference takes place annually as part of the established PLAY creative video gaming festival by the Creative Gaming e.V. This year’s symposium will be at the InnovationsCampus of the Handelskammer Hamburg.

„Last year the PLAY Conference could be established internationally as a platform for cultural scientific and education-orientated discourse regarding digital games” say Vera Marie Rodewald and Christiane Schwinge, who both are in charge of the PLAY Conference. “Accordingly, we are excited to welcome considerable speakers this year and therefore contribute to the perception of computer games as a medium in our society.

The 17th September is dedicated to the topic “system computer game”. During the keynote “digital games as systems” Aki Järvinen explains the GameGame – a playful approach he developed that allows a systematic approach of digital games.
Afterwards, Silke Zimmermann and Dr. Ralf Nemetschek (Nemetschek Stiftung), Dr. Judith Ackermann (Universität Siegen | playin’ siegen), Stefan Wacker (Daedalic Entertainment) and Andreas Hedrich (Initiative Creative Gaming) take a systematic look at computer games. They discuss in how far computer games can be used for education or science or how digital gaming cultures and be transferred to being analogue.

The second day of the conference, “playing with feelings” at the 18th September, will analyse the connection between emotions and digital games from different points of view. During the talk with specialised journalist Uke Bosse Raoul Barbet and Michel Koch, the makers of “Life is Strange”, which set new standards with its narrative style and aesthetics for the adventure genre, talk about the depiction and effect of emotions in digital games.
In respective workshops Prof. Dr. Martin Butz and Fabian Schrodt (university of Tübingen), Rune Kristian Lundedal Nielsen (IT University of Copenhagen), media scientist Felix Schröter (university of Hamburg) and Dipl.-Kulturwissenschaftler Christian Huberts will question how emotions are triggered in digital games, which emotions gamers experience and which role those emotions play regarding artificial intelligences.

Finally, all speakers invite everyone to a mutual talk at the PLAY Show at 16:30h at Terrace Hill in the media bunker, Feldstraße.

The detailled schedule as well as further information can be found at the website www.play-conference.de. Information on PLAY15 – creative video gaming festival can be found at the festival’s website www.play15.de or the facebook page www.facebook.com/play.festival.germany.

Concerning the PLAY Conference and PLAY – creative video gaming festival:
Since 2014 the PLAY Conference takes place as a specialised conference for a social political and education-orientated examination of digital games during the PLAY creative video gaming festival. PLAY15 is directed towards pupils, teacher, students, scientists, people from the gaming industry and those who are interested in culture. Everyone, across all ages and not only from Hamburg, are invited to discover the multiple possibilities that digital games offer, try them out and to explore their creative potential.

Concerning the initiative Creative Gaming e.V.:
Since 2007 the initiative Creative Gaming e.V. organises further education, workshops and an annual nationwide festival that emphasises the media pedagogical and artistic aspects of the creative use of digital games. The initiative supports an alternative and artistic handling with digital games and thus offers concrete opportunities for actions for students, teachers and parents so that a creative and critical involvement can be achieved.

Simultaneously, the various events of the initiative offer exciting insights in the vocational world of the gaming branch.

Further information
If you have questions or photo inquiries, please contact Tina Ziegler
telephone: 0174-4440454 or 04521-84899-45
tina.ziegler@creative-gaming.eu / www.PLAY15.de