PLAY16 - Creative Gaming Festival » Day 1 (Thursday, November 3rd 2016)

PLAY Show: The Players’ Bodies

Karin — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 18:38:24 +0000

How do we control game figures? Why do we almost always play games sitting down and what is the ultimate virtual reality (VR) experience? What about game accessibility? We will take a look at what is happening in front of the display. Game designer Alistair Aitcheson, JAM! member Beyza Öztaşkın of Aktion Mensch, virtual reality expert Katie Goode and podcaster Gunnar Lott will discuss the role of the actual game players.

PLAY Show will be moderated by Uke Bosse assisted by Gunnar Krupp. Musical accompaniment is provided by the Krachkisten Orchestra.

Both English and German will be used during PLAY Show.

Conference Impulse (Day 1): Players and Characters – The Role of Bodies in Gaming (English)

Christina Kutscher — Wed, 03 Aug 2016 20:17:11 +0000

How are game figures controlled? This clearly with a controller, mouse or keyboard; however, no figure moves without us, the players. In a very real sense we enter into the game space by reinventing ourselves as avatars in this virtual world. The role of the player’s body can be examined from several perspectives.

Dr. Sky LaRell Anderson is visiting Assistant Professor at Denison University and is a game designer. His PhD. dissertation investigated the following four types of computer game bodies: 3^rd Person figures in action games; the role of the body within the context of the streaming platform Twitch.tv; the fitness game Wii Fit U and the playing habits of players interested in mobile games. In his Conference Impulse, he examines what happens to our bodies in front of the display while we are playing.

The Conference Impulse will be held in English.

Conference Workshop I: Game Accessibility

Christina Kutscher — Wed, 03 Aug 2016 20:41:20 +0000

Conference Workshop II: Gaming Interfaces Beyond WASD (English)

Christina Kutscher — Wed, 03 Aug 2016 20:42:02 +0000

Why do we always play sitting down? What game control possibilities exist beyond game pads and WASD? With “Urban Invention” Amelie Künzler and Sandro Engel have adopted an unusual approach to virtual worlds. With Sisyfox the player controls the figures using a gymnastic ball; with ActiWait traffic light circuitry becomes a Pong playing field. In their workshop at the PLAY Conference they will present and discuss innovative game control possibilities.

The workshop will be held in English.

Conference Workshop III: Prospects and Challenges of Virtual and Augmented Reality (English)

Christina Kutscher — Wed, 03 Aug 2016 20:49:47 +0000

With the release of devices like the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift, the previously quite exclusive worlds of virtual and augmented reality became available to the wide public. Game developers worldwide have started delving into these new worlds, often sadly running into many issues that have been previously investigated in 40 years of virtual reality research.

The point of this workshop is to showcase the vast possibilities and the challenges of virtual and augmented reality and to give the participants a glimpse of previous research to seed new ideas and to ease their first steps in this field.

Furthermore, the participants will have the possibility to try out several VR/AR experiences and discuss these in the context of this workshop.

The Workshop will be held in English.

Conference Workshop IV: A Media Educational View on Games and Theater

Christina Kutscher — Wed, 03 Aug 2016 20:50:38 +0000