PLAY16 - Creative Gaming Festival » Day 2 (Friday, November 4th 2016)

PLAY Show: Bodies in Games

Christina Kutscher — Mon, 01 Aug 2016 22:28:58 +0000

Pixel Look or Photorealism: What are the current technical trends that define how game figures are configured? How are bodies depicted in games and what roles do diversity, sexuality and gender play in the depictions? We will confront the Avatars face to face. Sebastian Kalemba, Animation Director of „The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt “, media expert Andreas Rauscher, character designer and blogger Anjin Anhut and media pedagogue Stephan Schölzel will discuss the development and depiction of computer game figures.

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 2): Avatar or Human? Motion Capturing in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (English)

Karin — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 18:29:02 +0000

Avatar or human? Computer game figures have gone through a tremendous development process over the past decades. The trusted pixel look has been superseded by photorealism. With increasing frequency, figures are depicted by actors and actresses. Motion Capture is the technology whereby motion tracking is used to record the gestures and facial expressions of real actors and to transfer them into a computer game.

Witcher 3: Wild Hunt which was released in 2015 was developed using Motion Capture. Sebastian Kalemba, Animation Director of CD Project RED, will discuss how computer game figures can be given authenticity and what is the actual role of an actor or actress in this process.

The Conference Impulse will be given in English.

Conference Workshop V: The Role of Gender and Games in Media Education

Christina Kutscher — Wed, 03 Aug 2016 20:51:12 +0000

“Zocken mit Sinn” (Gaming with mind) is a series of workshops for children and teenager, founded by the “infocafe” in order to develop a place for gamer and pedagogs to discover digital games. One of the most exciting and interesting topics is the depiction of gender in games. “Gender and Games” are two workshops that discuss the role of gender and sexuality in games as well as the way we handle them. In this Conference Workshop, Stephan Schölzel of “infocafe Neu Isenburg” highlights the methods and discoveries of gender-sensitive work in the field of digital games and encourages the participants to become active within this field.

Conference Workshop VI: Representation of Ethnic Minorities in Games (English)

Christina Kutscher — Wed, 03 Aug 2016 20:45:43 +0000

The end of the 19^th Century: Players embark on journeys of discovery and encounter native peoples and previously unknown tribes. With the September release of expedition simulation, Curious Expedition, the Indie Game Design Studio “Maschinen-Mensch” has not only developed a fascinating colonial period adventure, it has also created an interesting context for the problem of the representation of ethnic minorities in computer games. Johannes Kristmann and Mareike Ottrand will demonstrate how diversity can be molded into computer games.

The workshop will be held in English.

Conference Workshop VII: Bodies in Games in the Course of Time (English)

Christina Kutscher — Wed, 03 Aug 2016 20:43:13 +0000

How has the depiction of the body changed over the course of the history of video games? In this workshop Andreas Rauscher looks into this question and positions body depiction in games as it relates to interfaces and game mechanics. The following three points will be examined and will serve as the analytical method for exploring this question: Aesthetics (figure and setting); Game Mechanics (rules and gameplay) and Interface (use of the player’s body).

The workshop will be held in English

Conference Workshop VIII: Diseases in Games

Christina Kutscher — Wed, 03 Aug 2016 20:51:47 +0000