PLAY16 - Creative Gaming Festival » PLAY Conference

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.

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 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 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

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.