The Art of Play

The Art of Play
Symposium and Arcade
March 31 + April 1

Can video games be art?
http://www.theartofplay.com/
That will be the topic of exploration when the School of Art at Carnegie Mellon University and the Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) host The Art of Play Symposium and Arcade, a two-day event on March 31 and April 1 exploring games as a unique expressive medium. The Symposium brings together a diverse group of researchers, artists and game developers to survey the games that can inspire us with their unique creative vision, and to frame the medium moving forward.

A complete schedule of events along with speaker biographies can be found at http://www.theartofplay.com/. For more information, call 412-268-2409 or e-mail artscool@andrew.mcu.edu.

EVENTS INCLUDE:

++ A two-day exhibition in which attendees can check out groundbreaking art, independent, and commercial games. The arcade is curated by Kokoromi, a Montreal-based group that creates and promotes experimental gameplay.

++ DAY 1: guests can see presentations by Heather Kelley of Kokoromi, Randy Smith of Electronic Arts LA, Jason Rohrer of Arthouse Games and Jesse Schell, a professor in the ETC.

++ DAY 2: features Game Arcade, the Poetics of Gameplay Master Class, in which 12 Carnegie Mellon students will present games and receive feedback from the symposium guests. The symposium finishes with a panel discussion and an after party. There will also be tours of the ETC.

++ PLUS: EXTRA LIFE AFTERPARTY
brillobox / penn & main / lawrenceville
all-ages, cmu private party, 7-10pm
21+ open dance party, 10-2am
with djs: hoof & beek (pgh) gemini radio (la)
dynamic light: megamu (pgh)

All events are held in the College of Fine Arts or Margaret Morrison-Carnegie Hall on the Oakland campus. Shuttles will be provided for transportation to the off-campus ETC.

For a primer on the size of the video game industry, the process of producing games and the “are video games art?” question, listen to a LAB A6 podcast with Kelley, Rod Humble of Electronic Arts and computer science student Gregory Peng at http://www.cmu.edu/cfa/labA6.html.