Meaningful Play 2008 Conference Overview
Whether designed to entertain or for more “serious” purposes, games have the potential to impact players’ beliefs, knowledge, attitudes, emotions, cognitive abilities, and behavior.
Meaningful Play 2008 is an interdisciplinary academic conference that explores the potential of games to entertain, inform, educate, and persuade in meaningful ways. The conference includes thought-provoking keynotes from leaders in academia and industry, peer-reviewed paper presentations, panel sessions (including academic and industry discussions), innovative workshops, roundtable discussions, and exhibitions of games.
Conference News
September 24, 2008 - The final conference schedule is now available. See program for details.
September 3, 2008 - The tentative conference schedule is now available. See program for details.
August 26, 2008 - Richard Hilleman, Chief Creative Officer for Electronic Arts, announced as confirmed keynote speaker. See program for details.
August 15, 2008 - Tracy Fullerton, game designer, educator and writer, announced as confirmed keynote speaker. See program for details.
August 10, 2008 - Leigh Anne Cappello, play futurist, announced as confirmed keynote speaker. See program for details.
July 14, 2008 - Paper submission deadline past - still time to submit games, posters, panels, workshop, speaker, and roundtable proposals. See call for submissions for details.
June 30, 2008 - Ian Bogost announced as confirmed keynote speaker. See program for details.
June 23, 2008 - Presentation submission deadline has been extended to July 13, 2008. See call for submissions for details.
June 5, 2008 - Nick Fortugno and Ute Ritterfeld announced as first two confirmed keynote speakers. See program for details.
April 21, 2008 - Meaningful Play 2008 special issue of the International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations (IJGCMS) announced. See call for submissions for details.
March 26, 2008 - Call for games for Meaningful Play 2008 is now available.
March 14, 2008 - Call for submissions for Meaningful Play 2008 is now available.
March 12, 2008 - Michigan State University is excited to announce the upcoming Meaningful Play conference to take place October 9-11, 2008 on the campus of Michigan State University.
Keynote Line-Up
The final keynote line-up for Meaningful Play 2008 includes:
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Ian Bogost, Associate Professor, Georgia Tech and Founding Partner, Persuasive Games LLC |
Leigh Anne Cappello, Vice President and Play Futurist, Future Now Division of Hasbro | Richard Hilleman, Chief Creative Officer, Electronic Arts |
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| Ute Ritterfeld, Professor for Media Psychology, VU University Amsterdam and co-founded of Center for Advanced Media Research Amsterdam | Nick Fortugno, Co-founder and President of Rebel Monkey and renowned casual game designer | Tracy Fullerton, Associate Professor, Interactive Media Division, USC School of Cinematic Arts and Director of the Electronic Arts Game Innovation Lab |
Conference Audience and Themes
The conference is primarily for:
- game researchers and academics
- game designers and developers
- students
The two primary themes of the conference are:
- exploring meaningful applications of games
- issues in designing meaningful play
The first theme includes an examination of games (of all types) from primarily an academic research perspective.
The second theme focuses on much more practical knowledge from the front-line of actual design, development, and use of games for meaningful purposes.
Important Dates
| July 13, 2008 | Paper Submission Deadline | |
| August 15, 2008 | Game, Poster, Speaker, Panel, Workshop, and Roundtable Submission Deadline | |
| September 8, 2008 | Early Registration Closes | |
| October 9, 2008 | Conference Begins | |
| October 11, 2008 | Conference Concludes |