Meaningful Play 2018 includes thought-provoking presentations 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.
| Wednesday, October 10 |
| 3:30p-5:00p | The Surprising Synergy of Medicine, Games, and VR by Noah Falstein (Pre-Conference Event) at MSU Main Library, Green Room, Level 4 West |
| 5:00p-7:00p | Early Registration Check-In at East Lansing Marriott at University Place Lobby |
| Thursday, October 11 |
| | Ballroom | MSU | Ontario | Huron | Superior | Michigan |
| 8:00a-9:00a | Registration Check-In and Continental Breakfast at Lobby (2nd floor of the MSU Union) |
| 9:00a-9:30a | Conference Welcome at MSU Union Ballroom |
| 9:30a-10:30a | Three Miles An Hour: Designing Games for the Speed of Thought by Tracy Fullerton (Keynote) at MSU Union Ballroom |
| 10:30a-11:00a | Break |
| 11:00a-12:00p | Physics is (still) You're Friend: The World of Goo @ 10 by Drew Davidson (Speaker) | Embodiment and Games (Papers) | Indigenous Games (Papers) | Brushing History Against the Grain: Reclaiming Women's Stories Through Live-Action Role-Playing Games (Workshop) | Teaching Game Development to Different Types of Students (Panel) | Design Thinking x Game Design by Mars Ashton (Speaker) |
| 12:00p-1:30p | Birds of a Feather Lunch (on your own) |
| 1:30p-2:30p | Games Are Not Good for You by Eric Zimmerman (Keynote) at MSU Union Ballroom |
| 2:30p-3:00p | Break |
| 3:00p-4:00p | Intra-InterDisciplinary Collaboration by Jarryd Huntley and Hanna Brady (Speaker) | Diversity in Games (Papers) | Empathy and Gaming (Papers) | Cards Against Pedagogy: Using "Off-The-Shelf" Games In Your Teaching (Workshop) | Serious Play on Twitch: Experiments in Academic Streaming (Panel) | An Innovative Approach to Collaborative Game Design by Carrie Cole and Sarah Buchan (Speaker) |
| 4:00p-4:30p | Break |
| 4:30p-5:30p | Nuance in the Woods: Exploring Meaning in Games by Alec Holowka (Keynote) at MSU Union Ballroom |
| 5:30p-7:00p | Dinner Break (on your own) |
| 7:00p-10:00p | Conference Reception, Game Exhibition, and Poster Session (Reception) at MSU Union Ballroom |
| Friday, October 12 |
| | Ballroom | MSU | Ontario | Huron | Superior | Michigan |
| 8:00a-9:00a | Registration Check-In and Continental Breakfast at Lobby (2nd floor of the MSU Union) |
| 9:00a-10:00a | Six Observations on Failure that May or May Not Relate to Games by John Sharp (Keynote) at MSU Union Ballroom |
| 10:00a-10:30a | Break |
| 10:30a-11:30a | The Unbearable Lightness of Being Social Impact Games by Lindsay Grace (Speaker) | Alternate Reality Games (Papers) | Cooperative Play (Papers) | Using Meditation to Explore Workshop Participants' Personal Experiences of Meaningful Play (Workshop) | Achievement unlocked? Exploring the Complexities of Empathy in Games (Panel) | Encouraging Curiosity and Exploration through Text and Narrative in Outer Wilds by Kelsey Beachum (Speaker) |
| 11:30a-1:00p | Birds of a Feather Lunch (on your own) and Industry/Student Meet'n'Greet |
| 1:00p-2:00p | Getting Teachers to Drink the GBL Kool Aid by Matthew Farber (Speaker) | Teaching Game Design (Papers) | Gaming in Context (Papers) | Gamedev Community Development 101 (Roundtable) | The Art of Serious Game Design: A methodology and practical guide for serious game design within multidisciplinary teams (Panel) | The Original Mobile Games: Recreating Historic Dexterity Puzzle Games For Digital Mobile Platforms by Stephen Jacobs (Speaker) |
| 2:00p-2:30p | Break |
| 2:30p-3:30p | Inclusive Game Design by Karen Schrier (Speaker) | Innovation in STEM Games (Papers) | Playtesting and Participatory Design (Papers) | Looking for Group: Building Interdisciplinary Game Studies Communities (Roundtable) | Game Post-Mortem Microtalks I (Microtalks) | Exploring Theme in Meaningful Games by Andrew Dennis (Speaker) |
| 3:30p-4:00p | Break |
| 4:00p-5:00p | Playful Social Engineering by Katherine Isbister (Keynote) at MSU Union Ballroom |
| 5:00p-7:00p | Dinner Break (on your own) |
| 7:00p-10:00p | Pure Michigan Game Exhibition and Celebration (Special Event) at MSU Union Ballroom |
| Saturday, October 13 |
| | Ballroom | MSU | Ontario | Huron | Superior | Michigan |
| 8:00a-9:00a | Registration Check-In and Continental Breakfast at Lobby (2nd floor of the MSU Union) |
| 9:00a-10:00a | The Promise of Games for Personalized Learning by Diana Hughes (Keynote) at MSU Union Ballroom |
| 10:00a-10:15a | Break |
| 10:15a-11:15a | Designing with Voice and Culture by Allen Turner (Speaker) | Learning by Creating (Papers) | Sociopolitical Games (Papers) | The Agile Teacher: A Gameful Workshop (Workshop) | Game Post-Mortem Microtalks II (Microtalks) | |
| 11:15a-11:30a | Break |
| 11:30a-12:30p | Making Absurdist Games as a Response to Our Current Reality by Mark Chen (Speaker) | Game Research Taxonomies and Methods (Papers) | Gaming and the Environment (Papers) | Playing College: the design, creation, and future implementation of enRolled, a board game designed for your freshman seminar course. (Workshop) | Health Games Microtalks (Microtalks) | Tour of MSU Libraries Rovi Game Collection (Tour) |
| 12:30p-1:00p | Lunch at Lobby (2nd floor of the MSU Union) |
| 1:00p-2:00p | Imagineers at Play by Bei Yang (Keynote) at MSU Union Ballroom |
| 2:00p-2:30p | Conference Closing and Game Awards at MSU Union Ballroom |
Below are additional special events that occur across the Meaningful Play schedule.
