So when recording the next episode of the podcast, we realised we hadn’t put up the Prezi of the infamous chicken talk, so here it is: Clicks and Clucks: Archaeology and ethics inform upon human-chicken relationships in video games
Sadly there isn’t a video of our PAX talk on this, but we do have an older video (much shorter) of us presenting a more academic version at the VALUE conference in Leiden.
I’m making a list of political games that reflect and/or respond to the current political climate (Trump administration, Brexit, rise of the extreme right). Political games are not just games – they help us to understand different perspectives, and help game developers to express themselves in troubling political times. Please let me know if there is one missing by contacting me on twitter or leaving a reply below.
Games
Martian Immigration Nightmare by Zarkonnen
This game helps you to understand what it might be like to be one of the citizens restricted from travelling by the Executive Order Trump signed early into his presidency. Elon Musk, who wants to help the human race go to Mars, made various statements about how he wants to be involved at advising high levels of the Trump administration, so this is a “love letter” to him.
Easy Level Life by DE Team (this is from last year but is relevant)
Find out what it’s like to be a non-white person in America in this realistic short life simulation.
This is Fine by Nick Kaman
In which marshmallows are eaten with your friends and you put out fire with love.
Events and GameJams
The Goethe Institute is running a series of GameJams on political themes throughout 2017.
According to the website, the first game jam took place at the end of November 2016 in Mexico City at the Centro de Cultura Digital; the second will be held at in early 2017 at the Nam June Paik Art Centre in Seoul. Further stations include Boston, Novosibirsk, São Paulo, Bandung and Yangon. So stay tuned!
Dr. Jessica Urwin and I are carrying out a study of Pokémon Go and its mental health benefits. We’re carrying out an ethnography in Leicester and conducting an online survey.
If you’re interested in participating, here’s the blurb for our questionnaire, which is found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PokemonMH
Please share this amongst your friends!
“Pokémon Go took the world by storm following its launch in summer 2016. As well as being a fun game to play there have been some reports of it encouraging exercise, social interaction, and improving the mental health of players. This study is looking at what mental health benefits players receive from Pokémon Go, and to understand how the format of the game itself contributes to this (if at all).
We are asking individuals who play Pokémon Go to complete the following online questionnaire. This will ask about your experiences of playing Pokémon Go, if you feel it has benefited you in any way, and what form those benefits have taken. As the research is related to mental health, the questionnaire will touch on this subject. However, you do not have to disclose any personal information that you do not feel comfortable sharing, and do not have to answer the questions if you do not wish to. All information which is collected during the course of the research will be kept on a password protected database and is strictly confidential. You will be given a pseudonym which will be used instead of your name. Any identifiable information you may give will be removed and anonymized, and all quoted materials will have all identifying information removed.”
