Bad Games colloquium
Saturday 18th July, 10am – 6pmPervasive Media Studio
Leadworks, Bristol
The Play Research Group at the University of the West of England, Bristol seeks contributions in the form of research outlines, position papers, media projects and provocations on the theme of
Bad Games will:
· Thematise games and play as a central yet ambivalent characteristic of digital culture. Question influential assumptions of the liberatory potential of interactivity
· Reflect on, revise, reject, renovate or otherwise refresh critical modelings of ludic digital culture that assume it be an intrinsically positive, creative or subversive alternative to ‘old media’
· Complicate simplistic moral panics about bad games and their effects
· Consider bad games in the context and rubrics of other ‘bad’ media theory topics like paracinema, trash culture, and comics
Bad Games might include
Sex games//Mind games//War games//Boring games//Work games//Power games//Horror games//Cruel Games//E-gambling//SimCulture//Ludic figures in cinema, from Funny Games USA to The Nines, to Intacto//The atrocity exhibition of Reality TV//The military-entertainment complex//The infantilization of adults by Nintendo ds//Parental guidance: children playing violence//Computer games’ temporal and financial demands
Repetitive games
The colloquium will be structured so that participants share proposals and dialogue, discussion and responses rather than as a presenter/question time format.
COST: £20 – payable on the day.
Tea/Coffee and Lunch will be provided.
