As a warm-up activity for the Play!UC project, the University of Groningen is hosting a lunch lecture with Austrian project partner Jeremiah Diephuis entitled “Why so serious (games)?
Nov 25, 12.00-13:00h, University Groningen (NL) – Room 5419.0011
Abstract
The promise of digital games to enhance our lives and perhaps even change the world is more prevalent than ever before. But how can a medium of interactive entertainment have such effects on our society and what are the limitations? In this talk, lecturer and game designer Jeremiah Diephuis will discuss the use of games beyond the scope of pure entertainment. In addition to serious games and gamification approaches, he will also address recent trends in pervasive gaming that are bringing the renowned “magic circle” back into the public realm.
Biography
Jeremiah Diephuis (US/AT) was born in 1976 and grew up in the great arcades of the American Midwest. After studies in computational linguistics and communication and knowledge media, he turned his focus to the use of games for various purposes in the public sphere. He currently works as a lecturer and researcher in the Digital Media department at the Hagenberg Campus of the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria and is a founding member of the research group “Playful Interactive Environments”. He is also co-founder and chairperson of the non-profit organisation “GameStage”, which offers regular events for the local indie and retro game communities in Austria.
