Since GDC09, we’ve been busy with appearances and projects. Anne recently spoke at Digital L.A.‘s Games Go Social panel in May and discussed the social aspects of games and how successful social games, iPhone games, and casual MMOs are bringing games to the mainstream. Meanwhile, I analyzed the current crop of social games and offered design ideals for the next generation of social games in an article for Gamasutra, called “The Social Game Boom.”
Next week, I’ll be at CMU for the 2009 Game Education Summit, on June 16-17, 2009. I’ll be on a panel with noted game writers and academics Lee Sheldon, Richard Dansky, Drew Davidson, and Elisabeth Nonas addressing last year’s hullabaloo on how game writers don’t belong in the game industry. We’ll also be discussing narrative design and writing for ARGs and non-AAA games.
Additionally, I’ll be co-presenting with Ricardo Rademacher, CEO of Futur-E-Scape, in a session entitled “Creativity, Constraints, and Compromises.” Ricardo Rademacher recently presented his educational theory of MMOGs at the Independent MMO Game Developers Conference in Las Vegas last April. We’ll be discussing how his educational theory meshed with narrative design to develop a fantasy MMORPG that also teaches physics. In fact, this game was a case study in our chapter for the book, Writing for Video Game Genres.
Next, I’ll be moderating a panel on educational MMOs and virtual worlds at State of Play VI, on June 19-20, 2009 at New York Law School. In this panel discussion, leading researchers and creators of educational virtual worlds will discuss the challenges of aligning curriculum and learning with fun. A central theme to the discussion will be to try and establish some best practices for the integration of theory and curriculum into educational virtual worlds.
Attending any of these conferences? Let me know!
Posted by Sande for Writers Cabal, a game writing and design partnership.
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Anne Toole, writer 