Can Games Change the World?
An 8-week seminar & speculative game design class at boshi's place
Overview
Sometime around the late 2000s, certain people proclaimed that games “would change the world”. And how could they not? They bring people together, there were studies coming out left-and-right declaring the educational and pro-social benefits of games, and more people were gaming than ever before. Indeed, it felt like we were entering a “ludic century”.
But it didn’t happen. The world didn’t change (...or at least not in a necessarily positive way). So what went wrong? Is there still a chance that games could change the world? And if not, what else should we do with our art?
In this class, we will critically play and examine various types of games that were made (or been said) to “change the world” (whatever that may mean in their certain contexts): educational games, political & documentary games, empathy games, gamification, etc. We will read and discuss studies and articles promoting or criticizing these games, as well as draw from art theory & philosophy on the “point” of art and other art practices that try to create social change. We will also imagine, speculate, and craft games that explore alternate ways to create “change” beyond the invisible constraints of commercial game design. By the end of class, students will have a grasp on many kinds of ways people have tried to change the world with games, read different perspectives on the role of art in society, made some speculative games, and formulated their own individual theory on whether games can change the world.
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Details
Instructor: Hatim Benhsain
Date: June 30 - August 18 (8 weeks)
Time: Tuesdays 6 PM - 9 PM EDT
Location: In-person, at Boshi's Place, 1002 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, 11221, or Online.
Cost: Sliding scale of $600-1000
Deadline: Applications close May 7
→Sign up here!←
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Units:
- Week 1: Introduction, overview of games “for impact”.
- Week 2: Reality is broken; What is art for?
- Week 3: Educational Games
- Week 4: Gamification for self-improvement, business, & the workplace.
- Week 5: Protest, Documentary & Political Games
- Week 6: Empathy Games & Representation
- Week 7: The Theater of the Oppressed, Utopias
- Week 8: Art for art’s sake, What else can we do?
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Expectations
Time & Workload:
Students should plan to dedicate 2 to 3 hours outside of class for readings, playing, and working on speculative games.
Technical Experience:
No technical experience is expected. The games we will be making are “speculative”, so there will be no need to use computers; they will mostly take the form of spoken ideas, paper prototypes, or LARPs. If students are interested in bringing their ideas to the digital world, the instructor can suggest some approachable game engines (including no-code ones) and give some technical advice.
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Is this class for me?
This class is for you if you:
- are an artist or game developer disillusioned with the status quo.
- ever wondered while watching The Game Awards what the hell a “game for impact” is.
- want to experiment with and imagine alternative ways of making games.
- want to meet in a physical or online space to discuss art & games with others.
- want to change the world.
Of course, the question of “can games change the world” is impossible to answer (what do we count as the world? and what do we define as change? how can we even measure it?). The point of the class is not to come to a rigid yes/no, but rather to get a sense of everything that’s already been tried (and not repeat the same mistakes), question how things could be different, and think deeper about what we can do to make the world a better place and how games fit within that goal.
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Readings
This is a non-exhaustive list of material we may read or draw from during class:
- Reality is Broken – Jane Mcgonigal
- Persuasive Games – Ian Bogost
- Digital Games After Climate Change – Ben Abraham
- Future Gaming – Paolo Ruffino
- Everything to Play For – Marijam Did
- Speculative Everything – Anthony Dunne & Fiona Raby
- Art and Faith – Jacques Maritain & Jean Cocteau
- The Theater of the Oppressed – Augusto Boal
- Artificial Hells – Claire Bishop
- Regarding the Pain of Others – Susan Sontag
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About the venue
Boshi's Place is a space that celebrates game making as a craft. We host game events, workshops, music shows, and more, and are located in East Williamsburg.
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Contact Me
You can email me or message me on discord @hatimb00!