[Xavier]

Stretching Beyond Entertainment: The Role of Games in Personal and Social Change

Speakers:

• Rusel DeMaria (Author/Analyst, DeMaria Studio)
• Will Wright (Chief Designer, Maxis)
• Lorne Lanning (President, Oddworld Inhabitants)
• Peter Molyneux (Head of Studio, Lionhead Studios)
• Bing Gordon (Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers)
• Ed Fries (CEO, FigurePrints)

Date/Time: Friday (March 27, 2009) 10:30am — 11:30am

Session Description
Last year we had a fantastic discussion about the potential of video games to influence people positively, looking at whether we believed that mainstream games could fill an educational and inspirational role in the lives of players. We looked at whether game designers and publishers had any responsibility to promote content that has a positive impact – if it was, ultimately, good for gaming, in general. This year we bring the discussion back with an all-star panel to look to the future of games, not in terms of technology, and not in terms of what’s the next hotness, but in terms of what we can do with the creativity of design to help inspire a better world. We will explore what it takes to create games that inspire and teach, while still entertaining millions of players. We will ask our panelists for concrete suggestions. What would they do to make games that leave people better off than they were before playing? We will ask our panelists if this sort of social responsibility is necessary, appropriate or even desirable in the world of commercial games. We will look for different points of view, creative suggestions and solutions, and a lively discussion.

https://www.cmpevents.com/GD09/a.asp...&V=3&id=120798