<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; " class=""><div class="" style=""><div class="" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div class="" style=""><b>Meaningful Play 2008</b> is an interdisciplinary academic conference that explores the potential of games to entertain, inform, educate, and persuade in meaningful ways.</div><div class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div class="" style="">The conference takes place <b>October 9 - October 11, 2008</b> in East Lansing, Michigan USA and is hosted by Michigan State University. </div><div class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div class="" style="">The conference is for game designers, researchers, and students. Current registered attendees are from over 10 countries and 20 US states.</div><div class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div class="" style="">The two primary themes of the conference are "exploring meaningful applications of games" and "issues in designing meaningful play". The first theme includes an examination of games (of all types) from primarily an academic research perspective. The second theme focuses on much more practical knowledge from the front-line of actual design, development, and use of games for meaningful purposes.</div><div class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div class="" style="">The conference includes:</div><div class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div class="" style=""><b>*** Six thought-provoking keynotes from leaders in academia and industry, including:</b></div><div class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div class="" style="">- "The Game Designer as Change Agent" by Richard Hilleman, Chief Creative Office, Electronic Arts</div><div class="" style="">- "The Unknown Possibilities of Existence" by Ian Bogost, Associate Professor at the Georgia Tech and Founding Partner at Persuasive Games LLC</div><div class="" style="">- "All Play is Meaningful" by Leigh Anne Cappello, Vice President and Play Futurist with the Future Now division of Hasbro</div><div class="" style="">- "Serious Gaming: Assumptions and Realities" by Ute Ritterfeld, Professor for Media Psychology at VU University Amsterdam and co-founded the Center for Advanced Media Research Amsterdam (CAMeRA@VU)</div><div class="" style="">- "The Play of Persuasion: Why "Serious" Isn't the Opposite of Fun" by Nick Fortugno, co-founder and President of Rebel Monkey</div><div class="" style="">- "The Great White Whale of Meaningful Play" by Tracy Fullerton, Associate Professor in the Interactive Media Division of the USC School of Cinematic Arts and Director of the Electronic Arts Game Innovation Lab</div><div class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div class="" style=""><b>*** Ten breakout speaker sessions featuring prominent members of industry and academia, including:</b></div><div class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div class="" style="">- "From Experiment Gameplay to the Wonderful World of Goo" by Drew Davidson, Director of the Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University</div><div class="" style="">- "Turning Gamers to Soldiers: War Games in the Modern Military " by David Versaw, CFO and Director of Business Development at WILL Interactive, Inc.</div><div class="" style="">- "Player-Centered Design for Instructional Games" by Robert Appelman from Indiana University and Sonny Kirkley with Information in Place, Inc.</div><div class="" style="">- "The Emerging Flash Game Industry and the Opportunities for Meaningful Play" by Jared Riley, president of Hero Interactive</div><div class="" style="">- "Making an Impact: Serious Issues in Non-Serious Games" by Monica Evans, Assistant Professor of Computer Game Design at the University of Texas at Dallas</div><div class="" style="">- "The Science of Fun" by Nate Bolt, El Presidente of Bolt | Peters, Inc.</div><div class="" style="">- "Designing K-6 educational games from Playstation to PSP" by Dave Adams and Peter Rogan, PLATO Learning, Inc.</div><div class="" style="">- "Creating Crossover Learning Products" by Scott Traylor, Chief KID, CEO, and founder of 360KID</div><div class="" style="">- "The Mandate and Measure of Meaningful Play" by Tim Nixon, CEO of Straylight Studios</div><div class="" style="">- "Bringing Tangential Learning to Games" by James Portnow, CCO and founder of Divide by Zero Games</div><div class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div class="" style=""><b>*** Over 45 peer-reviewed paper presentations presenting the latest game research coming out of academia, on a various topics such as:</b></div><div class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div class="" style="">- Games for Learning</div><div class="" style="">- Games and Physical Health</div><div class="" style="">- Designing Games for Health</div><div class="" style="">- Games to Change Brains</div><div class="" style="">- Emergent Gameplay</div><div class="" style="">- Player Involvement</div><div class="" style="">- Player Motivation</div><div class="" style="">- Social Play</div><div class="" style="">- Analyzing and Understanding Games</div><div class="" style="">- Games and Culture</div><div class="" style="">- Alternative platforms for learning games</div><div class="" style="">- Game design and development</div><div class="" style="">- Exploring non-digital games</div><div class="" style="">- MMORPGs and Virtual Worlds</div><div class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div class="" style=""><b>*** Seven exciting panel and roundtable discussions, including:</b></div><div class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div class="" style="">- Playing with Public Policy: Games to involve and inform the public</div><div class="" style="">- User-Created Content And Program-Modification In Video Games And Virtual Worlds</div><div class="" style="">- When Will Games Grow Up?: Handling Adult Topics In Video Games</div><div class="" style="">- Talent, Incentives, and Infrastructure: Growing the Game Industry in Michigan</div><div class="" style="">- Suitable for all ages: Game design for the 60+ demographic</div><div class="" style="">- Game Face(book): The Intersection of Games and Social Network Sites</div><div class="" style="">- Approaches to Language Learning as Meaningful Play</div><div class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div class="" style=""><b>*** A poster session featuring 14 late-breaking advances and work-in-progress reports from ongoing research or design work</b></div><div class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div class="" style=""><b>*** An exciting exhibition of 13 innovative games</b></div><div class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div class="" style="">Don't miss you opportunity to attend Meaningful Play 2008.</div><div class="" style=""><br class="" style=""></div><div class="" style=""><b>For more details and to register, visit:</b></div><div class="" style=""><b><a href="http://meaningfulplay.msu.edu">http://meaningfulplay.msu.edu</a></b></div><br class="" style=""><br class="" style=""><div style=""><div class="" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div class="" style=""><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" style=""><br class="khtml-block-placeholder" style=""></div><div id="D5C8D6CA-EF68-4882-BD44-A40BD14604B6" class="AppleMailSignature" style=""><div class="" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">_________________________________________________________</div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Brian Winn</div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Director, Games for Entertainment and Learning (GEL) Lab</div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies,</div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies, and Media</div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br class="" style=""></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">253 Communication Bldg.</div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Michigan State University</div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">East Lansing, MI 48824</div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">517.353.5497 (office)</div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">517.353.5498 (fax)</div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><a href="mailto:winnb@msu.edu">winnb@msu.edu</a> (email)</div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><a href="http://gel.msu.edu/winn/">http://gel.msu.edu/winn/</a></div></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" style=""></div><div class="" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Meaningful Play 2008:</div><div class="" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div class="" style="">Designing and Studying Games that Matter</div></div><div class="" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">October 9-11, 2008</div><div class="" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><a href="http://meaningfulplay.msu.edu">http://meaningfulplay.msu.edu</a></div><div class="" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><br class="" style=""></div></div></div></div></body></html>