Can Games Teach? Games and the Environment

Description

This symposium, organised by Dr Lewis Alcott (School of Earth Sciences) and Dr Richard Cole (Department of Classics and Ancient History), aims to bring together researchers and educators interested in how games and immersive technologies can be used as a form of education and engagement about the environment. The day will target 3 principal uses of games in an academic setting: (1) to discuss how games can be used to inspire people of all ages to discuss and learn about the environment, (2) how they can be used directly in education from primary school to higher education, (3) how games can be used as a part of research for both outreach and pedagogy.

Over the course of a series of invited talks by academic leaders, masterclasses by industry experts working on environmental games, and gaming demos, the event will establish a network of scholars interested in the intersection between games, education, and the environment. After lunch we will host an active play session where we can engage in how games can communicate about the environment.

This event has been funded through the Cabot Institute Community Event Fund.

Programme:

Lewis Alcott - Can Games Teach? Gaming is the largest form of entertainment on the planet. So why don’t we take advantage of its engagement and ability to communicate information about the world around us? I’ll briefly introduce the session and the idea that gamification can have real impact on education.

Jacob Thomas - Immersive Stories About Pollution and Ecology My talk will highlight past research on designing immersive experiences about environmental issues and promoting pro-environmental behaviour. I'll explain my interest in drawing from the disciplines of computer science, arts and theatre to understand relationships between medium, content, and audience.

Simon Clark - Daybreak: exemplar climate communication. Daybreak is a board game from Matt Leacock and Matteo Menapace that is possibly the best example of climate communication in a game I have ever come across. In this talk I will explain why it is so impressive, and how it can inform other educational games

Richard Cole - Using Gameworlds to think about Historic Environments. Richard will talk about how the process of creating, exploring, and posing questions of gameworlds can help us to consider environmental history, including the relationship that historic peoples had to the environment. The talk will focus in particular on how gameworlds can foreground aspects of environmental change and environmental impact on society.

Pete Rowley - Dices and crises – learning to manage volcanic unrest. An introduction to a roleplay exercise in which players try to manage the safe and effective evacuation of a volcano during a period of activity.

Andrew Brennwald - Yaldi Games - Game Director

Period	22 Jan 2025
Event type	Conference
Location	Bristol, United KingdomShow on map
Degree of Recognition	Regional