Playing games for a serious purpose will be in the spotlight as “Games for Change,” a forum on video games and education, is held from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 16, in 110 Kane.
The event is co-sponsored by the College of Education, GO-MAP in the Graduate School, the Human Interface Technology Laboratory and the local chapter of the Serious Games Initiative.
John Wilkerson, 91探花assistant professor of political science, will discuss teaching with LegSim, his Web-based simulation of a federal legislature. Eric Brown and Asi Burak of Impact Games will demonstrate PeaceMaker, a game in which players take on the roles of an Israeli prime minister or a Palestinian leader and winning means ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Other speakers include Lurversa Sullvan, a teacher at The Evergreen State College, who has worked with girls from underrepresented communities in the Innovation Center at the Intel Computer Clubhouse in Tacoma; Howard Rose of Imprint Interactive Technology, who designs virtual reality worlds to help patients overcome phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder; and Hy Resnick, 91探花professor emeritus of social work, who designed the video game Busted, which helps teenagers learn how to change self-defeating behavior.