Media Innovation Circle #19
[co-organised by DECA and supported by American Corners Portugal and American Corner UA]
June 2 @2:30pm-3:30pm (Lisbon Time)
How Game Designers pass their problems on to the rest of us
Speaker: Peter Brinson, University of Southern California, School of Cinematic Arts – USA
Moderation: Ana Isabel Veloso, University of Aveiro
Onsite: CCCI – Department of Communication and Art – UA
Peter Brinson is a Professor at the University of Southern California in the School of Cinematic Arts in the Interactive Media & Games Division affiliated with the USC Game Innovation Lab, which according to Times Higher Education (THE) ranks the University of Southern California among the top 100 higher education institutions in the world.
Currently, he is responsible for several curricular units related to the design and development of digital games and audiovisual production. At the same time, Peter Brinson develops artistic work as Game Designer and Filmmaker.
From his artistic work, it is highlighted the Digital Game “The Cat and the Coup”, awarded at IndieCade in the documentary game award category, in parallel his works have been presented at several events and with relevant institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Ars Electronica, Games For Change, SIGGRAPH, among others. His works are widely referred to in international generalist media publications such as the New Yorker, Forbs, and the technology magazine Wired.
Abstract
In How Game Designers Pass Their Problems on to The Rest of Us, Brinson contemplates the human mind’s relationship to games, particularly video games. He shares his perspective on how games can prepare us for technology’s impact on human thought in the coming years. Video games offer a roadmap in how the next wave of social media and artificial intelligence do not need to foretell doomsday.
In many ways, games embody work more than they provide leisure. Games are hard. They can be impenetrable systems that demand the utmost skill and attention from us. Nevertheless, with engagement and effort, we unpack and understand them. And so, games represent a touchstone of what we should want from other technologies in terms of legislation for the public good, effects on children, and the role in the workplace.
