Independent Game Philosophers

FREEDOM IN COMPUTER GAMES WILL BE DISCUSSED IN BILGI

Istanbul Bilgi University’s Faculty of Communication will host “The 8th Philosophy of Computer Games” conference between 13-15 November.

The International 8th Philosophy of Computer Games Conference, bringing multidisciplinary experts from a diverse field of areas such as game studies, communication and philosophy, will be hosted by Istanbul Bilgi University’s Faculty of Communication in cooperation with the Gamephilosophy Network, on its Santralistanbul Campus.

This year’s theme is “freedom”, and topics such as “game design and gamer freedom,” “gamer experience and the perception of freedom,” “online games and gamer freedom,” “the representation of freedom in games in social and personal contexts” and “the relation between games and other communication media in the representation of freedom” will be looked at.

In the presentations, the relation between games and freedom will be considered in its design, cultural, sociological, philosophical and political aspects. Games will be discussed, as an art form and lifestyle, with regard to the freedom they give to gamers and to society at large.

Experts from the international arena will be participating in the conference, among them Mary Flanagan from Darthmouth College, Digital Humanities Department, Thomas Hurka from the University of Toronto, Department of Philosophy and Patrick Crogan from the University of West of England, Department of Media.

As a pre-conference activity, on November 12 there will be a panel in Studio-X Istanbul, “The Independent Game Philosophers Panel”, in which distinguished independent game designers will participate. The panel, which will be moderated by Christopher Thi Nguyen, will have among its participants Stefano Gualeni (Necessary Evil), Pietro Righi Riva (MirrorMoon EP, FOTONICA), Michelle Westerlaken, Krystian Majewski (TRAUMA) and Gordon Calleja (Will Love Tear Us Apart).

The conference was previously held in Copenhagen, Oslo, Athens, Madrid and Reggio Emilia and Potsdam. We invite all who are intrested in the development and the future of digital gaming. The conference is free for students and registration is available on gamephilosophy2014.org popup: yes
GUESTS

Mary Flanagan: Flanagan teaches at Darthmouth College’s Digital Humanities department and she is known for her works on culture and technology. She is the director of Tiltfactor game research laboratory and has books on game criticism and the social functions of games.

Thomas Hurka: Hurka teaches at the Philosophy Department of University of Toronto and he is known for his studies on games, sports and ethics; he has various publications in this field.
Patrick Crogan: Crogan teaches at the University of the West of England, Media Department and has publications on simulation, war games, gamification and techno-culture. He is a board member of DiGRA.

Date: 13-15 November 2014
Place: İstanbul Bilgi University, santralistanbul Campus, Communications Faculty Building E4 Hall 305,
Studio-X Istanbul

Bilgi için: gamephilosophy2014@gmail.com

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The 8th Philosophy of Computer Games Conference

November 12th
18:00 Independent Game Philosophers Panel – Studio-X Istanbul

November 13th
09:00 Registration
10:00 Opening Speech - Prof. Dr. Halil Nalçaoğlu
10:30 Keynote – Mary Flanagan
11:30 Coffee Break
11:45 Freedom in Games: Between Fear and Boredom.
Sebastian Möring
City University of Hong Kong
12:15 <∞ min to Oasis of Happiness: Promises of Freedom and Play in Pocket Planes.
Olli Tapio Leino
City University of Hong Kong
12:45 On the Freedom of Generating Narratives in Playing Videogames.
Daniel Alexander Milne
Bielefeld University
13:15 Lunch Break
14:30 Dissolving the Gamer's Dilemma.
Rami El Ali
Lebanese American University
15:00 Games and the Open World.
Johnathan Harrington
University of Malta
15:30 Against Autonomous Simulation.
Andreas Gregersen
University of Copenhagen
16:00 Coffee Break
16:15 The Fluidity of Play.
C. Thi Nguyen
Utah Valley University
17:45 The freedom of avatars.
Bjarke Liboriussen
University of Nottingham Ningbo China
18:15 Modern Action-Adventure FPS-s as Frankfurt-Type Examples: The BioShock Analogy and Its Limitations.
Oliver Laas
Tallinn University
19:00 Opening Cocktail at Santral Campus
21:00 Shuttle to Karaköy

November 14th
09:30 Registration
10:00 Keynote – Patrick Crogan
11:00 Coffee Break
11:15 Freedom of Destruction and Grotesque Realism in Video Games.
Tomasz Z. Majkowski
Jagiellonian University in Kraków
11:45 The Freedom of Alienated Reflexive Subjectivity in The Stanley Parable.
Feng Zhu
University of Manchester
12:15 Gameness as the Experience of Cognitive Autonomy.
John Richard Sageng
University of Oslo
13:00 Lunch Break
14:00 On Freedom in Computer Games.
Anita Leirfall
University of Bergen
14:30 The pleasures of servitude in Animal Crossing.
Seth Giddings
University of the West of England
15:00 Freedom as 'Meaningful Choice': Philosophical Lessons from Video Gameplay.
Jere Surber
The University of Denver
15:30 Coffee Break
15:45 ‘Free yourself!’ An inquiry into moral life in Second Life.
Katleen Gabriels
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
16:15 Freedom Cry: Content-Sensitive Exploration of Transfictional Gameworlds.
Krzysztof M. Maj
Jagiellonian University
17:00 Shuttle to Sultanahmet
20:00 Conference Dinner

November 15th
09:30 Registration
10:00 Keynote – Thomas Hurka
11:00 Coffee Break
11:15 Freedom and the Ludic Subject.
Daniel Vella
IT University of Copenhagen
11:45 Between “Live” and “Tell”: The Suspension of Freedom.
Marta Matylda Kania
University of Lower Silesia
12:15 Freer Than We Think: Game Design as Autopoiesis.
Stefano Gualeni
NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences
13:00 Lunch Break
14:00 Freedom and nomos: The political ontologies of 4x (and other) games.
William Huber
Abertay University
14:30 Enstranging Play: Distinguishing Playful Subjecthood from Governance.
Lars de Wildt
Leiden University Netherlands
15:00 From Movement to Choice: Ontic and Deontic Freedom in Video Games.
Ivan Mosca
University of Torino
15:30 Coffee Break
15:45 Do Computer Games Simulate, After All?
Veli-Matti Karhulahti
University of Turku
16:15 Felino: The Philosophical Practice of Making an Interspecies Videogame.
Michelle Westerlaken
Malmö University
16:45 Closing Remarks
17:30 Shuttle to Karaköy