Do we need permission to play in public? The design of participation for social play video games at play parties and ‘alternative’ games festivals

Play is a fundamental to being Human. It helps to make sense of the self, to learn, to be creative and to relax. The advent of video games challenged traditional notions of play, introducing a single player experience to what had primarily been a communal social activity. As technology has developed, communal play has found both online and real-world spaces within video games. Online streaming, multiplayer games and built-in spectator modes within games underpin online communal play experiences, whilst ‘alternative’ games festivals, play parties and electronic sports, provide real world spaces for people to meet, play and exchange knowledge relating to both playing and making video games. This article reports the study of social play events which bring people together in the same space to explore video games making and playing. Expert interviews with curators, and event facilitators provides qualitative data from which design processes are formalised into a ‘model of participation’ of social play. Four key areas of balance are proposed as core considerations in supporting participation in event design. The study of these events also suggests that their design and fostering of participation has the potential to evoke cultural change in game making and playing practices

Videogames in the museum:participation, possibility and play in curating meaningful visitor experiences

In 2014 Videogames in the Museum [1] engaged with creative practitioners, games designers, curators and museums professionals to debate and explore the challenges of collecting and exhibiting videogames and games design. Discussions around authorship in games and games development, the transformative effect of the gallery on the cultural reception and significance of videogames led to the exploration of participatory modes and playful experiences that might more effectively expose the designer’s intent and enhance the nature of our experience as visitors and players. In proposing a participatory mode for the exhibition of videogames this article suggests an approach to exhibition and event design that attempts to resolve tensions between traditions of passive consumption of curated collections and active participation in meaning making using theoretical models from games analysis and criticism and the conceit of game and museum spaces as analogous rules based environments

A three person poncho and a set of maracas:designing Ola De La Vida, a co-located social play computer game

Events that bring people together to play video games as a social experience are growing in popularity across the western world. Amongst these events are ‘play parties,’ temporary social play environments which create unique shared play experiences for attendees unlike anything they could experience elsewhere. This paper explores co-located play experience design and proposes that social play games can lead to the formation of temporary play communities. These communities may last for a single gameplay session, for a whole event, or beyond the event. The paper analyses games designed or enhanced by social play contexts and evaluates a social play game, Ola de la Vida. The research findings suggest that social play games can foster community through the design of game play within the game itself, through curation which enhances their social potential, and through design for ‘semi-spectatorship’, which blurs the boundaries between player and spectator thus widening the game’s magic circle

Video game streaming and their communities of play in UK and China

This paper will explore the culture of social video game consumption in the UK and China and the impact of commercial structures upon the social interaction between streamers and their audiences. Through a comparative analysis of literature reviewing video game streaming and viewing practices in each region and thematic analysis of streamer interviews and viewer surveys, we define the social and commercial conventions of Western and Chinese streaming platform approaches. Through the lenses of communities of play (Dekoven, 2002) and outsidership (Johanson and Vahlne, 2009) we seek to understand their differences, effect on socialisation and the potential implications for streamers, audiences and game developers seeking to engage with Chinese and Western streaming platforms

Video game streaming and their communities of play in UK and China

This paper will explore the culture of social video game consumption in the UK and China and the impact of commercial structures upon the social interaction between streamers and their audiences. Through a comparative analysis of literature reviewing video game streaming and viewing practices in each region and thematic analysis of streamer interviews and viewer surveys, we define the social and commercial conventions of Western and Chinese streaming platform approaches. Through the lenses of communities of play (Dekoven, 2002) and outsidership (Johanson and Vahlne, 2009) we seek to understand their differences, effect on socialisation and the potential implications for streamers, audiences and game developers seeking to engage with Chinese and Western streaming platforms

Installations, disruption of technology, and performing play:a social play design portfolio

Installations, Disruption of Technology, & Performing Play (IDTPP) is a portfolio of original play interventions created between 2014 and 2020 that sought to instigate connections between people through the shared experience of play. The portfolio comprises practice-based research projects, with outputs in digital and analogue forms that have been showcased internationally. Each contribution interrogates the application of social play design strategies within set design constraints. As a result, IDTPP presents a rigorous examination of design practices for play that aims to bring people together in the same space. IDTPP is informed by engagement with digital game design practices, pervasive games, street games, installation, video game curation, play theories, and user experience design. The portfolio is structured around specific design constraints such as: access (limited timeframes vs extended timeframes); permission (low level vs high levels of participation); setting (how play can be helped or hindered by its site); and social technology (easing or highlighting social interaction). The constraints for each project are sequential and interdependent, with the learning from one project feeding into the research questions of the next. Findings have been drawn from analysis of the work, drawing upon artist-as-researcher reflections, critical evaluation, and user feedback. IDTPP makes a significant contribution to knowledge by demonstrating that play, in its many forms, has social benefits, whilst also mapping out audience and site-specific design strategies that can be applied by other practitioners in the field. The significance of the design concepts within IDTPP has been recognised, through an invitation to showcase social play on BBC Click Live in 2019, the formation of a partnership with Cadbury Heroes in 2020 to promote the benefits of social play for creating connections and addressing isolation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the commission of a large-scale installation for socially distant play at V&A Dundee

Community Funding: Rural Grocery Stores Like IKE!

IKE is the “Invest Kansas Exemption” for conducting a public offering of securities in a Kansas community without having to register with the Office of the Kansas Securities Commissioner (KSC). The Home Town Market in Minneola, KS used IKE to finance building renovations and equipment for the grocery store and deli. KSC presenters will explain how IKE and other alternatives for grocery store financing are possible under Kansas and federal securities laws. IKE is designed to assist small businesses and other organizations formed in Kansas raise up to a total of $1,000,000 during a 12-month period. Sales to any one purchaser are limited to$5,000 unless the purchaser is an accredited investor. There are no fee requirements; issuer’s only need to submit a one-page form for notice to KSC; and KSC staff is available to help with questions before and after an IKE offering. Following Kansas being the first state to enact an exemption like this, several other states have also formed similar exemptions and laws. You can go to our website and review more about IKE at www.ksc.ks.gov/IKE. Other common exemptions are listed on the left panel of this page

Teachers’ Perceptions of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy’s Influence on Instructional Strategies

Urban high school literacy teachers are concerned with being prepared to teach incoming, culturally diverse ninth-grade students. More specifically, teachers have difficulty with implementing culturally responsive instructional strategies (CRIS) in urban high school literacy classrooms. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the challenges of using CRIS in urban high school literacy classrooms. Vygotsky’s social constructivist theory was the conceptual framework that informed this study, suggesting that students learn, and teachers instruct based on social experiences in thinking and interpreting the world. The guiding research question was concerning how high school teachers apply CRIS to address the unique needs and challenges of urban high school literacy learners. The data collection involved a purposeful sample of 10 literacy teachers, observations, and semi-structured interviews. Data analysis included thematic color-coding to identify patterns and themes to answer the research questions. The findings revealed challenges in culturally specific vocabulary and dialect. The findings also revealed challenges in time constraints due to content matter scheduling and multiple learning styles in the classroom. The recommendation is to provide a three-day professional development workshop on implementing CRIS through the creation of an online manual and explanatory videos. This study promotes positive social change through teachers implementing instructional strategies that incorporate cultural sensitivity aimed at improving student success