On Friday, June 13th, we presented to the Game Studies division at the 75th annual International Communication Association (ICA) conference in Denver, Colorado. It is the largest international conference for researchers on communication – and includes urban communication and game studies. Our presentation, titled Locally Made Play: Neighborhood Game Design with Community Libraries, co-authored by Benjamin […]
Category: Hive Mechanic
In the ALA Magazine: “Press 1 for Engagement”
We published a column in ALA Magazine on our efforts to engage libraries beyond their walls (EBOW). With the print and online versions, we hope to share news of our program widely. (Thank you for the invitation, ALA Magazine!) Co-written by David Quick of DC Public Library and Benjamin Stokes, you can read our column […]
Coverage from PLA: Outreach and building community
This nice write-up of our PLA session last month by Jason Wieder was published in Public Libraries Online: A Publication of the Public Library Association: “The 2024 Public Library Conference was the experience of a lifetime. Along with the opportunity to network with peers, I met my library hero, Mychal Threets. I also attended several […]
Speaker: Ben Caldwell (book talk)
We are pleased to host pioneering artist Ben Caldwell. Join us on Tuesday, April 9, 2024 at 5:30pm. The event will be hosted in the AU Game Center, DMTI room 113. More on Caldwell: Caldwell will also be talking about his sustained art and innovation practice in Leimert Park. He is a collaborator with the […]
Presenting at PLA in Columbus
Join us in Columbus, OH, on April 5, 2024, at the annual Public Library Association. Our topic: “Engaging Beyond Our Walls: Making Neighborhood Games and Outdoor Storytelling,” led by David Quick of DC Public Library and Benjamin Stokes of American University. DESCRIPTION: “Can your library empower residents to design their own outdoor games and bring […]
Presenting at the EdGames Expo (federal games showcase)
Earlier this week (Sept. 20, 2023) we were proud to present our Hive Mechanic system at the annual EdGames Expo. This public event is the primary federal showcase of “game-changing innovations” across 50 federal government programs, and is organized primarily by the US Department of Education. It was a thrill to showcase our work alongside […]
Audio experience: “Insider Voice-Over” (a case study with the Black Feminist DC exhibition)
This month we launched an interactive audio project (“Community Voice: Katea Stitt“) with the National Women’s History Museum and the DC Public Library. It is part of a larger exhibit, “We Who Believe in Freedom: Black Feminist DC” that is on view in the central MLK Library through September 2024. Beyond this launch, more than […]
Recruiting 25 libraries: Become a hub for making local GAMES and outdoor STORIES
We are seeking US libraries to be hubs for making local GAMES and outdoor STORIES — in 20+ cities/towns. Applications due by March 3rd. For spring of 2023, we will supply game design expertise over Zoom and access to our new authoring tool for low-tech games for mobile devices and storytelling box installations. Phase 1: […]
Poster on Recent Work
For a presentation to the Board of American University, I created a large poster (4×3 foot) of our lab’s recent work: My goal was to show a visual snapshot of the kind of research we do. Of course, I couldn’t include everything, and so I picked a cluster of projects that seemed to tell a […]
Video: Mural hunt game (SMS clues, photographs, etc.)
In this short 3-minute video, I demo and analyze the game Mural, Mural on the Wall, which launched in 2020 for DC’s longest-running street festival: Adams Morgan Day.