{"id":2,"date":"2016-03-20T03:42:21","date_gmt":"2016-03-20T03:42:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/playfulcity.net\/go\/?page_id=2"},"modified":"2024-10-08T12:29:26","modified_gmt":"2024-10-08T16:29:26","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/playfulcity.net\/go\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"
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Our team<\/a> is led by Dr. Benjamin Stokes <\/strong>and based at American University in Washington, DC. <\/em> <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

APPROACH: The future of cities depends on participation and engagement. Our lab in Washington, DC, investigates the power of playful tactics to advance equity, strengthen the sense of place, and build strong communities.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Our first book provides the anchor for our approach: “Locally Played<\/a>: Real-World Games for Stronger Places and Communities<\/strong>” (MIT Press, 2020). The book provides game designers with a model to strengthen existing networks tied to place and gives city leaders tools to look past technology trends in order to make a difference in the real world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Selected Projects<\/strong>:<\/em><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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(1) Engaging Beyond Our Walls (EBOW)<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n
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This national initiative is empowering 50+ cities and towns to make their own<\/strong> neighborhood games and stories. In 2024, we published our recipe book<\/strong><\/a> with 10+ models for local libraries<\/strong>, community museums<\/strong> and ordinary residents<\/strong>. The project investigates how we can democratize game design <\/strong>for all towns, marginalized voices, and with minimal technology. Funded by IMLS, with most creations made using our new game engine, Hive Mechanic<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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(2) Book in draft:<\/em> Neighborhood Storytelling System<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n
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Launched in 2021 with the Smithsonian and the DC Public Library in Washington, DC, this project installed listening stations<\/strong> at the front desk of libraries with more than 700,000 visitors over two years; it brought a repurposed payphone<\/strong> on wheels to the streets; and it mobilized a multimedia truck<\/strong> for traveling exhibits. As a model, he project offers a new approach to circulating stories<\/strong> of local history and activism tied to neighborhoods. Interactive projects remixed the content into scavenger hunts and raffles tied to local business. (Read more via these slides<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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(3) Report: Cities Remix Pok\u00e9mon GO<\/a> <\/h3>\n\n\n
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Published in 2018, this was the first large-scale investigation into how cities can appropriate and remix commercial games to advance local goals, including within “open street” festivals and with neighborhood libraries. The report provides a few hints at the future of cities<\/a> as participatory spaces, showing how playful engagement can connect disparate groups and organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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(4) Report: “Impact” with Games<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n
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This report shows how we can rethink “impact” with games, and how the right language is crucial to overcome fragmentation. In partnership with Games for Change, with funding from the Packard Foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Funding and collaborators (recent):<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n