The Ars Electronica Center Plays Up Computer Games
GameStage@AEC – Good Game, Bad Game / Friday, November 15, 2013 / 6 PM- 12 Midnight
GameStage@FamilyDays / Saturday, November 16, 2013 / 10 AM-6 PM
(Linz, November 13, 2013) Computer gaming takes the spotlight at the Ars Electronica Center on Friday and Saturday, November 15-16, 2013. Kicking things off on Friday is the fourth GameStage@AEC. Admission is free; guests must be 18 and over. The theme: the positive and negative contents of electronic games and their impact on players. On Saturday, GameStage@FamilyDays features a series of informative talks about computer gaming by a researcher, a teacher and a journalist. Plus, visitors can try out lots of new games.
GameStage@AEC – Good Game, Bad Game / Friday, November 15, 2013 / 6 PM- 12 Midnight
GameStage@AEC on Friday deals with the positive and negative aspects of electronic games’ contents and their impact on players. On this evening, the Ars Electronica Center will host informative discussions by gaming experts of topics such as violence, criminality and sexual content in computer games. Enthusiasts can take new games out for a test drive right on site, and parents can acquire the background information they need to properly discuss this issue with their children. In accordance with legal restrictions designed to protect youths and the recommendations of various watchdog groups, those under age 18 may not attend.
Gamestage@FamilyDays / Saturday, November 16, 2013 / 10 AM-6 PM
Program overview:
Speech: A Critical Look at How Games Are Portrayed in the Media
Saturday, November 16 / 2:15-2:45 PM / Seminar Room
For several years now, journalist Benjamin Sterbenz, deputy director of futurezone.at, has been taking a scholarly approach to the classification and historical development of computer games. His book “Genres in Computerspielen” is considered the standard work in this field.
Speech: Computer Games as Crime Scenes
Saturday, November 16 / 3-4 PM / Seminar Room
Computer games and their potential effects on young people’s readiness to resort to violence have provoked heated debates. Accordingly, reactions have ranged from strict rejection to fervent enthusiasm. Non-gamers can’t share the gusto; they see most computer games as a total waste of time. Media educator Konstantin Mitgutsch offers some help getting oriented in this minefield. He’ll show what’s so fascinating about digital gaming, point out the dangers and also demonstrate how games can nurture youngsters’ development.
Speech: Kids’ Games: Hits and Misses
Saturday, November 16 / 4-5 PM / Seminar Room
Christiane Moser of the University of Salzburg scrutinizes scholarly research on computer games for children. At the Center for Advanced Studies and Research in Information and Communication Technologies & Society, she and her team conduct studies and offer programs about various aspects of information & communications technologies and their reciprocal relationships with social phenomena.
Limelight
Saturday, November 16 / 1:30-2:30 PM / Deep Space
Limelight is a three-dimensional public interaction game designed by students in the Interactive Media and Digital Arts program at the Upper Austria University of Applied Sciences’ Hagenberg Campus. A little wizard is the hero of this game set in a world of magic. His mission is to cross through a realm of darkness to reach his destination. His allies in this endeavor are mysterious flickering lights that are actually on-screen avatars of players physically present in Deep Space who are aiding him by means of a tracking system. On the other hand, anyone wishing to create further obstacles for the diminutive sorcerer need only pull out his/her cell phone: an SMS is all it takes to bring monstrosities into play!
Journey of Adventure
Saturday & Sunday, November 16-17 / 3 PM
Kids age 6-10 can take a thrilling journey of discovery through the Ars Electronica Center while their parents find some other way to spend an hour and a half! Extraordinary creatures and other assorted surprises await the members of this tour group, who face their ultimate challenge in Deep Space: rescuing a South Sea island from the clutches of wicked pirates! Price: Saturday, free of charge (in conjunction with the speech “Computer Games as Crime Scenes”); Sunday, €3 (not included in admission). To preregister, call 0732.7272.51 or sent an e-mail to center@aec.at.
Family Tour
Saturday & Sunday, November 16-17 / 11:30 AM, 3:30 PM
A Family Tour is an eventful excursion through the Museum of the Future for kids and grown-ups alike. The itinerary includes Best of Deep Space featuring a journey into outer space via breathtaking, 16×9-meter, high-definition images. Price: €3 (not included in admission); duration: 1½ hours. To preregister, call 0732.7272.51 or sent an e-mail to center@aec.at.
Phone the Drone
Sunday, November 17 / 11 AM, 2 & 4 PM, Level 0
With a tablet in hand, visitors can display their manual dexterity by skillfully piloting a quadcopter through the airspace of the Ars Electronica Center’s Lobby. Each test flight session lasts half an hour.
Press Release: The Ars Electronica Center Plays Up Computer Games / PDF
http://www.flickr.com/photos/arselectronica/10398877464/
GameStage@AEC: Good play, evil play / Radiated Pixel / Printversion / Album
http://www.flickr.com/photos/arselectronica/10398913976/
GameStage@FamilyDays / Radiated Pixel / Printversion / Album
http://www.flickr.com/photos/arselectronica/9125942106/
GameStage@AEC / Radiated Pixel / Printversion / Album
