Who says gaming can’t be serious and fun at the same time? Serious gaming in academia and education has been around for a while. But the potential of gaming for their role in archaeology education or how we paint popular pictures of the past is still under explored. VALUE promises to change that. It’s the first conference by a group of archaeologists in the Netherlands who frequently organise events on the topic. Check it out!
Deadline for submitting abstracts: 31 January 2016.
Contact: info@valueproject.nl
This conference will explore the intersections of archaeology and video games. Its aim is to bring scholars and students from archaeology, history, heritage and museum studies together with game developers and designers. The program will allow for both in-depth treatment of the topic in the form of presentations, open discussion, as well as skill transference and the establishment of new ties between academia and the creative industry.
Studies on the interface of archaeology and video games are part of a growing field. Its grassroots are located in social media and the blogosphere. Beyond social media, the intersection of archaeology and video games can make important contributions to archaeology at large. Archaeological research in and on video games can bring a range of new opportunities, such as the potential to discuss, model and illustrate archaeological theories with crowd-sourced, video game data or as a new channel for public outreach.
At the same time there is a similar upsurge of interest in using heritage and the past in video game development and design. Many creatives, particularly those working at smaller, independent companies, are actively looking to present a different, more conscious approach to interactive pasts. However, with the exception of the arena of serious gaming, the academic and industry networks are still largely unconnected.
This conference is one of the first in the world to focus on this new and exciting field of study. The conference organizers hope to show archaeologists and students how they could engage with the largely untapped medium of interactive entertainment as well as provide creatives with insights into the practice of archaeology and its unique views on the human past. Finally, we seek to provide opportunities for immediate and future collaborations between academics and developers.
Registration
If you are interested in attending the conference, please register by submitting this form. Registration is free and not mandatory – however, it will greatly assist us in properly preparing for the event and the workshops.
Preliminary Program
Monday April 4th 2016 – Presentations
9:00 – 9:30 Registration & coffee 9:30 – 10:00 Welcome 10:00 – 11:00 Theme 1: Video games in archaeological research 11:00 – 11:30 Break 11:30 – 12:30 Theme 1 (continued) 12:30 – 13:30 Lunch 13:30 – 15:00 Theme 2: The past in game development 15:00 – 15:30 Break 15:30 – 16:30 Theme 3: Bringing it to the public 16:30 – 17:00 Discussion 17:00 Drinks
Tuesday April 5th 2016 – Workshops
9:00 – 9:30 Welcome & coffee 9:30 – 11:00 Session 1: How archaeology works – translating archaeological practice and interpretation to the creative industries’ language 11:00 – 11:30 Break 11:30 – 13:00 Session 2: How games work – translating creative industries’ practice to archaeological language 13:00 – 14:00 Lunch 14:00 – 17:00 Session 3: Making archaeology and games work together 17:00 Closing & drinks Contact/Questions
If you wish to be considered as a speaker for this conference, please send us an abstract of your presentation, latest on January 31st 2016. Abstracts should be max. 200 words. Please make sure to indicate in your email within which of the three themes your presentation would fit.
All abstracts and other queries may be directed to info@valueproject.nl