Playful by Design will hold its 2023 Fall Symposium on November 2-4 at various locations on campus and in the community. Sponsored by Game Studies and Design, the symposium will include keynotes, a town hall, panels, and more. Playful by Design is a network of UIUC and Champaign-Urbana community members who study and design games and research and develop emerging technologies and playful/gameful teaching practices.
On November 2, Terrence Masson, chair of MFA Computer Arts at the School of Visual Art, and founding director of Creative Industries at Northeastern University, will present the keynote, "Storytelling, Research, Design and Play in the Creative Industries: Looking Back and Looking Forward,"at the Krannert Art Museum. The keynote will be followed by a town hall with speakers from several interdisciplinary units on campus, including Art and Design, Dance, Media and Cinema Studies, Music, English, and Theater.
On November 3, symposium attendees can participate in a Youth Experiential Learning Simulation (YExLS), in which they will explore education, mental health, social services, and employment as they are experienced by youth and then develop ideas for policy reforms. Brian Blalock, senior staff attorney at the Youth Law Center, will present the keynote, "Growing Imaginariums: Playing Games to Do the Hard Work of Making Children's Rights," and panels will focus on libraries and makerspaces, educational innovation, and student projects being developed at Stu/dio.
The symposium will culminate with the CUDO Plays Season 10 Playtest Convention on November 4 at the Broadway Food Hall in Urbana.
All events are free and open to the public. Symposium organizers include Teaching Associate Professor Judith Pintar and Informatics staff members Lisa Bievenue, Emilie Butt, Katryna Starks, Dan Cermak, and Duncan Baird.