Video game pioneer Will Wright, the creator of “SimCity” and “Spore,” will lead “Why Games are (Good) for Learning,” a discussion on how digital games encourage learning, on Wednesday, February 17, 6 - 7 p.m. at the Jack H. Skirball Center for the Performing Arts at New York University, 566 LaGuardia Place, NYC. For more information, call 212.998.3342.
Video game pioneer Will Wright, the creator of “SimCity” and “Spore,” will lead “Why Games are (Good) for Learning,” a discussion on how digital games encourage learning, on Wednesday, February 17, 6 - 7 p.m. at the Jack H. Skirball Center for the Performing Arts at New York University, 566 LaGuardia Place (at Washington Square South). [Subway Lines: A, B, C, D, E, F, V (West 4th Street); R, W (8th Street); 6 (Astor Place)]
The event, presented by the Games for Learning Institute (G4LI), is free and open to the public, but a ticket is required for entry and seating is limited. To obtain tickets, email tickets@g4li.org (limit: 2 per person). Any remaining tickets will be available at noon on February 17 at Skirball Center Box Office (566 LaGuardia Place). For more information, call 212.998.3342. The event is co-sponsored by the NYU Game Center, Games for Change, and Microsoft Research.
Reporters wishing to attend the session must RSVP to James Devitt, NYU’s Office of Public Affairs, at 212.998.6808 or james.devitt@nyu.edu.
Wright, awarded the PC Magazine Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005, has been called one of the most important people in gaming, technology, and entertainment by publications such as Entertainment Weekly, Time, PC Gamer, Discover, and GameSpy. In 2009, he left publisher Electronic Arts to form his own think tank for the future of games, toys, and entertainment-the Stupid Fun Club.
The G4LI is a joint research endeavor of Microsoft Research and a consortium of universities. The partners include: Columbia University, the City University of New York (CUNY), Dartmouth College, Parsons, Polytechnic Institute of NYU, the Rochester Institute of Technology, Teachers College, and Pontifical Catholic University of Chile as well as NYU. The Institute’s aim is to identify which qualities of computer games engage students and develop relevant, personalized teaching strategies that can be applied to the learning process.
About Games for Learning Institute:
The multi-institutional Games for Learning Institute studies the educational use of digital games, and investigates their socio-cultural, cognitive, and emotional impact. It develops design patterns for effective educational games that industry partners can draw on to assure high quality when designing their own games for learning. Its current focus is on games that teach science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to middle-school students.
About the NYU Game Center
The NYU Game Center is housed in the Skirball Center for New Media at the Tisch School of the Arts and is an all NYU collaboration of the Tisch School, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, and Polytechnic Institute of NYU. The Center is supported by generous grants from an anonymous donor, the Rockefeller Foundation, and Sharon Chang and the TTSL Charitable Foundation.
About Games for Change:
Games for Change (G4C) is a non-profit which seeks to harness the extraordinary power of video games to address the most pressing issues of our day, including poverty, education, human rights, global conflict and climate change. G4C acts as a voice for the transformative power of games, bringing together organizations and individuals from the nonprofit sector, government, journalism, academia, industry and the arts, to grow the sector and provide a platform for the exchange of ideas and resources. Through this work, Games for Change promotes new kinds of games that engage contemporary social issues in meaningful ways to foster a more just, equitable and tolerant society.
About the Jack H. Skirball Center for Performing Arts at NYU:
The Skirball Centeris the premier venue for the presentation of cultural and performing arts events for NYU and lower Manhattan. The programs of the Skirball Center reflect NYU’s mission as an international center of scholarship, defined by excellence and innovation and shaped by an intellectually rich and diverse environment. Since 2003, the 860-seat Center has provided a unique venue for enhancing a sense of community while continuing the Greenwich Village traditions of creativity and artistic discovery with a broad range of compelling performance events at affordable ticket prices. Led by Executive Producer Jay Oliva (President Emeritus, NYU) and Director Michael Harrington, a natural and vital aspect of the Center’s mission is to build young adult audiences for the future of live performance.