What is exactly is pervasive gaming? Why do people create and play these games? What makes them fun? What do hipsters and big games have in common?

This talk is an early stage presentation of the results of ethnographic research carried out at gaming festivals in New York, London and Bristol. For those new to the area, it will explain what the term pervasive gaming means, and discuss contemporary practice in the field. Using ethnographic excerpts it will illustrate thematic issues around the social and cultural situation of this gaming phenomena as well as explore the aesthetics of the gameplay itself. It will not be a highly academic talk and it is intended to help you understand the methods used in the research and the value of this approach. And yes, you will find out exactly how hipsters fit in.

The project is occasionally blogged at www.digitaldust.org

Dan Dixon is Senior Lecturer at the University of the West of England. Prior to moving to academia, he collected ten years of commercial web design and development experience in roles as Senior Consultant with Headshift, a Social Software company, as Product Manager for the BBC’s online communities and Production Director for London new media agency Syzygy.

His current research interests are concerned with web 2.0, computer gaming, and ubiquitous/physical/pervasive computing. He is working on a PhD titled "Playing with Reality", that is developing an aesthetic framework for pervasive games.

 

This Lunchtime Talk is part of Open Studio Friday which takes place at the Studio every week.

Lunchtime Talks are informal presentations by Studio residents and associates. They normally take place at 1pm on Open Studio Friday, are free and open to everybody who’s interested in what we do.

After the Talk, we also invite you to stay with us for the afternoon to continue the conversation or work on your own projects. We provide chairs, tables, wireless and a great space. You bring what you need to work with (laptop/mobile). Our open afternoons close at 5pm, usually with a trip to the bar.

Let us know if you haven’t been to the Studio before and we'll be happy to show you around! Send an email to Shirin@pmstudio.co.uk and we will meet you at 12.30pm for a quick tour.