NEWare hosts Game Culture & Technology Lab
Henry and Henrik hosted a meeting of UCI's Game Culture & Technology Lab on our island this evening. Henry is a virtual resident at the Lab this quarter, as part of a quarter-long workshop funded by the UC Humanties Research Institute. The workshop includes a group of game studies scholars, artists, and others interested in exploring the possibilities of virtual collaboration around topics drawn from game culture and technology. The lab itself is described as follows:
The mission of the Game Culture & Technology Lab is to play with how game metaphors, design principles, and technologies can be utilized for alternative content and context delivery. The focus is on the next generation Internet and beyond.
The approach combines theory and practice, art and science, education and entertainment, to create an environment that supports diverse forms of expression in a wide range of applications.The methods include sampling, misuse, hacking, appropriation, reverse engineering, and customization in the interest of open-source innovation and critical intervention.
The Game Lab is physically housed in the Art Culture and Technology building within the School of the Arts (SOTA), as well as in The California Institute for Telecommunication and Information Technology (Calit2).
Research and development activities are conducted in both the SOTA and Calit2 facilities. SOTA consists of approximately 800 square foot of heavily equipped industrial style space (16 foot ceilings, concrete floors, projectors whiteboards, workstations); Calit2 provides an additional 8 special project rooms and 2 offices (high-end corporate cubicle style) dedicated to GCTL activities.
Both facilities are where students in the Concentration in Game Culture and Technology perform their independent research.
The Concentration is a jointly run intensive academic program between the School of Information and Computer Science (ICS) and SOTA.
We had a lively, if somewhat unruly meeting as our visitors explored the island in various states of dress (and undress). Here are a few screenshots to give a flavor of the evening:
Henry