The 2019 Whaaat!? festival is almost here, and like last year's inaugural event, it promises something for every game aficionado: weird new games, old dusty games, overlooked gems,听games with bizarre controllers, games that live in art museums听and even games that may start arguments over what the听game actually is. The event will also feature the ever-popular, all-you-can-eat cereal bar.
The Oct. 5听festival includes the听 where you can sample all of the above, and a conference for serious game developers.
-goers will learn听about the art form of game design during panel discussions, workshops and from this year's keynote speakers, including well-known game designers Colleen Macklin and Jason Rohrer.
Rohrer's work comprised听the first full-scale museum show devoted to videogames of a single artist at the Davis Museum at Wellesley College in 2016; his 2007 game听Passage听is included听in the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art.听Macklin is听an associate professor of media design at Parsons The New School for Design and founder and co-director of PETLab, which focuses on games for experimental learning and social engagement. Her听work has been shown with Come Out & Play, Creative Time and the Whitney Museum, and she鈥檚 co-authored two books: "Games, Design and Play" and "Iterate: Ten Lessons in Design and Failure."
The arcade,听a听free event which runs from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.,听features specially curated tabletop and digital games to play "until your fingers are numb and your brain is inspired."鈥�
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Overall the听event is geared towards games that don't fit in traditional boxes and highlights experiences that make you say "Whaaat!?
That's not "What?,"听but "Whaaat!?," defined in urban slang dictionaries as an expression of amazement and disbelief, combined with delight. Conference organizers听Matt Bethancourt, director of the program and the听ATLAS Whaaat!? Lab, which specializes in experimental game development, and听Danny Rankin, ATLAS instructor and recent graduate of the institute鈥檚听Creative, Technology and Design (CTD) program, created the festival,听to leave people 鈥渟urprised, maybe confused听and hopefully delighted.鈥�
for the听Whaaat!? conference is now open; attendance is limited to 175, and the price is听$30.
Whaaat!? is sponsored by the ATLAS Institute and 兔子先生传媒文化作品's Engineering Excellence Fund.听
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Who:听Expert gamers to听aspiring developers to听those who know little about games.听
What: 2019 Whaaat!? Festival,听a one-day festival for games and experimental interactions. Conference track听includes听talks, a curated arcade of experimental games, workshops, panels and more!
When: Oct. 5, 2019, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Where: Roser ATLAS Center, ATLAS Institute, University of Colorado Boulder, 1125 18th St, Boulder, CO
Cost: The $30听conference price includes access to panel discussions, workshops and keynote speaker presentations, as well as听full access to the听. The arcade track is free, but is required.
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