ATLAS Institute's听听has returned from the virtual wilderness听and will be held in person听on November 14 in the Roser ATLAS building.听The fourth annual event will include an arcade and conference packed with phenomenal guest speakers, bizarre games听and experimental interactions.听And yeah, they鈥檙e gonna have cereal again, too!
Organized by Whaaat!? Lab for Games and Experimental Interactions'听肠辞-诲颈谤别肠迟辞谤蝉听听Matt Bethancourt听补苍诲听Danny Rankin,听the听dynamic duo听created the festival in 2018, connecting ATLAS with the world of indie games and successfully seeding an enthusiastic community of offbeat game makers. Working around the restrictions of the pandemic last year, the Whaaat!? Festival morphed into a regular series of online events that ran throughout the academic year.听
"The festival's goal is to feature creative and original games that break the rules, inspiring delight by forging new ways to live, interact and play," says Bethancourt, a teaching associate professor with ATLAS. Putting it more succinctly, "We want to make people say 'Whaaat!?'" he says.
Two Ways to Whaaat!?: Arcade and Conference
Free and open to all, the听Whaaat!? Arcade听will feature specially curated tabletop and digital games for participants听to play until their听fingers go听numb and their brains feel听inspired. 听The arcade will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Nov. 14, and conference organizers note, "it will be a 100 percent听delight!"
Sponsored by the听听and the 兔子先生传媒文化作品听, the听Whaaat!? Conference听is limited to 175 tickets at $30 and听features talks, workshops, panels, lunch听and a ton of fun surprises. Students may apply for听听to offset the cost of attending. This year conference organizers are听thrilled to welcome听听补苍诲听听as the event's听two keynote speakers.听
"There's a whole carnival's-worth of game-related weirdness in store," says Rankin, a teaching assistant professor.听"We'll be making additional announcements as we get closer to the date. In the meantime, grab those tickets, contact us with any questions, and we鈥檒l see you in November!"
听
What: ATLAS Institute's fourth annual听Whaaat!? Festival
Where: University of Colorado,听Roser ATLAS Center,听1125 18th St., Boulder
When:听Sunday, Nov. 14:听听Conference: 10 AM 鈥� 4 PM | Arcade: 11 AM 鈥撎�3 PM;
Cost:听Arcade free;听 Conference $30 (Register separately for each.) 听