Tuesday Talks presents Dr. Curt Gervich 11/12/24

[Kristin Short]

Tuesday Talks presents Dr. Curt Gervich, Professor in the Center for Earth
and Environmental Science at SUNY Plattsburgh, speaking on "Playing Games
to Build Community and Advance Social Change" on *Tuesday, November 12,
2024 at 5pm* in the Angell College Center's Alumni Conference Room. Below
is an abstract of Dr. Gervich's presentation.



This case study research explores the theories, objectives and gaming
formats developed by the creators of urban escape games, and considers what
these games and their designers can teach urban planners about cities,
sustainability and placemaking. The theory of transformative play provides
a framework for considering the potential of games to advance social
change. Urban planners are social changemakers that strive to create just,
livable and sustainable cities. Two innovative gaming companies, Mystery
City Games (MCG) and Questo, are experimenting with novel gaming formats
that bridge urban planning and transformative play. These companies create
real-world exploration games during which players solve mysteries by
cracking codes, riddles and puzzles that are situated in the urban
landscape. The games produced by MCG and Questo immerse players in the
cityscape and require deep observation of the urban form in order to
achieve success.  MCG creates highly researched outdoor escape games based
on historical events. Examples include The Secret of Cerda, which features
the role of municipal planner Ildefons Cerda (1815-1876) in shaping the
urban landscape of Barcelona, and Outbreak London, which follows the story
of John Snow as he unravels the epidemiology of London’s 19th century
cholera outbreak. Questo, on the other hand, has developed an open-source
app that allows anyone to build a Questo escape game. Consequently, the
Questo platform offers games by a diverse community of amateur designers.
Many Questo games tell hyperlocal stories and directly confront social
problems such as racism, fascism and environmental degradation. Examples
include Ludvig Larsendahl’s City of My Dreams: A Working Class Adventure on
Sodermalm, which provides a glimpse into the struggles of a 19th century
day-laborer in Stockholm, and Garbatella: Street Art and Resistance in
Rome, by Ciara O’Siorain, which tells the story of Rome’s rebellious
Garbatella neighborhood. This presentation will feature interviews with MCG
and Questo game developers, describe the play experiences of games created
by both companies, and synthesize learning from these games within the
context of urban sustainability and placemaking.
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