Thanks to Joel from Mnemonic Audio (http://www NULL.mnemonicaudio NULL.com/) for recording Floyd Mueller’s introduction to Exertion Games (http://www NULL.rmit NULL.edu NULL.au/exertiongameslab) at the IGDAM meet up on Tuesday 8 November (and for making sure I now know how to spell Mnemonic)
When: Tuesday 8 November from 6:30pm
Where:
Exertion Games Lab, RMIT
Building 9, Level 1 Room 27
Bowen St RMIT
North end of campus
What:
Floyd Mueller will welcome us into his Games Lab and explain exertion games.
Along with the exertion games from the lab team, there will also be around a dozen locally developed indie and student games up on display for play. More details about what’s to play over the coming days.
When: Tuesday 8 N
ovember 6.30-10.30pm
Where:
Florian ‘Floyd’ Mueller is researching the future of interactive technology that can support a life full of values and satisfaction. The Exertion Games Lab, based at RMIT, invents the future of gaming in order to understand how to design better interactive experiences, in particular games that require intense physical effort from players.
The research is particularly focused on the merging of “play” and the human “body”, drawing from research streams such as embodied interaction, interaction design, human-computer interaction and games research.
Floyd will tell us a bit more about Exertion Games and bring along some exertive games to try out.
We will also have space for more traditional (or otherwise) video games to be demo’d and displayed, so if you want to show off your latest creation please register here (https://docs NULL.google NULL.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&formkey=dEl0M2I4d3NPZ0k0bjRSSUhNUkNzNnc6MA#gid=0) and we will be in touch. For serious. We will. Promise!
To help with logistics, there is a facebook event (https://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/event NULL.php?eid=273369602693520) where you can let us know if we’re expecting you.
The week after, November 14-16 is GCAP (http://gcap NULL.com NULL.au/), contact Giselle at igdamelbourne dot org if you want a 10% discount code on your ticket. This is the Melbourne games event of the year, and not to be missed!
This Tuesday saw IGDAM meet at their usual locale for a fun evening of video game trivia. Kevin Powe did a great job quizmastering, and there were thirteen teams competing on the night. The team to beat was Deus SEX, comprising of a formidable brains trust including Brad Giblin, Sam Mayo, Tony Reed, Leena Van Deventer and wonderkid Josh.
However beaten the were, by Team VF by one point in the final round. The teams then embarked in ninja battles to decide the ultimate winners. Matthew Elvey Price walked away the ultimate victor with an iPad2. Thanks again to FMOD (http://www NULL.fmod NULL.org/)for donating the grand prize.
Wonderkid Josh out-ninja’d the rest of the Deus SEX team to take the $100 EB Gift card donated by Big Ant Studios (http://bigant NULL.com/).
Thanks also to Play Bit Entertainment (http://www NULL.playbitent NULL.com/about)for the JB Vouchers, Thousand Pound Bend for the jugs of beer and Jenn Sandercock for the most delicious raspberry brownies the teams losing at the end of each round were given. Defeat never tasted so good.
Next month is a busy one. GCAP on November 14-16 (http://gcap NULL.com NULL.au/) and it’s the place to be if you’re in games. Thanks to GDAA we can still offer 10% discount to all igdam folk, so if you head along to our events, chances are you don’t want to miss GCAP. Email giselle at igdamelbourne dot org for your unique code which works on all ticket types. Early bird deals are currently scheduled to end with October, so make the most of the discounts and be part of the formative discussions about your industry next month.
We’ll be meeting on 8 November at 1000 Pound Bend (https://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/event NULL.php?eid=273369602693520)and finding out more about Exertion Games. If you want to display your own game register now, we’ll be in touch if you get a place. Hopefully some of our interstate mates will be able to make it down for both November’s Show and Play.
The Exertion Games Lab (exertiongameslab.org (http://exertiongameslab NULL.org/)) in Melbourne, Australia,
is seeking exceptional PhD candidates to research the future of
exertion games and play.
The Exertion Games Lab is a new lab that researches the future of
gaming in order to understand how to design better interactive
experiences, in particular games that require intense physical effort
from players. We call it the intersection between gaming and sports.
Our research is focused on the merging of play and the active human
body, drawing from research streams such as interaction design, human-
computer interaction and computer games research.
The culture in the Exertion Games Lab is one of interdisciplinary
work. At the Exertion Games Lab, we do not just philosophize and write
about the future, we actively invent it. We emphasize the development
of working prototypes in order to fully understand what play is, why
we play, and how we will play in the future. We do this because we
believe playing and gaming is a fundamental part of what makes us
humans who we are, and an understanding of this brings us closer to
our vision of a better world filled with interactive technologies that
support human values.
We are looking for exceptional candidates who value an
interdisciplinary perspective, are highly motivated, willing to learn
a variety of new skills, can think outside the box, are creative as
well as technical, and also have highly developed analytical and
communicative skills.
We are offering a great open-plan lab environment in the Design Hub,
Australia’s newest interdisciplinary design center at RMIT (Royal
Melbourne Institute of Technology), where we work together to invent
the future of exertion games, with great support for physical game
prototyping and international collaborations. You will be supervised
by me, Florian ‘Floyd’ Mueller; I have created the lab based on my
experiences from working across 3 continents at research labs such as
MIT’s Media Lab, Media Lab Europe, Xerox Parc, Fuji Xerox, Microsoft
Research Asia, the University of Melbourne, CSIRO and Stanford
University.
Unlike most other countries, RMIT’s PhDs in the Exertion Games Lab
take only 3 years, they require a 4-year degree or a Masters
(exceptions if you have work experience etc.), and there are many
different scholarships available that can cover both tuition and
living expenses: http://rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=igf2sdssaler1 (http://rmit NULL.edu NULL.au/browse;ID=igf2sdssaler1)
(International students will be mostly looking at RUIRS, and
Australian/New Zealand citizens at APA. There is also jason.edu.au (http://jason NULL.edu NULL.au/) for
more scholarships, and your home country might also offer scholarships
to conduct PhD research overseas, for example we have had great
experiences with DAAD and Fulbright.)
Also, applications for a PhD work a bit different than in most other
countries: You can apply anytime, but in order to be considered for
most scholarships, you will need to have your application in before
the 28 Oct 2011 (note time-difference!) for a start date of early/mid
2012. But before you submit your application, you will need to have
convinced us in the Exertion Games Lab to support your application.
So in order to support your application, please send us in reply to
this email your CV, a cover letter with what you would like to
research with your PhD, and why, and a link to your portfolio,
including any research papers you might have written. In your
portfolio, we will be looking at your potential for creativity,
excellence and drive in relation to Exertion Games. If we like what we
see, we will then underwrite your application that you will send to
the central RMIT University PhD application system.
We should also mention that you will be doing your PhD right in the
heart of the world’s most livable city, Melbourne:
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1583116/melbourne-judged-world-s-most-livable-city (http://www NULL.sbs NULL.com NULL.au/news/article/1583116/melbourne-judged-world-s-most-livable-city)
Here is what Wired said about us recently:
http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/09/exertion-games-lab-where-physical-meets-digital/ (http://www NULL.wired NULL.com/geekdad/2011/09/exertion-games-lab-where-physical-meets-digital/)
Looking forward to reading your applications!
Thanks,
Floyd