GDC 2012 details Moriarty, Della Rocca, 'Rant' sessions in Education Summit

Author: by Staff

For the latest update on the Game Developers Conference 2012, show organizers have detailed several sessions within the Education Summit, featuring adventure game veteran Brian Moriarty (pictured) on "sinister" game courses, a look at university based game incubation, and a series of rant sessions from the industry's leading educators. These sessions join a host of other talks within the show's Education Summit, which will explore experimental educational techniques and influential game research that educators can bring back into the classroom. As one of GDC 2012's eight specialized Summits, the Education Summit will take place during the first two days of the show -- from Monday, March 5 through Tuesday, March 6 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Those interested in checking out any of the Summit content can do so by registering for an All Access or Summits & Tutorials pass on the official GDC website. Here are the newest education-focused talks to be added to GDC 2012's Education Summit: - In a session exploring experimental game design curricula, adventure game veteran Brian Moriarty (Wishbringer, Beyond Zork, Loom) will share his "sinister" method for teaching students about game development. Moriarty's talk, "Lehr und Kunst mit Perlenspiel," will detail how he plunges his students deep into the trenches of game design, tasking them with developing five complete games over the course of a seven week term. He will argue that this peculiar strategy is surprisingly effective at equipping students with the knowledge they need to succeed in the game business. - Elsewhere, regular GDC speaker and former IGDA executive director Jason Della Rocca will host "Incubating Indie Games at University." Here, Della Rocca will look back on a recent eight-week course at Montreal's Concordia University, in which indie developers and university staff worked together to develop a number of diverse game prototypes. The session will detail lessons learned from the experience, and will illustrate the importance of bridging the gap between game development and academia. - In "Game Educators Rant!," a group of leading teachers, scholars, and professors will share their insight and speak out on topics of their choosing, ranging from students, schools, pedagogy, the future of game education, and much more. Of course, given the nature of GDC's rant sessions, the panelists are almost certain to explore some unexpected and unusual issues. Speakers will include prominent game designer and researcher Ian Bogost, UC Santa Cruz' Michael Mateas, storied developer and writer Jesse Schell, WallFour's Adam Russell, and New York University's Jesper Juul. In addition to the above sessions, GDC 2012's Education Summit will feature numerous other talks covering the ways in which games serve as research tools, the importance of understanding game history, some tips for rapid education-focused prototyping, a look at diversity in game development, and a presentation on how to teach game AI from scratch. For more information on these or any other sessions at GDC 2012, please check out the event's official Schedule Builder, which shows the current, growing lineup for the show so far. Also be sure to keep an eye on the official GDC news blog, or subscribe to updates via Twitter, Facebook, or RSS. GDC 2012 will take place March 5 through March 9 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, and is owned and operated by Gamasutra parent company UBM TechWeb.