Will Wright: What Makes Games (Good) For Learning

Join visionary game designer Will Wright, whose creations include SimCity, The Sims, Spore, and many others, for a discussion on digital games and how they support and encourage learning.

Video game pioneer Will Wright, the creator of “SimCity” and “Spore,” will lead “Why Games are (Good) for Learning,” a discussion on how digital games encourage learning, on Wednesday, February 17.

The event, presented by the Games for Learning Institute (G4LI) is free and open to the public, but a ticket is required for entry and seating is limited. To obtain tickets, email tickets@g4li.org (limit: 2 per person).

Any remaining tickets will be available at noon on February 17 at Skirball Center Box Office (566 LaGuardia Place). The event is co-sponsored by the NYU Game Center, Games for Change, and Microsoft Research. 

Wright, awarded the PC Magazine Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005, has been called one of the most important people in gaming, technology, and entertainment by publications such as Entertainment Weekly, Time, PC Gamer, Discover, and GameSpy. In 2009, he left publisher Electronic Arts to form his own think tank for the future of games, toys, and entertainment—the Stupid Fun Club.

The G4LI is a joint research endeavor of Microsoft Research and a consortium of universities. The partners include: Columbia University, the City University of New York (CUNY), Dartmouth College, Parsons, Polytechnic Institute of NYU, the Rochester Institute of Technology, and Teachers College as well as NYU. The Institute’s aim is to identify which qualities of computer games engage students and develop relevant, personalized teaching strategies that can be applied to the learning process.

What:

Will Wright: Why Games Are (Good) For Learning

When:

Wednesday, February 17th 2010

6:00pm

Where:

Skirball Center for the Performing Arts

New York University

566 LaGuardia Place (at Washington Square South)

New York, NY 10012