Brainy Gamer

I want to apologize to regular readers for my meager output here lately. Several factors have converged to temporarily restrict my writing time and freedom to play many games. The start of the school year always pinches a bit, but this year I'm also staging the first theater production, so I'm teaching during the day and directing at night.

Happily, I can announce a couple of games-related projects I've been working on too. In a couple of weeks, I'll attend IndieCade one of my favorite events of the year. It's a terrific festival of independent games with a lively conference attached. This year I will speak, along with the unfailingly erudite Simon Ferrari, at a "Well Played" session in which Simon and I present two IndieCade finalist games and explain why we believe they merit special attention. We're slated for Friday, October 7, from 1:00pm - 2:00pm at the Ivy Substation.

Other speakers at IndieCade this year include Daniel Benmergui, Jon Blow, Brandon Boyer, Terry Cavanagh, Mary Flanagan, Nick Fortugno, Tracy Fullerton, Rod Humble, Robin Hunicke, Rich Lemarchand, Jane Pinckard, Adam Saltsman, Nathan Vella, Jamin Warren, and Eric Zimmerman, among others. You can find the full conference schedule here and the list of finalist games here.

Then on October 10, I'll deliver the opening address at a Game Symposium hosted by DePauw University called "Ethical Inquiry Through Video Game Play and Design." The next day Peter Molyneux will present a keynote address, and various papers and panels will be delivered as well. You can find the full conference program here.

And, in case you're interested, my production of Lend Me a Tenor opens September 28 and runs through October 1 at 8:00pm each evening in the Fine Arts Center at Wabash College. Tickets are free.

So, while these "distractions" may have temporarily curtailed my work here, I'll soon have a few things to show for my absence, and maybe one or two of them will be worth seeing. :-) As always, thanks for reading Brainy Gamer...and happy gaming!