Richard Lemarchand, Associate Professor at University of California, provides an excellent overview of open-ended play and connects studies of play to other disciplines and behaviors beyond games. The overview follows:
Join Richard Lemarchand, former Naughty Dog lead game designer and associate professor in the USC Games program, for a talk that investigates the game design potential of “open play” – play that does not necessarily result in an outcome of victory or defeat. Using the lens of James P. Carse’s “Finite and Infinite Games,” a book that is widely influential outside of game design circles, but is not well-known among game designers, Richard will examine the recent revolution in experiential, reflective and expressive games with the goal of expanding our thinking about game design of all kinds, and the personal and moral value that can be found in games.
