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How players evoke personal and subjective meanings through a new theory of player response. In The Well-Read Game: On Playing Thoughtfully (MIT Press, 2025), Tracy Fullerton and Matthew Farber explore the experiences we have when we play games: not the outcomes of play or the aesthetics of formal game structures but the ephemeral and emotional experiences of being in play. These are the private stories we tell ourselves as we play, the questions we ask, and our reactions to the game's intent. These experiences are called “readings” because they involve so many of the aspects of engaging with literary, cinematic, and other expressive texts. A game that is experienced in such a way can be called “well-read,” rather than, or as well as, “well-played,” because of the personal, interpretive nature of that experience and the way in which it relates to our reading of texts of all kinds. The concept of the “well-read game” exists at the convergence of literary, media, and play theories—specifically, the works of Louise Rosenblatt's reader-response theory, Brian Upton's situational game theory, Tracy Fullerton's playcentric design theory, and Bernie DeKoven's well-played game philosophy. Each of these theories, from their own perspective, challenges notions of a separate, objective, or authorial meaning in a text and underscores the richness that arises from the varied responses of readers, who coauthor the meaning of each text through their active engagement with it. When taken together, these theories point to a richer understanding of what a game is and how we might better value our experiences with games to become more thoughtful readers of their essential meanings. Rudolf Thomas Inderst (*1978) enjoys video games since 1985. He received a master's degree in political science, American cultural studies as well as contemporary and recent history from Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich and holds two PhDs in game studies (LMU & University of Passau). Currently, he's teaching as a professor for game design and game studies at the University of Applied Sciences Neu-Ulm, has submitted his third dissertation at the University of Vechta, holds the position as lead editor at the online journal Titel kulturmagazin for the game section, hosts the German local radio show Replay Value and is editor of the weekly game research newsletter DiGRA D-A-CH Game Studies Watchlist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/communications
How players evoke personal and subjective meanings through a new theory of player response. In The Well-Read Game: On Playing Thoughtfully (MIT Press, 2025), Tracy Fullerton and Matthew Farber explore the experiences we have when we play games: not the outcomes of play or the aesthetics of formal game structures but the ephemeral and emotional experiences of being in play. These are the private stories we tell ourselves as we play, the questions we ask, and our reactions to the game's intent. These experiences are called “readings” because they involve so many of the aspects of engaging with literary, cinematic, and other expressive texts. A game that is experienced in such a way can be called “well-read,” rather than, or as well as, “well-played,” because of the personal, interpretive nature of that experience and the way in which it relates to our reading of texts of all kinds. The concept of the “well-read game” exists at the convergence of literary, media, and play theories—specifically, the works of Louise Rosenblatt's reader-response theory, Brian Upton's situational game theory, Tracy Fullerton's playcentric design theory, and Bernie DeKoven's well-played game philosophy. Each of these theories, from their own perspective, challenges notions of a separate, objective, or authorial meaning in a text and underscores the richness that arises from the varied responses of readers, who coauthor the meaning of each text through their active engagement with it. When taken together, these theories point to a richer understanding of what a game is and how we might better value our experiences with games to become more thoughtful readers of their essential meanings. Rudolf Thomas Inderst (*1978) enjoys video games since 1985. He received a master's degree in political science, American cultural studies as well as contemporary and recent history from Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich and holds two PhDs in game studies (LMU & University of Passau). Currently, he's teaching as a professor for game design and game studies at the University of Applied Sciences Neu-Ulm, has submitted his third dissertation at the University of Vechta, holds the position as lead editor at the online journal Titel kulturmagazin for the game section, hosts the German local radio show Replay Value and is editor of the weekly game research newsletter DiGRA D-A-CH Game Studies Watchlist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/popular-culture
How players evoke personal and subjective meanings through a new theory of player response. In The Well-Read Game: On Playing Thoughtfully (MIT Press, 2025), Tracy Fullerton and Matthew Farber explore the experiences we have when we play games: not the outcomes of play or the aesthetics of formal game structures but the ephemeral and emotional experiences of being in play. These are the private stories we tell ourselves as we play, the questions we ask, and our reactions to the game's intent. These experiences are called “readings” because they involve so many of the aspects of engaging with literary, cinematic, and other expressive texts. A game that is experienced in such a way can be called “well-read,” rather than, or as well as, “well-played,” because of the personal, interpretive nature of that experience and the way in which it relates to our reading of texts of all kinds. The concept of the “well-read game” exists at the convergence of literary, media, and play theories—specifically, the works of Louise Rosenblatt's reader-response theory, Brian Upton's situational game theory, Tracy Fullerton's playcentric design theory, and Bernie DeKoven's well-played game philosophy. Each of these theories, from their own perspective, challenges notions of a separate, objective, or authorial meaning in a text and underscores the richness that arises from the varied responses of readers, who coauthor the meaning of each text through their active engagement with it. When taken together, these theories point to a richer understanding of what a game is and how we might better value our experiences with games to become more thoughtful readers of their essential meanings. Rudolf Thomas Inderst (*1978) enjoys video games since 1985. He received a master's degree in political science, American cultural studies as well as contemporary and recent history from Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich and holds two PhDs in game studies (LMU & University of Passau). Currently, he's teaching as a professor for game design and game studies at the University of Applied Sciences Neu-Ulm, has submitted his third dissertation at the University of Vechta, holds the position as lead editor at the online journal Titel kulturmagazin for the game section, hosts the German local radio show Replay Value and is editor of the weekly game research newsletter DiGRA D-A-CH Game Studies Watchlist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
Join four game designers as they discuss the role of games and play in learning. Drs. Tricia Siefert, Colleen Smith, Tracy Fullerton, and Andrew Peterson challenge the misalignment of education as only linear and structured and explore the paradox of play - how games' mystery, rules, and openness can create space for creativity, connection, emotion, learning, and more.
When was the last time you got up off your couch and actually went out to see a movie? Or a play or a concert? It's fun to go see things in person, but at the end of a long day, Netflix is streaming and the couch is two feet away. But what happens when everyone stays home? When the movie theaters and art houses and performance spaces sit empty? Do we lose something in the process? Original Air Date: October 21, 2017 Interviews In This Hour: An Old-Fashioned Movie House Wedding — The Modern Ruins Of American Movie Palaces — The Sudden Demise of a Beloved DIY Venue — Saved By The Scene, In Real Life or Online — A Fast-Talking Curator's Great Escape From Galleries Into The Real World — I Went To The Woods To Level Up Deliberately — Where We're Going, We Don't Need Talk Show Sets Guests: Matt Lambros, Matt Conboy, JJ Skolnik, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Tracy Fullerton, Will Smith, Mark Riechers, Laurie Gebhard Never want to miss an episode? Subscribe to the podcast. Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive? Subscribe to our newsletter.
Video games can offer us beauty, inspiration and meaning, says Tracy Fullerton, creator of hit games like Walden and The Night Journey and head of the USC Game Innovation Lab. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
On The Game Dev Show this week we sat down with the brilliant Professor, and Director, Tracy Fullerton from the University of Southern California. Tracy takes us through twenty years of interactive entertainment education, how the industry has changed during this time, and the role of education in shaping our industry. We also talk about a vegetable based game...
Will Robinson is the Head of Accelerator at DeFi Alliance, a Web3 accelerator working to grow Web3 to 1 billion users. He is also leading their new gaming accelerator. In this episode he talks with Sasha about:• Getting a Ph.D in Game Studies and then working in Web3• Why you should be building in public - no matter your role or background• How to think about good gameplay versus good incentives in a game• Balancing economics in your game• Creating a flywheel in web3 gamingEpisode links: DeFi Alliance Gaming Accelerator: https://www.defialliance.co/gamesWill Robinson: https://twitter.com/DangerWillRobin[Book] How to Do Things With Video Games by Ian Bogost: http://bogost.com/books/how_to_do_things_with_videogam_1/Game Design Workshop Series by Tracy Fullerton: https://www.gamedesignworkshop.comDark Forest: https://zkga.me/CryptoZombies: https://cryptozombies.io
At the dawn of the video game industry, there wasn't a strong relationship between higher education and gaming. One of the first people to start forging a connection between the two was Tracy Fullerton, an experimental game designer, professor and director emeritus of the USC Games program. Tracy joins the podcast to discuss the process of building USC's program and research center, how the teaching of game design has evolved over the years, and how the intersection of academics and game development has changed the industry. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Tracy Fullerton website: https://www.tracyfullerton.com/ Get your FREE digital edition of Old School Gamer Magazine: http://oldschoolgamer.com/retro As a listener of the show, you can get a case of craft beer on us! Just go to https://www.beer52.com/retro to claim yours We need your help to ensure the future of the podcast, if you'd like to help us with running costs, equipment and hosting, please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://theretrohour.com/support/ https://www.patreon.com/retrohour Get your Retro Hour merchandise: https://bit.ly/33OWBKd Thanks to our amazing donators this week: Joe Hallmark, Martyn Hopkin,s Niklas Linholm, Chad Clark, Whizz1976_ Join our Discord channel: https://discord.gg/GQw8qp8 Website: http://theretrohour.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theretrohour/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/retrohouruk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/retrohouruk/ Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/theretrohour Show notes: Soulja boy claims to own Atari: https://bit.ly/3sL5qlz Quake remaster: https://beth.games/3sNiarE Simpson Hit & Run remastered in a week: https://bit.ly/3gydhhu New Atari Lynx games: https://engt.co/3mv7PQc
Throughout this month, we'll be taking a deeper dive into the world of video games recruitment and the challenges facing both applicants wanting to enter the industry and companies wanting to secure the best talent. For our second 'jobscast,' we take a look at the role of academia in preparing aspiring developers for a role in the industry, and how those who seek a career in games can secure the role they want. Our panel this week includes University of Southern California's Tracy Fullerton, Carnegie Mellon University's Thomas Corbett, Staffordshire University's Nia Wearn, and Falmouth University's Nick Dixon. This series is part of our Get A Job In Games Month. Title music composed by Thomas Marchant.
On this episode of Playthink, Eric Zimmerman and Tracy Fullerton discuss the recently released “The Infinite Playground,” the final book by visionary game designer Bernie De Koven, written with Holly Gramazio and edited by Celia Pearce and Eric Zimmerman.
In this episode, Sean Latham, the Director for the Oklahoma Center for the Humanities, has a conversation with Tracy Fullerton, an award-winning game designer and professor at the University of Southern California. Together they explore what games allow users to do, how entertainment can be forged from the process, and why "play" is at the heart of all it. Links: https://humanities.utulsa.edu/ https://faculty.utulsa.edu/faculty/sean-latham/ https://www.tracyfullerton.com/ https://www.crcpress.com/Game-Design-Workshop-A-Playcentric-Approach-to-Creating-Innovative-Games/Fullerton/p/book/9781138098770
Paul Slocum is an artist, software developer, curator, and musician based in Pasadena, California. He is director of a new media art gallery called And/Or Gallery that exhibits digital art and develops software for digital art displays and music. On this episode of Playthink, Slocum and Tracy Fullerton talk about art games, curating digital art and art in the age of play.
Perhaps you want to bring more magic into the world in the form of an animated film or video game. Inevitably, such a significant undertaking will face big challenges. What gives filmmakers and game designers the drive to persist over the years it takes to complete such substantial projects—when there is no guarantee or reward or recognition? Today, Jeffrey goes behind-the-scenes of wonder-making with filmmaker, animator, director and producer Mark Osborne, whose film The Little Prince received France’s prestigious César Award for Best Animated Film, and game designer, educator and Game Design Workshop author Tracy Fullerton, who serves as Director of the USC Games Program and Professor and Chair of the Interactive Media & Games Division of the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Mark and Tracy explore the collaborative nature of the work they do, explaining how their respective teams foster curiosity and generate unexpected ideas via play, affording special attention to craft and detail along the way. Mark describes his commitment to doing justice to The Little Prince, and Tracy offers insight around the personal connection her ‘book club’ developed with the award-winning Walden, a game. Tracy and Mark share their favorite elements of wonder in The Little Prince and Walden, discussing the painstaking effort involved in taking our breath away. Listen in to understand how their work brings Thoreau and Saint-Exupéry’s themes into the 21st century and learn how to keep your own team inspired and agile by way of an open, inclusive work culture. Key Takeaways [6:14] Young Mark and Tracy at their best Mark living in Star Wars fantasy world, exploring arts Tracy making contraptions/clubhouses in dad’s workshop [9:33] How Tracy’s young genius informs her work now Put together teams, ‘free to be ourselves’ Curiosity of kids pushing new frontiers [13:44] The collaborative nature of animation Work in arts requires ability to think and act like kids Unexpected ideas emerge from working in teams [16:52] Mark’s inspiration for the frame story in The Little Prince Creative riddle to celebrate power of book Idea to use stop-motion for book, CG for larger story [22:05] The concept behind the Walden video game Translation of book (i.e.: activities Thoreau experienced) Virtual simulation of woods becomes character in itself Parallels between issues of Thoreau’s time and today [27:24] The personal connection Tracy’s team had to Walden Started as ‘book club’ with no prospect of funding Met weekly, paper prototypes early on [30:10] The challenges Mark faced in creating The Little Prince Pressure to do justice to book, team had to care Daily crises and decisions based on guesswork [42:18] The universal themes of The Little Prince Parenting as balance between aviator, mother ‘Life raft in poisonous world’ [46:25] How Walden applies in the 21st century Care and concern for environment, climate change Thoreau as activist with concern for issues of time Divisive conflict baked into daily experience [48:56] Mark’s favorite element of wonder in The Little Prince Called on colleague for hand-made techniques Discover right ‘chemistry of elements’ for stop-motion [52:33] Tracy’s favorite element of wonder in Walden Dynamic system (light, wind, colors change with seasons) Shift of colors and music based on relationship with nature [57:06] How to create openness and inclusiveness on teams Reason to care about what making (i.e.: believe again) Afford ownership of portion of process [1:02:14] What Tracy and Mark are pursuing in the coming year Tracy taking Walden to classrooms Mark devoting focus to new project Connect with Mark Happy Product, Inc. Happy Product on Vimeo Happy Product on YouTube The Little Prince Connect with Tracy Tracy Fullerton USC Game Innovation Lab Walden, a game Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games by Tracy Fullerton Resources The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Walden by Henry David Thoreau Walden for Educators Tracking Wonder S1EP06 Tracking Wonder S2EP03 “How ‘The Little Prince’ Director Pitched Investors with His Magic Suitcase” in The Frame Jamie Caliri on Vimeo The Unmistakable Creative Podcast An Audience of One: Reclaiming Creativity for Its Own Sake by Srinivas Rao SCRAMBLE: How Agile Strategy Can Build Epic Brands in Record Time by Marty Neumeier Brand Artistry Labs
GameEnthus Podcast ep351 Appreciate Harder or Chlorine Constraints This week Tracy Fullerton from @USCGameLabs and TracyFullerton.com joins Mike (@AssaultSuit), Tiny (@Tiny415) and Aaron (@Ind1fference) to talk about: USCGameLabs, Game Innovation Lab, SAAM Arcade, Walden, Flow, Flower, Journey, What Remains of Edith Finch?, Threes, GameDesignWorkshop.com, TWINE, Unity Store, Jenova Chen, PS3, That Game Company, Saikoucon, Ready Player One, A Quiet Place, Rampage, Movie Pass, Bumblebee, The Happening, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Teen Titans Go to the Movies, Power Rangers, He-man, She-ra, Amazing Interiors, Arcade 1up, Sea of Thieves, Curse of the Moon, Mega Man X Collection, Spyro Collection, Money Puzzle Exchanger, Enter the Gungeon, Cursed Souls, Overcooked! 2, Flat Heroes, Pool Panic, Bomb Chicken, Slam Land, Pixel Ripped 1989, Radio Hammer Station, AirConsole, Shantae half-genie curse, Dead Cells, We Happy Few, Salt and Sanctuary, Sleep Tight and more. If you like the show please leave us an itunes, Google, Youtube or Stitcher review, a tweet, an email or a voicemail (202-573-7686). Show Length: 142 minutes Direct Download(right click to download) Show Links Tracy's Site Game Innovation Lab Tracy's Books New videos GameEnthus.com Youtube.com/user/GameEnthus Community Info Major Linux and Crew's Notcho Podcast Kiaun's Show The Analog Circle Podcast Gary and Dan's Show TheGamesMenRPG Open Forum Radio SingleSimulcast Show Music CNN - Invincible instrumental Al Tariq - Crime Pays instrumental De La Soul - Foolin instrumental A+ - All I See instrumental Bush Babees - Love Song instrumental Chi Ali - Funky Lemonade instrumental Childish Gambino - Heartbeat instrumental Dr. Dooom - Dr. Dooom is in the room instrumental Common - Sixth Sense instrumental
Can you picture Henry David Thoreau's Walden as a video game? After meeting Tracy Fullerton, a professor of interactive media and games at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and the director of USC Games Program, we promise you can. Tracy tells us how experimental game design intersects with art, science, politics, learning and more—and totally redefines our idea of gaming. Get ready to rethink the role that games can play in society and in your life. Game on! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Bob talks with Tracy Fullerton about Walden, a game. Topics include Henry David Thoreau's life and work, historical accuracy in games, the context of life in the 1840s, civil disobedience, and bean farming. Educators can secure a free copy of Walden for classroom use at https://www.waldengame.com/educators.html Support History Respawned on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/historyrespawned Music is Symphony 40 in G minor by texasradiofish (c) 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0)license.dig.ccmixter.org/files/texasr…iofish/49560 Ft: W. A. Mozart, Big Bonobo Combo
How Indian-Americans took over the motel industry with Susan and Jake Rugh of BYU. Kurt Repanshek of NationalParksTraveler.org reveals where to find silence. Apple Seed stories with Sam Payne of BYUradio. Tracy Fullerton of the Univ of Southern California created a video game version of Thoreau's "Walden." Fred Gedicks of BYU Law on the travel ban and religious-school funding.
Julie Blussé spreekt namens De Gids met Tracy Fullerton over Walden, a Game, een first-person simulatie gebaseerd op het boek Walden (1854) van de Amerikaanse schrijver Henry David Thoreau. Walden, a Game is momenteel in de ontwikkelfase en wordt eind 2016, begin 2017 verwacht. Meer info: http://www.waldengame.com/
Tracy Fullerton is a player and maker of games. Her most recent game, “Walden,” puts you - the player - inside Thoreau’s Walden Pond experiment. Tracy runs the USC Digital Media and Games program - the top game design school in the country, according to the Princeton Review. We co-taught multi-player game design when that program was first getting started - and Tracy has gone on to train innovative designers like Jenova Chen - creator of Journey. She's an accomplished and insightful designer and educator, and one of my all-time favorite people on the planet.
Sponsored by the Purple Blurb series. Walden, a game, is an experiment in play being made about an experiment in living. The game simulates Henry David Thoreau’s experiment in living a simplified existence as articulated in his book Walden. It puts Thoreau’s ideas about the essentials of life into a playable form, in which players can take on the role of Thoreau, attending to the “meaner” tasks of life at the Pond–providing themselves with food, fuel, shelter and clothing–while trying not to lose sight of their relationship to nature, where the Thoreau found the true rewards of his experiment, his “finer fruits” of life. The game is a work in progress, and this talk will look closely at the design of the underlying system and the cycles of thought that have gone into developing it. It will also detail the creation of the game world, which is based on close readings of Thoreau’s work, and the projected path forward for the team as we continue our sojourn in experimental in play. Tracy Fullerton, M.F.A., is an experimental game designer, professor and director of the Game Innovation Lab at the USC School of Cinematic Arts where she holds the Electronic Arts Endowed Chair in Interactive Entertainment. The Game Innovation Lab is a design research center that has produced several influential independent games, including Cloud, flOw, Darfur is Dying, The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom, and The Night Journey — a collaboration with media artist Bill Viola. Tracy is also the author of “Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games,” a design textbook in use at game programs worldwide. Purple Blurb is a series of presentations for digital writing, with its thanks given to Angus N. Macdonald Fund and MIT Writing and Humanistic Studies.
As part of the Chicago Humanities Festival, Library of Games is interviewing important people in the world of video games. Our second extrasode features Tracy Fullerton, a game designer, educator and writer with fifteen years of professional experience. She is currently an associate professor in the Interactive Media Division of the USC School of Cinematics Arts and Director of the Electronic Arts Game Innovation Lab.