Presentation and chat with Ken Eklund

Join us for a presentation and conversation with Ken Eklund, veteran game designer and one of the pre-eminent creators of alternate reality games that blend fiction and reality in both virtual and physical communities. Ken will be sharing some of his work and ideas with the audience.

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Ken's most recent project, Ed Zed Omega (http://edzedomega.org/), is a public media "authentic fiction" and "interactive documentary". Over fall semester 2012, six Zed Omega teens, played by actors, "dropped out loud" from high school -- catalyzing open discussion about the structures and purpose of traditional education and its alternatives. The arc of each Zed Omega character was unscripted: they responded to ideas from the crowd. Wired: Ed Zed Omega: Rethinking Education (http://www.wired.com/magazine/2012/08/ed-zed-omega-rethinking-education)

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Giskin Anomaly (http://writerguy.com/giskin/), which closed in November 2012 after a two-year run, was a cellphone adventure in historical fiction set in Balboa Park. UT San Diego: One Year of Balboa Park's Giskin Anomaly (http://www.utsandiego.com/weblogs/balboa-park/2011/nov/12/one-year-of-balboa-parks-giskin-anomaly/)

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Ken was the creative director of World Without Oil (http://worldwithoutoil.org/), the first alternate reality game to engage the Internet's collective intelligence and imagination with a real world problem: a global oil shock. The serious game for the public good ran from April 30 to June 1, 2007, and has been hailed as groundbreaking work that uses a new, net-native game storytelling medium to engage mainstream audiences and spark collective learning and action. CNet:Provocative Politics in virtual games (http://news.cnet.com/Provocative-politics-in-virtual-games/2100-1043_3-6171089.html?tag=ne.gall.related)

Schedule:

6:30-7pm: Doors open. Socialize! Drinks provided by The Go Game, and food truck on-site. 7-7:30pm: Presentation by Ken Eklund 7:30-8pm: Q&A 8-9pm: Mingle! Hope to see you there!