THATCamp Epic Play Schedule has been updated!  Location, campus map, and parking information is available here: epicplay2013.thatcamp.org/schedule/

THATCamp Epic Play will be hosted at the Simpson Center for the Humanities at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA.  The Simpson Center is located on the second floor of the Communication Building (CMU) in Rooms 202-206.  Workshop and breakout sessions will be held in CMU 202, 204, 226, and 120.

THATCamp Epic Play is only four weeks away!  Welcome to the merry month of May and the ramp-up to (hopefully) a engaging, idea-provoking, playful, and fun unconference!  We have nearly forty registered particpants representing students (undergraduate and graduate), teachers, scholars, designers, developers, and aficionados.

Workshops for the first day/afternoon of the camp — May 24 — are set and ready to go:

     3-3:30 PM Welcome & Registration

     3:30-5 PM Workshops
“Digital Game-Making for Non-Programmers” | merritt kopas
“Badger Badges Badgee(s)” | Theresa Horstman and Sean Fullerton
“How To Make A Let’s Play Of Your Very Own!” | Solon Scott

Saturday’s full-day schedule — May 25 — is also set.  As you can see, we will have three breakout sessions over the course of the day.  Next week, we will start a conversation thread asking for suggested topics, critical questions, ideas, and games for these sessions, which will then seed our session generation powwow Saturday morning.

         8-9 AM Welcome & Registration (includes continental breakfast)

         9-9:45 AM Session Generation

         10-11:30 PM Breakout Sessions I

         11:30 AM- 1 PM Lunch (catered lunch included)

         1-2:30 PM Breakout Sessions II

         2:45-4:15 PM Breakout Sessions III

         4:30 PM Closing

We are also hoping to be able to offer a few gameful perks on Saturday, including a Epic Play Augmented Reality Game (ARG) and a cosplay contest!  Details forthcoming soon!

Thank you to the generosity of the Simpson Center for the Humanities at the University of Washington for hosting, providing space, and resources!  Thank you to THATCamp and the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University for their support.  And thank you to Microsoft Research’s support for Digital Heritage and Humanities!

If registrants have any questions, comments, or concerns, please reply to this message or send an email to thatcampepicplay (at) gmail (dot) com.

Our third workshop is now confirmed:

There Must Be 50 Ways to Play A Video Game: How To Make A Let’s Play Of Your Very Own!
Friday, May 24, 3:30-5:00 PM
Solon Scott

The players of games have revolutionized the way we understand consuming game media by recording themselves playing games and uploading these segmented playthroughs to Youtube with their own commentary dubbing over the game. This genre of online media is known as ‘Let’s Plays’ as in – The Player AND The Viewer play together. Thousands of ‘gamers’ have come together to host their own productions that document, analyze, and emotionalize games in a radically new way! Solon has been putting together Let’s Plays on Youtube for the last two years and has hundreds of videos online spanning every game genre ranging from Triple-A production sizes to covering small Indie games. His series of Let’s Plays focus on analyzing a game in a very thorough way from the design to the aesthetic, the score, and beyond. For this workshop, Solon would like to extend the tools of the trade and examine the constantly asked question: “Why would someone want to watch another person play a video game?”

Solon Scott is an undergraduate in his last quarter at the Comparative History of Ideas at the University of Washington where he studies games and play in critical spaces.  As a part of these studies he critically analyzes games using the Youtube subgenre known as “Let’s Plays” to dig deep into a wide range of video games.  Sometimes they are AAA studio releases, and other times they are small independently developed games.  Solon also designs his own games ranging from text adventures to theater games and even a few video games.

Take a look at a “Let’s Play” of Bioshock: Infinite by Solon and Rainy Day Let’s Play:

Although registration is “officially” closed, we can eke out a few more spots for last minute attendees!  But please do send in your registration so we can make sure you have a nifty name tag!

With great pleasure, we announce our second confirmed workshop:

“Badger Badges Badgee(s)”
Friday, May 24, 3:30-5:00 PM
Theresa Horstman and Sean Fullerton

Theresa Horstman is a doctoral candidate in Learning Sciences at the University of Washington, U.S.A.  She received her B.A. with a focus in philosophy from The Evergreen State College and her M.Ed. from the University of Washington.   Her interests include comparative analysis of video game and e-learning design methodologies and the correlation between the metaphoric process and creative process in designing instruction for virtual environments.  Theresa is also one of the organizers of THATCamp Epic Play and the Keywords for Video Game Studies graduate interest group at UW.

Sean Fullerton is a doctoral student in the UW Information School. His teaching experience includes years as an elementary school librarian, a middle school math teacher, and teaching high school English online. His interests include the design and social implications of technologies that let young people document skills and accomplishments and access learning opportunities beyond traditional school settings.

Registration has been extended till March 31, 2013 or when all spots are full.  If you have not registered yet, please do!  Registration information here.  A more detailed schedule and workshop list is forthcoming!  Stay tuned!

Hope everyone is looking forward to THATCamp Epic Play 2013!  Here is the first of our confirmed workshops:

“Digital Game-Making for Non-Programmers”
Friday, May 24, 3:30-5:00 PM
merritt kopas

Game-making tools are more accessible than ever, opening up game authorship to non-professionals and people without programming backgrounds. I n this workshop, we’ll discuss why you might want to make a game and work through the process of creating one using Twine, a hypertext-based authoring program.  Participants should bring a laptop or browser-enabled tablet and will come away with a finished game as well as a sense of the range of tools and options available to hobbyist game makers.

merritt kopas is a game designer and artist who creates games dealing with themes of transgression, bodies, and violence.  She holds an MA in Sociology from the University of Washington and her game LIM was named in several best indie games of 2012 lists.  merrit is also one of the organizers of THATCamp Epic Play and the Keywords for Video Game Studies graduate interest group at UW.

Registration has been extended till February 28, 2013 or when all spots are full.  If you have not registered yet, please do!  Registration information here.  A more detailed schedule and workshop list is forthcoming!  Stay tuned!

Registration is now open from January 1, 2013 to January 31, 2013 or when all spots are full.  Before you register for THATCamp Epic Play 2013, please note:

• The date and location of the event: University of Washington at Seattle on Friday, May 24 and Saturday, May 25.
• We can accommodate no more than 70 people. We encourage you to register as soon as possible, but please do not register unless you know for sure that you are able to participate.
• To attend, you need to complete and submit a brief registration application.  Once you’re accepted, you will receive a message confirming your registration.  If you decide that you can no longer attend, please let us know so we may give the seat to another participant.
• We will email acceptances to participants as soon as possible (definitely by the end of March).
• To keep up with THATCamp Epic Play news, you might want to follow @critgame and the #thatcamp hashtag on Twitter.

To register, please email thatcampepicplay@gmail.com, with subject line “REGISTRATION <Your Name>,” the following information and material:

• Name:
• E-mail:
• Website:
• Twitter handle:
• Job title/Position:
• Organization:
• Bio (less than 300 words):

Please answer each in just a few sentences (no more than a paragraph):

• Why do you want to attend THATCamp Epic Play?
• Are there any specific games, game experiences, or aspects of gaming that you want to discuss?
• Have you attended a THATCamp before and how can we make THATCamp both accessible and worth your time?

Please also indicate your privacy preference:

• ___ I agree that the information provided may be published to the open web on the THATCamp Epic Play website.
• ___ I would like my information to remain private.