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Press release Utrecht University, The Netherlands 4-10-2003
Academic conference about digital game research
LEVEL UP, the first large-scale international games conference will take place in Utrecht, The Netherlands on 4-6 November. Apart from the conference there will be numerous public activities like a Gamefest and a gaming tournament. Utrecht University, Faculty of Arts, Department of New Media and Digital Culture are organizers of this inaugural world conference in digital games research. The conference will be the first official event of the new Digital Games Research Association. The Department of New Media and Digital Culture is collaborating closely with DiGRA, the Research Institute for History and Culture, the Institute for Media and Re/presentation (TFT & CIW) and numerous other academic and non-academic partners in the conference implementation.
The conference aims to promote high-quality research of games, recognition of game studies as an academic field of enquiry, as well as interdisciplinary collaboration in games research, design and development.
Games as a science
The enormous growth of the gaming industry has had its effect on the academic community. The
Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA) aims to raise awareness of the various aspects related to games as a subject of research as well as to create possibilities for the games research community to congregate and evolve. From the start Utrecht University has been closely involved with the foundation of this international network of game researchers and developers.
The Level Up conference offers an opportunity for Utrecht University to open its doors to a large audience. Numerous Level Up activities will be open to the general public, where people will gain a sense of gaming research and of course play some games.
Keynote speakers
The top researchers of the gaming research community will present their work at Level Up.
Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman combine their game reseach with the development of non-profit games. MIT press will this year publish their book Rules of Play.
Janet Murray published the highly-praised book Hamlet on the Holodeck in 1997. This internationally recognized game researcher has received many awards for her research about virtual reality games at MIT.
Jesper Juul is a game designer and one of the top researchers of Ludology, a new discipline that studies games in general and computer games in particular. Moreover, he is the founder of the first international research centre for game research in Denmark.
Level up Gamefest
The two floors of dance club Tivoli will be filled with games, music & drinks during the Level Up Gamefest. On the ground floor, you can find well known Dj`s, Vj`s, several experimental computer games and spectacular game installations. One level up cocktails will be served, inspired by the best computer games of the few years. The Level Up Gamefest will take place on the 5th of November, starting at 9pm at Tivoli, Utrecht.
Level Up Game Exhibition
A visitor to Level Up can take some time off from the many presentations and workshops to play some computer games. Throughout the conference there will a game exhibition where interactive game installations and new games can be played.
Level Up Game Tournament
A big-screen game tournament will take place in cinema Ît Hoogt. The cinema will be transformed into a gaming arena. Gamers will have to opportunity to play new games against international gaming champions. The game tournament and the Gamefest will be open to the general public.
Utrecht University and Level Up collaborates closely with DIGRA, HKU, Cinema Ît Hoogt, Tivoli and our sponsors: CIM, DiGRA, DUCYCO: The Gaming Company, Electronic Arts, Game Face, Microsoft, Mondriaan Stichting, Nintendo, Nokia, NWO, OGC and Sony.
Level Up publicity contact: Paul Bouckaert, press@gamesconference.org
More information can be found on our Level Up website: www.gamesconference.org
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