Casey O’Donnell, Associate Professor; Game Maker, Michigan State University; Affinity Games; Tampere University
Casey O’Donnell has been studying game makers and game making since 2005. Why is it important to study the creative collaborative work that goes into making games? Why should people care about the context from which a game emerges? In this talk Casey will explore why it is critical to study the culture(s), context(s) and practice(s) that go into the work of making games and why it is perhaps more important now than ever before. As game making continues to change “post” COVID, teams become less reliant on physical studio spaces and generative AI becomes increasingly integrated into game making practice it becomes increasingly important to understand why game making as a craft, work or practice is so important.
Casey O’Donnell [he/him] is an Associate Professor of games in the Department of Media and Information at Michigan State University. He is a 2023-2034 Fulbright-Finland Scholar at Tampere University affiliated with the Centre of Excellence in Game Culture Studies and Game Research Lab. His research examines the creative collaborative work of (video)game design and development and production studies generally. His book, “Developer’s Dilemma” is published by MIT Press. He is an active game creator, with his collaborative work on Creative Dying Card Game being nominated for an IndieCade Best Tabletop Award in 2022. His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of Health (NIH).