Participants at the Clash of Realities conference at Cologne University of Applied Sciences will examine the effects of computer and video games. The second International Computer Game Conference takes place from 5 to 7 March 2008.
More than 250 participants from Germany and across Europe have already registered, demonstrating strong interest in this type of congress. Following the success of the first event in spring 2006, Cologne University of Applied Sciences and Electronic Arts are again organizing the conference jointly.
Experts from psychology, medicine, sociology, education, and other fields will present research findings. The proportion of international speakers has increased compared with the 2006 conference.
Guests include game theorist Jesper Juul of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who will deliver the opening lecture, Video Games: The Most Emotional of All Media. American linguist and author James Paul Gee of Arizona State University will speak on Learning, Design, and Society: Games and Beyond.
At the opening on 5 March, moderator Conny Czymoch will discuss current media developments with RTL Television editor-in-chief Peter Kloeppel.
A subsequent panel titled Does Society Play with Games, or Do Games Play with Society? will examine the influence of games on everyday life. Participants include Thomas Krüger, president of the Federal Agency for Civic Education; Olaf Zimmermann, managing director of the German Cultural Council; Ulrich Krapp, head of corporate communications and deputy program director at 1Live; and conference director Professor Dr. Winfred Kaminski.
Attendance at Clash of Realities is free. Interested participants and media representatives can register at http://www.fh-koeln.de/clash-of-realities.
