Worldbuilding and Community
Explore the imaginative potential of worldbuilding and play for ethics, wellbeing, belonging and community.
Overview
Join us on Wednesday 18 November for an event in the AHRC IAA funded project ‘Worldbuilding and Ethical Game Design’, led by Dr Jeremy Kidwell, Dr Bettina Bódi and Dr Dorothy Butchard at the University of Birmingham.
Come along to share perspectives and practical approaches to worldbuilding and wellbeing in games and other media. The discussion will explore community wellbeing and connections through play, shared cultural heritage and the potential of worldbuilding games for wellbeing evaluation and support in vulnerable communities.
- Wed 21 October, 2pm-4pm
- In person: Institute of Advanced Studies, 54 Pritchatts Road, University of Birmingham (directions below)
- Online: Zoom – register for the link
- 14:00-14:10: Welcome and Project Update
- 14:10-14:45: Dr Francesco Ripanti (History) on Minecraft and Community Wellbeing, followed by discussion and Q&A.
- 14:45-15:00: Break with refreshments
- 15:00-16:00: Rural Media: Workshop introducing the approach of media education charity Rural Media, exploring the use of roleplaying and worldbuilding approaches for wellbeing and evaluation with young people.
About the project
The ‘Worldbuilding and Ethical Game Design‘ project explores creative worldbuilding and game design in the West Midlands, asking how games can foster understanding across diverse persons and communities and build ethical reasoning. We are developing collaborative partnerships with local games designers and working with media education charity Rural Media to run creative worldbuilding workshops.
This project is led by Dr Jeremy Kidwell, Dr Bettina Bódi and Dr Dorothy Butchard at the University of Birmingham, with support from the Centre for Urban Wellbeing and Culture Forward. It is funded by the AHRC IAA User Engagement Fund at the University of Birmingham.