Tuesday, September 09, 2003

Keynote Lecture at the COSIGN Conference

University of Teesside, Middlesbrough, UK

COSIGN stands for Computational Semiotics in Games and New Media. I was invited to give a keynote lecture, and my topic was "Transmitting Meaning in Interactive Contexts." I talked about the culture of the game industry, and also about the peculiar way in which games can transmit meaning through player activity rather than explicit symbols. This was my first academic conference, which I initially found a bit intimidating, but it turned out to be good fun. I also got a private viewing of the Hemispherium at the University of Teesside's Virtual Reality Centre -- a white hemisphere which is illuminated by six monster video projectors driven by a Silicon Graphics Onyx. You sit in a special chair at the exact focus, so the acoustics are perfect, and it gives a great sense of being there. A little dizzying at times, though!