The iPad is now old news, but we’re still not seeing many DH and academic types take advantage of some of the “magic” that Apple is selling. Whether you’re in to the mysticism surrounding tablets and mobile devices or not, these tools present new development opportunities and challenges that can change how we think about playing with ideas. I’d love to be part of a session getting into the process of building with these new environments and experiences in mind.
Ethan just posted his Mixed Bag of Crazy Ideas and he included one great session idea about Building Games for DH. I’ve spoken to a lot of folks in DH who seem interested in the why and what of games, but we never seem to get around to the how. I think there’s value in linking with the talk of building games to include playful apps and “books” that use ideas from games to expand our conception of how ideas can be conveyed. The iPad and other mobile and tablet platforms have become fascinating spaces for resurrecting niche market games and experimental texts that link back to the tradition of electronic literature, and developing games and game-like experiences in any of these environments is
I teach in the Simulation Design and Entertainment program at the University of Baltimore, and there are a number of free tools that offer an accesssible way to get started with game creation. Here are just a few I think are worth talking about:
…some of which translate immediately to the mobile platform. The new toolsets in Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 also offer exciting options for building cross platform. Many of these offer opportunities to play with proof of concepts and to think about new modes of scholarship and pedagogy…and yes, maybe even build something magical.
1 comment
Aram Zucker-Scharff
June 3, 2011 at 10:10 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
It sounds very interesting! I think there is a lot of potential for more educational play on tablets and mobile devices and I’m always looking to learn more about IF and its implementation on mobile platforms.