​Serious Games: Changing The World Through Play!

 

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In 2013, Hobo Theatre Director Jamie Harper was awarded a Winston Churchill Trust Travelling Fellowship to carry out research into Serious Games at the University of Miami. So what are Serious Games? Put simply, they're games that allow players to explore issues that are important to their world.



In the first phase of this research project, Jamie worked with Clay Ewing and Lien Tran, two leading exponents of serious game design who have made game projects on big issues like HIV prevention, Dengue Fever, US Immigration Policy and Skin Cancer. This initial research has been documented in Jamie's game's blog. 

Jamie completed a practice-based PhD in Performance at Newcastle University researching game design as a means of enhancing the creative agency of people who take part in participatory drama.