Games Everywhere : The Larger Role for Web Platforms and Services for Games & Serious Games

Google Tech Talk June 14, 2010 ABSTRACT Presented by Ben Sawyer, Co-Founder, President, Digitalmill. Videogames have always been a business at the edge of technology and change. Today, however, as games burst beyond the living room, and traditional forms and platforms of play they are turning up everywhere. With the rise of serious games which make use of videogames and videogame technologies in areas beyond entertainment, there is even larger requirement for videogames to change form and integrate with platforms and systems that were previously never considered relevant to game development. As games move to more pervasive forms, spanning both entertainment and non-entertainment fields, we need to define and understand this gamut of activity and the technologies that can support them. What new models, design, and engineering patterns exist that are, and increasingly going to be essential to a world where games are everywhere? Drawing on experiences with large organizations, non-traditional videogames forms, and analysis of the commercial videogame industry this talk not only illuminates the wider gamut of videogame activity but where there are unique needs and opportunities, especially for cutting edge Web services and platforms, that until better supported are, in fact, holding back the larger ascendency of games into everyday life. Slides can be viewed here: http://www.bit.ly/gametalk