Do you play?
We would like to cordially invite everyone to the Do you play? panel – this year, we will talk about criticism and aesthetics in video games. Marzena Falkowska will try to answer the question: what do we need critics for? In turn, Magda Cielecka and Jakub Dvorský will showcase the different aspects of aesthetics in electronic games – from visuals to gameplay. A debate will take place after the multimedia presentations, which will include audience members.
Marzena Falkowska / Altergranie
„Thought-provokers or killjoys: what do we need video games critics for?”
Magdalena Cielecka / Artifex Mundi
„Beyond visuals – aesthetics of gameplay”
Jakub Dvorský / Amanita Design
„Indie Menu”
Debate moderator: Bartosz Kłoda-Staniecko / University of Silesia
The panel and debate will be conducted in English.
Marzena Falkowska
Founder of the video game and game culture blog Altergranie. Her works were published at Jawne Sny, Technopolis and the magazines Dwutygodnik and Pixel. Her interests in games center around their capabilities for authorial expression, being media for unobvious emotions and both social and personal content. She plays both mainstream and experimental indie titles, focusing her critical attention on the latter. Speaker at the Grasz? conference at the Ars Independent Festival 2014.
Magdalena Cielecka
Video game producer at Artifex Mundi in Katowice and doctoral student of The Institute of Audiovisual Arts at the Jagiellonian University. Her research interests oscilate between the history of adventure games and designing the protagonist-player relationship. She’s not waiting for the Citizen Kane of video games. If she’s not currently playing some obscure, yet compelling game, she’s most likely tackling another BioWare production.
Jakub Dvorský
Born in Brno in 1978. He started making computer games when he was fifteen. In 2003 finished Academy of Arts in Prague with flash game Samorost as his thesis project. At the same year he founded Amanita Design, small independent studio which specializes mostly in developing 2D adventure games. Besides Samorost series the studio’s best known titles are Machinarium and Botanicula. Jakub Dvorský was also a production designer for feature puppet film “Kooky” (“Kuky se vrací”) by Jan Svěrák.
The event is organized with the support of the Czech Centrum.