How to Use Video Games to Send a Message

Erin Robinson Swink, How to Use Video Games to Send a Message. In this lecture, game designer Erin Robinson Swink outlines many different ways that games can be used to make the world a better place. Spanning from educational games, to collaborations with scientists, to thinking-outside-the-box ideas, the lecture will also include her experience creating #BeatTheDev, a biannual Twitch stream to benefit environmental causes. She will conclude by speaking of the moral imperative to act on important issues, and the many ways games can be used towards that end.

Erin Robinson Swink is the Creative Director of the Games & Playable Media Masters Program at UC Santa Cruz. Her latest title Gravity Ghost was a critical success on PC, and will debut on the PS4 later this year. She has over 10 years of experience creating both independent and educational games. Her background is in psychology, and prior to joining the game industry she was a research assistant in behavioral neuroscience.

Interactive media and games increasingly pervade and shape our society. In addition to their dominant roles in entertainment, videogames play growing roles in education, arts, science and health. This seminar series brings together a diverse set of experts to provide interdisciplinary perspectives on these media regarding their history, technologies, scholarly research, industry, artistic value and potential future. As the speakers and title suggest, the series also provides a topical lens for the diverse aspects of our lives.