THE VIRTUAL AND ACTUAL REALITY OF VIDEO GAMES
A Panel Discussion on Video Games: the Controversies they Cause, Their Merits, and Their Effects on Children
Saturday, February 5th, 3:30 pm.
Agassiz Theater
14 Mason St.
Cambridge, MA 02138
Like many of the people who play them, the video game medium is entering its adolescence. With a Supreme Court case on the docket and a litany of negative claims being leveled against them, the $19.66 billion dollar a year industry is experiencing some growing pains.
Join members of the A.R.T. community for a panel discussion following the Institute’s performance of Jennifer Haley’s play Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom. The conversation aims to discuss the implications of the Supreme Court case, explore concerns of child psychology, and discuss the value and impact of the medium as an art form. Panelists include child psychologist Atilla Ceranoglu M.D.; Jonathan Zittrain Professor of Law at Harvard Law School; and video game designer and producer Demetri Detsaridis.
THE PANELISTS:
Jonathan Zittrain
Jonathan Zittrain is Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, co-founder of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, and Professor of Computer Science in the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Internet Society and is on the board of advisors for Scientific American. Previously he was Professor of Internet Governance and Regulation at Oxford University.
His research interests include battles for control of digital property and content, cryptography, electronic privacy, the roles of intermediaries within Internet architecture, and the useful and unobtrusive deployment of technology in education.
He performed the first large-scale tests of Internet filtering in China and Saudi Arabia in 2002, and now as part of the OpenNet Initiative he has co-edited a study of Internet filtering by national governments, "Access Denied: The Practice and Policy of Global Internet Filtering," and its sequel, "Access Controlled: The Shaping of Power, Rights, and Rule in Cyberspace."
His book The Future of the Internet -- And How to Stop It is available from Yale University Press and Penguin UK -- and under a Creative Commons license. Papers may be found at <http://www.jz.org>.
Dr. Atilla Ceranoglu
Dr. Atilla Ceranoglu is a child and adolescent psychiatrist who sees clinical patients, cares for hospitalized children, and advises parents and caregivers on child development issues.
At a time when concerns about video games abound, Dr. Ceranoglu approaches the subject differently. He focuses on the clinical effects of video games on children, how children and adolescents use the medium, and how clinicians and parents can use and interpret the games to connect with the young ones around them.
Dr. Ceranoglu received his medical degree in Istanbul, Turkey, and completed his psychiatry training at the Brockton VA Medical Center and Massachusetts General Hospital, where he is now on the faculty. He is married with two boys. More information on Dr. Ceranoglu can be found at <http://www.drceranoglu.com>
Demetri Detsaridis
Demetri Detsaridis is the General Manager of Zynga New York, the newest studio of the world’s leading social games company. Demetri has spent his last decade making games of all shapes and sizes, most recently as the General Manager and Executive Producer of innovative New York game developer Area/Code and previously as Co-Founder and Creative Director of the London-based Massively Mobile. Prior to that, Demetri was a game designer at mobile game giant Gameloft, a core member of the development team of Warner Bros.’ superhero MMORPG DC Universe Online, and a longtime game designer and producer at casual gaming pioneer Pop & Co.
Demetri has received numerous awards for his work as both a designer and producer, and has worked with clients as diverse as the Cartoon Network, Electronic Arts, CBS, UNICEF, and Nickelodeon. Before entering the games industry, Demetri produced educational CD-ROMs and interactive museum exhibits for clients like the National Building Museum, the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Jewish Museum of Berlin. He holds a B.F.A. in Film & Television from New York University and is a Ph.D./ABD in American Studies from the George Washington University.
