State of Play

State of Play | Chicago: October 20-22, 2008


From October 20-22, 2008 New York Law School’s State of Play Conference will convene in Chicago to examine how we can do good within virtual worlds.  In conjunction with the University of Southern California Network Culture Project at the Annenberg School for Communication, and with support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the conference will focus on how virtual worlds and massively-multiplayer online games can be used to improve the human condition, further people’s potential, and work towards the public good.

The State of Play series examines the significance of virtual worlds and massively multiplayer online spaces, and continues to be the only conference series that studies these environments from commercial, governmental, academic, and technological perspectives. Five years after its inaugural conference, State of Play Chicago will focus on what good can be achieved using virtual worlds by focusing the discussion on a variety of socially conscious topics, including
  • roles of public and private institutions in online worlds
  • opportunities and efforts for learning and education facilitated by virtual spaces
  • applications for game spaces being discovered and utilized by science and other disciplines
  • the developments and ongoing conversation regarding ownership of digital property
  • the policy concerns of communities in both virtual worlds and beyond
The itinerary will include a wide array of sessions and panels focused on an assortment of subjects, such as needs of institutions, education, opportunities in the care of special needs of children, and government action in virtual spaces.  There will also be introductory tutorials and specialist workshops.  To see more, take a look at the official schedule.
State of Play