** reminder tonight ** "World Building for Games" an informal blender at SF_X, this Wed 5p-7p

[Stephen Guerin-3]

** reminder tonight 5p **

"Three voices on World Building for Games"

an informal community blender at SFComplex

when: Wed, Feb 24th 5p - 7p

where: SFComplex Commons, Pizza will be available $5 per person

World Building (n.)

The creation of an imaginary world and its geography, biology, cultures, etc., especially for use as a setting in science fiction or fantasy stories, games, etc. Hence world-builder, n. 

Maggie Macnab

Ingredients for Blender:

Jikkawm is a world-play game developed my father over the course of his lifetime beginning in about 1927 and spanning 70+ years. During his life, Alexander (Sandy) Jesse Macnab was a cowboy in Las Cruces (riding herd on the ranch usurped by the government for what is now White Sands Missile Range), a teen in Hawaii, a lieutenant in the infantry during WWII, an architect, artist, poet, professor of architecture and archeology at the University of Houston, and was married several times. I am his only surviving child. 

His personal projects in architecture were reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright, and when I was a child he worked for John Gaw Meem in Santa Fe, NM, designing part of St. John's Liberal Arts College and Bank of Santa Fe. My father had an IQ over 140 and he applied his brilliance of mind and skill as an artist and author to the narrative, graphics and comprehensive detail of his world. The materials of Jikkawm span distinct cultural and racial characteristics of 7 separate regions, time and space relationships, and contain hundreds of pages documenting history, geography, celestial charts, languages, and other specifics to the world and universe of Jikkawm. There is also a physical world constructed out of plates of glass (approx. 3'x3') and clay that sit atop blueprints that have sea depths and land elevations, and hundreds of handcrafted miniatures of machines and people with which to enact play. 

It is my personal hope to archive and illuminate my father's work and passion through his very unusual abilities and experiences that were catalogued in a unique form over the course of a human lifetime. 

BIO:

Maggie Macnab has been a strategic visual communicator for over three decades. Her work has been published in design industry publications and has received international honors. She teaches design theory at the University of New Mexico (Albuquerque, NM, USA), and is past president of the Communication Artists of New Mexico. She also speaks for conferences, guest lectures at schools in the US and abroad, gives workshops on integrating symbolism into design, and consults on developing strategic and creative identities. Her design theory book, Decoding Design: Understanding and Using Symbols in Visual Communication, was released worldwide in 2008 to critical acclaim and has received two awards.

Nicholas Chiarella

Ingredients for Blender:

James Carse, in his work Finite and Infinite Games, offers up a model of play in which culture itself may be viewed as game and playing field, and in which rules alter in order to maintain the play of the game. With this in mind, one can approach any particular notion, such as that of history--its making and its recollection--as a flexible and multi-faceted performance, always open to new avenues and manners of recording, iteration, analysis, and representation. Nicholas Chiarella will outline a proposal for a cooperative, history-based game for Santa Fe and the greater New Mexico region to tie into the upcoming statehood centennial in 2012.

BIO:

Chiarella is currently the imaging specialist in the Photo Archives of the Palace of the Governors / New Mexico History Museum. He contributes reviews to Photo Eye Magazine, and his poems and photographs have appeared in Santa Fe Trend, BathHouse, Slideluck Potshow Santa Fe, among other places. He most recently has thrown cards with the Meow Wolf artist collective. Chiarella graduated from the St. John's College GI program in 2007.

Stephen Bohannon

Ingredients for Blender:

The world of gaming has deep roots in storytelling and oral traditions. To create a compelling game, one must set the stage, or world in which the characters meet and overcome challenges. Game developer Stephen Bohannon seeks to reunite great storytelling and game theory to illustrate the possible skills that can be learned from this social engagement. He is working to open a game shop in Santa Fe with a mission to generate a community of support for the uplift of both youth and adult gamers.

BIO:

In 2007, Bohannon took on the role of creative director and started Xylem Creative to bring effective communication solutions to environmentally-minded organizations in the Southwest. With extensive experience in print and web media, Bohannon has been able to create quality design and marketing strategies for both non-profit and commercial entities.

moderated by Stephen Guerin

After the Blender, come with us over to the City Council meeting to show support for SF_X!!

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