About
Jeff Watson is an artist, designer, and Assistant Professor of Interactive Media and Games at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts.
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Author Archives: Jeff Watson
“What if all the bad things that media critics have been said about passivity for the past century or…”
“What if all the bad things that media critics have been said about passivity for the past century or two are now equally applicable to all the demands to interact, to participate? What if interactivity is now one of the … Continue reading
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Design is a method of action
Charles Eames, as interviewed in 1972 by “L. Amic” of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. Eames’ Zen-like answers amount to a thorough and timeless definition of design. What stands out to me is the exchange about constraints: “Does … Continue reading
“In the worst case, it’s possible to envisage geolocation and data aggregation apps being…”
“In the worst case, it’s possible to envisage geolocation and data aggregation apps being designed to facilitate the identification and elimination of some ethnic or class enemy, not only by making it easy for users to track them down, but … Continue reading
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“Prestige is especially dangerous to the ambitious. If you want to make ambitious people waste their…”
“Prestige is especially dangerous to the ambitious. If you want to make ambitious people waste their time on errands, the way to do it is to bait the hook with prestige. That’s the recipe for getting people to give talks, … Continue reading
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“Most good games are against the law.”
“Most good games are against the law.” – Theodore Roosevelt. Presidential Addresses and State Papers VI, 1163
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“studies with large particle accelerators have now led us to understand that space is more like a…”
“studies with large particle accelerators have now led us to understand that space is more like a piece of window glass than ideal Newtonian emptiness. It is filled with ‘stuff’ that is normally transparent but can be made visible by … Continue reading
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Parsons Talk: Pervasive Games for Experiential Media Arts Education
If you’re in NYC, you might want to check out my talk at the Design and Technology program at Parsons The New School for Design. I will be presenting Reality Ends Here and some ideas about the role of applied pervasive games in education. Hope to see you there. Continue reading
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Tagged ARGs, education, nyc, parsons, pervasive games, reality ends here, speaking
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“The ubiquity of phone booths is interesting because they are completely obsolete, unevenly…”
“The ubiquity of phone booths is interesting because they are completely obsolete, unevenly distributed in outlying neighborhoods and they carry a strong sense of nostalgia with me. They’ve already evolved from their original function as person-to-person communication technology into their … Continue reading
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Transforming Community Through Pervasive Play
Detailed presentation of Reality Ends Here, with remarks on the methodology underlying pervasive placemaking interventions of all kinds. Originally presented February 2, 2012 at the Berkeley Center for New Media. Continue reading
Posted in Presentations
Tagged arg, pervasive games, pervasive learning, reality ends here, usc
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GDC and DML Panels: Gameful Layers for the Freshman Experience
I will be presenting at the Game Developers Conference and the Digital Media and Learning Conference in the first week of March, 2012. These presentations are a part of a panel series jointly organized by the University of Southern California, … Continue reading
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Tagged benjamin stokes, dml, donald brinkman, gdc, just press play, reality ends here, rit, speaking, throwdowns, tracy fullerton
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