Games for Change Online Book Launch Talk with James Paul Gee
Twenty years after James Gee laid the groundwork for games in learning and literacy, Tracy and Matthew have built upon these concepts with their new theory of player response, which explores what we feel and experience during play, beyond just what we achieve. For the launch of The Well Read Game, James, Tracy and Matthew discuss the foundations of the theory and where it will take us for the future of interpreting play.
Well Played Journal Special Issue on Well-Read Games
This special issue of the Well Played Journal, edited by Tracy and Matthew, collects discussions and examples of games that are "well read” as described in our book. Containing good introductory readings that exemplify the theory as well as readings that complicate theory through their methods, situations, or varying contexts, this journal is excellent complimentary reading alongside The Well Read Game itself.
Matthew discusses our theory of player response, the framework proposed in The Well-Read Game, in a guest blog for the Connected Learning Alliance. This short article describes both our core theory of player response as well as approaches for cultivating well-read players and makes a great short introduction to the book in practice.
Tracy and Matt discuss the ideas behind The Well-Read Game with 20 Sided Gamified host Jared Fishman, an educator and gamer who is passionate about the crossover between games and education with an emphasis on how all games can become valuable tools for learning and growth.
Tracy and Matt discuss The Well-Read Game with Jason DeHart, host of this literacy channel that explores literacy through comics, media, fandom, and scholarship. Jason is an educator who works with high school students and is actively engaged in finding what works for connecting readers with literary practices.
Grokludo Podcast Episode 15: How to Experience Games as Art
Tracy talks about reading games and experiencing them as works of art in this conversation with Jeremy Ray of Grokludo. Their discussion gives insight into the “aesthetic stance” required for reading a game well.
Tracy discusses how our theory of player response enhances the possibilities of co-play between children and parents as well as players of all ages. This short article discusses the way in which playing together creates safe communities in which to share our personal responses to games and can open conversations that allow co-interpretation of playful experiences.
Tracy and Matt discuss The Well-Read Game with Professor Ashley Guajardo of the NYU Game Center who hosts a Twitch stream where guests surface research from their work that got left behind in the writing process. Here, Tracy and Matt talk about games they read but didn’t write about and more.
Tracy and Matt discuss The Well-Read Game with Professor Rudolf Inderst of HNU, University of Applied Sciences, Neu-Ulm, Germany. The conversation ranges far and wide and goes into “readerly games” and playing against the game.
In this edWebinar, Tracy and Matt introduce concepts from The Well-Read Game to describe how games, like books, can be “read well” to foster deep literacy and critical thinking skills in students. The webinar includes example readings, actionable strategies for teachers, as well as practical example from Walden, a game EDU, a free game experience that invites students to step into Thoreau’s world.
No Such Thing: Education in the Digital Age, Episode 150
Tracy and Matt discuss The Well-Read Game with Marc Lesser, a specialist in digital learning and youth development, on this podcast about learning with technology. Marc asks us more about games as emotional texts, valuing our experiences with games, game book clubs, and more.
Matt discusses the way that approaching video games as texts can be a playful way to unlock the skills and mindset students need to appreciate media and literature of all kinds, including pairing games and book, and focusing on reflective journaling of game experiences.
