Play with Politics at the “Games and Politics” exhibit

Join the MIT Game Lab and Goethe Institute, Boston for a night of politics and games!

Scot Osterweil will introduce the “Games and Politics” exhibit, on campus at the Stata Center TSMC Lobby.

Light refreshment will be served.

The Goethe-Institut Boston and MIT Game Lab present the touring exhibition Games and Politics, which examines how computer games unfold their political potential. It explores the scope and limits of the computer game genre, constructing a counter-position within the entertainment industry with the aid of a repertoire of politically ambitious computer games from the past twelve years. This exhibit will be in the TSMC Lobby of the Stata Center (MIT Building 32) and is open from 6am to 6pm each day.

The exhibition Games and Politics covers a wide range of topics. Players experience the contingencies of political decision-making itself (Democracy III) and witness social injustices. The games address precarious labor conditions (Sunset) and gender issues (Perfect Woman), the surveillance state (Touchtone), the consequences of armed conflicts (This War of Mine), the treatment of refugees (Escape from Woomera) and revolutions against totalitarian systems (Yellow Umbrella). Adopting the characters of often-marginalized people such as a border official, housekeeper, drone pilot or war survivor, players will experience limited possibilities and negative sanctions through both the character and the game play.

More information about the exhibit.