Date of Award

Summer 8-18-2017

Level of Access Assigned by Author

Campus-Only Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Department

Intermedia

Advisor

Owen Smith

Second Committee Member

Gene Felice

Third Committee Member

Joline Blais

Abstract

Playing games can be a powerful and meaningful experience. Humans have been playing games for a long time in not forever. The games we play are as simple as trying not to step on a crack while walking down the street to a heated game of Monopoly. Games are everywhere. We have sports, board games, video games, mind games, and more. Games are a big part of our lives. In this thesis I explore meaningful play in games. Through research I have designed a card game that creates meaningful experiences for players. Cards for Humanity is an open source game that has players step into the shoes of someone else while answering questions with moral and philosophical themes. The intent of the game is to bring people together and to expose each other to new ideas and views on the world and the people in it. Cards for Humanity’s structure is designed to be inviting to all players, including those who have social or performative anxieties. The game slowly morphs from one on one play to group on group play. Having the game open source allows people to download the game for free and print it out for themselves. The links to the download page can be found further in the paper.

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