Down with Dullness: Gaming the Academic Conference
Edward Castronova
It is a truism among academics that most of the creative work at a conference happens outside the formal sessions, at social gatherings. If this is so, why not drop the formal sessions entirely? In this paper, I propose a method for making an entire conference into a formalized social gathering, with a structure that both encourages the exchange of ideas and also records the evolution of thought. In this method, named “Ludium,” games replace presentations as the unifying element. Theme-appropriate games unlock creative juices and allow for soft entry points for networking. A conference meta-game elicits common views about the standing of ideas. A rapid review session concludes the conference and summarizes major points. Past experience with conferences in this vein indicates that indeed a great deal of solid academic work gets done. Moreover, everyone has fun, and the results of the conference, the “sense of the group,” can easily and immediately be broadcast to the public. All of these outcomes stand in stark contrast to the outcome of typical academic conferences.