Last December, I initiated a Research Interest Group for Video Games and Virtual Worlds in my institution. We were finally able to meet this month. (Note to self: Spring may not be a good time for this kind of meetings, as we are all busy with reviewing conference proposals, reading thesis/dissertations, and attending conferences).
Our RIG currently comprised of the following members:
- Michale Young, from Brain & Cognitive Science (military training games)
- Shawn Cheng, from Computer Science (data mining)
- David Rakowski, from Finance & Business Administration (business and finance games)
- Regina Kaplan-Rakowski, Curriculum & Instruction (SecondLife), and
- myself (serious game assessment)
Research Interest Group Meeting
(There were a couple more who came for the first meeting, but have not shown up since; so I don’t know what to make of their status. Perhaps it is time commitment, and then may be it no longer interests them, who knows?)
As Shawn put it, it doesn’t really matter if others are no longer interested; what’s important is for those who are really interested in (the matter) to continue meeting, and make something worthwhile out of it.
In this economic climate, I’d say that’s a good attitude!