MIT: Independent Activities Period: IAP

IAP 2013 Activities by Category - Games, Gaming, and Tournaments

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ATS Mahjong Tournament and Arts & Crafts!

Stephanie Yu, Emily Yang

Jan/12 Sat 07:00PM-10:00PM McCormick Dining

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

Join us for ATS's annual Mahjong Tournament and Arts & Crafts event! Show off your awesome mahjong skills (or lack thereof) and compete for prizes. Don't know how to play or forgot how? Never fear! We will have a teaching/refresher session starting at 7pm just for you, so don't be late. The tournament will commence at 7:45pm. Mahjong not for you? Come for a wide range of arts and crafts! We will be having calligraphy lessons, origami, and more.

Sponsor(s): Association of Taiwanese Students
Contact: Stephanie Yu, styu@mit.edu


Awaken Your Inner Superhero! Life Coaching at MIT

Konstantin Mitgutsch, Post Doctoral Researcher

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/14
Limited to 8 participants
Attendance: Participants must attend all sessions
Prereq: Yes, please contact Konstantin Mitgutsch k_mitgut@mit.edu

What makes a superhero a superhero? What superhero can you identify with most and why?

Superheroes represent qualities we appreciate and capabilities we long to have. But beyond all their abilities, outfits and characteristics we admire our superheroes’ attitudes to challenges. In comparison to them, most of us play small and don’t allow ourselves to fulfill our wishes and goals. Unfortunately, most of us even create our own small “Supervillains” as inner voices telling us to stay where we are and not to even dare reaching our full potentials. These so called "Saboteurs" are the source of our inner voice that demotivates, discourages and distracts us from what we really want and wish for in our lives and carriers. The good news is: We all have someone who can battle our Saboteurs - our inner Superhero! As this course will teach you, we can create and awake an inner voice that represents what we want to stand for. But before we can challenge our Saboteur with our Superhero we first need to identify, explore and awake it.

In this IAP courses “Awaken Your Inner Superhero” Dr. Konstantin Mitgutsch from the MIT Game Lab combines recent research findings into transformative learning with tools and practices from life coaching and visualization technics. The participants learn to identify the essential underlying qualities of their inner superhero and explore ways to transfer their “super skills” into their private and professional lives.

Contact: Konstantin Mitgutsch, 26-163, 857 204-0214, K_MITGUT@MIT.EDU


Jan/14 Mon 03:00PM-04:30PM E53-223
Jan/16 Wed 03:00PM-04:30PM E53-223
Jan/23 Wed 03:00PM-04:30PM E53-223
Jan/24 Thu 03:00PM-04:30PM E53-223
Jan/28 Mon 03:00PM-04:30PM E53-223
Jan/29 Tue 03:00PM-04:30PM E53-223
Jan/30 Wed 03:00PM-04:30PM E53-223

1 The Super Hero's Journey 01/14/13 3-4.30pm (E53-223)

2  Our Real Heroes 01/16/13 3-4.30pm (E53-223)

3  Exploring Our Saboteur Tue 01/23/13 3-4.30pm  (E53-208)

4 Who Is My Inner Hero We 01/24/2013 1-2.30pm  (E53-223)

5 Train Your Hero Mo 01/28/13 3-4.30pm (E53-223)

6 The Epic Battle Tue 01/29/13 3-4.30pm (E53-208)

7 Getting or becoming Heroic (for real) 01/30/13 3-4.30pm  (E53-208)

Konstantin Mitgutsch - Post Doctoral Researcher


Board Game Night

Benjamin Elias

Jan/17 Thu 06:00PM-11:00PM 2-290

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

Board Game Night, hosted by the Mathematics Department.

Prepare to be aggravated by Agricola, bedraggled by Battlestar Galactica, cowered by Power Grid, dominated at Dominion, dispatched by Die Spiecherstadt.  An alphabet of fun.

A library of board games will be available (and you can bring your own). Bring your friends and enemies.

(Cooperative board games will also be available.)

Sponsor(s): Mathematics
Contact: Benjamin Elias, 2-248, 617-253-4993, belias@math.mit.edu


Bridge Tournament

Benjamin Elias

Jan/16 Wed 12:00PM-06:00PM 2-290

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

The Mathematics Department challenges all MIT bridge players to a team-of-four tournament. Those without a full team can still come and hope to find teammates. Refreshments offered, prizes awarded. Come and have a good time.

Sponsor(s): Mathematics
Contact: Benjamin Elias, 2-248, 3-4993, belias@math.mit.edu


Building Story Worlds: Space, Time, Rules, and Narrative in Game Design

Guilherme Marcondes, MIT Visiting Artists Program, Philip Tan, Creative Director, Game Lab, Sonny Sidhu, Comparative Media Studies, Rosalind Williams, Bern Dibner Prof of the History of Sci & Tech (STS)

Jan/14 Mon 10:00AM-05:00PM 56-180
Jan/15 Tue 10:00AM-05:00PM 56-180
Jan/16 Wed 10:00AM-05:00PM 56-180
Jan/17 Thu 10:00AM-05:00PM 56-180
Jan/18 Fri 10:00AM-05:00PM 56-180

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/09
Limited to 20 participants
Attendance: Participants must attend all sessions

Visiting Artist Guilherme Marcondes, in conjunction with researchers from the MIT Game Lab and the Program in Science, Technology, and Society, will lead a workshop exploring the role of space in storytelling. The workshop will focus on exploring how artists can use the tools of game design—including space, time, and rule sets—to construct complex narratives that are deeply embedded in the settings in which they unfold. Participants will learn how to design and refine a game prototype through playtesting and observation; produce, gather, organize, and use concept art, music, sounds, and other source materials to establish the mood of a narrative setting; and evaluate their own and others’ creations in a critique-based studio environment.

No prior programming experience is required. Participants will review examples of stories that deal with spatial exploration; explore in and around MIT on foot; and work in teams to create tabletop game prototypes.  Students who want to advance their projects may continue working with the researchers Jan. 21-24 & may exhibit and demonstrate these prototypes at a public event on Jan. 24 at the MIT Museum.  There is also opportunity in the second week for exploratory visits with faculty and labs.

The MIT Visiting Artists Program will host filmmaker, animator, and mixed-media artist Guilherme Marcondes for a two-week residency.  For more information visit http://arts.mit.edu/va/artist/marcondes/.

To register, email Meg Rotzel at mrotzel@mit.edu.

Sponsor(s): Science, Technology, and Society, Game Lab, Comparative Media Studies
Contact: Meg Rotzel, 617-253-2372, mrotzel@mit.edu


Game Design and Development Talks

Tony Eng, EECS

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions
Prereq: Programming experience

Interested in learning about various topics related to game design and development?
Come attend this free lecture series given by experts in the gaming industry.
No registration necessary;  all sessions are independent and are open to the MIT community.
Brought to you by 6.670 (iOS Games Competition)

Sponsor(s): Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Contact: Tony Eng, tleng@mit.edu


Game Design and Prototyping

Jan/10 Thu 02:00PM-04:30PM 4-163

Philip Tan,  MIT Game Lab


Mobile Game Design Constraints

Jan/17 Thu 02:00PM-04:30PM 32-155

"Designing for Mobile and Mobile Game Design Constraints,  Dave Bisceglia, The Tap Lab


Triple A Mobile Game: Concept to Release

Jan/24 Thu 02:00PM-04:30PM 32-155

Pocketgems


Change in the Our Industry

Jan/29 Tue 02:00PM-04:30PM 32-141

Electronic Arts


Real World 3D Game Development

Jan/30 Wed 02:00PM-04:30PM 32-141

Jerome Chen, GameLoft


Starting an Indie Studio Out of MIT

Jan/31 Thu 02:00PM-04:30PM 32-141

Eitan Glinert, Firehose


Games for Planners

Ezra Glenn

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions

During IAP, we'll try to keep it light with some fun games that help hone your planning skills. Learn to speak, draw, and build, and have fun in the process.

Please come join us -- the more, the merrier (or the messier, or the muddier, or something like that...).  Prizes, food, celebrity guests, etc.

Sponsor(s): Urban Studies and Planning
Contact: Ezra Glenn, 7-337, 617 253-2024, EGLENN@MIT.EDU


Games for Planners: Gab!

Jan/15 Tue 03:00PM-05:00PM 9-450A

All planners need to feel comfortable speaking in public.  Ideally, you'll know what you are talking about, but being able to speak extemporaneously on an subject is a great skill to have as well, and can really help loosen you up and get you comfortable with speaking in front of an audience.

Ezra Glenn


Games for Planners: Pictionary

Jan/29 Tue 03:00PM-05:00PM 9-450A

Good planning, design, and public process often depend on effective visual representation.  Come play this classic party game, with a planning twist.  Can you draw "Floor Area Ratio"?  "Foreclosure"?  How about "Emerald Necklace"...?

Ezra Glenn


Harry Potter Trivia with MIT Quidditch!

Chewy Shaw, Team Captain

Jan/30 Wed 04:00PM-07:00PM 8-119

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

Do you love Harry Potter?!  So do we!  The MIT Quidditch Team does more than just play Quidditch.  Join us every Wednesday this IAP for fun Harry-Potter-related events.  Feel free to come to all of them, or just drop in for half an hour.

 

Wednesday, Jan. 30th (Lily Potter's Birthday!): After playing Quidditch (2-4pm on Kresge Oval), join us for Harry Potter Trivia!  Do you remember the names of all the Death Eaters?  Finally, it's time to put your rusty Harry Potter knowledge to use!  Win all the best prizes!

Sponsor(s): MIT Quidditch
Contact: Jessica Noss, quidditch-execs@mit.edu


Integration Bee

Samuel Watson

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Contestants must qualify: see Friday Jan. 11
Prereq: need to pass the qualifying test on 1/11 to enter the bee

See individual session descriptions below.

Sponsor(s): Mathematics
Contact: Samuel Watson, 2-489, 3-4086, samuel.s.watson@gmail.com


Integration Bee Qualifying Testing

Jan/11 Fri 04:00PM-06:00PM 4-145

Stop by at any point during the session, for a quick test of your single variable integration skills. Top scorers qualify for the Integration Bee. No knowledge beyond 18.01 necessary.

http://math.mit.edu/~sswatson/integrationbee.html


Integration Bee

Jan/15 Tue 06:30PM-09:00PM 10-250

No enrollment limit. No advance sign up (but contestants must qualify, see Friday, Jan. 11). Come watch your fellow students match wits and single variable integration skills for prizes and the title of "Grand Integrator".

http://math.mit.edu/~sswatson/integrationbee.html


Introduction to Contract Bridge

Jim Rasmussen, Alya Asarina

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants requested to attend all sessions (non-series)

Come and discover the fun and intellectual challenge associated with contract bridge!
In this course, we explore the fundamentals of the game, including bidding, declarer
play, and defense. The lessons are based on The Club Series by Audrey Grant,
published by the American Contract Bridge League.

Each session will consist of a lecture, several examples, and supervised play. By the
end of this seven-session course, the student will have learned enough to play bridge
socially, and start exploring the exciting world of duplicate bridge.

There will also be an individual tournament at the end of the course, with prizes for
the winners.

Please bring $10 for a book deposit on the first day of class. We will return your $10
at the end of IAP and you get to keep the book.

Open to any students in the area or MIT affiliates

Sponsor(s): Mathematics
Contact: Alya Asarina, alya@mit.edu


Jan/07 Mon 07:00PM-09:30PM 4-149
Jan/10 Thu 07:00PM-09:30PM 4-149
Jan/14 Mon 07:00PM-09:30PM 4-149
Jan/17 Thu 07:00PM-09:30PM 4-149
Jan/24 Thu 07:00PM-09:30PM 4-149
Jan/28 Mon 07:00PM-09:30PM 4-149
Jan/31 Thu 07:00PM-09:30PM 4-149
Feb/04 Mon 07:00PM-09:30PM 4-149

Jim Rasmussen, Alya Asarina


Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM)

Adam Elmachtoub, Martin Bazant

Jan/16 Wed 02:00PM-03:30PM 66-110
Jan/25 Fri 01:00PM-02:30PM 66-110

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Repeating event, particpants welcome at any session

The Mathematical Contest in Modeling is an international competition where teams of three undergraduates come up with ideas to solve real-world problems using mathematical modeling. The format of the competition is that teams have four consecutive days (Jan 31 – Feb 4) to solve and write up a solution to one of three different problems. In each of the sessions, we will discuss an overview of the competition, tips for competing, forming teams, and mathematical tools. Teams should be well-rounded, interdisciplinary, and have members that can model, program, and write well. We will help people form teams at the sessions. We will also select one team to be the local MIT winner of the MCM who will win a grand prize of $300, dinner reception, and the title of MIT MCM winners. All courses/disciplines are welcome! (See link for official rules and previous contests.) This session is not mandatory for participation but encouraged for newcomers.

http://www.comap.com/undergraduate/contests/mcm/

http://web.mit.edu/orc/www/spotlight-MCMcompetition.html

Sponsor(s): Operations Research Center, Mathematics
Contact: Adam Elmachtoub, ane@mit.edu


ModIT workshop: online HTML game engine/creation tool

Sara Verrilli

Jan/17 Thu 01:00PM-04:00PM 32-124

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/16
Limited to 30 participants
Prereq: see description

Introduction to a set of tools for creating games. Modit is currently in private beta but in this workshop, we will showcase our HTML5 game development. ModitTM seeks to transform HTML5 games into a new medium for self-expression by turning players into game creators.  By bringing a full development environment into the browser, players will be empowered to modify the games they play and instantly publish and share those creations with the world.

Required of attendees: 1) Familiarity with JavaScript is ideal, but basic understanding of any programming language should be sufficient.   2) Laptop with Google Chrome, or Firefox, and Internet connectability.  3) Gmail account to log into the ModIt platform.

Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies, Game Lab
Contact: Sara Verrilli, akiru@mit.edu


Planning Exercise: Managing climate change-related uncertainty in infrastructure planning

Todd Schenk, PhD candidate, Environmental Policy and Planning

Jan/15 Tue 10:00AM-01:00PM TBD

Enrollment: Unlimited: Advance sign-up required

Interested in planning in the face of the risks and uncertainties posed by climate change? Want to practice your negotiation skills in a simulated multi-stakeholder environment? Interested in infrastructure planning?

I am looking for people to participate in a role-play simulation exercise at MIT (with lunch provided). 

As part of my dissertation work, I will be using this short exercise exploring the best ways of handling the uncertainties involved in managing climate change risks on urban waterfront infrastructure with decision-makers and other stakeholders in various locations (Rotterdam, Singapore and New York). I would like to pilot it here first. I hope that this exercise will be beneficial for all involved, providing an opportunity to think about the management of uncertainty in decision-making, along with a chance to practice negotiation skills. I also expect it to be fun.

The location is to be determined, but will be somewhere here at MIT. Please RSVP directly to me if you are willing and able to attend, or if you have any questions.

Sponsor(s): Urban Studies and Planning
Contact: Todd Schenk, (617) 230-8480, tschenk@mit.edu