Can Games Change the World? Summer Class [06/30->08/18]
back to eventsThursday, May 7, 2026 @ 12:00 PM EDT
An 8-week seminar & speculative game design class at boshi's place
Instructor: Hatim Benhsain Date: June 30 - August 18 (8 weeks) Time: Tuesdays 6 PM - 9 PM EDT Location: In-person, at Boshi's Place, 1002 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, 11221, or Online. Cost: Sliding scale of $600-1000 Deadline: Applications close May 7
Sometime around the late 2000s, certain people proclaimed that games “would change the world”. And how could they not? They bring people together, there were studies coming out left-and-right declaring the educational and pro-social benefits of games, and more people were gaming than ever before. Indeed, it felt like we were entering a “ludic century”.
But it didn’t happen. The world didn’t change (...or at least not in a necessarily positive way). So what went wrong? Is there still a chance that games could change the world? And if not, what else should we do with our art?
In this class, we will critically play and examine various types of games that were made (or been said) to “change the world” (whatever that may mean in their certain contexts): educational games, political & documentary games, empathy games, gamification, etc. We will read and discuss studies and articles promoting or criticizing these games, as well as draw from art theory & philosophy on the “point” of art and other art practices that try to create social change. We will also imagine, speculate, and craft games that explore alternate ways to create “change” beyond the invisible constraints of commercial game design. By the end of class, students will have a grasp on many kinds of ways people have tried to change the world with games, read different perspectives on the role of art in society, made some speculative games, and formulated their own individual theory on whether games can change the world.