Eddo Stern's Games on Stage

Artist and game designer Eddo Stern will discuss the role of performance and live public play in his games Wizard Takes All (2011), a performance / game / rock-show; Money Making Workshop (2012), a get-rich-quick-seminar / sculpture / tabletop-role-playing/ strategy  game; and Vietnam Romance: Entertainment System (in-progress), a dinner theatre / adventure videogame. He will also introduce other recent projects created at the UCLA Game Lab.

Eddo Stern was born in Tel Aviv, Israel and lives in Los Angeles. His work explores the uneasy and otherwise unconscious connections between physical existence and electronic simulation, surrounding the subject matters of violence, fantasy, and historical memory. He works with various media including computer software and hardware, game design, live performance, digital video, and kinetic sculpture. His works include the short machinima films Sheik Attack, Vietnam Romance, Landlord Vigilante and the game performances Wizard Takes All, Darkgame, Waco Resurrection and Tekken Torture Tournament. He is a professor in the Design Media Arts Department at UCLA where he directs the UCLA Game Lab and teaches courses on games and media art. He is a strong advocate for independent game development, and the inherent potential of games as a medium for artistic expression and cultural impact. Online at http://www.eddostern.com and http://games.ucla.edu