La Tabla: Design Lessons From a Tangible and Playful Computational Future by Chaim Gingold

Abstract:La Tabla grows out of my fascination with adventure playgrounds — unusual playgrounds that children themselves build out of wood, nails, and junk. I became interested in designing flexible play environments in which players could introduce whatever materials and rules they wanted, and which combined the digital and physical. In La Tabla, you reach into the simulation world with two hands, bringing the full force of your hominid dexterity and playfulness to the table. Because you can put whatever you like—coins, stones, books, drawings, yourself—into the simulation world, play is surprisingly improvisational and open-ended. Playing with others doesn't require sharing a mouse, keyboard, or network connection. Everyone sees and touches the same thing, which is such a profound way to interact that we take it for granted during our everyday, non-computerized, life.Bio:I’m a designer and theorist who creates and studies powerful representations for playing with, learning about, and reshaping the world. I was design lead on the Spore Creature Creator (2008), and developed Earth: A Primer (2015), a blend of toy and science book that WIRED called “an inspiring design experiment, and a reminder that interactive media is a young and undeveloped world itself.” My design expertise and research interests include authorial tools, simulation, and play. I have a M.S. in digital media from Georgia Tech. My Ph.D. in computer science was awarded for research on the history of simulation and computing, SimCity, and designing for play.Chaim Gingold http://chaim.io