Wisconsin History Game

press release: Story Co-Design Workshop

This workshop is for 10-25 activists, historians, and artists to explore the potential of narrative and story-based strategy to help social movements achieve their goals.

6:30pm-8:30pm, January 10, Madison Public Library - Sequoya Branch

Free. Please RSVP on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wisconsin-history-game-story-co-design-workshop-tickets-52846470215

This workshop is for 10-25 activists, historians, and artists to explore the potential of narrative and story-based strategy to help social movements achieve their goals. We will specifically explore story ideas for a game prototype that leverages Wisconsin history to help players connect the issue of money in politics to climate change, gun control, and other progressive causes.

Introduction to the project's research goals and story-based strategy

Playtest a game prototype exploring place-based civic engagement

Story co-design activity: use prompts to construct a traditional, three-act story based on Wisconsin history and social movement strategy.

Discuss ways to continue the conversation.

What's the big idea here?

The output of this research will be integrated into a social movement game pilot that will take place in summer 2019. This game will invite players to uncover a time-traveling story embedded in Wisconsin state history. From Laffollett’s fight against corporate corruption and Leopold’s protection of the state’s lands, to the promotion of public education, we seek to remind Wisconsinites of their progressive roots through place-based connection to the past and future.

To do so, players will be challenged to uncover the roles past Wisconsinites played in that story and identify issues they want to address for future generations. The game then arms players with an arsenal of creative activism tactics to ignite public discussion and influence key decisions related to issues they care about. Players will be able to access this experience through a location-based mobile game or the web, and clues will be hidden in both virtual and physical spaces.

Participation in this workshop will inform the strategy and content of this game, but that's only the beginning.

The driving question is:

How might games enable social movement organizations to strategically coordinate creative resistance at the local level?

Learn more about this project here!