Zachary Horton: Changing the game
Zachary Horton: Changing the game
Zachary Horton: Changing the game
By Pamela Smith
April 16, 2023
Summary
It's "Archipelago," a miniature 3D-printed tabletop game that Zachary Horton and his students have been designing and testing together since 2018.
Horton wants to help students "Critically contextualize" these interests, particularly game studies.
Horton said although he studies games, it's "Not all about video games." He's also interested in tabletop, analog and hybrid games, their cultural contexts and how they tell stories.
"[I'm] very interested in the difference between tabletop gaming and analog gaming, which is highly social, and video gaming, which is often not very social, but very narrative driven," Horton said.
Krtanjek also said Horton goes "Above and beyond" in preparing students for careers in the game industry by exposing them to professionals with firsthand experience.
"Zach actually got a hold of the artist and we got to have an open conversation just talking with the artist about how he does his art for games, how the art kind of informs game design, how mechanics are in the industry."
"The typical gaming class is twofold - an examination of board games both historically and modern, but also game design analysis specifically and game design practice, of how to design these types of things using a framework like Archipelago, so it's not like we're starting from scratch," Krtanjek said.
Reference
Smith , P. (2023, April 16). Zachary Horton: Changing the game. The Pitt News. https://pittnews.com/article/180769/top-stories/zachary-horton-changing-the-game/