Playthrough and discussion
Papers, please!
Games and Politics
The game Papers, please! produced by Lucas Pope in 2013, is the third of three games, which will be played live. Experts from Cyprus and Germany will comment the playthrough and answer audience questions.
In the videogame Papers, please! the player takes the role of a border guard in the dictatorial regime Arstotzka. People are waiting in long queues at the border to enter Kolechia. Based on a rulebook the player has to decide who to allow and who to deny entry. The player must verify whether the information given on the papers is true, whether the people are lying or could pose a terrorist threat. Should the player make a mistake, this could lead to sanctions like wage deductions, resulting to starvation and illness for their family. In the course of the game its rules become more complicated and the histories of those wishing to enter Kolechia more complex. Is the man with the expired work visa really just a harmless family man? Does the woman with the invalid passport really just want to visit her sick mother? The guard, in a position of power, is torn between their consciousness and fear for their existence.
Moderator: Frixos Masouras
Gamer: Constantinos Psillides
Speaker DE: Konstantin Mitgutsch
Speaker CY: Christos Kyriacou
Dr. Mitgutsch is also an Affiliate Researcher at the MIT Game Lab (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and a lecturer at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. He also serves as Gaming Director of the Red Bull Mind Gamers project, and explores novel forms of using game design as a tool for personal development. He received his PhD in education science and media education at the University of Vienna education and has published books on purposeful game design, learning and technology.
Christos Kyriacou has received a PhD at the University of Edinburgh and he is a Lecturer at the University of Cyprus. His main research interests lie in epistemology, metaethics and their intersection. He has published in journals such as Synthese, Erkenntnis, Episteme, Philosophical Pyschology, Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy and elsewhere. He has also co-edited the volume Metaepistemology (2018, Palgrave) co-editing another volume on skepticism (Routledge, 2021) and recently drafted an introduction to moral philosophy.
Details
Goethe-Institut Nicosia
21 Markou Drakou
Next to Ledra Palace Hotel on the "Green Line"
1102 Nicosia
Language: English
Price: Admission free
+357 22 674606
kultur-nikosia@goethe.de
Part of series Games and Politics
Exhibition Hall