This session will explore the role of the humanities — history, literature, philosophy, civics, jurisprudence — in the practice of designing serious games. While serious games have long and storied history (no pun intended) with engaging the humanities, recent humanities-based games such as Assassin’s Creed Origins, 1979 Revolution, Walden, a game, and others have opened up new possibilities for not only reasserting game-based learning in humanities contexts, but also re-evaluating the design paradigms through which these games are made. This session will explore the process of designing games in the humanities, the challenges and affordances of doing so, and the possibilities for developing and producing humanities games through grant funding, including the National Endowment for the Humanities.

1. Game Design and Funding in the
Humanities

2. Who I Am
• Dr. Marc Ruppel—NEH Division of Public
Programs

3. • Public
• Challenge Grants
• Preservation and Access
• Digital Humanities
• Education
• Research
Who We Are

4. • Fund projects with[in] Humanities
disciplines/subjects
– History, culture, philosophy, politics,
jurisprudence, literature (to name a few)
What We Do

5. • Public Programs
• Challenge Grants
• Preservation and Access
• Office of Digital Humanities
• Education
• Research
Where We Work in Games

6. • Office of Digital Humanities
• Digital Humanities Advancement Grants
(Level I, II, III)
– Two annual deadlines: January and June
• Innovative and Experimental Projects
• High-risk, high-reward
• Benefits the field (white paper)
• Tools, Methods, and Design Questions with
Multiple Applications
Where We Work in Games

7. • Film
• Television
• Radio
• Museums
• Historical Sites
What We Do in Public Programs

8. • Projects must be grounded in scholarship
• Target Audiences: family and youth,
general public
• Single or multiple format
What We Do in Public Programs

9. • Fund projects that advocate for a
specific action, policy, or law
• Instead…our projects encourage
reflection, invite questions, and
provide a larger framework for engaging
and understanding a subject/topic
What We DON’T do in Public
Programs

10. • Games + Virtual Environments
• VR/AR
• Mobile Apps
• Interpretive Websites (not archives)
• Transmedia Projects:
• ‘Born’ transmedia or…
• Extensions to existing content
Digital Projects for the Public

11. • Launched June 2014
• Next deadline: June 2019
• Three levels of funding:
– Discovery ($30k)
– Prototyping ($100k)
– Production ($400k)
Digital Projects for the Public

12. • Discovery  design document (up to
$30k)
• Prototyping  functional prototype (up
to $100k)
• Production  production + outreach (up
to $400k)
• Refereed review process
Digital Projects for the Public

13. • Projects do not need to reinvent the
wheel, but instead find creative uses for
established platforms/approaches
Digital Projects for the Public

14. GAMES + NEH

15. • Michael F. Young et al. (2012):
Strong evidence that humanities-based
subjects like history and the study of
language benefit immensely from games
vs.

16. THE HUMANITIES ARE MESSY.

17. Because of this, integrating
content expertise into the
process of design is crucial.

18. The Big Picture
• START with a subject, a collection, a region, a
place.
• BUILD a team of experts around that focus. And
not just the obvious folks: address the contexts
and larger issues implicated by your topic.
• CREATE a process that allows for these expert
voices to become an integral part of the design.
• REACH OUT to audiences, organizations, and
networks who will maximize impact.

19. “The history of medicine isn’t just about great
discoveries: it’s really the interplay between
the disease entity, the patient, and the health
care professional.”

20. Funded Projects

21. Past/Present
Louis Alvarez + Muzzy Lane Software

22. Drama in the Delta
Emily Roxworthy, UCSD

23. Travelling While Black
Independent Feature Projects, Inc. + G4C

24. Murder at Beacon Hill
Michael Epstein, Untravel Media

25. Mission US
WNET

26. Walden, a game
Tracy Fullerton, USC

27. The Pox Hunter
Lisa Rosner, Stockton College

28. Lost and Found
Owen Gottlieb, RIT Magic Center

29. Portrait of a Tyrant
Danielle Allen, Harvard

30. ChronoScouts
USC Game Innovation Lab

31. Digital Giza
Peter Der Manuelian, Harvard

32. Age of Alchemy
Chemical Heritage Foundation (now the Science History
Institute)

33. Interested? Here’s how to apply.

34. Peer Review Process
• Applications submitted for single grant program
• Reviewers recruited to evaluate applications
• Reviewers offer preliminary grades and
comments online
• Sitting or virtual panels for discussion + final
grades

35. How do I apply?
Step One:
Visit the NEH
website
(www.neh.gov)
and READ THE
GUIDELINES.

36. How do I apply?
Really— Read
the
Guidelines.

38. Other Funded Projects

39. Other Funded Projects

40. Step 2: Visit Grants.gov

41. • Step Three: Read samples!
• Step Four: Talk to us.

42. • Step Five: TALK TO US!!!
• Step Six: Submit your application by the
deadline and…wait. These things take
time.
• For DPP, June submissions = November
notification.

43. Dr. Marc Ruppel
www.neh.gov/divisions/public