A Humanities Lab at the Franklin Humanities Institute from Fall 2011 to Spring 2013, GreaterThanGames was focused on building game platforms that bring together virtual and real world components, are adaptable over a range of networked and programmable devices including desktop computers as well as iPhones, iPads, etc., and develop rich narrative content that emerges interactively with player collaborations and choices. The goal was to use the combined allure of game play, virtual architecture and design, and digital storytelling to intervene constructively in real world problems. Three teams closely collaborated to achieve this goal drawing upon faculty from Literature, English, Art, Art History & Visual Studies, ISIS, Classics, and Computer Science. In addition, the projects incorporated research from undergraduate courses and independent studies as well as work by graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, providing a model of vertical integration and collaborative teamwork.
The GreaterThanGames Lab was co-directed by N. Katherine Hayles (Literature), Tim Lenoir (Jenkins Chair for New Technologies in Society), Victoria Szabo (Art, Art History & Visual Studies / ISIS).