March 20, 2025

Storytelling, video gaming workshops set for March 26-27

The School of Media Arts is hosting a series of workshops on Wednesday and Thursday, March 26-27, on forms of play and storytelling with Allen Turner, an assistant professor in game development and interactive media in DePaul University’s College of Computing and Digital Design.

“Sankofa Season: Worldbuilding Workshops with Digital Game Designer Allen Turner” will allow participants to “explore the way that stories and storytelling can shine a light on their understanding of themselves and the worlds they are part of,” said Sarah Lewison, a professor in the School of Media Arts. The free workshops are funded through the Fine Arts Activity Fee and are open to all students as well as the wider campus community and beyond. All people interested in games, play and self-exploration are welcome to attend.

Turner has been involved in storytelling, game and play design, and education for most of his adult life. Most recently he published the tabletop game “Ehdrigohr: The Roleplaying Game,” which is “a dark fantasy horror game that draws inspiration from the folklore indigenous peoples around the world to explore identity in culture and the processes of struggling against depression.”

A highlight of the two days is Thursdays’ physical gaming workshop in which participants will explore ideas and tools to create an interactive tactile game.

The workshops, along with times and locations are:

  • March 26 — 3-6 p.m. Communications Building, Room 9A. “Spatial Storytelling: An introduction to the unreal engine.” Participants will learn how to build a world for an online game and be taken through the process of making a walking simulator. The lesson will be illustrated by Turner’s Sankofa Seasons Project, which collects Black stories of wellness into a digital space where people can listen and meditate on their own survival. Seating is limited; registration is required by emailing Lewison at slewison@siu.edu.

  • March 27 — Noon-1:30 p.m. Communications Building, Room 1116. “Becoming: A movement workshop about who you are in your body.” Participants will use movement to look at the transformations our bodies go through alongside our stories. The workshop includes the use of belly dance veils and exercises from Japanese contemporary Butoh dance “to examine our various states of being.”

  • March 27 — 4-7 p.m. Morris Library, Honors Lounge, Room 180. “Parables of Play: tactile gaming.” In this physical game jam, participants will think together about the experiences and realities they might convey through play. They will then explore the tools, resources and materials that can be used to develop a tactile interactive game.

For more information, email Lewison at slewison@siu.edu.