Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Christian Howard (All Pronouns)
With insights from my journey as a game designer, Tibetan Buddhist teacher, and death doula, this talk explores how play can become a powerful tool for transformation, turning our most challenging emotions into opportunities for connection and liberation. Together, I'll share how my work weaving contemplative practices with game design taps into a kind of "spiritual technology"—a compassionate landscape where players can reclaim agency around topics like grief, isolation, death, and dying, transforming taboo experiences into opportunities for genuine vulnerability and surprising joy. Whether you're a designer ready to push ethical boundaries or someone fascinated by how play unlocks difficult conversations, you'll walk away understanding the potential for using intentional play to make life's hardest moments more manageable, in and out of game—plus an example of how playing games has the potential to transform grief into collective power and personal growth.
Christian Howard (All Pronouns)
With insights from my journey as a game designer, Tibetan Buddhist teacher, and death doula, this talk explores how play can become a powerful tool for transformation, turning our most challenging emotions into opportunities for connection and liberation. Together, I'll share how my work weaving contemplative practices with game design taps into a kind of "spiritual technology"—a compassionate landscape where players can reclaim agency around topics like grief, isolation, death, and dying, transforming taboo experiences into opportunities for genuine vulnerability and surprising joy. Whether you're a designer ready to push ethical boundaries or someone fascinated by how play unlocks difficult conversations, you'll walk away understanding the potential for using intentional play to make life's hardest moments more manageable, in and out of game—plus an example of how playing games has the potential to transform grief into collective power and personal growth.
