MAGES

aka the Music and gaming education sympOsium

What is the Symposium, and who are the MAGES?

We are MAGFest-ers with a taste for the serious and the innovative! We host educational content right in the heart of MAGFest in the form of roundtable discussions, lecture panels, and interactive workshops. MAGES panels and events focus on a wide variety of topics: game design, music theory, the relationship between game and gamer, the therapeutic benefits of music and games, the study of musical instruments, and game history are a small set of possible subject areas. We bring an interdisciplinary approach to our analysis of the role of music and games in society – as mediums of entertainment and beyond. We value vibrant discourse and are always looking for new presenters and new ideas.

Our panels are typically structured to represent views on any number of topics with presenters from academia, the music and tech industries, government, indie developers, cultural commentators, and our engaged and informed MAGFest audience. Academics, developers, writers, composers, artists, and fans are all welcome to join in the presentations and discussions that will be taking place all weekend. If you've made it to this page, this could be you!

If you would like to get involved with MAGES, we accept content proposals year-round through a dedicated Google form and ideas are vetted by the MAGES Department Heads, who have a combined thirty years of experience in education. If you have questions about the Symposium or wish to pitch an idea, send us an e-mail at mages@magfest.org! If we feel that your proposal fits within the theme(s) and mission of the Symposium, we will be in contact and send you the form link. You will also be invited to join our Discord server! Please note that this form does not replace the Panels submission process, which is required for all MAGES presenters.

We are currently accepting proposals for MAGFest 2026. If we accept your proposal, you will be directed to submit through the main MAGFest panels portal with the “MAGES” tag, signifying that you’re ready to join our awesome, academic, and frequently astonishing community!

You can also check out MAGES’ blog for a continuing discussion about games throughout the year!