The Media Systems convening was made possible by an unprecedented group of partners: the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, Microsoft Studios, and Microsoft Research. Our hope is that this kind of interdisciplinary partnership is a harbinger of things to come. The convening was brought to fruition through the organizational work of two UC Santa Cruz institutions: the Center for Games and Playable Media and the Institute for Humanities Research. We owe them great thanks.