2021 Games for Change Virtual Festival: Full Schedule

PLEASE NOTE: This page is only used to display the G4C Virtual Festival Schedule in Eastern Time (GMT -5:00). Do not register using SCHED for workshops or the G4C Virtual Festival. Instead, please navigate to the following:

REGISTER TODAY for G4C Workshop Week (July 6-10)
CLICK HERE to register for the G4C Virtual Festival! (July 12-14)

4:00pm EDT

An Experimental Multiplayer RPG for Nuclear Policy Education

Are you interested in RPGs, Educational Games, or Nuclear Policy? if so, then come play Chain ReAction, a game about nuclear testing's untold stories!

During the game, Participants examine historical materials to help one of four organizations shape the future of nuclear testing. Participants will also discuss design and research with the Developers (continued in the festival).

This workshop is for developers, researchers, and educators interested in the intersection of games, policy, and education.

Speakers

Derek Chan

Producer, Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center

Derek (Roderick Luke) Chan is video game producer and designer. He recently graduated from the ETC after completing several projects focused on group storytelling, roleplaying, and interactive virtual events. As a result of these experiences, he now works at Amazon producing live... Read More →

Katherine Wheeler

Narrative Designer, Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center

Katherine is a Pittsburgh-based designer of narrative, interactive, and immersive experiences in the physical and digital world. She has previously worked for Frenzoo designing exciting and meaningful mobile game quests. Through this experience, she became passionate about the potential... Read More →

Shiva Kannan

Programmer, Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center

Shiva is a Software Developer and a Musician working in the intersection of Interactive Storytelling, Music Technology, and Computer Graphics. He wishes to build tools that help artists and musicians to easily express themselves and tell their stories.

Chunan Huang

Programmer, Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center

A student at Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center, Chunan Huang is a programmer who worked with a team of his peers to create the game Chain ReAction.

Yuzhu Zhou

Artist / Game Designer, Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center

Yuzhu, or Clare, Zhou, is a first-year, artist, game designer studying Game Design at the ETC of Carnegie Mellon University. They who worked with a team of their fellow students to create the game Chain ReAction.

Jack McClain

Game Designer, Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center

Jack is a Pittsburgh based game designer, a student of the Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center, and a current intern for Games for Change. His primary interest in educational and transformational game design is in using co-design research tools to empower p... Read More →

Tuesday July 6, 2021 4:00pm - 5:00pm EDT
Workshops

Workshops - General

10:00am EDT

Things Aren't Just Things - Game for Habit Change

Things aren't just things. A place isn't just a place. They often shape our cognition in unseen but profound ways. They could help, hurt, or be neutral when it comes to building positive habits for health, wellbeing, and social connections. Learn a critical new design method to merge science and choice architecture with the built world in a gamified way (e.g. How can toilet paper help improve quality connection? How can lighting improve diet?)

Speakers

Ting Jiang

Adjunct Chief Scientific Officer, Make A Point

Dr. Ting Jiang was a principal at Dan Ariely's Center for Advanced Hindsight at Duke University, is a thought leader in behavioral change and innovation. In her work, she bridges science and design in creating holistic behavioral solutions.

Mickey McManus

Senior Advisor & Executive Coach, The Boston Consulting Group

Mickey McManus is a pioneer in the field of collaborative innovation, pervasive computing, human-centered design & education. He authored the book, "Trillions", holds 12 patents in the areas of connected products, vehicles, & services, co-founded the global LUMA Institute, was CEO... Read More →

Wednesday July 7, 2021 10:00am - 11:30am EDT
Workshops

Workshops - General

1:00pm EDT

Picking Up Where We Left Off

There's no "back to normal." The system was broken before 2020. At last year's festival, you came up with a list of twenty big subsystems, each of which could use fixing. Let's work on one together. Games are good at framing asymmetry and balance. Let's make a game together. You don't need to have participated before. All you need is a bit of systems thinking. Vote now on which problem area you'd most like to address.

Speakers

Nicholas Fortugno

Co-Founder, Playmatics LLC

Nick Fortugno is a designer of games and interactive narrative experiences and co-founder of Playmatics. Fortugno has been lead designer on dozens of works, including leading interactive narrative design on Frankenstein AI, shown at Sundance New Frontier, and on games and experiences... Read More →

Jonathan Ogilvy

Producer / Game Designer, Little Red Robot

Jon has produced thousands of projects on time and on budget. Some are games. His work spans academic, commercial, government, healthcare, and fine arts disciplines. Products include training simulations, lab-to-lab communication platforms, medical visualizations, extended reality... Read More →

Colleen Macklin

Associate Professor, The New School

Colleen Macklin is a game designer and Associate Professor in the school of Art, Media and Technology at Parsons School of Design. In 2006 she founded and co-directs PETLab (Prototyping Education and Technology Lab), a lab that develops games for experimental learning and social engagement... Read More →

Wednesday July 7, 2021 1:00pm - 2:30pm EDT
Workshops

Workshops - General

4:00pm EDT

Press Forward: Accelerating Diversity & Inclusion in Esports

Join Evil Geniuses Chief Culture Officer Jessica Hammond to discuss and learn all things related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. You’ll go through where the industry was, where it is today, and most importantly where it needs to go moving forward, and what all our roles are for ensuring that happens.

Speakers

Jessica Hammond

Chief Culture Officer, Evil Geniuses

As Chief Cultural Officer at Evil Geniuses since 2020, Jessica oversees the people, educational platforms, culture programs and facilities programs. Jessica’s expertise in infrastructure and culture have led her to work with high growth, turnaround businesses, defining and shaping... Read More →

Wednesday July 7, 2021 4:00pm - 5:30pm EDT
Workshops

Workshops - General

7:00pm EDT

Intro to DEEP Impact for Intersectional Experts

New to the games for change community? This hands-on workshop will equip participants with a primer on the impact games landscape, an introduction to game design, and tools for working with impact game designers. Participants will work together in small groups, on activities curated from G4C's game design and impact game design methodology, and explore how games for impact could be used in various contexts. This workshop is open to intersectional experts interested in games for impact, including participants from academia, NGOs, activism, healthcare, policy making, and more. It is not intended for those who have prior experience designing or developing impact games.

Speakers

Dalton Gray

Project Director / Game Designer, Games for Change

Dalton Gray is a game designer and entrepreneur with experience in game design, game and event production, creative development, and curriculum design, and session facilitation for a variety of audiences. As Project Director and Game Designer at Games for Change, Dalton creates and... Read More →

Wednesday July 7, 2021 7:00pm - 8:30pm EDT
Workshops

Workshops - General

10:00am EDT

Behavior Change Design Workshop

Behavior change is one of the harder things to achieve in game design. How might we address behavior change in games head on? How might we distill behavior change goals and outcomes into game designs? Workshop will cover step-by-step process for incorporating behavior change models into the design thinking process. Participants will be encouraged to come with their game idea or concept and work through a guided design process to interweave their game and intervention.

Speakers

Emily Treat Czar

Director of Product Design and Usability, Carnegie Learning

Emily is a game designer and experience strategist who employs behavior change models and service design methodologies to delivery human centered digital experiences. She leads UX design for Carnegie Learning and is interested in the intersection of learning technologies and immersive... Read More →

Thursday July 8, 2021 10:00am - 12:00pm EDT
Workshops

Workshops - General

1:00pm EDT

Experience Design, Narratives, and Point of Views Workshop

Using a chair as a prop, creative strategist, Michaela Ternasky-Holland, will guide the attendees through a workshop that explores narrative and experience design within positioning, relationships, and power dynamics. This workshop is designed to activate the physical dynamics of immersive storytelling as well as equip creators with thinking around the experience they are building for their audience.

Speakers

Michaela Ternasky-Holland

Consultant & Creative Strategist, CRUX / Freelance

Michaela Ternasky-Holland is a multi-racial Emmy, Webby, and Sheffield Doc/Fest award-winning documentarian. She works with clients as a consultant and creative strategist. Her work has been featured by TIME, Forbes, The Guardian, Cannes Film Festival, New York Public Library, Tribeca... Read More →

Thursday July 8, 2021 1:00pm - 2:15pm EDT
Workshops

Workshops - Educator

4:00pm EDT

Youth Experts Designing Games To Dismantle Unjust Systems

Using the tabletop game The Run Around, designed by youth experts in the juvenile justice system, we present a field-tested game design method for engaging teens in social justice. Teens give voice to their lived experience and design for the changes they want to see, while also supporting their social-emotional skill development and wellness. The Run Around invites players to develop compassion for youth of color at the intersection of oppressive policies, practices, and systems.

Speakers

Susan Rivers

Executive Director / Chief Scientist, iThrive Games

Susan Rivers, PhD, is Executive Director and Chief Scientist of iThrive Games. Susan designs responsive environments and experiences that facilitate deep learning about themselves and the world. Susan believes that games, game design, and play are powerful tools for learning, forging... Read More →

Thursday July 8, 2021 4:00pm - 5:30pm EDT
Workshops

Workshops - Educator

7:00pm EDT

Intro to Teaching with Fortnite Creative

Students love playing games like Fortnite. What if they could enjoy learning history, math, science, or social studies while they play and create? Educators new to Fortnite Creative are encouraged to join this hands-on session. Participants will join a growing community of educators, connect with resources, and participate in a hands-on demo of a classroom activity using Fortnite Creative.

You will learn how to:
Understand the value of game-based learning and sandbox environments.
Understand how to use Fortnite in the classroom.
Create your own island in Fortnite.
Learn how to use the build tools and prebuilt assets included with Fortnite Creative.

Speakers

Brian Dickman

President, Cleverlike Studios, Inc.

Cleverlike Studios is a gaming and education studio that creates experiences inside popular video game platforms including Minecraft, Fortnite Creative, Unreal Engine and Roblox. In addition to producing independent content and projects for clients, we are also producing educational... Read More →

Steve Isaacs

Education Program Manager, Epic Games

Steve Isaacs is the Education Program Manager at Epic Games. His mission in this role is to support educators and students in exploring career opportunities that leverage interactive 3d skills. Prior to his role at Epic, Steve was a public school teacher for 28 years, teaching game... Read More →

Thursday July 8, 2021 7:00pm - 8:30pm EDT
Workshops

Workshops - Educator

10:00am EDT

User-Centered Design for Therapeutic Exergames

User-Centered methodologies allows one to design systems involving the user in the process. In video games, for therapeutic purposes, it is necessary to involve the potential final users and the stakeholders to have a complete overview of the problem to solve. In this workshop we will explain how to follow a user-centered methodology, how this works, and how we can apply it for the design, development, and evaluation of therapeutic exergames.

Speakers

Aurora Ruiz Rodríguez

PhD Candidate, University of Twente

Aurora Ruiz Rodríguez is now a PhD Candidate at the University of Twente in the department of Biomechanical Engineering, her work focus on the development of exergames for Stroke survivors. She did her master's in Computer Science in the Ensenada Center for Scientific Research and... Read More →

Friday July 9, 2021 10:00am - 12:00pm EDT
Workshops

Workshops - General

1:00pm EDT

What Can the Doc Community Teach Us About Impact?

A new generation of documentary filmmakers and Impact Producers are taking the concept of impact to another level. Combining ambitious distribution with super smart impact strategies to help realise profound societal change. Come and check out the essential frameworks they use and lets see if, and how, this can be applied to games.

Speakers

Beadie Finzi

Director, Doc Society

Beadie Finzi is one of the founding directors of Doc Society, a non profit film foundation with team based in Europe, the US, and Australia, which supports the global community of independent filmmakers. She is responsible for global programs including Good Pitch—which connects... Read More →

Friday July 9, 2021 1:00pm - 3:00pm EDT
Workshops

Workshops - General

7:00pm EDT

Prepare Students for High-Demand Jobs in Real-time 3D with Unity

This session, attendees will explore the many free resources available to educators to help them successfully teach Unity and get hands-on experience with a Unity project from Unity’s new Essential Pathway. Learn how to equip students with future-proof skills using the industry-leading tool for interactive design and development that spans across disciplines, like game development, AR, VR, media & entertainment, architecture, engineering, construction, design, training simulations, and more.

Speakers

Joy Horvath

Senior Instructional Designer, Unity

Joy Horvath is a Senior Instructional Designer within the Real-Time Learning team at Unity Technologies, where she develops educational content for the Unity Learn platform. Prior to joining Unity, Joy taught game development for five years at different schools and tech camps in... Read More →

Alex Grady

Senior Program Manager - Educator and School Solutions, Unity

Alex is a Senior Program Manager at Unity technologies, working with educators and schools to prepare students for high-demand jobs in real-time 3D development.In his role, Alex develops solutions to support schools to quickly start or expand innovative real-time 3D programs and faculty... Read More →

Friday July 9, 2021 7:00pm - 8:30pm EDT
Workshops

Workshops - General

1:00pm EDT

Intro to Unreal Engine in the Classroom

Interactive 3D and Real Time Rendering are being used across industries including Games, TV and Film, Architecture, Advertising, Fashion, Automotive, and Aerospace. Unreal Engine is a powerful industry standard tool that is forging ahead in terms of creativity and efficiency in these areas. This workshop will help educators see how they can bring Unreal Engine into any content area to empower students' creativity while equipping them with skills for the future. Participants will learn the basics of the Unreal Engine environment, explore existing lesson plans that incorporate Unreal Engine across content areas, and engage in a hands-on demo of a classroom activity.

Speakers

Ian Southwell

Creative Director, Cleverlike Studios, Inc.

Translating what he has learned while working as a professional commercial artist, Ian molds and crafts the next generation of artists for their professional life. Ian has worked for over a decade professionally as a Designer, Instructor, and Artist. During this time he has worked... Read More →

Brian Dickman

President, Cleverlike Studios, Inc.

Saturday July 10, 2021 1:00pm - 2:30pm EDT
Workshops

Workshops - Educator

4:00pm EDT

Exploring Impacts of Change on Learning

Using IMPACT: Learning Edition as a guide, participants will discover the hidden interconnections of change and imagine possible consequences of future events. Speakers will moderate a conversation around proactively thinking about, and possibly acting upon, a collective vision for the future of education and other systems that support people and society.

Speakers

Jason Swanson

Director, Strategic Foresight, KnowledgeWorks

Jason Swanson is the Director of Strategic Foresight at KnowledgeWorks, where he helps lead the organization’s research into the future of learning. An award-winning futurist, Jason develops forecasts, sensemaking guides, artifacts from the future, and immersive experiences. Jason... Read More →

Maria Romero

Senior Manager, Strategic Foresight, KnowledgeWorks

Maria Romero is Senior Manager of Strategic Foresight at KnowledgeWorks, where she supports the organization’s strategic foresight research, analysis and writing on the future of learning. Maria holds a BS in Sociology from the Universidad Central de Venezuela, advanced studies... Read More →

Saturday July 10, 2021 4:00pm - 5:30pm EDT
Workshops

Workshops - Educator

9:45am EDT

G4C Welcome with President Susanna Pollack

Speakers

Susanna Pollack

President, Games for Change

Monday July 12, 2021 9:45am - 9:50am EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events, Opening Remarks

9:50am EDT

Opening Remarks with Stan Pierre-Louis

Speakers

Stan Pierre-Louis

CEO, Entertainment Software Association

Monday July 12, 2021 9:50am - 10:00am EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events, Opening Remarks

10:00am EDT

Can Governments Help Grow the Gaming Community?

One of the fundamental principles of diplomacy is the importance of going to where the audience is located, including popular cultural platforms they enjoy. As societies today are increasingly drawn to technologies and non-traditional influencers, the State Department is leading innovative ways to reach some of the 2.7 billion gamers globally. My task: Should governments continue to conduct outreach through video games? If that answer was yes, then why and how best to do so.

Speakers

Joshua Shen

Strategic Designer, Interactive Media and Games, U.S. Department of State

Monday July 12, 2021 10:00am - 10:20am EDT
Festival

Civics & Social Issues, Talk

10:20am EDT

Digital Infrastructure and Sustainability for the Metaverse

Digital Village is an Ecosystem powered by Social Blockchain Technology, The Village protocol enabling the digital infrastructure for Art & Culture and Fashion & Lifestyle.

Speakers

Evelyn Mora

Digital Village, Founder

Touted as a “Change-agent” by Vogue Australia, a “Sustainable trailblazer” by WWD, a “Digital Trailblazer” by GQ, a “Game changer” by Glamour Magazine, “Multitalented and Genius” by Vogue Italy. Evelyn Mora is a Finnish 29-year old awarded strategist, inventor... Read More →

Jesse Damiani

Freethink / Nxt Museum, Senior Writer / Director of Simulation Literacies

Monday July 12, 2021 10:20am - 10:40am EDT
Festival

XR for Change, Talk

10:40am EDT

It's Time to "Reboot Earth"

“Reboot Earth” is an ecology focused game which was designed by a group of young people from six countries under the organization of Goethe Institute. The process not just helped them to learn the basics of game design; it enabled them to communicate and collaborate beyond borders without prejudgements during the isolated days of Covid-19. It was also an experiment in terms of adapting to changing paradigms.

Speakers

Güven Çatak

Academic-Director, Bahçeşehir University Game Lab

Dr. Güven Çatak started to write in video games magazines and make short films while studying architecture at İstanbul Technical University. He has a master thesis on "Usage of Architecture in Video Games" and a PhD thesis on "Using Video Games in Design Education: Basic Design... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 10:40am - 10:50am EDT
Festival

Games for Learning, Project Brief

11:00am EDT

Meet the Funder: Archie Stonehill (Makers Fund)

This session will cover VC in games, looking at the recent trends and implications of the video games industry's increasing prominence among VC investments.

Speakers

Archie Stonehill

Investor, Makers Fund

Archie Stonehill is an investor at Makers Fund, a leading VC in the interactive entertainment industry. He helps cover the company's European and Middle Eastern regions, helping to source and assess deals and work with the founders in Makers' portfolio. Before joining Makers Fund... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 11:00am - 11:30am EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events, Meet the Funder

11:00am EDT

Wild Futures: Immersive Art in the 2020s and Beyond

Immersive art is changing. Heading into the 2020s, audiences have new accessible devices, an increased comfort for virtual content, and appetites for cutting-edge experiences. Even the meaning of "immersive" has also come to include so much — from location-based experiences to VR/AR on headsets and smartphones. What are the new forms of expression that are emerging in, through, and alongside immersive art?

Moderators

Drue Kataoka

CEO, Drue Kataoka Studios

Drue Kataoka is an artist-technologist-activist & CEO of Drue Kataoka Art Studios (www.Drue.Net), serving some of the world's top art collectors in 5 continents & over 30 countries. She creates commissioned artworks in both material art genres such as mirror-polished steel sculpture... Read More →

Speakers

Dylan Urquidi

Researcher / Engineer / Designer / Artist, Unity Technologies

Dylan Urquidi, is a generative-artist, and research-engineer/XR-designer at Unity Labs, the research division of Unity Technologies. Dylan has won awards for his work at Unity Labs, developing tools like “EditorXR”, which won the “Best in Virtual Tech” award at the SF Design... Read More →

Sofia Crespo

Artist, Entangled Others

Sofia Crespo is an artist working with a huge interest in biology-inspired technologies. One of her main focuses is the way organic life uses artificial mechanisms to simulate itself and evolve, this implying the idea that technologies are a biased product of the organic life that... Read More →

Myriam Achard

Chief New Media Partnerships & PR, Centre PHI

For the past 15 years, Myriam Achard has worked with Phoebe Greenberg to develop and promote the Canadian and international avant-garde arts scene. She has been Chief, New Media Partnerships & PR at the PHI Centre since it opened in 2012.Over the past 6 years she has devoted a great... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
Festival

XR for Change, Panel

11:00am EDT

Girls Who Game as a Catalyst to Close Gap in STEM Fields

Girls Who Game is a virtual program that offers girls, and other underserved groups, the opportunity to use video games as a medium for learning. With a specific focus on developing a greater interest in STEAM and improved global competencies it helps to build the capacity of teachers to use game based learning strategies in their classrooms. GWG panel will explore the program and keys to successful impact for participants to be ignited, inspired!

Moderators

Kendall Latham

Senior K-12 Education Strategist, Dell

Kendall is a life-long learner and committed educator focused on partnering with districts to optimize learning and growth for all. Kendall has a Ph.D. in Urban Education with a Literacy concentration from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a Master’s Degree in Reading... Read More →

Cari Warnock

Education Strategist, Dell

Cari Warnock, Dell Technologies K-12 Education Strategist, makes it her mission to find equity wall to wall for all. Girls Who Game co-sponsor and esports conference co-hostess Warnock served 24 years in public education. She has written and managed 40 million dollars’ worth of... Read More →

Speakers

Matt Bulka

High School Esports League, Southeast Regional Consultant

Matt Bulka's passion for esports and the powerful opportunities it provides students has persisted throughout his career. After teaching chemistry for five years, Matt moved into the role as a Digital Innovation Leader in Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, KY, where he... Read More →

Debra Unger

Library Media Specialist, Jefferson County Public Schools

Debbie Unger has been a library media specialist for over 5 years with 18 plus years in Language Arts and Reading Specialization. She has worked with both students and teachers in grades K-12 to build a positive culture of literacy and technology. Currently, Debbie loves working with... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 11:00am - 11:50am EDT
Festival

Games for Learning, Roundtable

11:45am EDT

G4C Chapters Announcement

Speakers

Glenn Gillis

CEO, Sea Monster

Susanna Pollack

President, Games for Change

Monday July 12, 2021 11:45am - 11:50am EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events, Announcement

12:00pm EDT

Keynote - Building a World We Want to Spend Time In

Interactive 3D and XR are replacing images and video to become the new norm for how we work and communicate. As this technology is applied in health care, architecture, construction, manufacturing, and retail, new jobs are being created and new skills are being required by employers. In this session we will discuss the growing demand for real-time 3D skills and how we prepare students and the future workforce for jobs in an immersive world.

Speakers

Julie Lottering

Director of Education, Unreal Engine, Epic Games

Julie Lottering is an artist and educator with a passion for visualization and technology. Her background includes, neuroaesthetics, the science of learning and computer graphics. Her aim is to make a permanent and positive shift in learning where each person can feel creativity at... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 12:00pm - 12:20pm EDT
Festival

Games for Learning, Keynote

12:00pm EDT

Mental Health in Gaming AMA with Take This

Since 2012, Take This has been educating the game community on mental health matters both in games and IRL. Ever wonder why certain tropes in games are not true? Ever curious about tips on finding a mental health professional that supports you well? This is your chance to ask our mental health experts generalized mental health questions in a supportive and compassionate space.

Speakers

Raffael Boccamazzo

Clinical Director, Take This

Raffael Boccamazzo (more affectionately known as “Doctor B”) is a doctor of clinical psychology and the clinical director of Take This, the first mental health nonprofit dedicated to serving the game industry and game community, overseeing many of Take This’ educational and... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 12:00pm - 1:00pm EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events, Roundtable

12:20pm EDT

Crossfire: Dynamic Tension Between Games and Healthcare

Professor Walter Greenleaf and Noah Falstein have arrived at games for health from the health care and games industries respectively. They will delve into the conflicts and misconceptions common to people who seek to blend these well-meaning but very different cultures. Will games for health create Star Trek techie utopias, or Black Mirror privacy-invading nightmares? Come and find out!

Speakers

Noah Falstein

President, The Inspiracy

A professional game developer since 1980, Falstein was among the first 10 employees at LucasArts, The 3DO Company, and Dreamworks Interactive. He recently served for four years as Google’s Chief Game Designer, working closely with their AR and VR projects, leaving in 2017 to pursue... Read More →

Walter Greenleaf

Visiting Scholar, Virtual Human Interaction Lab, Stanford University

Walter Greenleaf, PhD is a neuroscientist and medical technology developer working at Stanford University. With three decades of research and product development experience, Walter is considered a leading and pioneering authority in the fields of digital medicine and medical virtual... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 12:20pm - 12:40pm EDT
Festival

Health & Wellness, Talk

12:30pm EDT

Meet the Funder: Humble Black Game Developer Fund

Humble Bundle’s Black Game Developer Fund (BGDF) is a $1M program designed to empower and help achieve racial equity within game development, supporting independent Black game developers to get their ideas off the ground or into the next stage of development. This session will explore BGDF learnings/evolution since its inception and the importance of investing to strengthen the future of Black game development and shine a light on diverse voices through games.

Speakers

Justin Woodward

Director / Co-Founder / BGDF Advisor, Media Indie Exchange

With a mixture of over 12 years of independent and AAA development and production experience and a master's in Game Production and Management, Justin Woodward Co-founded and directs an independent game studio, Interabang Entertainment as well as The Media Indie Exchange (The MIX... Read More →

Kamini Tiwari

Vice President of Social Impact and Internal Communications, Humble Bundle

Kamini Tiwari is the vice president of social impact and internal communications at Humble Bundle where she is responsible for unifying the company under the mission of being a force for good through gaming. In her role, Kamini is growing Humble as a platform for good, connecting... Read More →

Sithe Ncube

Advisor, Black Game Developer Fund

Sithe has been an active member of the African game development community since 2013, beginning with organizing community events in her hometown Lusaka, Zambia. Since then, she has been an advocate and collaborator for increasing participation of African game developers to the global... Read More →

John Polson

Portfolio Director, Publishing, Humble Bundle

As portfolio director of publishing, John directly oversees Humble’s third-party developer relations and portfolio development, serving as the primary talent scout for Humble Games, and putting incredible independently developed games in the hands of a global player base. Prior... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 12:30pm - 1:00pm EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events, Meet the Funder

12:30pm EDT

Video Games and Literature: Stories That Engage

Why and how are video games interested in literature? What specificity for adaptations of literary works in video games? How do these creations rediscover a work while engaging the player more? Animal farm, Walden, The Kingdom of Istyald: games that offer to revisit literary works while offering real gameplay and specific visual and sound universes. Meet their creators for a discussion on the relationship between literature and video games, and how they influence each other.

Moderators

Florent Maurin

President, The Pixel Hunt

Florent Maurin graduated from Lille's journalism school (France) in 2002, and worked as a journalist for ten years. He then founded The Pixel Hunt, a gamedev studio with a focus on reality-inspired games. Bury me, my Love, The Pixel Hunt's first independent game, was co-produced with... Read More →

Speakers

Sophie Guindon

Digital Project Manager, Bibliothèque nationale de France

Sophie Guindon is digital project manager at the National Library of France, within the digital publishing service, which produces sites, videos and applications for educational and cultural mediation. In 2020, she worked on a site dedicated to Fantasy : Fantasy, A Once and Future... Read More →

Imre Jele

Chief Creative Officer, The Dairymen / Bossa Studios

Throughout his colourful career, Imre has worked on a wide range of game genres and platforms. He is the Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Bossa Studios, creator of several game titles, including Surgeon Simulator, and has won multiple BAFTA awards. He has also lead the development... Read More →

Tracy Fullerton

Director, USC Game Innovation Lab

Tracy Fullerton is an experimental game designer, professor, author and founding director (emeritus) of the USC Games program. Her research center, the Game Innovation Lab, has produced a number of influential independent games, including Cloud, flOw, Darfur is Dying, The Night Journey... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 12:30pm - 1:20pm EDT
Festival

Games for Learning, Roundtable

12:40pm EDT

Gaming Helps Disabled People, and the Fight For Accessibility

Exploring the ways gaming can help disabled people through escapism, fantasy, and online community, and the importance of making these spaces accessible. I will discuss multiple ways disabled people are often ostracized in gaming, including inaccessibility and ableism, and ways developers and companies can work alongside disabled people to ensure everyone can play and engage.

Speakers

Erin Hawley

Digital Content Producer, Easterseals / The Geeky Gimp

Erin Hawley is a content creator with a focus on accessibility and disability representation in media. She has worked with companies like Microsoft, Logitech, Adobe, and Electronic Arts to ensure accessibility and inclusivity is not an afterthought. Her work has been featured in The... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 12:40pm - 12:50pm EDT
Festival

Health & Wellness, Talk

1:00pm EDT

World Bank VR: Water and Sustainable Development Initiatives

Engaging discussion on the use of VR, XR and Immersive Web at World Bank for remote monitoring of poverty reduction projects around the world, virtualizing events engagements and revamping learning with immersive media.

Speakers

Jimmy Vainstein

Senior Program Manager, The World Bank

Jimmy Vainstein leads the Interactive Media Program at the World Bank Group in Washington, DC. His efforts brought the deployment of immersive tools across the development organization in order to virtually transport audiences to areas of focus and connect them with issues affecting... Read More →

Meriem Gray

Communications Lead, The World Bank

Meriem works as a Senior External Affairs officer and Communications Lead for the World Bank Sustainable Development team. She has extensive experience in strategic and crisis communications, public relations and reputational management. Having worked across several regions and globally... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 1:00pm - 1:20pm EDT
Festival

XR for Change, Talk

1:20pm EDT

Inclusivity in the Production of Digital Content for Kids

Shannon Case and Rocío Almanza Guillén, Digital Producers at Fred Rogers Productions, will share their successes and challenges producing games for young, diverse audiences. The conversation will cover the ways in which Universal Design for Learning principles and an Equity-Centered Design Framework guide the production and design of learning games based on the PBS KIDS series, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Donkey Hodie, and Alma’s Way.

Speakers

Rocío Almanza Guillén

Digital Producer, Fred Rogers Productions

Rocío Almanza-Guillén oversees the creation of digital content for the animated series Alma’s Way. She is a bilingual specialist in design for learning with a focus on children and their families. Prior to joining Fred Rogers Productions, her vast experience included product management... Read More →

Shannon Case

Digital Producer, Fred Rogers Productions

Shannon Case is Digital Producer at Fred Rogers Productions. She oversees the creation of digital content, including games, apps, websites, and emerging technologies for children and families. Before joining Fred Rogers Productions, she spent several years at PBS, where she managed... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 1:20pm - 1:40pm EDT
Festival

Games for Learning, Talk

1:30pm EDT

Aesthetics and Empathy: Why Art Matters

Most empathy in VR utilizes perspective taking --putting the player in someone else's shoes. In this talk, Illya Szilak argues for expanding current approaches to empathy by returning to the original meaning of empathy as aesthetic sympathy. Reviewing the history of empathy and relevant neuropsychological literature, she will discuss the results of live prototyping experiments used to design Queerskins: ARK, which were recently published in The International Journal of New Media, Technology and the Arts.

Speakers

Illya Szilak

Writer / Director / Producer / Artist, Cloudred

lllya Szilak is an artist, writer, and director. Her long-time artistic partner is interactive designer Cyril Tsiboulski. Their artistic practice is collaborative and participatory, often incorporating crowd-sourced and archival elements. They are known primarily for their Peabody... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 1:30pm - 2:10pm EDT
Festival

XR for Change, Talk

1:30pm EDT

Unity for Humanity Changemakers and the New Frontier

Unity for Humanity Impact Creators Paige Wood (Dot’s Home), El Lim (Samudra), and Louis Weinstock (Apart of Me) in conversation with Paisley Smith (Unity Technologies). Paige, El, and Louis are all Unity for Humanity Grant recipients, and are creating groundbreaking social impact RT3D work. This roundtable is a discussion of how they are making real world impact through their use of RT3D.

Moderators

Paisley Smith

Unity for Humanity Program Lead, Unity Technologies

Paisley Smith is a Canadian virtual reality creator and a Producer for the Unity for Humanity Program at Unity Technologies. Paisley is the creator of Unceded Territories with artist and activist Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, and Homestay, produced by the National Film Board of Canada... Read More →

Speakers

Paige Wood

Supervising Producer, Rise-Home Stories Project

Paige Wood is an award-winning filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, and creative consultant. Born in Detroit, Paige has produced and/or co-written a number of critically-acclaimed documentary and narrative films since the start of her freelance career in 2018. Currently, Paige serves... Read More →

El Lim

Founder / Head Developer, Khayalan Arts

With a wide-ranging background in game production, art, marketing & music, El Lim assembled Khayalan Arts in 2019 as an Indonesian creative studio that focuses on eco-friendly, cultural & positive social values via visual and interactive storytelling. The profits from his projects... Read More →

Louis Weinstock

CEO, Apart of Me

Louis Weinstock is a social entrepreneur and Child Psychotherapist with over 20 years experience supporting marginalised young people. He is CEO of the multi-award-winning charity Apart of Me, which helps young people transform their grief into compassion through the use of a therapeutic... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 1:30pm - 2:20pm EDT
Festival

Civics & Social Issues, Roundtable

1:40pm EDT

The Role of Play in Multimodal Learning on U.S. Immigration

This session highlights unique multimodal learning about immigration in America. Toma el Paso is a tabletop game designed for unaccompanied immigrant minors (UIMs) to help navigate the shelter release process when in U.S. government custody. We will share strategies for using Toma in college-level immigration courses, combining student analysis of gameplay with assigned texts and media to enable richer reflection on immigration.

Speakers

Lien Tran

Assistant Professor, DePaul University, College of Computing & Digital Media

Lien Tran is an assistant professor at DePaul University's School of Design in the College of Computing and Digital Media where she teaches game design and design strategy. She is co-director of New Experience Research and Design Lab (NERDLab). Lien's design portfolio includes online... Read More →

Katherine Moran

Associate Professor, Saint Louis University, Associate Professor, Saint Louis University

Katherine Moran is an Associate Professor of American Studies at Saint Louis University. Her book, The Imperial Church: Catholic Founding Fathers and United States Empire (Cornell University Press, 2020), examines the role of religion in the rhetoric of U.S. empire in the late nineteenth... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 1:40pm - 1:50pm EDT
Festival

Games for Learning, Project Brief

1:50pm EDT

G4C Book Corner with Matt Farber and Kat Schrier

Games can have a powerful impact on civic education, ethics, and social and emotional learning. Experts Kat Schrier & Matthew Farber give a sneak peek of their two new books on games and learning. Schrier’s new book, We the Gamers (Oxford University Press, 2021), explores how games teach ethics, civics, & compassion. Farber’s new book, Gaming SEL (Peter Lang, 2021), explores how games support social and emotional learning and skills like resiliency and perspective-taking.

Speakers

Kat Schrier

Director of Games / Associate Professor, Marist College

Dr. Kat Schrier is an Associate Professor and Director of the Games & Emerging Media program at Marist College. Dr. Schrier is also founder/CEO of PlatyPlay, LLC, a company that specializes in designing and researching games for learning, empathy, civics, and inclusion. She has two... Read More →

Matthew Farber

Assistant Professor, University of Northern Colorado

Matthew Farber, Ed.D. is an assistant professor at the University of Northern Colorado, where he founded the Gaming SEL Lab. Dr. Farber has been invited to the White House, authored several books and numerous papers, and is a frequent collaborator with UNESCO MGIEP and Games for Change... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 1:50pm - 1:55pm EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events, Announcement

2:00pm EDT

dVEM: An Interactive Nonverbal Assessment Tool for Emotion

The CHST Team at RIT will be presenting dVEM, the result of a transtheoretical team effort to build digital measures designed to capture symptoms using the unique capabilities that are only available on digital interfaces. dVEM uses interactive iconography to prompt patients to report emotion type and intensity without written prompts. Our goal is to present dVEM as the first of a field of digital assessment tools that can be used across eHealth platforms.

Speakers

Celeste Sangiorgio

Predoctoral Intern Psychologist, Rochester Institute of Technology

Celeste Sangiorgio is a postdoctoral clinical psychologist at RIT's Favtech laboratory who specializes in how beliefs about capabilities and characteristics surface as different behaviors in different situations, with a focus on how virtual settings might elicit and change these beliefs... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 2:00pm - 2:10pm EDT
Festival

Health & Wellness, Project Brief

2:10pm EDT

Living in the Polarization Times

Today polarization in the world is a trend. Are you ready to be in the middle of this crack? The Gap locates the user in the center of the cracks that divide us in front of big global topics like immigration, gender, science, technology, love or politics.

Speakers

Andres Waisberg

Director, Virtual 360

Born and raised in the culture of the image, Andres Waisberg finished a degree in Media at ORT Argentina, a degree in Image and Sound Design at the University of Buenos Aires. After which he started working for the “big” air TV broadcasters in Argentina. Over the years, Andres... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 2:10pm - 2:20pm EDT
Festival

XR for Change, Project Brief

2:20pm EDT

Community Co-Op: Blaseball's Collaboration with Our Fans

Blaseball is a massive multiplayer (sort of) sports simulator (sort of!) where fans learn what it's like to work together (hopefully!) to battle unseen malicious forces that are bigger than them. We'll talk about how we create Blaseball for our community, but also about how our fans have banded together in incredible ways to fight injustice both in and out of the game.

Speakers

Felix Kramer

Producer, The Game Band

Felix joined The Game Band in 2020, and now is a core team member on both the production and creative side of absurdist baseball simulator Blaseball.

Stephen Bell

Designer-Writer, The Game Band

Stephen Bell is a filmmaker, narrative designer and writer based in Los Angeles. A member of The Game Band and co-founder of Gardens Interactive, Bell's past credits include Blaseball, Where Cards Fall, What Remains of Edith Finch, Sky: Children of the Light, et al.

Monday July 12, 2021 2:20pm - 2:30pm EDT
Festival

Civics & Social Issues, Project Brief

2:30pm EDT

CROSS: A 360 VR Documentary Against Xenophobia

In this Project Brief session, it will be presented how CROSS was conceived. It will be explained how the immersive experience was designed and what the objectives of the project were to raise awareness about the Venezuelan exodus. In addition, data and results will be provided on how the proposal was implemented as a tool for social impact. Finally, it will be analyzed how the content was exhibited for different audiences and in different settings.

Speakers

Juan Pablo Urgilés

Creative Director, Imán Transmedia

Juan Pablo Urgilés is the Creative Director and Co-Founder at Imán Transmedia, where he creates interactive and immersive projects that have been pioneering in Ecuador. He has received Ecuador's fund from the National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Creation in New Media, as... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 2:30pm - 2:40pm EDT
Festival

XR for Change, Project Brief

2:30pm EDT

Chain ReAction: Education, RPGs, and Nuclear Policy

Are you interested in RPGs, Educational Games, or Nuclear Policy? Come discuss Chain ReAction, a game about nuclear testing's untold stories! Hosted by the Devs, this roundtable dives into the design and takeaways from Chain ReAction's 14 week development.

Participants will discuss the experience of playing Chain ReAction (played during workshop week), and dig deeper into transformational design and rapid development.

Moderators

Derek Chan

Producer, Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center

Speakers

Katherine Wheeler

Narrative Designer, Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center

Shiva Kannan

Programmer, Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center

Chunan Huang

Programmer, Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center

A student at Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center, Chunan Huang is a programmer who worked with a team of his peers to create the game Chain ReAction.

Yuzhu Zhou

Artist / Game Designer, Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center

Jack McClain

Game Designer, Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center

Monday July 12, 2021 2:30pm - 3:00pm EDT
Festival

Civics & Social Issues, Roundtable

2:30pm EDT

Meet the Funder: Nika Nour (IGDA Foundation)

Are you having a tough time virtually networking, pitching, or getting the attention of investors? This session focuses on using persistence, building resilience, and defining success when trying to build your goals, teams, and companies.

Speakers

Nika Nour

Executive Director, IGDA Foundation

Nika Nour is the executive director of the International Game Developers Association Foundation and the leading voice on diversity and inclusion in the video game industry. Nour also operates as the Chief Strategy Officer of Liminal esports and is an Informatics PhD student at the... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 2:30pm - 3:00pm EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events, Meet the Funder

2:40pm EDT

Building a Better Future with Gaming, NFTs, and Social Good

Leyline is a social impact, not for profit, open source, and open knowledge organization. Our mission is to make every human a real-life and virtual hero through their good deeds.

We do this by harnessing the power of blockchain and gaming to empower and reward individuals to do acts of social good in
the world. We make doing good easy, fun, and profitable.

Learn more about how we can make this happen together.

Speakers

Jeremy Dela Rosa

Founder / CEO, Leyline

Jeremy Dela Rosa is a 10 year veteran of Blizzard Entertainment, with nearly 2 decades of experience in the technology sector. As a producer at Blizzard, he helped launch over 7 AAA titles such as Overwatch, Hearthstone, and Diablo III. Additionally, he spent several years living... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 2:40pm - 2:50pm EDT
Festival

Civics & Social Issues, Project Brief

3:00pm EDT

Keynote - What We Get Wrong About Kids Behaving Badly Online

The growing discussion surrounding management of “toxic” behavior in online games is tied, in part, to concerns about the impact disruptive and harmful behavior may have on children. This talk explores why kids need to grief, take risks, and make friends all at the same time. We will explore the question of what prosocial behavior for tweens looks like and why getting it right in our games matters for the future of online civility.

Speakers

Katie Salen Tekinbaş

Professor, UC Irvine

Katie is a Professor in the Department of Informatics at the UC Irvine, a member of the Connected Learning Lab, and Chief Designer and co-founder of Connected Camps. She has expertise in the design of play-based learning environments and loves to collaborate with youth to develop... Read More →

Jill King

Senior Vice President, Marketing and Partnerships, WarnerMedia

As senior vice president of marketing and partnerships, Jill King oversees all marketing efforts for WarnerMedia Kids & Family, and leads brand partnerships and experiential marketing for Cartoon Network and Adult Swim. King is renowned among industry insiders for devising and delivering... Read More →

Susanna Pollack

President, Games for Change

Monday July 12, 2021 3:00pm - 3:30pm EDT
Festival

Games for Learning, Keynote

3:30pm EDT

Keynote - Building Real World Communities with Niantic

Games have been a crucial community building component for centuries, accelerating its influence as technology and the world at large evolve. How can we support and maintain the strength of real world communities and connections through games? Listen in as John Hanke, CEO of Niantic, Inc., a leading AR tech company, describes how technology can enhance and support healthy communities.

Speakers

John Hanke

Founder / CEO, Niantic, Inc.

As CEO, John leads Niantic, Inc. in building cutting edge planet-scale AR technology that can beleveraged to create “real world” interactive experiences that foster exploration, exercise and socialinteraction. Niantic has developed and released three real-world AR mobile experiences... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 3:30pm - 3:50pm EDT
Festival

Civics & Social Issues, Keynote

3:30pm EDT

Growing Games for Change Globally

Games for Change continues to grow as an organization, now globally expanding its reach to FIVE different continents. Highlighting the fundamental work of the current G4C chapters and celebrating the formation of a brand new chapter, join Susanna Pollack in a discussion about games for impact with the leaders of each G4C Chapter.

Moderators

Raul Carvajal

Festival Producer, Games for Change

After working closely with the Festival team to produce the 2018 Games for Change Festival, Raul now serves as the Director of Production & XR for Change at Games for Change. Raul fuses his background in film production and virtual reality development to bring together talented teams... Read More →

Speakers

Jean-Michel Blottière

Co-Director, Games for Change Europe

Dale Linegar

Director, Games for Change Asia-Pacific

Dale Linegar is the Director of Games for Change Asia-Pacific and a researcher looking at how to account for values in serious game design. He is the founder of Oztron (now part of Obvious Choice), which have won a wide range of awards for their work creating serious games and simulations... Read More →

Glenn Gillis

CEO, Sea Monster

Gilson Schwartz

Director, Games for Change Latin America

Gilson Schwartz is the President of Games for Change Latin America as well as an Associate Professor the University of Sâo Paulo, School of Communication and Arts. He is faculty of Philosophy, Literature and Human Sciences.

Monday July 12, 2021 3:30pm - 4:20pm EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events, Roundtable

4:00pm EDT

Time Tails: Gender Equity in Game Development

Come hear how Snowbright has put games, gender, and STEM education research to work in developing our latest game. Time Tails is a series of puzzle adventure games that teach coding and professional game design software by following two time-traveling 80's cats, Ari and Zoe. Time Tails was developed in partnership with G4C and with support from the US Department of Education. It is the first ever learning game to feature a canonically nonbinary character.

Speakers

Quill Kolat

Creative Manager, Snowbright Studio

Quill Kolat is the Creative Manager for Snowbright Studio and Liminal Esports. They have a flair for fantastical art, and their work often focuses on cute and expressive characters with bold color schemes. When Quill isn't making art, they can be found speaking to their cats in silly... Read More →

Grace Collins

CEO, Snowbright Studio

Grace Collins is the Founder and CEO of Snowbright Studio and Liminal Esports. They previously led game-based education policy at the US Department of Education and managed educational technology projects at the Smithsonian Institution. Grace is a former computer science teacher at... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 4:00pm - 4:20pm EDT
Festival

Games for Learning, Talk

4:00pm EDT

Applications of Immersive Technologies in Pediatric Medicine

As a founder and director for the Stanford CHARIOT Program, Dr. Sam Rodriguez will be discussing clinical applications of immersive technologies like VR, AR, and Video Games for the treatment of Pain and Perioperative Anxiety with a focus on Pediatric Patients.

Speakers

Samuel Rodriguez

Physician, Stanford University

Dr. Sam Rodriguez is a native of New Jersey and practicing Pediatric Anesthesiologist at Stanford Children's Hospital. He is a founder and co-director of the Stanford CHARIOT Program which creates and studies innovative approaches to treating pediatric pain and stress through technology... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 4:00pm - 4:20pm EDT
Festival

Health & Wellness, Talk

4:00pm EDT

Speed Networking

Monday July 12, 2021 4:00pm - 5:00pm EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events, Networking

4:20pm EDT

Do No Harm: Ethically Designing Emotionally Heavy Games

There is no topic games can't tackle, but when game content intentionally evokes intense emotional experiences game developers have a duty to minimize harm. Whether a game explores vulnerable populations or discusses topics traditionally considered stigmatized (i.e. mental illness) or traumatic (i.e. assault), game designers must actively do right by the player. In this talk, clinical psychologist and professor of game design Dr. Kelli Dunlap adapts psychological ethical standards to create guidelines for game designers working on emotionally heavy content.

Speakers

Kelli Dunlap

Psychologist, American University

Kelli Dunlap, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist and game designer. She works full-time as a therapist practicing in Maryland and teaches each Spring and Fall as adjunct professor of game design at American University’s Game Lab. Kelli is the community manager for Take This, a games-focused... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 4:20pm - 4:40pm EDT
Festival

Health & Wellness, Talk

4:30pm EDT

Meet the Funder: Sandro Olivieri (Project FoundED)

Come meet the co-founder of Project FoundED - a nonprofit collective of EdTech founders dedicated to making our industry more efficient is bringing about equitable outcomes for all learners. Come talk about what makes our industry inefficient and what we're trying to do to improve it!

Speakers

Sandro Olivieri

Executive Director, Project FoundED

Sandro is the Entrepreneur in Residence for the AT&T Aspire Accelerator and the co-founder of Project FoundED. He is a strategy consultant who dedicates his career to helping impact investors innovate on their investments strategies while keeping a focus on impact. He has designed... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 4:30pm - 5:00pm EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events, Meet the Funder

4:30pm EDT

Building a More Equitable Games Industry

What is the best way for us as a collective to better support the growth of diversity in the games industry? In this panel, we will discuss the Black Developers Initiative, a program launched by Niantic in 2020. The speakers will dive into the process for creating a long-term, sustainable initiative and how it came to be.

Moderators

Kellee Santiago

Head of External Publishing,, Niantic, Inc.

Speakers

Trinidad Hermida

Niantic, Inc., Head of Diversity and Inclusion

Trinidad Hermida is the Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Niantic, Inc., an AR technology company that produces mobile games, including Pokémon GO, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite and Ingress, which have jointly had over 800 million downloads.Trinidad Hermida has the drive and ambition... Read More →

Jessica Murrey

Co-Founder / CEO, W!CKED SAiNTS Studio

Jess is an awarding-winning story-teller and international peacebuilder turned game designer. She is the CEO/Co-founder of W!CKED SAiNTS. Prior, she was at Search for Common Ground. Utilizing the Nobel Peace Prize-nominated NGO's experience, Jess trained young leaders from Kyrgyzstan... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 4:30pm - 5:20pm EDT
Festival

Civics & Social Issues, Roundtable

4:40pm EDT

Prison X: The Devil and The Sun

Prison X is the foundation of the Neo-Andean Metaverse, translating to the 3D realm our own way to understand time and space, philosophy and mythology of our evolving Andean pop cultures, the characters, fashion, sound, music and aesthetic.

The first episode premiered at Sundance 2021 to incredible reviews. In Prison X, we’ve successfully combined interactivity, immersion and story, to work together to create a new visual language for emerging film futurism.

*This session is part of our Indigenous Creators Spotlight

Speakers

Violeta Ayala

Film Futurist, UnitedNotions Film / Prison X

Violeta Ayala is a film futurist, artist and writer. She is the first Quechua member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Oscars). Violeta's credits include the VR animation Prison X (2021) and the award-winning documentaries Cocaine Prison (2017), The Fight (2017... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 4:40pm - 4:50pm EDT
Festival

XR for Change, Project Brief

5:00pm EDT

Emerging Technologies in Healthcare

The healthcare sector has not only begun to embrace games, but also new technologies that share origins, applicability, and other ties to entertainment. This panel brings together experts in fields that explore new ways to make human senses and cognition accessible to researchers, healthcare professionals, and game developers. Come to hear how these new devices can help transform our lives and our futures.

Moderators

Nichol Bradford

Co-Founder / Executive Director, Transformative Technology Org.

Nichol Bradford is the co-founder of Transformative Tech.org, a global ecosystem dedicated to educating and gathering wellbeing tech founders, investors, and innovators. Today, they have members in 72 countries and 450 cities, and their events attract over 1,000 attendees. Their mission... Read More →

Speakers

Aaron Wisniewski

Founder / CEO, OVR Technology

An entrepreneur, sensory designer, and mad scientist, Aaron is the founder of multiple olfaction-based companies. With his co-founders at OVR he is pioneering how technology and science can leverage the power of scent in the digital and virtual world for better human outcomes in a... Read More →

Ariel Garten

Founder, Muse

Ariel Garten was trained as a neuroscientist, psychotherapist, and is the visionary co-founder of Muse, the brain sensing headband that helps you meditate. Muse gives you real time feedback during your meditation to guide you to begin or enhance your practice.When Ariel isn't reading... Read More →

Charles Nduka

Chief Scientific Advisor, Emteq Labs

Charles Nduka qualified in medicine at Oxford University and Imperial College and is a Consultant Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon in London and Sussex. He is keenly involved in R&D related to training and rehabilitation, particularly of facial expressions following paralysis. His... Read More →

Erika Siegel

Research Scientist, HP Inc.

Erika Siegel is a research scientist at HP Labs. She is a cognitive and affective scientist by training and specializes in using biosensors to better understand psychology and behavior. At HP, Erika works on developing AI solutions that deliver real time insights to "peek into the... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 5:00pm - 5:45pm EDT
Festival

Health & Wellness, Panel

5:30pm EDT

Advancing Indigenous Futurisms in Games

Indigenous Futurisms is a movement that challenges the boundaries of what it means to be Indigenous in a digital age, and how we can draw from our pasts to change the future. This panel will focus on how Indigenous creators see their work within Indigenous Futurisms, and how this shapes their approach to game development.

*This session is part of our Indigenous Creators Spotlight

Moderators

Santo Aveiro Ojeda

Game Designer, Brujería @ Werk

Santo Aveiro Ojeda is an artist, speaker, and gamemaker. Their latest project, Don't Wake the Night, is a 2D point-and-click game funded by the Ontario Art Council's Emerging Media Artist grant and the Toronto Arts Council Media Artist grant inspired by and based on concepts of spirituality... Read More →

Speakers

Maize Longboat

Producer / Writer / Game Designer

Maize Longboat is Kanien'kehá:ka from Six Nations of the Grand River and was raised on the unceded territory of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Nation near Vancouver, BC. He is a Developer Relations Manager with Unity Technologies and served as Skins Workshops Associate Director with Aboriginal... Read More →

Phoebe Watson

Game Designer

Phoebe is a proud Yarrer Gunditj woman from the Maar Nation in South West Victoria. She graduated from RMIT in 2020 with a bachelors degree in Game Design. During her studies, she has been working as an Indigenous Game Designer and Cultural Consultant at DragonBear Studios on their... Read More →

Christian Miller

Game Developer, Silver Spook Games

Chris Miller (AKA ‘Silver Spook’) is a Native Hawaiian activist and founder of Silver Spook Games, the worker-owned cooperative studio behind the cyberpunk adventure game, Neofeud. Chris worked as a social worker and STEM teacher for under-served and at-risk youth in Honolulu... Read More →

Naphtali Faulkner

Director, Origame Digital

Naphtali Faulkner is a Ngai Te Rangi designer and Director at Origame Digital. He created the award winning game Umurangi Generation.

Monday July 12, 2021 5:30pm - 6:20pm EDT
Festival

Civics & Social Issues, Roundtable

5:30pm EDT

Well-Played / Raising Good Gamers: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at 3 Families’ Experience in Minecraft

During the Covid-19 pandemic, many children have had limited real-world access to playtime with other kids. Online games like Minecraft have filled the gap as digital communal playground spaces. Here kids are continuing their social development and establishing their early identities as gamers and peers, learning to navigate online norms and cultures. Parents are finding the balance between supporting autonomy and providing adult guidance. In the first part of this session, game designer Sabrina Culyba will share clips and stories from a year of Minecraft with her 7 year old daughter and her friends (ages 9 and 10), with commentary from both kids and parents about their gaming life on a Minecraft server. The presentation will be followed by a live panel with the families, moderated by Katie Salen Tekinbaş, discussing what it means to raise good gamers in 2021.

Moderators

Katie Salen Tekinbaş

Professor, UC Irvine

Speakers

Sabrina Culyba

Owner & Game Designer, Ludoliminal

Sabrina has been creating games and game-like experiences for over 15 years. She specializes in designing games to transform players including educational games, behavior-change games, and social impact games. She is the author of the book The Transformational Framework (2018), and... Read More →

Kate Gigliotti-Gordon

Stay-at-Home Mom

Kate Gigliotti-Gordon is a stay-at-home mom who enjoys sharing her love of games with her kids and watching them grow into little gamers themselves.

Mary & Cadence Pratt

Music Educator / Rising 6th Grader, Friends of Sabrina Culyba

Cadence Pratt is a full-time student starting middle school in the Fall. She studies trumpet and loves clicker training her cats. Cadence's favorite games are currently Minecraft and Warrior Cats: Untold Tales.Mary Pratt is a parent and musician who teaches Kindermusik and supports... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 5:30pm - 6:20pm EDT
Festival

Games for Learning, Roundtable

5:45pm EDT

GamingMalta: Building a Video Game Ecosystem

Monday July 12, 2021 5:45pm - 5:50pm EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events, Announcement

6:00pm EDT

The Technically Brilliant Show

This special episode of "The Technically Brilliant Show" will showcase recently launched and still-in-development XR, VFX, and AI work by Black filmmakers and artists in Amsterdam, New York, Oklahoma, and Rio. Their projects celebrate Black joy, resilience, and creativity.

"What does it take to increase Black participation in emerging-tech storytelling?" Lisa Osborne asks. And why bother?

Speakers

Lisa Osborne

Director of Emerging Media, Black Public Media

At Black Public Media, Lisa Osborne focuses on talent development for Black filmmakers, creative technologists, and artists. She created the BPMplus initiative, which comprises seven programs that support, educate, fund, and promote Black filmmakers using emerging technologies as... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 6:00pm - 6:20pm EDT
Festival

XR for Change, Talk

6:20pm EDT

The Learning Game Investment Opportunity

We've gone from BC to AD... Before Covid to After Disease. From an investor perspective, what is the post-covid opportunity for educational, high-impact games?

Speakers

Jason Horne

Managing Director, GSV Ventures

Jason Horne is a Managing Director at GSV Ventures based in New York City. Prior to GSV Ventures Jason led Corporate Development for London-based TES Global, then backed by TPG Capital. Jason also has 8+ years of investment banking experience across GSV Advisors and Deloitte Corporate... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 6:20pm - 6:40pm EDT
Festival

Games for Learning, Talk

6:30pm EDT

Games for Change in the Classroom: Pandemic Edition

This roundtable will highlight presumptions, adaptations, and long-term opportunities unearthed from the experience of teaching, making, and researching socially engaged games during 2020 and into 2021. This pandemic period not only emphasized inequity but also brought into relief the tensions of play, screen time, and our perpetual desire to make meaningful play. We consider takeaways for future successes as we transition back into face-to-face spaces.

Moderators

Lindsay Grace

Knight Chair in Interactive Media / Vice President, University of Miami / Higher Education Video Game Alliance

Lindsay is Knight Chair in Interactive Media at the University of Miami School of Communication. He is Vice President for the Higher Education Video Game Alliance and the 2019 recipient of the Games for Change Vanguard award. Lindsay's book, Doing Things with Games, Social Impact... Read More →

Speakers

Lien Tran

Assistant Professor, DePaul University, College of Computing & Digital Media

Wendi Sierra

Assistant Professor, Texas Christian University

Wendi Sierra is an Assistant Professor of Game Studies at Texas Christian University, where she teaches about a variety of topics related to games studies (including learning, representation, and narrative). Her book, Todd Howard: Worldbuilding in Tamriel and Beyond, analyzes the... Read More →

Michael DeAnda

Professional Lecturer, DePaul University

Michael Anthony DeAnda, Ph.D. is a professional lecturer in Game Design at DePaul University. He researches the intersections of games, queerness, and culture, considering the intimacies between LGBTQ lived experiences and games. Using game design as research praxis, he develops games... Read More →

Cody Mejeur

Visiting Assistant Professor of Game Studies, University at Buffalo, SUNY

Cody Mejeur is Visiting Assistant Professor of Game Studies at University at Buffalo, SUNY. They have published on games pedagogy, gender and queerness in games, and video game narratives and player experiences, and they are currently the game director for Trans Folks Walking, a narrative... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 6:30pm - 7:20pm EDT
Festival

Games for Learning, Roundtable

6:40pm EDT

Representing Asian American History in an Educational Game

The team behind MISSION US (mission-us.org), the award-winning history gaming series for middle and high schoolers, discusses the development of their latest game, "Prisoner in My Homeland," including their close collaboration with historians and community stakeholders to ensure a nuanced portrayal of the experiences of young Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II.

Speakers

Michelle Chen

Senior Producer, Kids' Media & Education, The WNET Group

Michelle Chen is Senior Producer, Kids Media and Education at the WNET Group, where she has been creating content for public television and digital platforms since 2004. She has received Emmy awards for her work on the PBS KIDS series Cyberchase and the multiplatform project, Get... Read More →

David Langendoen

Founder / President, Electric Funstuff

David Langendoen is the founder and president of Electric Funstuff, a design and development company dedicated to bringing game-design principles to educational technology. He is the lead designer on the Mission US series of American History games and an Emmy-nominated producer.

Brian Niiya

Content Director, Densho

Brian Niiya is a public historian specializing in Japanese American history. He has held various positions with the UCLA Asian American Studies Center, the Japanese American National Museum, and the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai`i that have involved managing collections, curating... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 6:40pm - 7:00pm EDT
Festival

Civics & Social Issues, Talk

7:00pm EDT

Wampum.Codes: Towards an Ethical Framework for Developers

Wampum.Codes is an award winning podcast featuring the voices of Indigenous people working at the cutting edge of creative technology. It is also an ethical framework that seeks to embed Indigenous values in the core of creative tech work. In this talk, Amelia Winger-Bearskin will discuss how these two projects intersect, and situate modern development practices in the context of what she calls "antecedent technology."

*This session is part of the Indigenous Creators Spotlight

Speakers

Amelia Winger-Bearskin

Associate Professor of Artificial Intelligence and the Arts, University of Florida

Amelia Winger-Bearskin is an artist, theorist, and organizer. She works as a Senior Technical Training Specialist for Contentful and is the Chief Innovation Officer at the Land Acknowledgement Lab for the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture: Honor Native Land Initiative. She founded... Read More →

Monday July 12, 2021 7:00pm - 7:20pm EDT
Festival

Civics & Social Issues, Talk

7:20pm EDT

Closing Remarks with Susanna Pollack

Speakers

Susanna Pollack

President, Games for Change

Monday July 12, 2021 7:20pm - 7:25pm EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events

7:30pm EDT

2021 Games for Change Awards Ceremony

Each year, Games for Change recognizes the most impactful, innovative, and engaging social impact games of the year. This year, the G4C Awards received a record number of submissions, and over 65 game developers, researchers, and experts came together to determine the 21 finalists. G4C is pleased to present this year's awards, hosted by Keisha Howard.

Monday July 12, 2021 7:30pm - 8:30pm EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events

9:45am EDT

G4C Welcome with President Susanna Pollack

Speakers

Susanna Pollack

President, Games for Change

Tuesday July 13, 2021 9:45am - 9:50am EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events, Opening Remarks

9:50am EDT

Opening Remarks with Anne del Castillo

Speakers

Anne del Castillo

Commissioner, New York City Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment

Anne del Castillo serves as the Commissioner of the NYC Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME). A native New Yorker, del Castillo has more than 25 years of experience in film and TV production, public media, and arts and nonprofit administration. Commissioner del Castillo... Read More →

Tuesday July 13, 2021 9:50am - 10:00am EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events, Opening Remarks

10:00am EDT

Designing Healthier Games for Humans

In a world where many of us are gamers, how can we ensure that we're designing the best experiences for the human beings who download our games without being too biased? And while staying mindful of the business objectives? Far too often, market trends outweigh any requests for early player research. In this session, Devon will share applied best practices from UX design that have helped game teams improve engagement while drastically reducing production costs.

Speakers

Devon Wyland

UX Design Lead, 12traits

Devon Wyland is a game UX advisor and UX design lead at 12traits, where she empowers game teams with tools to elevate their experiences by starting with a rich understanding of their players. Her mission is to see long-term health benefits for both players and the business. Educated... Read More →

Tuesday July 13, 2021 10:00am - 10:20am EDT
Festival

Health & Wellness, Talk

10:00am EDT

Exploring Immersive Technologies for Serious Games

As technologies such as VR, AR, haptics and others have become more advanced and accessible, the innovation facilitated by such technology has led to their use in a multitude of fields.

Moderators

Michele Magro

Consultant, GamingMalta Foundation

Michele is a Legal & Compliance Consultant specializing in Gaming & Gambling legislation, and acts as Legal Counsel and Advisor to the GamingMalta Foundation.

Speakers

Georgios Yannakakis

Director / Professor / Co-Founder, Institute of Digital Games / University of Malta / Modl.ai

Georgios N. Yannakakis is a Professor and Director of the Institute of Digital Games, University of Malta, and the co-founder of modl.ai. He does research at the crossroads of artificial intelligence, computational creativity, affective computing, advanced game technology, and human-computer... Read More →

John Keefe

Co-Founder, Draw & Code

John Keefe is the Co-Founder and Technology Director of Draw & Code, a leading immersive and interactive production studio. With 20 years development experience, including more than a decade specializing in XR, John is a leading light in the global immersive technology community... Read More →

Malcolm Barnes

Director, Hollywood Gaming

An advocate for technology helping make the world better, Malcolm is happily immersed in the CreaTech sector finding solutions to business issues using immersive multi-sensory solutions across extended reality.

Charles Theuma

Principal, Saint Martin's Institute of Higher Education

Charles Theuma is founder and principal of Saint Martin's Institute of Higher Education, and member of a research team from the Department of Computing in the use of technology to enhance the portrayal of cultural heritage and disseminate it for educational and entertainment purposes... Read More →

Tuesday July 13, 2021 10:00am - 10:50am EDT
Festival

Games for Learning, Roundtable

10:00am EDT

VR Games to Support Empathy and Compassion in Nigeria

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, with over 250 ethnic groups and 500 languages. These diverse groups struggle to see themselves as a united nation. Our Templeton Foundation project creates a VR game where teenagers, embody or observe someone from another ethnic group facing discrimination. We discuss the challenges of creating a fun, engaging, unique for the audience, effective for enhancing empathy, and culturally relevant VR game for Nigerian teenagers.

Moderators

Eugene Ohu

Senior Lecturer, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos Business School

Dr. Eugene Ohu is a senior lecturer in the Department of Organisational Behaviour / Human Resource Management. His research interests are on the psychology of human-computer interactions in the workplace, in order to promote individual wellbeing and organizational productivity. He... Read More →

Judith Okonkwo

Founder, Imisi 3D

Judith founded Imisi 3D, an XR lab in Lagos building the African ecosystem for extended reality technologies (AR/VR/MR), and connecting XR communities across the continent. In 2018 she set up AR/VR Africa which holds large XR events on the continent, the most recent - the 2020 AR/VR... Read More →

Kat Schrier

Director of Games / Associate Professor, Marist College

Speakers

E. O. Adeola Babatunde

Research Associate, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos Business School

Adeola Babatunde is a Research Associate at the Virtual Human Computer Interaction Lab at Lagos Business School. She is a graduate of psychology and an avid reader interested in human behaviour modification. With the growing impact of technology on human performance and behaviour... Read More →

Cynthia Emami

Research Assistant, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos Business School

Cynthia Emami, Research Assistant at the Virtual Human Computer Interaction Lab, Lagos Business School. They are currently interested in Virtual Reality and its potential in driving behavioural change.

Ikeola Bodunde

Research Assistant, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos Business School

Ikeola Bodunde is a researcher with interests in health and organisational communication, human-computer interaction and character development. Her first and second degrees are in Media and Communication Studies. She's a member of the American Psychological Association.

Morenike Alugo

Research Assistant, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos Business School

Morenike Alugo is a Psychology Graduate from the University of Lagos. She is an enthusiastic researcher with some years of experience in psychological, clinical and education-related research. She has a profound interest in psychological concepts and its interaction with technology... Read More →

Tuesday July 13, 2021 10:00am - 10:50am EDT
Festival

XR for Change, Round Table

10:20am EDT

Keynote - Games Can Inspire Youth to Solve the World’s Challenges

We're facing unprecedented crises and challenges. Yet, youth globally has shown us their determination to build an equitable and sustainable world. Games can play a critical role in empowering more of them to become change-makers.

This talk will showcase how a game has inspired students around the world to build concrete solutions to the world’s biggest challenges and leave you with some ways you can use Games to provide youth with a voice for change.

Speakers

Kim Chouard

Global Education, Philanthropy, Salesforce

After building a full-stack web agency at 13 y.o., Kim embarked on a life-long journey to imagine an alternative education approach, leveraging thepower of games & technology to empower youth to be fulfilled and critical thinkingcitizens, motivated to positively impact the world around... Read More →

Tuesday July 13, 2021 10:20am - 10:40am EDT
Festival

Games for Learning, Keynote

10:40am EDT

Tinker: Creating Real Memories Within a Virtual Experience

How a group of tinkerers was able to create Tinker, an interactive narrative experience about a grandchild and their grandfather, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. By utilizing virtual reality and virtual production we are able to showcase the disease’s progression and a unique story for every participant with improv from our live actor. By our combination of story-telling and VR innovation, we are able to share a common experience safely and remotely in today’s world.

Speakers

Lou Ward

Creative Director, Tinker

Lou Ward is an immersive director whose experiences push the potential of extended reality forward with their unique immersive storytelling, interactive gameplay and inventive ways to connect individuals through experience. Ward is a former Microsoft UX Designer who worked on the... Read More →

Cristopher David

Developer, Tinker Studio

Toph is an XR Developer & Designer from the Philippines. He started one of the first VR/AR startups in the Philippines that pioneered applications for a multitude of industries including the first VR Airline Training solution in Asia. Toph also founded VR Philippines which boosted... Read More →

Tuesday July 13, 2021 10:40am - 10:50am EDT
Festival

Health & Wellness, Project Brief

11:00am EDT

Meet the Funder: Ed Metz (US Department of Education)

Join this session to find about a program at the US Department of Education that has provided funding for dozens of learning games over the past decade.

Speakers

Ed Metz

ED/IES SBIR Program Director, US Department of Education

Edward Metz is a developmental psychologist, education researcher, and a program manager for the U.S. Department of Education and Institute of Education Sciences Small Business Innovation Research program. Since 2013, Ed has led the ED Games Expo, an event to showcase game-changing... Read More →

Tuesday July 13, 2021 11:00am - 11:30am EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events, Meet the Funder

11:00am EDT

STEAM and Video Games: Shaping How We Live, Work, and Play

STEAM education is not only critical to the success of the video game industry, but also to creating meaningful opportunities for people from different backgrounds, to help shape both the physical and digital worlds that we live, work, and play in. With a spotlight on video games, the panel will explore the impact of STEAM on education, culture, and entertainment and how this integrated approach provides opportunities for young people, from diverse backgrounds, to gain access to skills and new jobs that ultimately help shape the world today.

Moderators

Stan Pierre-Louis

CEO, Entertainment Software Association

Speakers

Chris Rush

Sr. Advisor for Innovation / Director of Education Technology, US Department of Education

Chris serves as the Senior Advisor to the Secretary for Innovation & Ed-Tech. He co-founded New Classrooms Innovation Partners, a nonprofit focused on new instructional models including the School of One program, named one of Time Magazine's Top 50 Inventions of the Year. Chris... Read More →

Laila Shabir

Founder / CEO, Girls Make Games

Laila Shabir is the co-founder and CEO of Girls Make Games. A Pakistani immigrant raised in the United Arab Emirates, Laila attended MIT and pursued finance at BlackRock followed by economic research at The Brookings Institution. She eventually found her passion in video games while... Read More →

Tuesday July 13, 2021 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
Festival

Games for Learning, Panel

11:00am EDT

Using Games to Improve Mental Health Post Covid-19

Using insights from the fields of serious game design, mental health, behavioral science, neuroscience, and narrative; this panel will discuss practical approaches and challenges to developing products to effectively assess, manage, treat and transform the experience of mental illness at this time and for the future. Practical lessons, ethical considerations and insights will also be discussed.

Moderators

Rhonda Moore

Program Officer Global Health, NIH

Rhonda J. Moore received her PhD in Cultural and Medical Anthropology at Stanford University with postdoctoral training in Behavioral Science in the Psychiatry Department at Stanford Medical School, in Clinical Ethnography and Epidemiology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer... Read More →

Speakers

Elan Schneider

Co-Founder / CEO, TrainPain

Dr. Elan Schneider, DPT, CYT, is a physical therapist specializing in neuro-rehabilitation of chronic pain. Elan is the co-founder and CEO of TrainPain, an early-stage neurotechnology company developing novel digital health solutions for the treatment of neuropathic pain.

Mariam Nusrat

Founder, GRID

Mariam Nusrat is the Founder of GRID which aims to mainstream video games as a medium for behavior change. The team is building Breshna - a no-code platform empowering users to create serious games. Mariam has presented GRID at several high level forums including, two sessions moderated... Read More →

Matt Omernick

Chief Creative Officer, Akili Interactive

Prior to Co-Founding Akili, Matt was Executive Art Director at LucasArts, the video game division of Lucasfilm. Matt oversaw studio-wide art teams on multiple projects. Prior to LucasArts, he held Senior positions at Microsoft, Dreamworks, Electronic Arts, and Day 1 Studios. Matt... Read More →

Noah Falstein

President, The Inspiracy

Tuesday July 13, 2021 11:00am - 11:50am EDT
Festival

Health & Wellness, Roundtable

12:00pm EDT

Keynote - World Building: Prototyping the Future to Provoke Change

Our visions of the future are shaped by representations in popular media – books, movies, TV and video games. In this session, world building pioneer Alex McDowell, USC professor and creative director of Experimental Design (designer of iconic movies such as Minority Report), and Alan Gershenfeld, Co-Founder of E-Line Media (Never Alone, Beyond Blue) will explore how the practice of world building can create research grounded, visual stories that inspire aspirational but achievable futures.

Speakers

Susanna Pollack

President, Games for Change

Alan Gershenfeld

Co-Founder / President, E-Line Media

Alan is Co-Founder / President of E-Line Media, a publisher of commercial social impact video games including Never Alone, Beyond Blue and Gamestar Mechanic. Prior to E-Line, Alan was CEO of netomat, SVP of Activision Studios where he supervised Civilization: Call to Power, Asteroids... Read More →

Alex McDowell

Creative Director, Experimental Design

Creative director, production designer, professor, world builder / British, in US since 1986 / co-founder, creative director, Experimental Design / director, World Building Institute and USC World Building Media Lab / Professor of Cinematic Practice, USC School of Cinematic Arts... Read More →

Tuesday July 13, 2021 12:00pm - 12:30pm EDT
Festival

Civics & Social Issues, Keynote

12:30pm EDT

Keynote - Facebook Gaming for Change

In Facebook Gaming for Change, Luis Olivalves will show us how gaming stepped up in these unprecedented times to bring people together and support causes, through real partner examples from across the world to inspire us all to take action.

Speakers

Luis Renato Olivalves

Head of Gaming Creators, Facebook

Luis Olivalves is the Director of Global Gaming Creator Partnerships and responsible for helping Gaming Creator find their audience and build their businesses across all Facebook platforms. Luis was previously responsible for Facebook’s Entertainment Media Partnerships taking care... Read More →

Tuesday July 13, 2021 12:30pm - 12:50pm EDT
Festival

Civics & Social Issues, Keynote

12:30pm EDT

Meet the Funder: Diane Hickey (NSF)

The National Science Foundation's Small Business Innovative Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Research programs are "America's Seed Fund", investing up to $2M in funding while taking no equity, helping startups and small businesses transform their ideas into marketable products and services. We focus on high-risk, high-impact technologies and each year, we award $200 million in funding to entrepreneurs across the country.

Dr. Hickey will provide an overview, highlight awardees and take audience questions. (seedfund.nsf.gov)

Speakers

Diane Hickey

Program Director, National Science Foundation

Dr. Diane Hickey is a Program Director in the National Science Foundation’s Small Business Innovation Research Program. She oversees proposals on the topics of Human Computer Interaction, Augmented and Virtual Reality and Learning and Cognition Technologies. She has extensive... Read More →

Tuesday July 13, 2021 12:30pm - 1:00pm EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events, Meet the Funder

12:30pm EDT

XR & Play: Mapping the New Play Space

The rapidly evolving XR landscape is reshaping the possibilities for play.

But how do we capitalise on these emerging and converging, technologies to engage, inspire and educate kids and family audiences? How do we create experiences that enhance our world without distracting from it?

Hear from the world-class brands, thinkers and platforms that are leading the evolution of this New Play Space, and where they see it heading.

Moderators

Phil Stuart

Founder / Creative Director, Preloaded

Phil is the founder and award-winning Creative Director at PRELOADED. Since 2000, he has helped organizations such as LEGO, BBC and McDonald’s reach global audiences with digital products, and partnered with technology platforms such as Magic Leap, HTC and Google to imagine the... Read More →

Speakers

Kelly White

VP, Digital Product Strategy & Partnerships, Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products

Kelly is a 15-year veteran in the gaming and interactive space. Her work has spanned mobile, social, console, emerging technologies, and most recently immersive experiences and storytelling in Disney theme parks. In addition to creating compelling experiences for Disney fans and guests... Read More →

Valerie Vacante

Director of Strategy - Experience and Innovation, LiveArea

Valerie Vacante is the Director of Strategy for global customer experience agency, LiveArea, where she uncovers cultural trends, designs strategies and next generation innovations impacting the way people connect and experience the world. Valerie is also the Founder of Collabsco... Read More →

Brian Schwab

Interaction Design Director, LEGO Creative Play Lab

With 20+ years in the game industry, Brian Schwab has devoted his career to exploring gameplay and AI systems from top to bottom. He has shipped everything from location-based rides to an educational titles, from from the Sega Genesis to the Wearable Spatial Computer. Brian's last... Read More →

Ebby Wahman

Senior Software Engineer, Niantic Labs

Ebby is a Senior Software Engineer at Niantic Labs working on Pokemon Go where she's worked on features such as PvP, Buddy Multiplayer AR, and Friend Invitations to Raids. Her first introduction to game development was working on and launching Zoo Rush, a mobile endless runner game... Read More →

Alexandria Heston

UX Designer, Niantic Inc.

Alexandria Heston currently works as a UI/UX Designer at Niantic Labs, Inc. She has spent the past couple years researching, developing, and publishing multiple projects on the intersection of human-computer interaction (HCI) as it relates to VR/AR experiences. Prior to this, she... Read More →

Tuesday July 13, 2021 12:30pm - 1:20pm EDT
Festival

XR for Change, Roundtable

1:00pm EDT

Ambient Play: When Our Fiction Becomes Our Reality

Today, immersive experiences draw on the reality-blurring play of ARGs and blend in modern ambient tech such as AI, location data, and other forms of personalization. At the same time, entertainment and information have become decentralized, which also blur the lines between reality and fiction. This fireside chat explores the questions of responsibility and promise in helping audiences step into brave new worlds.

Speakers

Raul Carvajal

Festival Producer, Games for Change

Jamil Moledina

CEO, Hexagram

Jamil Moledina is CEO of Hexagram, an immersive experience developer. Hexagram develops ambient games on phones, the web, and streaming video. Their Stranger Things: Operation Scoop Snoop experience earned a 2020 Emmy nomination. At Google, he published games to launch new Google... Read More →

Tuesday July 13, 2021 1:00pm - 1:30pm EDT
Festival

Civics & Social Issues, Talk

1:00pm EDT

Speed Networking

Tuesday July 13, 2021 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events, Networking

1:30pm EDT

Beyond Representation: Cultural Responsiveness in Games

Digital games for learning frequently showcase diversity in skin tones, nationalities, and hair types, but fail to address social justice issues of decolonization, power and privilege; centering multiple perspectives, and connecting real life and action. This is more rare for digital STEM games for learning. In this session, we will ponder what this might look like in digital games for learning, sharing examples of a digital game that moves beyond shallow representations of diversity.

Speakers

Holly Pope

NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Immersed Games

Dr. Pope is an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellow placed with Immersed Games focusing on game implementation and teacher support for digital game-based learning. Her experience as an educator includes several years of teaching children and providing professional development for teachers... Read More →

Lindsey Tropf

Founder / CEO, Immersed Games

Lindsey Tropf, M.Ed., is the Founder & CEO of Immersed Games. Before founding Immersed Games, she was a doctoral candidate in School Psychology, with a specialization in Program Evaluation and a Minor in Research & Evaluation Methodology, and expertise in data-based decision making... Read More →

Tuesday July 13, 2021 1:30pm - 1:50pm EDT
Festival

Games for Learning, Talk

1:30pm EDT

Raising Good Gamers: Youth, Safety, and Diversity

Raising Good Gamers (RGG) is an initiative focused on cross-sector strategies for raising a kinder, more civically-engaged, pro-social generation of players. This will be a moderated conversation that includes members of RGG’s Advisory Board to explore 1) the ways RGG is partnering with young people to elevate and amplify their role in shaping the culture and climate of online play; 2) the idea that transforming the current system into one that is safe, diverse, equitable, and inclusive requires a number of different and sometimes competing strategies; and 3) examples of research-practice partnerships that are helping to drive the initiative.

Moderators

Kishonna Gray

Professor, University of Illinois - Chicago

Dr. Kishonna L. Gray is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication and Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Illinois - Chicago. She is the author of Intersectional Tech: Black Users in Digital Gaming (LSU Press, 2020). She is also the author of Race, Gender... Read More →

Speakers

Jill King

Senior Vice President, Marketing and Partnerships, WarnerMedia

Monica Arrambide

CEO, Maven Youth

CEO and Founder of Maven Youth, a national nonprofit which builds LGBT+ Youth tech leaders by providing 21st century tech competencies and leadership opportunities. Monica has over 27 years of experience working with queer youth across the US. They were presented the 2019 Kapor... Read More →

Jenny Wu

Chief Product Officer, Understood

Jenny Wu leads the product management, design, and user research functions for Understood. She brings a user-centric and entrepreneurial perspective after a decade of building innovative consumer products.

Natasha Miller

Senior Research Scientist, Fair Play Alliance / Blizzard Entertainment

Natasha is on the Fair Play Alliance Executive Steering Committee and has been a part of the organization since 2017. She is also a senior research scientist at Blizzard Entertainment, working on the Player Interactions and Trust team. A 4-year veteran of the studio, she leads the... Read More →

Tuesday July 13, 2021 1:30pm - 2:20pm EDT
Festival

Games for Learning, Roundtable

1:30pm EDT

One Billion Guns vs. One Billion Nucleotides

In 2020 Gearbox, MMOS, McGill University and the Microsetta Initiative launched a citizen science collaboration in genetics research of the human microbiome. Our consortium built a minigame inside Borderlands 3. On launch day, players submitted over 5 million solutions to DNA sequence alignment puzzles. Our roundtable discusses why and how we managed to convert a science problem into an engaging and fun game played by millions of players worldwide.

Moderators

Randy Pitchford

Founder, Gearbox Entertainment Company

Randy Pitchford is a game industry veteran of more than 30 years and founder of Gearbox Entertainment, which develops and publishes award-winning and best-selling video games and produces film and television content. Randy has created, developed, produced, directed, written, designed... Read More →

Speakers

Rob Knight

University of California San Diego, Professor

Rob Knight is the Director of the Center for Microbiome Innovation at UC San Diego, where he is a Professor of Pediatrics, Bioengineering, and Computer Science & Engineering. He co-founded the Earth Microbiome Project, and the American Gut Project, which is among the largest crowdfunded... Read More →

Jerome Waldispuhl

Associate Professor, McGill University

Jérôme Waldispühl is an associate professor of Computer Science at McGill University. He conducts research in bioinformatics and pioneered the use of video games to engage the public in genomic research with Phylo (2010), Colony B (2016), Borderlands Science (2020) and Project... Read More →

Attila Szantner

Co-Founder / CEO, MMOS

Attila as a founder of MMOS (aka. Massively Multiplayer Online Science) during the last 5 years built several successful collaborations between major research institutions and AAA game developer companies engaging millions of players in citizen science activities and collecting hundreds... Read More →

Tuesday July 13, 2021 1:30pm - 2:20pm EDT
Festival

Health & Wellness, Roundtable

1:50pm EDT

Serious Games Developer Program: A G4C Case Study

Speakers

Raul Carvajal

Festival Producer, Games for Change

Noelle Mazurek

Production Coordinator, Games for Change

Noelle Mazurek is the Production Coordinator at G4C. Noelle manages the G4C Awards, and her work involves collaborating with emerging developers and game designers in the industry, from indie creators to AAA studios. She was also the first recipient of the XR for Change Fellowship... Read More →

Oleksii Netrebenko

Developer, Brinemedia

Oleksii Netrebenko is one of the developers of Grand Story. The game was created during the G4C + GGJ Serious Game Jam.

Tuesday July 13, 2021 1:50pm - 1:55pm EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events, Announcement

2:00pm EDT

Tools to Unleash the Imagination

Alton Glass of GRX Immersive Labs and a participant in the (Epic Games) Unreal Fellowship for Virtual Production will discuss how GRX was inspired to create the next generation of world builders at the intersection of storytelling, technology, education and entrepreneurship. A behind the scenes look at some of Glass' recent projects like TIME magazine's THE MARCH using Unreal Engine, and also showcasing how GRX are incorporating new tools to empower storytellers and educators.

Speakers

Alton Glass

CEO / Director, GRX Immersive Labs

Alton Glass of GRX Immersive Labs is a visionary entrepreneur who leads a team of new media gurus who are tackling contemporary issues through immersive storytelling. Glass is an Unreal Engine Virtual Production Fellowship alumni and is the Co-Creator of TIME magazines "The March... Read More →

Tuesday July 13, 2021 2:00pm - 2:10pm EDT
Festival

Games for Learning, Project Brief

2:10pm EDT

Hour of Code with Fortnite Creative and Unreal Engine

#CSEdWeek and the Hour of Code provide students with opportunities to explore coding in fun and engaging ways. Student agency increases when students are presented with meaningful and relevant activities to encourage problem solving and computational thinking. Participants will learn about the Epic Games Hour of Code activities that teach coding concepts to students while creating game levels using Fortnite Creative and Unreal Engine.

Speakers

Ian Southwell

Creative Director, Cleverlike Studios, Inc.

Brian Dickman

President, Cleverlike Studios, Inc.

Tuesday July 13, 2021 2:10pm - 2:20pm EDT
Festival

Games for Learning, Project Brief

2:20pm EDT

Unreal Futures: Preparing Students for Careers in Interactive 3D

There’s never been a more exciting and empowering time to be a creator. Jobs are changing and new careers are emerging in every industry, powered by new technological advancements. Real-time technology is one of the innovations set to transform the world we live in. Interactive 3D powers the games we play, the movies we watch, and the virtual worlds we spend our time in. The tools that drive Fortnite also help architects visualize buildings before they’re built and surgeons simulate a difficult procedure before they ever touch a patient. With Unreal Futures, students will get access to real-life projects created by industry leaders in advertising, aerospace, fashion design, and other industries using Unreal Engine. This new learning series will prepare students for the new world and provide them with projects for their portfolios.

Speakers

Steve Isaacs

Education Program Manager, Epic Games

Tuesday July 13, 2021 2:20pm - 2:30pm EDT
Festival

Games for Learning, Project Brief

2:30pm EDT

The Wagadu Chronicles: Building the First Afrofantasy MMORPG

Working on the development of the first African inspired fantasy MMORPG means building a whole new genre almost from scratch. Bringing Blackness, both African and Diasporic, into the genre — in addition to a pre- and post- colonial queer perspective — means dealing with a great deal of past and contemporary political topics. Twin Drums' focus on creating a safe space for role-play further enhances the challenge and adds to the excitement.

Speakers

Allan Cudicio

CEO / Game Designer, Twin Drums

After working as a Game Designer for, among others, Candy Crush developer King and narrative games studio Wooga, Allan Cudicio founded his own game company, Twin Drums. He is currently working on a PC game called The Wagadu Chronicles, which is the first afrofantasy MMORPG focused... Read More →

Tuesday July 13, 2021 2:30pm - 2:40pm EDT
Festival

Civics & Social Issues, Project Brief

2:30pm EDT

From ER to VR: How Immersive Therapeutics Will Level Up Care

Virtual reality is inspiring and empowering patients to engage more fully in their care. Gita will discuss how Penumbra, a company that redefined stroke care, developed immersive therapeutics to help patients push beyond their perceived limitations. Built from the ground-up, Gita will share how her team is developing an extensive VR portfolio of fun, purpose-designed applications for rehabilitation, wellness and mental health.

Speakers

Gita Barry

EVP & General Manager, Real System, Penumbra

Gita is EVP and General Manager at Penumbra for the REAL Immersive System, an advanced technology platform using virtual reality to deliver engaging therapeutic and wellness experiences. With more than 25 years in the medical device industry, Gita leads a diverse team of developers... Read More →

Tuesday July 13, 2021 2:30pm - 2:50pm EDT
Festival

Health & Wellness, Talk

2:30pm EDT

Meet the Funder: Amanda Sweaton (Epic Games)

Epic Games has committed $100 million to support game developers, enterprise professionals, media and entertainment creators, students, educators, and tool developers doing amazing things with Unreal Engine or enhancing open-source capabilities for the 3D graphics community. Join Epic Games MegaGrants Coordinator Amanda Sweaton as she advises participants on how to best apply for this financial grant and fuel their success!

Speakers

Amanda Sweaton

MegaGrants Manage, Epic Games

Amanda Sweaton is the Manager for the Epic MegaGrants program and has been with Epic Games since June of 2019. At Epic she dedicates her time supporting her team and overall management of the MegaGrants program as well as supporting external team initiatives. Prior to working at Epic... Read More →

Tuesday July 13, 2021 2:30pm - 3:00pm EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events, Meet the Funder

3:00pm EDT

Keynote - Fireside Chat with Jeremy Bailenson and Walter Greenleaf

Since its founding in 2003, Stanford's Virtual Human Interaction Lab has been at the forefront of studying human behavior within virtual and augmented reality environments. This research aims to reveal more about how our experiences in these digital spaces might influence our behavior in the real world. Join the VHIT Lab's Founding Director Jeremy Bailenson in conversation with Health & Wellness co-curator Walter Greenleaf for a discussion on some of their most recent discoveries.

Speakers

Jeremy Bailenson

Thomas More Storke Professor of Communication, Stanford University

Jeremy Bailenson is founding director of Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab, Thomas More Storke Professor in the Department of Communication, Professor (by courtesy) of Education, Professor (by courtesy) Program in Symbolic Systems, a Senior Fellow at the Woods... Read More →

Walter Greenleaf

Visiting Scholar, Virtual Human Interaction Lab, Stanford University

Tuesday July 13, 2021 3:00pm - 3:30pm EDT
Festival

XR for Change, Keynote

3:30pm EDT

Gaming the System

The project in English and Spanish showed how wealth barriers in the U.S. immigration system privilege a select few. Players are provided an education in both how these systems work and the tensions they create within communities. The game focuses on the unique characteristics of Miami’s populations, demonstrating how money laundering and other practices perpetuate inequalities in these communities. The result is systemic inequalities that contribute to housing insecurity, income disparity and other contemporary maladies.

Speakers

Lindsay Grace

Knight Chair in Interactive Media / Vice President, University of Miami / Higher Education Video Game Alliance

Romina Ruiz-Goiriena

National Correspondent, USA TODAY

Romina Ruiz-Goiriena is the National Housing and Social Services Reporter at USA TODAY. She joined from the Miami Herald's Investigations team where she traced the links between immigration and dirty money in South Florida's real estate industry — a region flushed with foreign cash... Read More →

Tuesday July 13, 2021 3:30pm - 3:50pm EDT
Festival

Civics & Social Issues, Talk

3:30pm EDT

XR Brain Jam Showcase

Join us for a showcase of some of the most interesting collaborations to emerge from the 2021 XR Brain Jam. This unique yearly event pairs researchers and XR creators together and charges them to explore the intersection of their disciplines. Over several days, participants build experimental prototypes to push the boundaries of XR applications in areas spanning healthcare, education, climate, and more.

Moderators

Dave Culyba

Assistant Teaching Professor, Carnegie Mellon University

Dave is an assistant teaching professor as well as the director of curriculum at Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center. He primarily spends his time teaching students the ins and outs of working in creative industries like game development, theme parks, and virtual... Read More →

Speakers

Samir Ghosh

Assistant Director, Ahmanson Lab at USC

Samir Ghosh is the Assistant Director of the Ahmanson Lab at USC where he directs a makerspace with 3D printers, microcontrollers and VR development equipment. Over there, he manages a wide range of projects and teaches workshops spanning generative art, graphics programming, XR development... Read More →

Joanna Liu

CEO, Cartographr Technologies Inc

Joanna is a Game Researcher, Designer & Developer specializing in XR. She is also the CEO of CartographR—a real-time collaborative AR tool for Tabletop Gamers. Joanna is passionate about enhancing education using immersive storytelling and using game design as a tool for learni... Read More →

Stefania Maggi

Associate Professor, Carleton University

Dr. Maggi is an interdisciplinary scholar whose mixed-methods research bring together developmental sciences, population health approaches, participatory methods, statistical modeling, and arts-based approaches. Her work focuses on individual and collective resilience; positive development... Read More →

Sounak Ghosh

3D Designer and Developer, New York University

Sounak is a 3D Designer/Developer with 3+ experience in XR workflows for interactive projects. He is currently pursuing a Masters in Integrated Digital Media at New York University. His explorations are mostly concerned with how XR redefines the boundary between mind and body through... Read More →

Veronica Weser

Associate Research Scientist, play4REAL XR Lab

Veronica received her PhD in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Virginia in 2018 where she specialized in leveraging video game technology to investigate human perception. She spent her graduate career honing her presenting skills and won numerous awards for her ability to... Read More →

Tuesday July 13, 2021 3:30pm - 4:20pm EDT
Festival

XR for Change, Roundtable

4:00pm EDT

Keynote - Games MIGHT Change Health

Explore the value of digital technologies in healthcare and the potential of adopting games and gameplay approaches to further health. Healthcare is increasingly adopting digital technologies and this provides an opportunity to ensure engagement is enhanced using digital technologies.

Speakers

Brendon Hale

Senior Principal Research Scientist, OptumLabs, Senior Principal Research Scientist, OptumLabs

Brendon Hale, Ph.D. is a Principal Research Scientist at OptumLabs who is responsible for developing best approaches and uses for DTx technologies, like XR, and signals in healthcare. The DTx team efforts at OptumLabs are ensuring that digital signals and technologies work in an ecosystem... Read More →

Tuesday July 13, 2021 4:00pm - 4:20pm EDT
Festival

Health & Wellness, Keynote

4:20pm EDT

Using AR to Imagine (and Empower) New Forms of Activism

2020 was the start of a new civil rights movement. Black Lives Matter protests created momentum for racial justice, but the way we honor history and teach American stories in and out of the classroom still has a long way to go. The nonprofit Movers and Shakers is using augmented reality to bring the stories of marginalized historical icons to life in fun and engaging ways. Join Movers and Shakers’ co-founders Glenn Cantave and Idris Brewster to learn more about how to unite a coalition of artists, educators, app developers and historians to bring activism into the 21st century.

Speakers

Glenn Cantave

CEO, Movers & Shakers NYC

Glenn Cantave is the Founder/CEO of Movers & Shakers, a nonprofit that uses AR to write black and brown history in American curricula. Glenn is an activist, performance artist, and social entrepreneur. Past pieces include running the NYC Marathon in Chains, a slave auction pop/up... Read More →

Idris Brewster

Founder / Chief Creative Officer, Movers & Shakers NYC

idris brewster is an artist, creative technologist, and educator that disrupts traditional narratives through immersive experiences, all the while empowering others to do the same. idris is the Chief Creative Officer at Movers and Shakers NYC, a member of the Forbes 30 under 30 class... Read More →

Tuesday July 13, 2021 4:20pm - 4:40pm EDT
Festival

XR for Change, Talk

4:30pm EDT

Meet the Funder: Rhonda Moore and David Miller (NIH)

The National Institutes of Health is dedicated to a mission of funding state of-the-art biomedical and behavioral research performed across academic institutions, non-profits, companies & small businesses. In this interactive talk, Rhonda and Dave will give an overview on applying for NIH funding, and highlight opportunities of interest to the G4C community for developing games and technologies that impact human health, health education, and biomedical & behavioral research.

Particular emphasis will be placed on Mental Health as a global public health crisis, with examples from the Digital Global Mental Health Program at the NIMH’s Center for Global Mental Health.

Speakers

Rhonda Moore

Program Officer Global Health, NIH

David Miller

Program Director, National Cancer Institute

Dr. Dave Miller is a program director at the NIH's National Cancer Institute, the US government's largest funder of cancer research and technology development. Dave is a computational physicist who maintains a research grants portfolio encompassing mathematical modeling, data visualization... Read More →

Tuesday July 13, 2021 4:30pm - 5:10pm EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events, Meet the Funder

4:30pm EDT

Expanding Educational Programs with G4C Learn

Building off the success of our flagship learning program, the G4C Student Challenge as well as professional development programs for museum educators and teachers, G4C is launching a new initiative, G4C Learn. Join members of the Games for Change team to hear about our work using games and game design to support deep learning across a broad range of programming. This roundtable will discuss the work that has been done over the past year while also looking forward to the exciting year ahead as we expand G4C Learn’s programs!

Moderators

Susanna Pollack

President, Games for Change

Speakers

Dalton Gray

Project Director / Game Designer, Games for Change

Arana Shapiro

Managing Director / Chief Learning Officer, Games for Change

Tania Hack

Senior Director of Programs, Games for Change

Working as the Senior Director of Programs, Tania oversees a variety of youth, community and client-facing programs at Games for Change. Her primary focus is the G4C Student Challenge – a game design program and competition through which youth learn to design and code games about... Read More →

Marissa Harts

Director of Operations / Program Manager, Games for Change

Marissa Harts is the Director of Operations & Program Manager at Games for Change. Not only does she support day-to-day operations, ensuring that the Games for Change headquarters runs efficiently, but she manages the NYC G4C Student Challenge, co-leads Game Plan (G4C’s newest museum... Read More →

Tuesday July 13, 2021 4:30pm - 5:20pm EDT
Festival

Games for Learning, Roundtable

4:40pm EDT

Forward Games: A Year of Playful Civic Learning In Wisconsin

We run virtual scavenger hunts that use trivia and playful challenges to engage players with local causes and make civic learning accessible to more people. From getting out the vote with the WI League of Women Voters to increasing awareness about plastic pollution with the Sierra Club, join this session to hear fun stories, lessons learned, and what's next for Forward Labs.

Speakers

Libby Falck

CEO, Forward Labs

Libby Falck is a designer of games, curriculum, and technology that advance civic learning and community participation. She is the founder of Forward Labs, a civic games company that emerged from her graduate research at MIT. Libby also leads user research at iCivics, a nonprofit... Read More →

Tuesday July 13, 2021 4:40pm - 4:50pm EDT
Festival

Civics & Social Issues, Project Brief

5:00pm EDT

Why Public Policy Matters

Public policy will play a significant role in the development and adoption of XR technology. As lawmakers continue to develop legislation that addresses the realities of a digital world, they must also consider the future. XR technology raises novel questions. To effectively ensure consumers are safe and secure in the XR space as we continue to innovate and advance immersive technologies, we need to get the public policy right.

Moderators

Joan O'Hara

Senior Director of Public Policy, XR Association

Joan O’Hara serves as Director of Public Policy for the XR Association (XRA). In this role, Joan is actively engaged shaping policy with respect to emerging technology and privacy, consumer safety, and the responsible development and adoption of XR. She also engages Members of... Read More →

Speakers

Ellysse Dick

Policy Analyst, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation

Ellysse Dick is a policy analyst at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) focusing on augmented and virtual reality. Her research explores the role of public policy in advancing AR/VR and addressing the policy challenges these technologies raise. She has written... Read More →

Brittan Heller

Counsel, Foley Hoag LLP

Brittan Heller works at the intersection of technology and human rights. She advises tech companies, investors, and governments on integrating public safety and freedom of expression. Heller is Global Business and Human Rights Counsel at Foley Hoag LLP. She was an inaugural AI and... Read More →

Jared Bomberg

U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, Senior Counsel

Jared Bomberg is Senior Counsel to Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA) on the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Jared previously served Chairmen Dan Inouye (D-HI) from 2007-2009 and Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) from 2009-2013 on the Senate Commerce Committee. Between... Read More →

Tuesday July 13, 2021 5:00pm - 5:45pm EDT
Festival

XR for Change, Panel

5:30pm EDT

Serious Games Developer Program: Driving DEEP Impact Design

The Serious Games Developer Program (SGDP) was developed to teach Ukrainian developers how to design for social impact. After an in-depth workshop and game jam, one team won $5000 USD to continue developing their game! Join G4C, the US Embassy in Ukraine, and the winners of the Serious Games Developer Program as they talk more about the G4C DEEP Impact framework, Grand Story, and how global programs can further develop and foster collaboration

Moderators

Noelle Mazurek

Production Coordinator, Games for Change

Speakers

Andriy Bychkovskyi

Indie Game Developer

Andriy Bychkovskyi is an indie game designer from Kyiv, Ukraine. Game design has been his primary occupation for the last 5 years, during which he has been a regular participant in worldwide gamejams, and has worked on the digital version for the tabletop game Gloomhaven. His own... Read More →

Bryan Furman

Assistant Cultural Affairs Officer, U.S. Embassy Kyiv

Bryan Furman is a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State. He is currently serving as Assistant Cultural Affairs Officer in Kyiv, Ukraine, and was previously Vice Consul in Dhaka, Bangladesh. As part of efforts to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in Ukraine... Read More →

Oleksii Netrebenko

Developer, Brinemedia

Oleksii Netrebenko is one of the developers of Grand Story. The game was created during the G4C + GGJ Serious Game Jam.

Margaret Wallace

Game Industry Executive

Margaret Wallace is an entrepreneur and creator of digital and real-world games, products and interactive experiences that span a variety of industry sectors: entertainment, healthcare, education, and art. She has founded and led several games companies, including Playmatics (New... Read More →

Tuesday July 13, 2021 5:30pm - 6:20pm EDT
Festival

Civics & Social Issues, Roundtable

5:30pm EDT

Well-Played: Spiritfarer, Age, Death, Peace, and a Pandemic

In Spiritfarer, characters break typical stereotypes about societal fears regarding aging, dying, illness, and death. This session will explore and analyze ageism in the U.S. and Canada both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Moderators

Mia Consalvo

Canada Research Chair in Game Studies and Design, Concordia University

Mia Consalvo is Professor and Canada Research Chair in Game Studies and Design at Concordia University. She is the co-author of Real Games: What's Legitimate and What's Not in Contemporary Videogames (2019) and Players and their Pets: Gaming Communities from Beta to Sunset (2015... Read More →

Andy Phelps

Professor, University of Canterbury / American University

Andrew "Andy" Phelps is a designer and professor at the Human Interface Technology Laboratory NZ (HITLabNZ) at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. He is also a professor in the Film & Media Arts division of the School of Communication, holds a joint appointment... Read More →

Speakers

Drew Moger

Graduate Assistant, American University Game Center

Drew Moger is a Graduate Assistant and a Games and Interactive Media MFA student at American University. He has long been interested in games' narrative and didactic potentials and has pursued these interests in his creative and academic work. He has previously written on implicit... Read More →

Jocelyn Wagner

Graduate Assistant, American University

Jocelyn Wagner is a Graduate Assistant and MFA candidate in the Games and Interactive Media program at American University. After earning a degree in English at U.C. Berkeley, they decided to pursue their interest in narrative writing for games. Jocelyn is especially interested in... Read More →

Tuesday July 13, 2021 5:30pm - 6:20pm EDT
Festival

Health & Wellness, Roundtable

5:30pm EDT

Mental Health in Gaming AMA with Take This

Speakers

Raffael Boccamazzo

Clinical Director, Take This

Tuesday July 13, 2021 5:30pm - 6:30pm EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events, Roundtable

6:00pm EDT

Can Voice Technology Help Kids Feel Heard?

For many, distance learning showed us that most technology isn’t designed for early learners. Touch interfaces aren’t natural, rigid form factors aren’t playful, and screen time often overstimulates rather than actively engaging kids. In this talk, we’ll explore the science of early learning and how voice technology can help kids learn in a safe, natural, and engaging way - by empowering them to play the teacher.

Speakers

DeLonn Crosby

CEO, SayKid

DeLonn Crosby believes voice technology can help kids families learn together through interactive play. As CEO of SayKid, he has developed a screen-less, play-based system that combines voice technology with tangible play to help kids learn in a safe, natural, and engaging way - by... Read More →

Tuesday July 13, 2021 6:00pm - 6:20pm EDT
Festival

Games for Learning, Talk

6:20pm EDT

A Multiplayer Dating Game to Empower Black Teen Girls

Can we harness the dating sim genre to convey sexual health information to a vulnerable population? Black girls are 2x more likely than White girls to be diagnosed with an STI, which are associated with a 5x increase in HIV risk. Research suggests inadequate knowledge contributes to high HIV rates among Black women. This session covers the development of a culturally-tailored multiplayer dating sim that empowers Black girls to talk about HIV/STI testing and condoms.

Speakers

Veronica Weser

Associate Research Scientist, play4REAL XR Lab

Tuesday July 13, 2021 6:20pm - 6:40pm EDT
Festival

Health & Wellness, Talk

6:20pm EDT

Raising Good Gamers: TED-Ed Student Talks Program

RGG joined forces with TED-Ed to offer 30 high school students an opportunity to participate in the TED-Ed Student Talks program. Our goal was to empower young people to share their stories on video game culture and highlight the pro-social elements that occur online and in a video game. The five finalists showcased in this session, were chosen to receive coaching from the TED-Ed team. to. Check out these youth voices and emerging leaders who have now experienced programming from the TED-Ed Student Talks program, designed to spark and celebrate the ideas and knowledge-sharing of students around the world.

Moderators

DJ Moreau

Senior Director of Programs and Partnerships, Games for Change

Speakers

Jayda Washington-Boothe

7th Grade, Student

Jayda Washington-Boothe is a speaker for the 2021 Games for Change Conference, representing South Florida. She serves as Broward County Chess Ambassador Queen, Member of Black Girls Code- Miami Chapter, and participated in the Sawgrass Springs Middle Chess club, Robotics Club, and... Read More →

Jayda Murray

11th Grade, Student

For such a young person, Jayda Murray has vast tech experience which includes a two time Congressional App Award, National & Regional NCWIT award, and being a Game Design Artist for the non-profit Shero-Hub, while volunteering with St. Jude’s Hospital where she helped to create... Read More →

Marzuq Mazid

Student, 10th Grade

Marzuq Mazid is a rising Junior at John B. Connally High School. He is 16 years old and lives in Austin, TX, where he spends most of his time with schoolwork and studying a variety of different subjects. His dream college is the University of Texas at Austin.

Noel Ullom

10th Grade, Student

Noel Ullom is a rising junior at Hathaway Brown School and comes from Cleveland, OH. Her dedication to advocating for LGBTQ+ youth and representation in gaming stems from her own experience in grappling with self-acceptance and realizing the powerful influence of outward support... Read More →

Johnathan Sherrill

9th Grade, Student

Johnathan Sherrill is the CEO and Founder of the Computer Science Educational Opportunity Connectors Initiative. He is a software developer and winner of the TED Ed Student Talk and Raising Good Gamers Worldwide After School Program. Since the age of 9 he has participated in University... Read More →

Kevin Connors

Senior Director, Susan Crown Exchange

Kevin Connors is the Senior Director at Susan Crown Exchange, where he oversees grantmaking, leads new initiatives, and co-develops organizational strategy. Previously, Kevin served as the Founding Director of Personalized Learning at Chicago Public Schools, partnering with 120 schools... Read More →

Bobby Nweke

TED Talks, Speaker Development, Manager

Bobby is the Manager of Speaker Development on the TED Ed Programs team. At TED, Bobby works to amplify and coach the ideas of students and educators around the world.

Tuesday July 13, 2021 6:20pm - 7:20pm EDT
Festival

Games for Learning, Roundtable

6:40pm EDT

The Value of Creating Art When the World is Collapsing

Naphtali Faulkner explains some of the principles he followed when creating Umurangi Generation and why the game teaches players how to take photos in game and outside of it.

*This session is part of the Indigenous Creators Spotlight

Speakers

Naphtali Faulkner

Director, Origame Digital

Naphtali Faulkner is a Ngai Te Rangi designer and Director at Origame Digital. He created the award winning game Umurangi Generation.

Tuesday July 13, 2021 6:40pm - 7:00pm EDT
Festival

Civics & Social Issues, Talk

7:00pm EDT

Together While Apart: The Pandemic Acceleration of VR

The pandemic has upended every aspect of our lives. There is a silver lining to carry us forward, one of which is the prevalence of remote work and virtual technologies. How has VR played a role in this extraordinary time? Pearly Chen from HTC shares her insights from the frontline.

Speakers

Pearly Chen

Vice President, HTC

Pearly Chen is a VP at HTC with a unique operator-investor role on the forefront of immersive technologies. She has held several leadership positions for HTC’s VR content platform, early-stage venture investment program and other strategic and operational roles as Chief of Staff... Read More →

Tuesday July 13, 2021 7:00pm - 7:20pm EDT
Festival

XR for Change, Talk

7:20pm EDT

Closing Remarks

Speakers

Susanna Pollack

President, Games for Change

Tuesday July 13, 2021 7:20pm - 7:25pm EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events

9:50am EDT

Opening Remarks with President Susanna Pollack

Speakers

Susanna Pollack

President, Games for Change

Wednesday July 14, 2021 9:50am - 10:00am EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events, Opening Remarks

10:00am EDT

Play to Say: African XR Gaming for Autism Inclusion

AutismVR is a voice interaction driven virtual reality game for teaching people how to interact with autistic children in Nigeria. We built a first quick prototype of the game for the Oculus Rift, and are now working on a mobile version for the Google Cardboard, a more accessible platform for immersive content in Africa.

We share our journey so far, and unpack the lessons learnt creating a culturally relevant and effective game, while integrating NLP (and all the challenges that poses in a non-Western context) in a VR experience, as well as implementing UNICEF’s policy guidance on AI for children.

Speakers

Judith Okonkwo

Founder, Imisi 3D

Toks Bakare

Principal Consultant and Behaviour Analyst, asktoks.com

Toks is a Teaching Fellow at Harvard Graduate School of Education where she is focused on emerging technologies in education. She also consultants for the Inclusive Education Thematic Group at the World Bank and sits on the Equity Diversity and Inclusion Committee for Boston VR... Read More →

Wednesday July 14, 2021 10:00am - 10:20am EDT
Festival

Health & Wellness, Talk

10:00am EDT

Video Game Diplomacy: Video Games for STEAM and Entrepreneurship

The U.S. Department of State, Cultural Vistas, and Games for Change partnered together to co-design the Video Games for STEAM and Entrepreneurship sessions as part of the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). IVLP is the premier professional exchange program for the U.S. State Department, which connects participants with educators, developers, publishers, and non-profit leaders from the Western Hemisphere region. Come glean insights from participants of this program as they reflect on the key takeaways from this dynamic programming, the work they do, and the importance of regional collaboration.

Moderators

Joshua Shen

Strategic Designer, Interactive Media and Games, U.S. Department of State

Speakers

Maureen Berho

Producer / CEO, Niebla Games

Maureen Berho is the CEO & Producer at Niebla Games, and the Business Development Manager at Jungle Robots. She is a former Member of the Board of Directors of the Chilean Trade Association of Video Game Development Companies, VG Chile (2016-2018), and the current Country Lead of... Read More →

Valeria Colombo

Head of Engineering / Board Member, Etermax / Women in Games Argentina

Computer Scientist graduated from the University of Buenos Aires. Gamer since she has memory and has been working as a videogame developer for the last 12 years. Today she is Head of Engineering at Etermax and a Board Member of Women in Games Argentina

Alessandro Biollo

Business Development, Ludus Games

Experience in Business Development and PR in the video game industry contacting game developers with strategic partners in the industry. Managed internationalization for multiple video game titles from LATAM.

Wednesday July 14, 2021 10:00am - 10:50am EDT
Festival

Civics & Social Issues, Roundtable

10:00am EDT

Crossing Boundaries: Lessons from Lemonade Day to Change the World

Lemonade Day, a Houston based non profit, has a proven real-world learning program that has impacted over 1m kids to date. They recently delivered a high quality gamified companion app for mentors and kids to guide them through the program. The panel will use this case study to share learnings about how we should be exploring new ways to connect the real and digital worlds, how we could drive effective entrepreneurship in kids, and what new commercial models are emerging.

Moderators

Glenn Gillis

CEO, Sea Monster

Speakers

Lucy Hoffman

Co-Founder / COO, Carry1st

Lucy Hoffman is the Co-Founder and COO of Carry1st, Africa's leading mobile games publisher. Carry1st works with international studios to help them access consumers across Africa leveraging local distribution, embedded payments, and their vibrant community of gamers. Lucy has spent... Read More →

Nicole Cassier-Mason

CEO, Lemonade Day National

As chief executive officer of Lemonade Day National, Nicole Cassier-Mason is responsible for educational programming, strategic partnerships, fundraising, marketing and public relations, and community development. For 14 years, Lemonade Day has been committed to helping prepare youth... Read More →

Wednesday July 14, 2021 10:00am - 10:50am EDT
Festival

Games for Learning, Roundtable

10:20am EDT

#Immersive Jua Kali: Close Encounters of the 5th Kind

This session provides an overview of the development and production of the location based XR experience, NOMA!, highlighting how to engage with artistic communities in harnessing XR tools in their praxis, building digital literacy for audiences, and creating sustainable methods of distribution across accessible platforms within the East African region. Of importance is how we are imagining radically in an ever-shifting XR ecosystem from a regional perspective.

Speakers

Nyambura M. Waruingi

Founder / Creative Director, Akoia & Company Ltd

Nyambura M. Waruingi creates, curates, produces, and collaborates across various artistic expressions, encountering unique ways to imagine new worlds through trans-media and immersive storytelling, and focusing on producing extended reality experiences.She is a cultural activist... Read More →

Wednesday July 14, 2021 10:20am - 10:40am EDT
Festival

XR for Change, Talk

10:40am EDT

Crossing Borders In/With Play

Ellis was asked by NGO Oxfam to co-develop a game on entrepreneurship in Somalia to enable Somalian youth to become entrepreneurs as a preparation to become more autonomous and capable to make a step towards business in a play-full environment. With a team of youth in Somalia, they developed prototypes, conducted user-tests and most crucial: finding local content about entrepreneurship appeared a challenge. All in all a strategy game in itself with obstacles to overcome.

Speakers

Ellis Bartholomeus

Play Alchemist, Ellis in Wonderland

Ellis has been intrigued with the value of play. Graduated as product designer she learned that to have audiences own a topic they needed to interact with it. In 25 years Ellis has co-developed over 75 games and playful interactive products on a wide spectrum of topics. After years... Read More →

Wednesday July 14, 2021 10:40am - 10:50am EDT
Festival

Games for Learning, Project Brief

11:00am EDT

Meet the Funder: David Ball (Headstream)

The Headstream Accelerator focuses on supporting social tech, digital health and ed-tech innovations for young people. We also focus on supporting you as entrepreneurs and individuals. Come join us to learn about the Headstream Accelerator and our work building the future digital places where young people are growing up. Over the last three years we have supported 50+ entrepreneurs building solutions for Black, Latinx, Indigenous and LGBTQIA+ young people.

Speakers

David Ball

Director, SecondMuse

David Ball is the Director of SecondMuse's Health and Technology programs, which include the Headstream Accelerator, Digital Delta, and Youth 2 Innovator Incubator. Over the last three years, David has driven this portfolio of initiatives focused on working with changemakers and incumbent... Read More →

Wednesday July 14, 2021 11:00am - 11:30am EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events, Meet the Funder

11:00am EDT

Arab Voices in Games

This panel will be a discussion focusing on being Arab/Amazigh/Mena-Indigenous in the video games industry, what it entails and how we can improve representation and inclusion. The aim here is to have several types of profiles (born in the MENA region, descendants from this region, indies, AAA, with a variety of genders, working in North America/Europe/MENA).

Moderators

Sarah Makdad

Community Developer, Focus Home Interactive

Sarah works as a community developer at publisher Focus Home Interactive in Paris, France, while also volunteering at Friendship Garden, a non-profit organization cultivating a more inclusive games industry. Sarah was recently honored to be included in the 2021 She Plays Games 1... Read More →

Speakers

Nuha Alkadi

Narrative Designer, Ubisoft Toronto

Nuha Alkadi is a Syrian-Canadian narrative designer on Far Cry 6 at Ubisoft Toronto. She is passionate about supporting emerging talent and marginalized game developers through volunteer work with Code Coven, Dames Making Games, Girls Make Games, Youth Fusion, and more. She holds... Read More →

Son M.

Co-Founder / Studio Director, Perfect Garbage

Son M. is the Co-Funder and Studio Director of Perfect Garbage, as well as a narrative designer for their debut game Love Shore. Their work often strives to feature Arab and/or Muslim characters as leads in genre specific stories.

Malek Teffaha

Head of Communications and Localization, MENA / Ubisoft

A Lebanese on paper and an Arab at heart, Malek is a typical 80s kid that grew up with love of all things tech and gaming. With over 8 years of experience in the games industry, he has broad knowledge in public relations, digital communication, content marketing, localization, marketing... Read More →

Rami Ismail

Industry Ambassador, Rami Ismail

Rami Ismail is a Dutch-Egyptian industry ambassador & independent games developer with over 20 titles across PC, console, web, and mobile. His development of tools like the industry-standard dopresskit.com, his prolific & popular public speaking, and highly-regarded consultancy and... Read More →

Wednesday July 14, 2021 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
Festival

Civics & Social Issues, Panel

11:00am EDT

Discovery Tour: A Good Tour Is Nothing Without a Good Guide!

Educators are often attracted by using Games for Learning but don't always know where to start! We'll discuss why and how creating supporting tools and guides are crucial in helping people from education make the best of video-games as a learning tool, taking the example of the Discovery Tours by Ubisoft!

Moderators

Maxime Durand

World Design Director, Ubisoft Montreal

Maxime began his career directly at Ubisoft Montreal as a historian supporting game productions, providing teams with his expertise in history, archeology and popularization of science. He was involved in the Assassin's Creed series highlighting various historical periods for the... Read More →

Speakers

Adam Dubé

Associate Professor / Director of the Learning Sciences Program, McGill University

Adam Kenneth Dubé is an Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director for the Learning Sciences Program in the Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology, the McGill Faculty of Education’s 2020 Distinguished Teacher award recipient, the head of the Technology, Learning... Read More →

Jose Luis Vazquez-Poletti

Associate Professor, Universidad Complutense de Madrid

Jose Luis Vazquez-Poletti is an associate professor at Universidad Complutense de Madrid, where he is also the Head of the Open Source Software and Open Technologies Office. He is also both a Coordinator of the Ethical Hacking Group and Co-Founder of the eSports association of the... Read More →

Judith Brisson

History Teacher, Collège Jean de la Mennais

For the last 20 years, Mrs. Brisson has been teaching History in Quebec. Her many projects aim to develop her students’ interest in history. Mrs. Brisson’s latest project is the use of video games to better engage students in the understanding of the birth of democracy in Ancient... Read More →

Wednesday July 14, 2021 11:00am - 11:50am EDT
Festival

Games for Learning, Roundtable

11:00am EDT

Speed Networking

Wednesday July 14, 2021 11:00am - 12:00pm EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events, Networking

11:30am EDT

Experiential and Gamified Cognitive Behavioral Therapies

We'll discuss how virtual reality enables immersive, embodied and gamified Cognitive Behavioral Therapies, and how this can dramatically expand access and improve health.

Speakers

Aaron Gani

Founder / CEO, BehaVR, Inc.

Aaron Gani is the founder and CEO of BehaVR, Inc., creating digital therapeutics for behavioral health through the unmatched psychological power of Virtual Reality. He has a successful career creating breakthrough technologies, up to and including serving as CTO of Humana, a Fortune... Read More →

Wednesday July 14, 2021 11:30am - 11:50am EDT
Festival

Health & Wellness, Talk

11:45am EDT

Core Games: Create, Play, and Share

Create, publish, and share games in minutes with Core. Tune in for announcements about how Core can revolutionize your classroom with a multiplayer game dev curriculum. Learn more about how Core can empower anyone to make showcase games and experiences.

Wednesday July 14, 2021 11:45am - 11:50am EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events, Announcement

12:00pm EDT

Keynote - Game-Changing Moments: A Fireside Chat with the Founders of HiDef

Meet the founders of HiDef, a studio that was launched by people of color with a mission to innovate and infest pop culture with positive impact on diverse communities. Hear from co-founders Anthony Castoro and Rick Fox in conversation with a young game designer Geneva Heyward as they unpack HiDef’s vision of the metaverse. Join an intergenerational conversation on the challenges and opportunities of establishing studios with an impact focus.

Moderators

Geneva Heyward

Gameplay Programmer, Glow Up Games

Geneva Heyward is a current student at NYU's Game Center and board member of the Urban Arts Partnership. They're very passionate about putting more inclusive and accessible games into the world. On top of school, they're also a gameplay programmer at Glow Up Games helping bring Insecure... Read More →

Speakers

Anthony Castoro

CEO, HiDef, Inc.

Chief Executive Officer Anthony Castoro is an entrepreneur and executive leader with extensive experience building and operating some of the world's most successful online games over the last 25 years for companies including EA Mobile, Codemasters, Heatwave Interactive and Daybreak... Read More →

Rick Fox

Chief Business Development Officer, HiDef, Inc.

Chief Business Development Officer Rick Fox brings championship-level success, experience and leadership as a three-time NBA Champion and former team captain for the Boston Celtics and LA Lakers to the business world. Fox is a serial entrepreneur and visionary that has built successful... Read More →

Wednesday July 14, 2021 12:00pm - 12:30pm EDT
Festival

Civics & Social Issues, Keynote

12:30pm EDT

Changing the Game for the Neurodiverse

Not all games are created equal, especially for the 70 million people with learning disabilities. Jenny Wu, Chief Product Officer of Understood provides the perspective of the 1 in 5 people with learning and thinking differences and a view into their experiences with games. She shares why it’s important to consider them in game design, and actions that we can take to build more inclusive games for everyone, including the neurodiverse.

Speakers

Jenny Wu

Chief Product Officer, Understood

Wednesday July 14, 2021 12:30pm - 12:50pm EDT
Festival

Health & Wellness, Talk

12:30pm EDT

Meet the Funder: Martina Welkhoff (WXR Fund)

Martina invests in early stage XR companies led by women and gender diverse teams.

Speakers

Martina Welkhoff

Managing Partner, WXR Fund

Martina is the Co-founder and Managing Partner at the WXR Fund, an early-stage venture fund investing in women-led spatial computing (AR/VR/AI) companies. Prior to launching the fund, WXR hosted an accelerator from which 26 companies have graduated.Before shifting her full time focus... Read More →

Wednesday July 14, 2021 12:30pm - 1:00pm EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events, Meet the Funder

12:30pm EDT

APIA Narratives to the Front: Emerging Technology & POV

In order to combat the ideology that the Asian American community is a monolith, we are celebrating how unique points of view and experiences influence the way each person approaches XR, whether they specialize in volumetric video, animation, or bio technology.

This panel will also cover how the XR industry can create tangible structures to champion the range of APIA narratives and creators.

Moderators

Michaela Ternasky-Holland

Consultant & Creative Strategist, CRUX / Freelance

Speakers

Asad J. Malik

CEO, Jadu AR

Malik, who moved to the U.S. from Pakistan in 2016 for college, is a pioneer in using augmented reality for storytelling. His breakout project, Terminal 3, featured young Muslim immigrants and a collaboration with Magic Leap called A Jester's Tale explored the personification of AI... Read More →

David Liu

Head of Studios, BetterUp

David is the Head of Studios at BetterUp, where he's driving the mission to deliver personal growth to every person through novel, transformative experiences.He has over 10 years of experience as a creative technology executive, leading teams across commercial filmmaking, game development... Read More →

Kathryn Yu

Executive Editor, No Proscenium

Kathryn Yu is an experience designer & XR developer based in Los Angeles bridging the worlds of user experience, augmented & virtual reality, games, and immersive theatre. She is currently pursuing her masters of fine arts in Interactive Media & Game Design at the University of Southern... Read More →

Estella Tse

XR Creative Director

Estella Tse is a Virtual & Augmented Reality Creative Director and Artist. She integrates emerging technologies and visual storytelling into a new art form. She inspires new ways to connect, educate, and build empathy with her creative innovation work. Estella has been an artist-in-residence... Read More →

Gregg Katano

SVP of U.S. Operations / Partner, HOLOGATE

Gregg is Senior Vice-President of U.S. Operations, at HOLOGATE, the world’s most successful immersive media company for location-based entertainment (8,000,000+ players to date across 36 countries worldwide); Partner and Co-Event Director of DreamlandXR (Official CES® Partner Program... Read More →

Wednesday July 14, 2021 12:30pm - 1:20pm EDT
Festival

XR for Change, Roundtable

1:00pm EDT

Save Points: Critical Funding for Social Causes

Jenn talks about the positive impact that the gaming community can have for social causes and charity programs. In this talk we’ll discuss past examples of Team Xbox working with the gaming community to bring critical funding to vital causes and what’s next.

Speakers

Jenn Panattoni

Head of Social Good, Xbox

Jenn Panattoni is the Head of Social Good at Xbox where her team works across the business overseeing charity partnerships, cultural campaigns, and sustainability marketing. She joined Xbox on the engineering side as a technical program manager in 2015 on the Xbox Safety and Gaming... Read More →

Wednesday July 14, 2021 1:00pm - 1:20pm EDT
Festival

Civics & Social Issues, Talk

1:20pm EDT

Combating Implicit Biases in Technology Through Impact Storytelling

Combating Implicit Biases In Technology Through Impact Storytelling is a casual virtual discussion between Alton Glass and Elizabeth Adams that will address themes of implicit biases and data surveillance in emerging technologies found in the Games for Change Festival exhibition titled POV: Points of View.

The conversation’s goal is to create an environment that empowers its audience by educating them through emerging technology literacy and the risks posed by a lack of community influence in the development of future civic technology.

Speakers

Erinn Budd

Impact Producer, Crux

Erinn Budd is a multi-hyphenate visionary, freelance producer and two time cancer survivor. Most recently, Erinn has impact produced POV: Points of View at Mozilla Fest and Tribeca Film Festival VR Immersive Experience. She currently serves on the council for Count Me In. In her free... Read More →

Alton Glass

CEO / Director, GRX Immersive Labs

Elizabeth Adams

Chief AI Ethics Advisor, EMA Advisory Services

Elizabeth M. Adams is a global AI Ethics Advisor helping executives, governments and organizations gain familiarity with AI Ethics guidance and standards. She is a highly sought-after speaker and consultant helping leaders around the world remain abreast of updated AI Ethics guidance... Read More →

Wednesday July 14, 2021 1:20pm - 1:40pm EDT
Festival

Civics & Social Issues, Talk

1:30pm EDT

Developing Indigenous Developers

Indigenous developers create worlds simultaneously rooted in the past and the future. Through mentorships, game workshops, game jams, and story design mutual aid continues to foster the next generation of world makers. This panel homes in on, action oriented communal voices who have activated relationships across generations to invite people into the future.

*This session is part of the Indigenous Creators Spotlight

Moderators

Daniel Kauwila Mahi

PhD Student, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Speakers

Outi Laiti

University of Helsinki, Indigenous Studies, Associate Researcher

Outi Laiti, Ph.D. is an Indigenous Sámi game researcher and designer. In 2020, gamesindustry.biz nominated her as one of the 100 Game Changers for her work on promoting e.g. Sámi gaming. She is an Associate researcher at the University of Helsinki Indigenous studies. Her field of... Read More →

Allen Turner

Senior Professional Lecturer, DePaul University

A multidisciplinary creator of Black/Lakota/Irish descent, Allen Turner believes in the power of play and story as fundamental, powerful medicines which shape our sense of self. A veteran of the video game industry, Allen published the table-top RPG, Ehdrigohr: The Roleplaying Game... Read More →

Kahentawaks Tiewishaw

Skins Workshop Associate Director, The Initiative for Indigenous Futures / Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace

Kahentawaks Tiewishaw is a Kanien’kehá:ka visual artist from Kanehsatake. Her practice includes 3D modeling, illustration, game making, and sculpture. She is also the Skins Workshops Associate Director with Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace (AbTeC) and the Initiative for Indigenous... Read More →

Wednesday July 14, 2021 1:30pm - 2:20pm EDT
Festival

Civics & Social Issues, Roundtable

1:30pm EDT

Psychedelics as Therapeutics: The Contribution of Game Heuristics

No longer are psychedelics the exclusive domain of the counterculture; they are now accepted as an important part of a new generation of therapeutic approaches used to treat depression, anxiety, pain, addiction, PTSD, and other mental health disorders. These disorders have been difficult to treat effectively – until now. Psilocybin, MDMA, and Ketamine have demonstrated significant clinical efficacy in treating disorders that affect thousands of people.

These next-generation neuro-therapeutics are most effective when used in combination with cognitive-behavioral therapy techniques. Methods of establishing mood, mindset, and setting pioneered by game developers are now serving as a powerful complement to psychedelic therapies, especially when used in combination with wearable biosensors.

This panel will bring together experts in psychedelic research, finance, game development, and virtual reality therapeutic systems to discuss the impending advancement of these critical therapeutic advances.

Moderators

Walter Greenleaf

Visiting Scholar, Virtual Human Interaction Lab, Stanford University

Speakers

Nanea Reeves

CEO, TRIPP, Inc.

As CEO of TRIPP, Nanea has over 15 years experience of tech leadership resulting in over $1.16BN in exits. She is an advisor on several start-ups and sits on the Board of Directors of Tapjoy. Prior to co-founding TRIPP, Nanea has held senior leadership roles at EA, textPlus, Gaikai... Read More →

Shel Mann

CEO, FireflyVR

Shel is a serial entrepreneur of multiple successful software companies. His companies have developed best selling video games on Xbox, Playstation, Wii, PC and mobile platforms. Since 2016, FireflyVR has focused on VR games for health, by working inside the health care system with... Read More →

Lindsay Hoover

Co-Founder, ImmersiveWorlds LLC

Lindsay Hoover, Managing Partner of Financial and Strategic Advisory consultancy Alchemy Global Capital, has over 20 years of experience in corporate finance. She is also CoFounder and Board Member of ImmersiveWorlds, a virtual reality platform focused on promoting wellbeing through... Read More →

Ekaterina Malievskaia

Co-Founder / Chief Innovation Officer, COMPASS Pathways

Ekaterina received her medical degree from St Petersburg Medical Academy, Russia, and then moved to the US where she completed her Internal Medicine residency training. Worked in private practice, academic medicine and public health for more than 15 years in the greater New York area... Read More →

Wednesday July 14, 2021 1:30pm - 2:20pm EDT
Festival

Health & Wellness, Roundtable

1:40pm EDT

Lady Sapiens: Breaking Paleolithic Stereotypes

Lady Sapiens takes you back 30,000 years to discover the true face of the prehistoric woman: not just nurturer or submissive woman, but an artist, huntress, healer, clan leader… Created by Little Big Story, France Television, and Ubisoft, this multi-faceted project comprises a full-length documentary on prime-time TV, a VR adventure, a series of educational short films and a book that tells you a different story of mankind. Welcome to the Paleolithic Age!

Speakers

Déborah Papiernik

Senior VP New Business Development, Technology and Strategic Alliances, Ubisoft

A graduate from ESCP Business School (Paris) and Drexel LeBow MBA (Philadelphia), Déborah joined Ubisoft in 1997 as a Marketing Manager. She then headed up Emea Business Development for 10 years and became Managing Director of Ubisoft Partners, supervising Third Parties game development... Read More →

Wednesday July 14, 2021 1:40pm - 1:50pm EDT
Festival

Games for Learning, Talk

2:00pm EDT

Empowering Others with Fun through Say No! More

Brenden Gibbons introduces Say No! More, the world's first ""No! Playing Game"" that allows the player to express their No! as they want. The game touches on sensitive topics such as social etiquette and workplace abuse but uses a fun gameplay and playfulness that helps the message go down smoothly.

Games are often about power fantasies. Is there a way to still be playful while touching on serious topics? How can we empower through play?

Speakers

Brenden Gibbons

Game & Narrative Designer, Studio Fizbin / Massive Miniteam

Brenden Gibbons is an award-winning game and narrative designer with works in games, VR and interactive films. He has worked on video games such as Say No! More, Minute of Islands, Tom Clancy's Elite Squad, Nowhere Prophet, Dr. Panda Plus: Home Designer and the BAFTA-nominated Last... Read More →

Wednesday July 14, 2021 2:00pm - 2:10pm EDT
Festival

Civics & Social Issues, Project Brief

2:10pm EDT

A Creative Social Experience for Music Creation in VR

Are you frustrated by how COVID has disrupted your social interactions through music? Do you want to socialize through music safely and creatively after COVID? Musitation presents an innovative approach for people to stay connected and creative in a time of uncertainty. Join Fei to learn about a unique design on simple music creation, virtual music collaboration, and community building in an immersive VR world.

Speakers

Fei Wang

Project & Design Lead, Musitation

Fei Wang is a digital experience designer, educator, and musician who strives to develop effective and engaging experiences for a wide audience to learn and grow. Fei recently graduated with Master’s degrees in Instructional Technology and Media from Teachers College, Columbia University... Read More →

Wednesday July 14, 2021 2:10pm - 2:20pm EDT
Festival

XR for Change, Project Brief

2:20pm EDT

Fostering Computational Thinking with an Open-World Game

The Pack, developed by NYSCI, Design I/O, and the Columbia Earth Institute is an open world game where healthy ecosystems have faltered and players must befriend creatures with special functions who can be combined into algorithms to help restore the environment. NYSCI will share insights from a federally funded research project on how The Pack can build foundational computational thinking concepts and skills diverse children need to become active participants in the digital universe.

Speakers

Nick Hartmann

Research Assistant, New York Hall of Science

Nick Hartmann-Receiving his master's In environmental conservation from NYU, Nick has worked in the STEM education field since he graduated college, and has worked for a variety of museums and nonprofits. Now a research assistant, Nick brings his experience as an educator into play... Read More →

Dorothy Bennett

Director of Creative Pedagogy, New York Hall of Science

Dorothy Bennett is currently serving as NYSCI’s Director of Creative Pedagogy. Prior to joining NYSCI, Ms. Bennett spent 25 years conducting foundational research in equity and STEM education through EDC’s Center for Children and Technology, Bank Street College of Education... Read More →

Wednesday July 14, 2021 2:20pm - 2:30pm EDT
Festival

Games for Learning, Project Brief

2:30pm EDT

Physical Therapy Can Finally Be Fun with Mobile AR Games

Gamifying Physical Therapy is not a new idea, but previous attempts have generally relied on custom sensors and hardware. With the advances in computer vision on devices we use every day, in particular our phones, we can track rehab motions directly from cameras we already own, and match these motions with interactive experiences and games.

This new approach not only makes Physical Therapy a lot more fun, but also cheaper and more accessible.

Speakers

Arthur Sebert

CEO, Reactiv

After four years in management consulting at Roland Berger, Arthur built two investor-funded startups: one in 3D printing, and one in gamified mobile messaging. He holds a MS in Maths and Physics from Ponts et Chaussees, and a M.Eng. from Cambridge University.Arthur underwent 3 knee... Read More →

Wednesday July 14, 2021 2:30pm - 2:40pm EDT
Festival

Health & Wellness, Project Brief

2:30pm EDT

Meet the Funder: John Spinale (JAZZ Venture Partners)

Jazz Venture Partners seeks breakthroughs at the intersection of digital technology and neuroscience that are influencing the human experience, such as augmented reality, artificial intelligence, immersive gaming, and closed-loop human-computer systems. Join John Spinale as he shares an overview of Jazz Venture Partners and explains what he looks for when investing in startup companies.

Speakers

John Spinale

Managing Director, JAZZ Venture Partners

John’s an investor, advisor and entrepreneur, with a career spanning 25 years in the consumer media and entertainment technology space, where he built and led companies that touched hundreds of millions of consumers around the world. He is a co-founder of JAZZ Venture Partners... Read More →

Wednesday July 14, 2021 2:30pm - 3:00pm EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events, Meet the Funder

2:30pm EDT

STEM Your Game Challenge: Adapting Games for Education

The STEM Your Game Challenge, supported by Endless, was created to inspire game developers to bring their talent and creativity to the edtech community and help raise the bar for the quality of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) games. Learn more about the two winners who will receive a combined $150,000 in funding and will participate in a five-month implementation phase, where they will redevelop their current games for a middle school audience.

Moderators

Margaret Wallace

Game Industry Executive

Speakers

Vicky Wei

Director, Redstart Interactive

Vicky serves as Director of Redstart Interactive overseeing and leading game and systems design while implementing levels and sets for Get-A-Grip Chip.

Jon Lawitts

Director, Redstart Interactive

Jon serves as Director of Redstart Interactive overseeing technical implementation for gameplay, graphics and audio while contributing to engineering and animation.

Margarita Belorukova

Business Development, Luden.io

Ex co-founder of UnnyhogYCombinator alumni (W16)Currently Biz dev at Luden.io Shooting bad guys in video games since 95

Georgii Kurgan

Marketing Manager, Luden.io

Since 2001, Georgii Kurgan has worked for several gaming media outlets and at various video games companies, including ZeptoLab and CD Projekt Red, before finally joining Luden.io's quest for revolutionizing education through video games.

Wednesday July 14, 2021 2:30pm - 3:20pm EDT
Festival

Games for Learning, Roundtable

2:30pm EDT

Mental Health in Gaming AMA with Take This

Speakers

Raffael Boccamazzo

Clinical Director, Take This

Wednesday July 14, 2021 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events, Roundtable

2:40pm EDT

TiltFive: AR for Gamers, Teachers, Collaborators, and Designers

Tilt Five is an affordable and accessible solution for bringing AR to your tabletop, student desktop, or draft board. Using a retroreflective gameboard and lightweight, long-wearing glasses, we bring holographic magic to everything from video games and board games, to EDU curriculum content, collaborative 3D creation and design, and other verticals. Join the inventor for an overview of how our AR glasses can transform how you experience content.

Speakers

Jeri Ellsworth

CEO, Tilt Five

Jeri Ellsworth is an inventor, chip designer, and entrepreneur with over 20+ years experience designing and creating mass market consumer electronics. She was hired by Valve Software to build and run their R&D team and was a key contributor to the technology used in the popular HTC... Read More →

Wednesday July 14, 2021 2:40pm - 2:45pm EDT
Festival

XR for Change, Project Brief

2:45pm EDT

Mindfulness and Gaming

In this session, Justin Hosford will be discussing the meditation aspect of his company's in-development survival game, Retreat To Enen. The game will feature a meditation mode where the player will be able to live off of the land on a large tropical island and participate in a variety of guided meditations and breathing exercises.

Speakers

Justin Hosford

Proprietor, Head West Studio

Justin Hosford is a Seattle born music composer and game developer. For 10 years he owned and ran a California based music production company focused on composing and producing original music for film and television. In 2019, Justin returned to the Pacific Northwest and started his... Read More →

Wednesday July 14, 2021 2:45pm - 2:50pm EDT
Festival

Health & Wellness, Project Brief

3:00pm EDT

Beyond Visibility: Ways, Wants, and Wins

When we discuss conversations around diversity and inclusion we often only focus on the barriers we've had to overcome. In this panel, we talk to industry leaders to hear about their successes in overcoming those obstacles to showcase how they have made way for others in the space.

Moderators

Josh Boykin

Founder / Editor-in-Chief, Intelligame

Speakers

DeAngelo Murillo

Owner / Creator, The Geek Lyfe

DeAngelo Murillo is a fourth-generation Mexican-American from Phoenix, Arizona who helps bring more representation to the geeky community through storytelling, journalism, interviewing creatives, and more on his Twitch channel. In his free time, he enjoys harassing his peers into... Read More →

Jim Huntley

Professor / Head of Marketing, University of Southern California

After graduating with an MS in Integrated Marketing from Northwestern, Jim Huntley joined General Mills where he managed marketing and promotions on Betty Crocker Products, Lucky Charms, and Cheerios. He then went to Nestle before transitioning into the toy industry with 4 years... Read More →

Mark Barlet

Founder / Executive Director, The AbleGamers Charity

In 2004, Mark founded AbleGamers after Multiple Sclerosis attacked his best friend, Stephanie Walker, nearly taking away her ability to interact and connect through video games. His vision was to ensure that no one with a disability would ever be without answers on how to conquer... Read More →

Wednesday July 14, 2021 3:00pm - 3:45pm EDT
Festival

Civics & Social Issues, Panel

3:00pm EDT

University of Silicon Valley and RoToArk X Core Games: Providing Students Real World Experience and Career Opportunities

Create, publish, and share games in minutes with Core. Learn how a game design college and architecture school are empowering their students with Core to make showcase games and experiences.

Moderators

David P. Chiu

Director of Creator Marketing, Manticore Games

David P. Chiu is the Director of Creator Marketing at Manticore Games, the creators of Core, an endless arcade of high-quality user-made games and worlds. David has over 15 years of experience in the games industry. He was previously Vice President of R2 Games USA, Head of Business... Read More →

Speakers

Michael Rotondi

Principal, RoTo Architects

Architect / Educator RoTo Architects, Los AngelesFounderSCI-Arc, Los AngelesCo-Founder

Nels Long

Principal / Assistant Teacher, RoTo Architects / SCI-Arc

Nels Long is an Associate Principal at RoTo Architects and an Assistant Teacher at SCI-Arc where he co-teaches vertical studios with Co-Founder and Former Director Michael Rotondi, FAIA. Each year Michael and Nels develop curricula that seeks to challenge the way we conceive of the... Read More →

Eduard Medina

3D Artist, Manticore Games

Eduard Medina is a 3D Artist currently living in San Jose. Designing games has been a longtime passion, which he used to grow his creativity, and his goal is to share this experience by creating games for others. Over the years, Eduard has gained the knowledge and skills to evolve... Read More →

Ricardo Kayanan

Department Director, Game Design & Development, University of Silicon Valley

Ricardo has worked as a game artist for many years for companies such as Activision/Blizzard and THQ. He currently serves as the Department Director of Game Design & Development for the University of Silicon Valley. As the Director of Game Design, he has led his program into a top... Read More →

Wednesday July 14, 2021 3:00pm - 3:50pm EDT
Festival

Games for Learning, Roundtable

3:30pm EDT

The Kids Are (Mostly) All Right: A Chat Between Developers & Youth

As most developers know, kids are the first to jump in and play a new game and are often the most vocal about why it is great (or not) and how it can be improved. Yet they are rarely asked their opinion, and are very often the last to be heard. In this session youth are given a seat at the table to talk to developers of some of their favorite games.

Moderators

Arana Shapiro

Managing Director / Chief Learning Officer, Games for Change

Rachelle Vallon

Guidance Counselor, Quest To Learn

Rachelle Vallon is the Middle School Guidance Counselor & Wellness Coordinator at Quest to Learn. For 10 years, she has trained staff and implemented game-like learning, design thinking and systems thinking. Rachelle has provided game-like learning workshops, trainings, and presentations... Read More →

Speakers

Afeez Bello

Senior Software Engineer / Tech Lead, Mojang Studios / Microsoft

Afeez is a Senior Software Engineer at Microsoft who is currently working on Minecraft: Education Edition to enable students to learn through gaming. He has experience working on a variety of products across various tech stacks. He's also worked at all of the Big 3 gaming companies... Read More →

Laura Higgins

Roblox, Director of Community Safety and Digital Civility

Laura Higgins is Director of Community Safety and Digital Civility at Roblox with more than two decades of experience building proven safeguarding, online safety and civility programs. Roblox’s groundbreaking Digital Civility Initiative is focused on providing the community with... Read More →

Wednesday July 14, 2021 3:30pm - 4:20pm EDT
Festival

Games for Learning, Roundtable

3:45pm EDT

Fighting Disinformation with Harmony Square

Tune in to see Harmony Square in action and learn how you can help spread the word about a free and fun counter-disinformation game!

Wednesday July 14, 2021 3:45pm - 3:50pm EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events, Announcement

4:00pm EDT

Keynote - Fireside Chat with Adam Elsesser and Walter Greenleaf

As one of the first public medical device companies to develop virtual reality products, Penumbra is in a prime position to propagate a new generation of healthcare technologies. Join Penumbra's CEO and co-founder Adam Elsesser in conversation with Health & Wellness co-curator Dr. Walter Greenleaf as they outline the company's commitment to broadening their platform ecosystem to other developers who are leveraging game heuristics for healthcare.

Speakers

Adam Elsesser

President / CEO / Chairman, Penumbra

Adam is co-founder, president and CEO of Penumbra, a global healthcare company focused on innovative therapies, including pioneering use of virtual reality in immersive therapeutics to advance patient care. Prior to Penumbra, Adam led SMART Therapeutics, Inc., a medical device company... Read More →

Walter Greenleaf

Visiting Scholar, Virtual Human Interaction Lab, Stanford University

Wednesday July 14, 2021 4:00pm - 4:30pm EDT
Festival

Health & Wellness, Keynote

4:30pm EDT

The Grassroots Game: New Media for Voter Engagement

Nsé Ufot, CEO of The New Georgia Project, will discuss how grassroots, community, civil, and human rights organizations are using mixed reality, machine learning, blockchain, game design, and game play to desmystify how governments and elections work, improve their outreach and education efforts, and harness the power that we need to build the New America.

Speakers

Nsé Ufot

CEO, The New Georgia Project

Nsé Ufot is the Chief Executive Officer of the New Georgia Project (NGP) and its affiliate, New Georgia Project Action Fund (NGP AF). Nsé leads both organizations with a data-informed approach and a commitment to developing tools that leverage technology to make it easier for every... Read More →

Wednesday July 14, 2021 4:30pm - 4:50pm EDT
Festival

Civics & Social Issues, Talk

4:30pm EDT

Meet the Funder: Kellee Santiago (Niantic Inc.)

Come meet Kellee Santiago, Head of External Publishing at Niantic, and the lead person on building out the processes through which Niantic's BLM Commitment from GO Fest 2020 would be distributed to Black-led AR developers. Learn about how the program came to be, how it functions, and what we've learned from our first year of the Black Developers Initiative.

Speakers

Kellee Santiago

Head of External Publishing,, Niantic, Inc.

Wednesday July 14, 2021 4:30pm - 5:00pm EDT
Festival

Special Sessions & Events, Meet the Funder

4:30pm EDT

New Approaches To Mentorship In A Pandemic

The pandemic has made major impacts on our industry. The impact especially on aspiring game developers has halted opportunities to further their education, network with other developers in person, and find job openings.

Now more than ever, mentorship has become a necessary bridge for that gap. Join us as we discuss how mentorship has evolved in times of isolation and uncertainty, and what approaches can help those breaking in achieve the best chances for success.

Moderators

Estelle Tigani

Cinematics Producer, Santa Monica Studio

Estelle has worked in the games industry for 7 years, and is currently the Cinematics Producer on the next God of War at Sony. She has previously worked as a producer at companies like Treyarch, Disney, and Loot Crate. Outside of work, Estelle has sat on a number of Diversity and... Read More →

Speakers

John Wie

Content & Marketing Manager, Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences

John is an experienced digital and social media marketer who has worked in games, non-profits, tech, and entertainment. He currently works at the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences as the content + marketing manager and also teaches social media policy and marketing at UC Irvine... Read More →

Kate Edwards

CEO / Executive Director, Geogrify / Global Game Jam

Kate Edwards is a 27+ year veteran and an award-winning advocate of the game industry and the Executive Director of the Global Game Jam, as well as the former Executive Director of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA). She is also a professional geographer and corporate... Read More →

Leah Hoyer

VP, Creative, Wizards of the Coast

Leah Hoyer is the Vice President of Creative for a new IP incubation Studio at Wizards of the Coast. She has developed and produced television series, video games, and interactive experiences for some of the world’s most successful companies (Disney, Xbox, Telltale Games, Bungie... Read More →

Alanah Pearce

Writer, Santa Monica Studio

Alanah Pearce has been a writer in the games industry for 10 years. She’s also a voice actor, host, and charity streamer.

Wednesday July 14, 2021 4:30pm - 5:20pm EDT
Festival

Civics & Social Issues, Roundtable

5:00pm EDT

Reframing Education Games Through Indigenous Lenses

A panel with creators from various Indigenous communities around the world who will describe their experience in developing educational games and immersive experiences. The conversation will highlight how these creators are infusing teachings and methodologies from their communities into their work.

*This session is part of the Indigenous Creators Spotlight

Moderators

Miranda Due

Associate Producer, Treyarch

Miranda Due (Pawnee/Cherokee) is a game developer from Mvskoke Territory (Tulsa, OK). She works at Treyarch as an Associate Producer.Miranda graduated from USC in 2016 with degrees in Interactive Entertainment and International Relations and completed the George Washington University... Read More →

Speakers

Jeanette Bushnell

Co-Founder, The N.D.N. Players Research Group

Dr. Jeanette M. Bushnell (Anishinaabe) is a semi-retired lecturer at the University of Washington, a co-founder of The N.D.N. Players Research Group, and an Elder Educator for the Indigenous STEAM Collaborative. She foregrounds indigenous philosophies and knowledges. Her teachers... Read More →

Kari Noe

Graduate Research Assistant, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa

Kari Noe is born and raised on Kaua'i, and is currently a graduate research assistant at the Laboratory for Advanced Visualization and Applications (LAVA) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She is pursuing a PhD in Computer Science. Her research focuses on equitable methods... Read More →

Eleanore Falck

3D Environment Art Student, University of Wisconsin-Stout

Eleanore Falck is a student studying 3D environment art for games. During an internship with the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission, she developed Growing Up Ojibwe: The Game, an educational game designed to introduce Ojibwe history and culture to youth. Through her art... Read More →

Amber Taylor

CEO, ARA Journeys

Amber Taylor is Co-Founder and CEO of ARA Journeys, a mobile gaming company that blends the digital world with the natural environment and indigenous narratives. Inspired by and drawing on her Māori culture, ARA’s award-winning games use immersive technologies (AR, MR, XR) and... Read More →

Wednesday July 14, 2021 5:00pm - 5:45pm EDT
Festival

Games for Learning, Panel

5:30pm EDT

Disinformation Games

The U.S. Department of State's Global Engagement Center (GEC) will host an expert roundtable to discuss the use of digital games to counter disinformation and extremism. The GEC will discuss the game it co-funded with the Department of Homeland Security, "Harmony Square" (nominated for two G4C awards!), and the gameplay mechanics of "active inoculation" to bolster cognitive defenses against disinformation. The GEC will be joined by several other academic and commercial developers of games that address the problems of environmental, political, and ideological disinformation in fun ways.

Moderators

Tyler Golson

Senior Tech Advisor, Novetta

Senior Technology Advisor for Novetta, Tyler Golson is a contractor supporting the U.S. Department of State's Global Engagement center. He is an expert in extremism and disinformation on social media

Speakers

Lindsay Grace

Knight Chair in Interactive Media / Vice President, University of Miami / Higher Education Video Game Alliance

Susan Rivers

Executive Director / Chief Scientist, iThrive Games

Jon Roozenbeek

Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Cambridge

Jon Roozenbeek is a postdoctoral fellow at the Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab at the University of Cambridge. His research focuses on misinformation, vaccine hesitancy and online extremism. His doctoral dissertation (2020) examined media discourse in conflict zones, particularly... Read More →

John Cook

Research Fellow, Monash University

John Cook is a postdoctoral research fellow with the Climate Change Communication Research Hub at Monash University. His research focus is on using critical thinking to build resilience against misinformation. In 2007, he founded Skeptical Science, a website that won the 2011 Australia... Read More →

James Vaughan

Founder, Ndemic Creations

James is the creator of Plague Inc. - a global hit with over 160 million players and one of the top five most successful paid mobile games ever.Originally a hobby, Plague Inc. has consistently remained at the top of the charts since 2012 and James was even invited to the CDC to talk... Read More →

Wednesday July 14, 2021 5:30pm - 6:20pm EDT
Festival

Civics & Social Issues, Roundtable

6:00pm EDT

Connecting Sustainability, Design, and Play Through Minecraft

Come play Farmcraft, a new kind of game where youth compete and learn in a global STEM arena to build the best farm in Minecraft: Education Edition, understand global conditions and compete internationally. A collaboration between the Department of State, NASEF and Minecraft, students are challenged to successfully create farms and grow foods in unique biomes and challenging environments. The result? Hands-on lessons in sustainability, understanding of food security and food for thought.

Speakers

Erik Leitner

Chief Strategist, Florida Scholastic Esports League

Erik Leitner is a STEM and Computer Science Instructional Facilitator at Broward County Public Schools, the nation’s sixth largest district. Mr. Leitner is a CSF facilitator for Code.org and a district co-coordinator for SECME, the county's K-12 STEM Olympiad. He is certified in... Read More →

Laylah Bulman

Business Program Manager, Microsoft, Minecraft: Education Edition

Laylah Bulman is a passionate advocate for transforming education through immersive, game-based learning for all students. As part of the Minecraft: Education Edition team, Laylah builds content and programming with a focus on computer science, STEM, and esports. She helped lead the... Read More →

Wednesday July 14, 2021 6:00pm - 6:20pm EDT
Festival

Games for Learning, Talk

6:20pm EDT

Keynote - Advancing the Practice of Medicine Through Play

When it comes to games achieving real-world social impact, Level Ex is a trailblazing commercial success story: a games studio built to advance the practice of medicine, and the first one acquired by a major healthcare company.

Learn how a team of veteran game developers and designers unleashed their craft on an unsuspecting healthcare industry and impacted the future of medical training, from preparing doctors for COVID to training NASA astronauts for medical emergencies.

Speakers

Sam Glassenberg

Founder / CEO, Level Ex

As CEO of Level Ex, Sam leads a team of veteran game developers and designers who are pushing the limits of video game graphics, physics, and design to train over 700,000 medical professionals. Before Level Ex, Sam was the CEO of a leading independent game studio for Hollywood movies... Read More →

Wednesday July 14, 2021 6:20pm - 6:40pm EDT
Festival

Health & Wellness, Keynote

6:40pm EDT

Closing the Loop: Delivering on the Promise of BCI

Conor will discuss OpenBCI's latest development: Galea, which combines mixed reality (XR) headsets with state-of-the-art biosensing and brain-computer interfacing (BCI) techniques. Galea comes equipped with multiple sensors to simultaneously monitor biometric data streams in real time and is designed to seamlessly attach to head-mounted displays (HMD), including virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) devices. The talk will also focus on the amazing possibilities and potential pitfalls of this technology being introduced to the world.

Speakers

Conor Russomanno

Founder / CEO, OpenBCI

Conor is the Founder and CEO of OpenBCI, Inc, a company that specializes in affordable and accessible biosensing hardware and software. He previously worked as the Director of Advanced Interfaces at Meta, an Augmented Reality headset and software company. Conor has also served as... Read More →

Wednesday July 14, 2021 6:40pm - 7:00pm EDT
Festival

XR for Change, Keynote

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