2020 Games for Change Virtual Festival: Full Schedule

9:45am EDT

G4C Welcome with President Susanna Pollack

Speakers

Susanna Pollack

President, Games for Change

Tuesday July 14, 2020 9:45am - 9:50am EDT
Mainstage

Special Sessions & Events

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 is the commissioner of the New York City Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME). She joined the agency in 2014 as director of legal affairs and was appointed to chief operating officer and general counsel in 2015. As a senior member of the executive team... Read More →

Tuesday July 14, 2020 9:50am - 10:00am EDT
Mainstage

Special Sessions & Events, G4C Announcements

10:00am EDT

Keynote - Play for Change: Ten Games to Play Right Now

Colleen Macklin recommends a collection of diverse and inclusive games that you might not have heard of, but really should be playing.

Speakers

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 →

Tuesday July 14, 2020 10:00am - 10:20am EDT
Mainstage

Civics & Social Issues, Keynote

10:00am EDT

G4C Virtual Marketplace: Day 1

Visit the "Expo" section of Hopin to explore the many booths from social impact organizations, game studios, and developers. Learn more in the Expo, which includes the G4C Marketplace, the G4C Awards, and the XR for Change Immersive Arcade.

Tuesday July 14, 2020 10:00am - 8:00pm EDT
Expo

Special Sessions & Events, Expo

10:20am EDT

Immersive Tech for School Preparedness

XR is increasingly being applied to emergency management and disaster preparedness, providing a realistic and safe space to prepare for crises and practice how to respond. Applications of XR range widely in disaster preparedness, but the key is harnessing benefits of XR to improve learning outcomes and retain life-saving information. This session presents the current landscape and shortcomings of school based disaster risk reduction (SBDRR) and discusses how XR has the potential to address these.

Speakers

Jessica Robbins

Technical Advisor, Preparedness ICTs, Global Disaster Preparedness Center (IFRC)

Jessica has worked with the American Red Cross since 2001. In her role with the Global Disaster Preparedness Center she manages the Center’s digital tools, including the Universal App Program, the WhatNow Service, the Atlas: Ready for Business preparedness app, and PrepareCenter.org... Read More →

Tuesday July 14, 2020 10:20am - 10:40am EDT
Mainstage

Civics & Social Issues, Talk

10:40am EDT

The World Now Understands AbleGamers' Mission

When I founded AbleGamers 15 years ago I did so knowing that social isolation was an epidemic amount people with disabilities and that an internet connection and a well-designed video game could change that. COVID-19 has given the world a small taste of this. Learn how AbleGamers accomplishes its mission, and how you can take your passion and change the world.

Speakers

Mark Barlet

Founder, The AbleGamers Charity

Mark Barlet has 25 years of hands-on experience in the technology and assistive technology field. Widely regarded as one of the leaders of 508 accessibility, Mark manages a team of high-end accessibility experts through his veteran-founded business The Barlet Group, as well as the... Read More →

Tuesday July 14, 2020 10:40am - 11:00am EDT
Mainstage

Civics & Social Issues

11:00am EDT

Educational VR Games: Lessons Learned

Schell Games has been working hard to innovate in the VR space, releasing over a dozen different VR games. Some of these have been educational experiences, and in this talk, Jesse Schell will present two different experiences, ‘Deep Time Detectives’ created for the Smithsonian, and ‘History Maker VR’ which allows students to create performance animations of historical figures. Jesse will present lessons learned, with a focus on small design details that made a big difference.

Speakers

Jesse Schell

CEO, Schell Games

Jesse Schell is the CEO of Schell Games, a team of one hundred people who strive to make truly great games, both for the purposes of entertainment and education, including award-winning VR games such as I Expect You To Die, HoloLAB Champions, and Star Wars: Droid Repair Bay. Jesse... Read More →

Tuesday July 14, 2020 11:00am - 11:20am EDT
Mainstage

Games for Learning, Talk

11:00am EDT

Meet the Funder: David Miller (NIH)

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

Speakers

David Miller

Program Director, National Institutes of Health

Tuesday July 14, 2020 11:00am - 11:30am EDT
Sessions

Special Sessions & Events, Meet the Funder

11:00am EDT

Games to Address National Health Crises

This roundtable explores the impact of games in the context of a national healthcare crisis. Whether existing as a standalone product, offered in combination with additional treatments, or experienced purely as entertainment -- games teach and engage, captivating millions. What have we learned about games and gamers in the time of COVID-19? What role do games play during a health crisis? What data and trends stand out in terms of responding and adapting to current realities?

Moderators

Margaret Wallace

Co-Founder & CEO, Playmatics

Speakers

Drew Crecente

Executive Director, Jennifer Ann's Group

Drew Crecente is executive director of Jennifer Ann's Group, an Atlanta-based nonprofit preventing teen dating violence. Its program, Gaming Against Violence, is an evidence-based award-winning program that produces, publishes, and researches prosocial video games addressing serious... Read More →

Claudia-Santi Fernandes

Associate Director, play2PREVENT Lab at Yale Center for Health & Learning Games

Dr. Fernandes is an educator, counselor, and scientist. Currently, she is an associate director at the play2PREVENT Lab of the Yale Center for Health & Learning Games. The Lab focuses on designing, developing, and evaluating novel videogame interventions that promote healthy behaviors... Read More →

Manjul Rathee

CEO, BFB Labs

Manjul Rathee is an award-winning social entrepreneur and service designer, currently the CEO at BFB Labs (London). She has been at the helm of some ground-breaking work innovating digital interventions to help build resilience for better mental health and enabling young people with... Read More →

Tuesday July 14, 2020 11:00am - 12:00pm EDT
Sessions

Health & Wellness, Round Table

11:20am EDT

Gamestorming Curricula

This session presents UNESCO MGIEP's online educational course, developed around the game Bury Me, My Love. Leveraging the narrative of the game, the course seeks to build knowledge of youth in the domain of ‘global citizenship’ revolving around themes of ‘migration’ and ‘refugees’. Additionally, using interactive digital pedagogy, it seeks to build competencies of ‘critical inquiry’, ‘empathy’ and ‘compassion’. It will discuss the design methodology and efficacy of using such a game-based approach to learning.

Speakers

Nandini Chatterjee Singh

Senior Program Officer, UNESCO MGIEP

Nandini Chatterjee Singh is a cognitive neuroscientist and currently Senior Project Office at UNESCO MGIEP (Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development, in New Delhi, India. Nandini’s research is focused on learning, in the context of literacy, emotion... Read More →

Matt Farber

Assistant Professor, University of Northern Colorado

Matthew Farber, Ed.D. is an assistant professor of Technology, Innovation and Pedagogy (TIP) program at University of Northern Colorado. He is the cofounder of the TIP Creativity Lab, an Edutopia blogger, and author of several articles, chapters, and books on games and learning... Read More →

Robin Sharma

Gaming Curriculum Developer, UNESCO MGIEP

Robin works as the implementer of the Gaming Programme at UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development. Here, he focuses on supporting research and developing curricular products for integration of digital game-based learning for building social... Read More →

Tuesday July 14, 2020 11:20am - 11:40am EDT
Mainstage

Games for Learning, Talk

11:40am EDT

Keynote - Democratizing Games Creation With Dreams

What happens when anyone can make a game? Media Molecules’ Dreams aspires to put game creation in the hands of players, offering accessible tools for art, music, design and animation on the PlayStation console. This talk explores the highs and lows of creating a space for UGC and celebrates the new voices, experimentation and creativity of a creator community in games.

Speakers

Siobhan Reddy

Studio Director, Media Molecule

Siobhan Reddy is Studio Director at Media Molecule, the band of creative minds behind Dreams, a PS4 title that makes game creation accessible to all and recently launched to critical and community acclaim. Mm also created the hugely successful and innovative LittleBigPlanet game franchise... Read More →

Tuesday July 14, 2020 11:40am - 12:00pm EDT
Mainstage

Games for Learning, Keynote

12:10pm EDT

Keynote - Mental Health in Games

Join Eve Crevoshay and Anita Sarkeesian in conversation about the mental health needs of people who make and play games, as well as the opportunities to use games for positive mental health outcomes. We will discuss our initiatives to address mental health, and the opportunities to address some of the most pressing needs in the game community.

Moderators

Eve Crevoshay

Executive Director, Take This

Eve Crevoshay joined Take This as Executive Director in 2018. She is a 15-year veteran of the nonprofit sector, with a focus on fundraising and executing strategy. Her background spans mental health, education, social services, and the arts, and she is committed to identifying and... Read More →

Speakers

Anita Sarkeesian

Executive Director, Feminist Frequency

Anita Sarkeesian is the creator of the award-winning Tropes vs Women in Video Games, a critically acclaimed video series exploring the history of women’s representation in gaming that has garnered nearly 14 million views on YouTube alone. Her work as a media critic, public speaker... Read More →

Tuesday July 14, 2020 12:10pm - 12:40pm EDT
Mainstage

Civics & Social Issues, Keynote

12:15pm EDT

Winning Against Pandemics: Games as Essential Tools for Planning and Response

The current COVID-19 pandemic highlights how games can be far more than entertainment. Games can be used to simulate the spread of disease, help to develop mitigation strategies, and even develop new treatments and vaccines. Join our expert panel as we discuss the development of games for pandemics over the last 15 years, including current high-impact efforts. Panelists will also discuss future directions and provide insights and advice for funding and transition.

Moderators

Russell Schilling

Innovation Leader for Science and Technology

Russell Shilling, Ph.D. has been involved in developing “serious games” for over 30 years. A retired Navy Captain, he was a program officer at both Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the Defense Advanced Research Programs Agency (DARPA) where he developed games and VR applications... Read More →

Speakers

Noah Falstein

President, The Inspiracy

Noah Falstein has been a video game developer since 1980, and was one of the first 10 employees at LucasArts Entertainment, 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... Read More →

Seth Cooper

Assistant Professor, Northeastern University

Seth Cooper is an Assistant Professor in the Khoury College of Computer Sciences at Northeastern University. He was previously Creative Director of the Center for Game Science at the University of Washington, where he earned his PhD in Computer Science and Engineering. Seth's... Read More →

Francesco Cavallari

Founder, Video Games Without Borders

Francesco has 20 years of experience in the games industry having held both technical and leadership positions at Ubisoft. In 2015 he founded Video Games Without Borders, a nonprofit organization and a global community of people who believe in digital games to change the world for... Read More →

Rhiju Das

Associate Professor, Stanford University

Dr. Das is an Associate Professor of Biochemistry at Stanford University School of Medicine. His lab focuses on computer modeling and design of RNA molecules, which code for elaborate biological machines like viruses, ribosomes, self-replicases, and agile RNA medicines. Dr. Das leads... Read More →

Tuesday July 14, 2020 12:15pm - 1:15pm EDT
Sessions

Health & Wellness, Round Table

12:30pm EDT

Well-Played: Sims 4 Co-play with a Kindergartner

What does it mean to co-play Sims 4 between parent and child? How is a complex sandbox game “well-played” by a 6-year-old? Game Designer Sabrina Culyba and her daughter Hazel play Sims 4 while reflecting on co-play, screen time, and autonomy.

Speakers

Sabrina Culyba

Designer

Sabrina Culyba is an independent designer specializing in creating transformational and innovative interactive experiences. She has worked on a wide range of projects from video games to theme park rides. She is the author of the book "The Transformational Framework: A Process Tool... Read More →

Tuesday July 14, 2020 12:30pm - 1:00pm EDT
Sessions

Games for Learning, Round Table

12:30pm EDT

Meet the Funder: Harry Hamer (LVP)

A session covering how we, as LVP, operate as games investors at the seed stage, some dos/don'ts and a chance to ask any burning questions that you might have.

Speakers

Harry Hamer

Analyst, LVP

Harry is an Analyst at LVP: focussing on engaging with games entrepreneurs, LPs, due diligence, deal execution and supporting existing portfolio companies. Previously he worked in the Ventures team at Oxford Capital investing into early stage UK digital tech start-ups. Prior to his... Read More →

Tuesday July 14, 2020 12:30pm - 1:00pm EDT
Sessions

Special Sessions & Events, Meet the Funder

12:40pm EDT

Simple Accessibility Practices to Expand Games’ Reach

Broadening accessibility makes sense: legal requirements must be met; we want games to reach the widest audience; and it’s also the right thing to do. However, it’s not without its challenges. There are easy steps design teams can take to improve the accessibility of their games. Panelists will share some of the most common design needs, and offer specific examples of how they make small changes to their designs to expand use to different audiences.

Moderators

Barbara Chamberlin

Professor, Developer, Researcher, NMSU Learning Games Lab

Dr. Chamberlin oversees research and development at the Learning Games Lab at New Mexico State University, a non-profit educational production studio. She has a passion for user testing, math and science education, and hands-on learning. Her current projects include apps for pre-school... Read More →

Speakers

Allisyn Levy

VP, Product Lead, BrainPOP

Since joining BrainPOP in 2007, Allisyn Levy has played an integral role in the creation, launch, and continued development of BrainPOP Educators, our online professional community. Now, as VP, Project Lead, Allisyn oversees BrainPOP’s Creativity Tools as well as GameUp. She has... Read More →

Peter Stidwill

Executive Producer, FableVision Studios

As FableVision’s Executive Producer, Peter leads the company’s effort to manage multiple animations, games, websites, videos, and museum exhibits simultaneously. He oversees the staffing of the creative studio, ensuring that teams are set up to meet the varied needs of all projects... Read More →

Matthew Kaplowitz

CEO and Chief Creative Officer, Bridge Multimedia

Matthew Kaplowitz is the parent of a child with disabilities, a jazz aficionado, social entrepreneur and President of Bridge Multimedia, accessibility providers and strategists for television networks, educational publishers, architectural companies, government agencies, corporations... Read More →

Tuesday July 14, 2020 12:40pm - 1:25pm EDT
Mainstage

Games for Learning

1:30pm EDT

Keynote - The Unifying Power of Video Games

People around the world turn to video games for fun, but also for engagement. Video games connect us, make us more empathetic and inspire us to find new modes of expression for important ideas. More recently, video games have become a critical means of disseminating important health and safety messages to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus, making video games more relevant than ever to the human experience.

Speakers

Stan Pierre-Louis

CEO, Entertainment Software Association

Stanley Pierre-Louis was named CEO of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) in May of 2019, and was chosen for his extensive entertainment, law, and policy expertise, having joined the ESA as General Counsel in May 2015. As CEO, Stanley leads ESA’s public policy efforts to... Read More →

Tuesday July 14, 2020 1:30pm - 1:45pm EDT
Mainstage

Civics & Social Issues, Keynote

1:30pm EDT

Korean Games Stage: Health Session

The Korea Creative Content Agency(KOCCA) introduces DEV UNLIMIT and KITTEN PLANET in this health session. DEV UNLIMIT talks about how ChoomChoom, a hardware-free dancing game motivates people and improves themselves with unlimited and daily updated entertainment content. KITTEN PLANET, spun-off from Samsung Electronics C-Lab presents how Augmented Reality can be used for brushing education with the first-ever AR guided brushing education kit 'Brush Monster’.

Moderators

Susanna Pollack

President, Games for Change

Speakers

Jongho Choi

CEO, Kitten Planet

Jongho is a cofounder and CEO at Kitten Planet, a digital dental care startup that is taking preventive and empowered dental care application to the better oral health thanks to AR,AI and IoT.

Nuria Freitas

Chief Marketing Officer, Devunlimit (Sparky - ChoomChoom)

Nuria Freitas joined ChoomChoom’s early project in 2018. As an enthusiast of self-improvement and online learning. She actively supports projects that help people to bring out the best of themselves. Understanding ChoomChoom’s core values and their potential to inspire people... Read More →

Tuesday July 14, 2020 1:30pm - 2:00pm EDT
Sessions

Health & Wellness, Panel

1:45pm EDT

Introducing Raising Good Gamers with Susanna Pollack and Katie Salen Tekinbaş

The Raising Good Gamers initiative was created to catalyze positive change in the culture and climate of online gaming for youth. Join us to learn more about the opportunity areas we identified and discuss potential partnership opportunities.

Speakers

Katie Salen Tekinbaş

Professor, Department of Informatics, University of California, Irvine

Katie Salen Tekinbaş is a Professor in the Department of Informatics at the University of California at Irvine, a member of the Connected Learning Lab, and Chief Designer and co-founder of Connected Camps. Her work focuses on meeting kids where they are at in order to design engaging... Read More →

Susanna Pollack

President, Games for Change

Tuesday July 14, 2020 1:45pm - 2:05pm EDT
Mainstage

Special Sessions & Events, G4C Announcements

2:10pm EDT

Sensing the Risks of XR

XR misuse can lead to psychological, physical, reputational, social, and economic harm. In this session, XRSI advisory CEO explores the potential risks to XR ecosystems, explains how to mitigate them to better protect end-users and enterprises. This session will approach the topic from multiple different directions. An introduction to cybersecurity, and discuss XR specific security challenges, concerns, constraints overlap and the types of threat XR is experiencing and may experience in the future.

Speakers

Kavya Pearlman

Founder & CEO, XR Safety Initiative

Well known as the “Cyber Guardian” the founder of XR Safety Initiative (XRSI), Kavya Pearlman is an Award-winning cybersecurity professional with a deep interest in immersive and emerging technologies. XRSI is a global effort that promotes privacy, security, ethics, and develops... Read More →

Tuesday July 14, 2020 2:10pm - 2:30pm EDT
Mainstage

XR For Change, Talk

2:30pm EDT

IGDA Mentor Café - Day 1

Held at game industry events around the world, IGDA Mentor Cafés are designed to provide bursts of meaningful learning, and each one is as unique as its participants. Open to anyone in the game development community seeking mentorship regardless of years of experience, topics range from advancing your career, indie studio start-up, diversity initiatives, and much more.

*Advanced registration required. The registration period is now closed.*

Speakers

Renee Gittins

Executive Director, IGDA

Renee is the Executive Director of the IGDA, and a multi-disciplinary leader with expertise in software engineering and creative direction. She is a passionate advocate and connector for developers and diversity in the game industry, with a background that spans across engineering... Read More →

Tristin Hightower

Director of Chapter and Special Interest Group Operations, IGDA

Tristin Hightower is the Director of Chapter and Special Interest Group Operations for the International Game Developers Association (IGDA). Throughout her career, Tristin has been both a paid and volunteer community organizer, from leading chapters and special interest groups with... Read More →

Tuesday July 14, 2020 2:30pm - 4:00pm EDT
Sessions

Special Sessions & Events, Workshop

3:15pm EDT

Keynote - Games Can Heal The World

During the COVID-19 global pandemic we've seen what the power of games can do. From providing a way to help people learn, to helping with fundraising, to being an outlet so people can find the space they need, Gaming has shown what is possible. This talk will walk through various ways Games are helping heal the world and leave you with some ways you can use Games to engage deeply with your community.

Speakers

Leo Olebe

Global Director, Games Partnerships, Facebook

Leo leads the global Games business at Facebook. Leo has been in games more than 20 years, with experience ranging from launching AAA mobile, console and online games to advising developers and start-ups. His work includes major brands like Star Wars and Marvel at companies like BioWare... Read More →

Tuesday July 14, 2020 3:15pm - 3:35pm EDT
Mainstage

Civics & Social Issues, Keynote

3:35pm EDT

G4C Chapters: Asia-Pacific Launch Announcement

Join Susanna Pollack as she announces the newest G4C Chapter: Asia-Pacific.

Speakers

Susanna Pollack

President, Games for Change

Tuesday July 14, 2020 3:35pm - 3:40pm EDT
Mainstage

Special Sessions & Events, G4C Announcements

3:40pm EDT

Remote Learning with Mixed Reality - Case Western

When COVID began to shut down schools, Case Western University had an ambitious plan to continue teaching medical students remotely using the HoloLens.

This session will discuss the challenges and ultimate success of going remote using HoloLens, and how the technology can assist learners both remotely and in the classroom.

Speakers

Dan Ayoub

General Manager of Education, Microsoft

Dan Ayoub is the General Manager for Education at Microsoft. He oversees the development of products and strategy aimed at using groundbreaking technology to improve outcomes for learners around the world, with a focus on STEM Education, Higher Education, AI, and AR/VR. Dan has over... Read More →

Mark Griswold

Professor, Case Western Reserve University

Mark Griswold, PhD, is the Pavey Family Designated Professor of Innovative Imaging, Professor of Radiology, Director of MRI Research and Faculty Director of the Interactive Commons (IC) at Case Western Reserve University. Among his internationally known imaging discoveries, Dr. Griswold... Read More →

Tuesday July 14, 2020 3:40pm - 4:00pm EDT
Mainstage

Health & Wellness, Talk

4:00pm EDT

Meet the Funder: Edward Metz (SBIR/US DoE)

Join Ed Metz for a presentation and information about funding opportunities for learning game developers across government agencies and offices. Hear about and have a conversation about what is needed and what works for writing great proposals, and what it takes for a successful project to develop, evaluate, and commercialize a learning game. As well, learn about the Annual ED Games Expo, where developers can meet with representatives from across government who support learning games.

Speakers

Edward Metz

Program Manager for Small Business Innovation Research and SBIR and Education Technology Research Grants, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education

Edward (Ed) Metz is a developmental psychologist, education researcher, and program director. Since 2004, Ed has worked as a research scientist at the US Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences, where he directs programs that seed fund the R&D and evaluation of... Read More →

Tuesday July 14, 2020 4:00pm - 4:30pm EDT
Sessions

Special Sessions & Events, Meet the Funder

4:00pm EDT

Building for Inclusivity: How Games Have the Power to Transform People

Would you like to be a fly on the wall as we step inside the minds of a black founder, senior leader and master creator in the game industry? Join us and learn about how they have endured systemic blockers in their careers to rise above, be a voice and impact the future all while creating games.

Moderators

Trinidad Hermida

Diversity & Inclusion Program Manager, Niantic, Inc.

Speakers

Robert Williamson

Technical Program Manager, Niantic Labs

Trey is Technical Program manager at Niantic Labs with 10 years experience developing cutting-edge content across video games and AR/VR. While at Ubisoft, he helped launch Ubisoft's first VR titles, "Star Trek: Bridge Crew" and "Werewolves Within", before moving to Microsoft to develop... Read More →

Jessica Murrey

CEO/Co-founder, W!CKED SAiNTS Studios

Jess is an award-winning storyteller and Common Ground Activist. She spent seven years at Search for Common Ground, world’s largest dedicated peacebuilding organization. Utilizing the Nobel Peace Prize-nominated NGO’s experience, Jess has trained young activists in some of the... Read More →

Laura Teclemariam

Director of Product Management, Warner Bros. Entertainment

Laura Wright Teclemariam is the Director of Product Management at Warner Bros. Entertainment. She is a technically inclined Senior Product Manager, powered with hands-on experience in the product and development space. Previously, she worked for Electronic Arts, one of the world’s... Read More →

Tuesday July 14, 2020 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Mainstage

Civics & Social Issues, Panel

4:00pm EDT

Managing Burn-Out & Stress with Games & XR: Industry Trends

This roundtable delves into how the games and XR industries are approaching themes of stress management and burn-out -- whether in the context of building resilience or exploring these contemporary motifs through the lens of narrative and gameplay. What are the challenges and opportunities? How are games and XR making a positive impact in people’s lives? What cautionary tales must be taken into account as more interventions occur remotely in digital or spatial computing contexts?

Moderators

Margaret Wallace

Co-Founder & CEO, Playmatics

Speakers

Dr. Walter Greenleaf

Neuroscientist, Medical Virtual Reality Expert, Stanford University Virtual Human Interaction Lab

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

Naomi Mwasambili

CEO, Chanua

Naomi is the CEO of Chanua and has over 10 years experience designing, implementing and evaluating social change programmes. Her team at Chanua have developed a range of products and services embedding play, gamification and technology in areas of health, mental health and enterprise... Read More →

Matthew Seiji Burns

Writer, Zachtronics

Matthew Seiji Burns is a writer, composer, and game developer. Most recently he created Eliza, a visual novel about an AI-assisted therapy tool, the people who use it, and the people who develop it. At Zachtronics, he wrote for EXAPUNKS, Opus Magnum, SHENZHEN I/O, and others. With... Read More →

Tuesday July 14, 2020 4:00pm - 5:00pm EDT
Sessions

XR For Change, Round Table

4:30pm EDT

Korean Games Stage: Learning Session

The Korea Creative Content Agency(KOCCA) introduces STUDIO COIN, SOFTZEN, and GROWING SEEDS. The teaching methods have been diversified by adopting games. Teachers and students can access rich educational content enjoying game-based learning programs. Games that enable interactive communication are not used only for educational purposes but also for leisure activities. Discover famous literary works and historical stories in VR and story games. Come learn how special-education schools can provide job training in a new way.

Moderators

Susanna Pollack

President, Games for Change

Speakers

Myeongmi Ko

Communication Team Leader, StudioCoin corp.

Myeongmi Ko is in charge of public relations marketing at StudioCoin, which develops VR/AR education programs in Korea. ForumVR, developed by StudioCoin, is collaborative learning VR game where team members consisting of one experiencer and 5-10 participants join through conversation... Read More →

Yeon Pyo Kim

CEO, Softzen Cp.,Ltd.

Kim Yeon-Pyo is the head of the game development and the company's representative for Softzen Cp.,Ltd. He is honored to have the opportunity to introduce their game at the 2020 Games for Change Virtual Festival.

Hyo Taek Kim

CEO, Growing Seeds Corp.

Hyo Taek Kim worked for Nexon, a leading game company in Korea for 8 years with a wealth of knowledge and experience in the IT industry. He founded Growing Seeds in 2013 aiming for innovative game-based learning content. Growing Seeds developed MazM series which are storytelling games... Read More →

Tuesday July 14, 2020 4:30pm - 5:00pm EDT
Sessions

Games for Learning, Panel

4:45pm EDT

Keynote - Fireside Chat with Jenova Chen and Tracy Fullerton

Join Jenova Chen (Co-Founder and Creative Director, thatgamecompany) as he speaks to Tracy Fullerton (Director, USC Game Innovation Lab) on fourteen years of game development, and his studio’s approach to inspiring compassionate and social play in their latest award-winning release, 'Sky: Children of the Light'.

Moderators

Tracy Fullerton

Director, USC Game Innovation Lab

Tracy Fullerton is an experimental game designer, professor, author and 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 and Walden... Read More →

Speakers

Jenova Chen

Co-Founder/Creative Director, thatgamecompany

Jenova Chen is the visionary designer of the award-winning games Cloud, Flow, Flower, Journey and most recently Sky: Children of the Light. After earning a bachelor's degree for computer science in his hometown of Shanghai, Chen moved to Los Angeles, where he got a master's degree... Read More →

Tuesday July 14, 2020 4:45pm - 5:15pm EDT
Mainstage

Health & Wellness, Keynote

5:00pm EDT

Addressing Ethics in the Game Industry

Understanding our ethical responsibilities as content providers is critical, yet discussions and guidelines regarding ethics in games are still too rare. Celia Hodent (Game UX Consultant), Kate Edwards (CEO at Geogrify, a consultancy which pioneered content culturalization), Kat Lo (Visiting Researcher at the University of California, Irvine), and Carlos Figueiredo (Director of Community Trust & Safety at Two Hat, and Co-Founder of the Fair Play Alliance) propose to share their perspectives on game ethics.

Moderators

Celia Hodent

Independent Game UX Consultant

Celia Hodent is recognized as a leader in the application of user experience (UX) and cognitive science in the game industry. Celia holds a PhD in psychology and has over ten years of experience in the development of UX strategy in video game studios. Through her work at Ubisoft... Read More →

Speakers

Kate Edwards

Executive Director / CEO, Global Game Jam / Geogrify

Kate Edwards is a 27+ year veteran and an outspoken, multiple 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... Read More →

Carlos Figueiredo

Director, Community Trust & Safety (and Co-founder and Vice Chair for the Fair Play Alliance)., Two Hat (and Fair Play Alliance)

Carlos has been focused on online safety and content moderation since 2008. Previously at Disney Online Studios (Club Penguin alumnus, and a proud Penguin at that!), now Director of Community Trust & Safety at Two Hat, he also helped co-found the Fair Play Alliance in 2017. His key... Read More →

Kat Lo

Content Moderation Lead, Meedan

Kat Lo is a researcher and a consultant specializing in online harassment and content moderation. Using data science, UX, and (organizational and social media) ethnography, she examines and develops solutions for policy, design and enforcement challenges that social media companies... Read More →

Tuesday July 14, 2020 5:00pm - 6:00pm EDT
Sessions

Civics & Social Issues, Round Table

5:00pm EDT

VR for Change Alcove Challenge Presentations

G4C and AARP Innovation Lab teamed up to create the VR for Change Alcove Challenge, aiming to inspire developers to create immersive VR experiences that promote healthy living and intergenerational connection. The top projects will be published on the Alcove VR platform, enabling people of various ages and ethnicities to experience simple, beautiful and impactful virtual reality. Hear from the creator of Alcove VR and learn about the powerful experiences from Challenge finalists.

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

Cezara Windrem

Innovation Catalyst, Head of VR, AARP Innovation Labs

Cezara is an emerging technologies leader, innovation and product executive employing immersive media and spatial computing to create valuable solutions to issues people face as they age. Creator of Alcove, the VR platform that brings together the intergenerational family connection... Read More →

Peter Pichya

Creative Technologist / XR Developer / Experiential Designer

Peter Locharernkul, a creative technologist, has been developing interactives for a variety of audience, ranging from museum exhibits to trade shows to experiential marketing events. Embraces the complex discipline of testing and overcoming the limitations of hardware devices and... Read More →

Awu Chen

Chief Experience Officer, Ama Inc.

Awu Chen leads an award winning team of cross disciplinary storytellers to tell personal stories using immersive media. Our goal is to tell stories that bring people together even when we are apart.

Sharon Lin

Student, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Sharon Lin is a third-year student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She worked on an XR experience through Oculus NextGen and Hacking VR, resulting in a team presentation at the Oculus Symposium in Menlo Park, CA. She has worked at the Open Documentary Lab, MIT Media... Read More →

David Lobser

Creative Technologist, Object Normal

David Lobser is a Brooklyn based Creative Technologist with a focus on XR. His multi-user VR projects include Flock, which premiered at the Future of Storytelling Festival. Cosmic Sugar is a VR app which allows users to create particle system driven light shows and art in VR. His... Read More →

Michael Owen

MediaCombo, Co-Founder

Michael Owen is a co-founder of MediaCombo, a digital media studio. With his partner Robin White Owen he has developed AR and VR experiences for The Morgan Library & Museum, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and the Pollock-Krasner House & Study Center. In 2016 he went to Lake... Read More →

Tuesday July 14, 2020 5:00pm - 6:00pm EDT
Sessions

XR For Change, Round Table

5:15pm EDT

Worldgames: Transferring In-game Benefits to Real Life

Several studies show that games have implicit skill transfers to life like strategy, hand-eye coordination, resource management etc. However, a new generation of games will have explicit real world benefits in AAA quality experiences where the benefits that accrue to the avatar actually accrue to you. In this session, hear about examples where game developers are blurring the line between digital and physical, and directly transferring in game benefits to life. Cultivating this transfer is important as it will reduce bias against games, improve players lives in the Real, and expand the game audience overall.

Moderators

Nichol Bradford

Executive Director & Co-Founder, Transformative Tech Lab & Global Ecosystem

Nichol Bradford is fascinated by human possibility and how technology can help individuals expand their mental and emotional capacity. She spent the last decade exploring these ideas in the online game industry, serving as a senior executive with responsibility for strategy, operations... Read More →

Speakers

Brie Code

Founder and CEO, TRU LUV

Brie Code is the founder and CEO of TRU LUV, a Toronto-based company changing our relationship with technology. TRU LUV makes AI companions for refuge, resilience and transformation. These are not personal assistants, nor apps nor games, but a new category of human-computer interaction... Read More →

Chethan Ramachandran

Co-founder and CEO, Skillprint

Chethan Ramachandran is the co-founder and CEO of Skillprint. Skillprint uses games to help people find their inner superpowers and connect to real world opportunities. Prior to Skillprint, Chethan was the founder and CEO of Playnomics, a predictive analytics and marketing platform... Read More →

Tuesday July 14, 2020 5:15pm - 6:00pm EDT
Mainstage

Health & Wellness, Panel

6:00pm EDT

Well-Played: Sims 4 Co-play with a Kindergartner (RERUN)

Speakers

Sabrina Culyba

Designer

Tuesday July 14, 2020 6:00pm - 6:30pm EDT
Mainstage

Games for Learning, Round Table

6:00pm EDT

Speed Networking - Day 1

At the Games for Change Virtual Festival, attendees can meet someone new at any time via the Hopin "Networking" feature. We encourage you to join now and make a new connection at the Festival!

Tuesday July 14, 2020 6:00pm - 7:00pm EDT
Networking

Special Sessions & Events, Networking

6:30pm EDT

SEL, Neurodiversity, Self Advocacy...and Space Pirates

It's well known that the autism community has a special connection to games. They give us a place to experience interactions without fear of judgement or rejection. The Social Cipher team ran with that idea, and took it even further. Join Social Cipher Co-Founder and CEO Vanessa Castañeda Gill as she discusses her team's challenges, breakthroughs, and stories of building representative, story-driven educational games for autistic youth–and building her venture as an autistic person herself.

Speakers

Vanessa Gill

CEO and Co-Founder, Social Cipher

It's Vanessa Castañeda Gill's mission to unite her passions for art and stories in innovative ways that help people. Learning from her experiences growing up on the autism spectrum, she founded Social Cipher: a video game company that gives neurodivergent youth an empowering, accessible... Read More →

Tuesday July 14, 2020 6:30pm - 6:50pm EDT
Mainstage

Health & Wellness, Talk

6:50pm EDT

Exploring Digital Rights: Data Sovereignty in XR

Virtual and augmented reality applications provide new paradigms for interactions, expression, creation, and exploration. With the personal and immersive computing capabilities present in XR technologies, devices and applications are increasingly able to utilize and collect information about users. In this session, Liv will build on her experience bridging policy and product development to explore the considerations for data rights and digital sovereignty as they related to XR application development.

Speakers

Liv Erickson

Staff Product Manager, Mozilla

Olivia (Liv) Erickson is an open source engineer and Staff Product Manager in Mozilla’s Emerging Technology group working on Mozilla Hubs. She has spent her career developing virtual and augmented reality software applications with a focus on exploring shared 3D environments. Previously... Read More →

Tuesday July 14, 2020 6:50pm - 7:10pm EDT
Mainstage

XR For Change, Talk

7:10pm EDT

Keynote with Brennan Spiegel

Speakers

Dr. Brennan Spiegel

Director of Health Services, Cedars-Sinai Health System

Brennan Spiegel, MD, MSHS, is Director of Health Services Research for Cedars-Sinai Health System, Professor of Medicine and Public Health at UCLA, and author of “VRx: How Immersive Therapeutics Will Transform Medicine”. He directs the Cedars-Sinai Center for Outcomes Research... Read More →

Tuesday July 14, 2020 7:10pm - 7:30pm EDT
Mainstage

XR For Change, Keynote

7:30pm EDT

G4C Awards Ceremony

Each year we recognize the most impactful, innovative, and engaging social impact games of the year at our Games for Change Awards ceremony. This year we are excited to present the following awards: Best Gameplay, Most Innovative, Most Significant Impact, Best Learning Game, Best Student Game, Best XR Experience, Vanguard Award, Industry Leadership Award, Giving Award, and the Facebook People's Choice Award.

Speakers

Keisha Howard

Founder, SugarGamers

Infectiously passionate about the worlds of video games and geek culture, Keisha Howard is a leader who has created a compelling and engaging vision and inspires others around it. A two time TEDx Speaker, Keisha is able foresee what lies beyond the horizon for the video game and esports... Read More →

Susanna Pollack

President, Games for Change

Tuesday July 14, 2020 7:30pm - 8:15pm EDT
Mainstage

Special Sessions & Events

8:30am EDT

Growing Games for Change Globally

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

Moderators

Susanna Pollack

President, Games for Change

Speakers

Dale Linegar

Director, Games for Change Asia-Pacific

Dale Linegar is the Director of the newly formed Games for Change Asia-Pacific chapter, which will be launching in 2021. Dale Linegar is the founder of Oztron, which was acquired by leading Australian e-learning providers Obvious Choice, who Dale now works for as a Solution Architect... Read More →

Jean-Michel Blottière

Co-President, G4C Europe

Jean-Michel created Tilt, the very first magazine devoted to Videogames in Europe in 1982, and Pixifoly, the first TV show devoted to Multimédia Contents in 1983 for TF1. He started developing the European chapter of Games for Change in 2010 with his colleague and dear friends Katharina... Read More →

Gilson Schwartz

President, Games for Change Latin America

President, Games for Change Latin America, since 2010 and Associate Professor, Department of Film, Radio and TV, School of Communication and Arts, City of Knowledge Research Group, University of São Paulo. Economist, sociologist and journalist, author of "Play, Then Learn" (Portuguese... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 8:30am - 9:30am EDT
Sessions

Special Sessions & Events, Round Table

9:55am EDT

Opening Remarks - Day 2

Speakers

Susanna Pollack

President, Games for Change

Wednesday July 15, 2020 9:55am - 10:00am EDT
Mainstage

Special Sessions & Events

10:00am EDT

Transforming Zombies, Run! for the Lockdown

During the global lockdown, Zombies, Run! has attracted over a million new players and more than doubled its usage. The lockdown has also posed serious challenges for our normal practice of studio recording and storytelling. We'll discuss how we rapidly created a brand new game mode, "The Home Front", that's written with our player's physical and mental health in mind, and our plans for the future.

Speakers

Adrian Hon

CEO, Six to Start

Adrian Hon is co-founder and CEO at Six to Start, creators of gamelike stories and story-like games including the world's bestselling smartphone fitness game, "Zombies, Run!" with four million players. Six to Start's clients have included Disney, the BBC, and Penguin, and the company... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 10:00am - 10:20am EDT
Mainstage

Health & Wellness, Talk

10:00am EDT

Meet the G4C Chapter: Europe

Jean-Michel Blottière and Katharina Tillmanns, co-presidents of Games for Change Europe, will present Games for Change European Chapter and will take the audience through a 10 years journey, bearing the G4C Flag from France to Germany, from the UK to Denmark, and more. They will share hopes, successes and failures, and hopefully give a couple of clues for those who are interested in knowing more about Games for Change activities in Europe.

Speakers

Jean-Michel Blottière

Co-President, G4C Europe

Katharina Tillmanns

Research and Development / G4CE Co-Founder, Games for Change Europe

Katharina Tillmanns is a researcher, designer and lecturer for interactive media at the Cologne Game Lab, an Institute for Game Development and Research at TH Koeln. In her studies and work, she explores and promotes the expressive qualities of games as a means of art and activism... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 10:00am - 10:30am EDT
Sessions

Special Sessions & Events

10:00am EDT

G4C Virtual Marketplace: Day 2

Wednesday July 15, 2020 10:00am - 8:00pm EDT
Expo

Special Sessions & Events, Expo

10:20am EDT

PlayTest: Evaluating VR in 5 Simple Steps

Properly evaluating VR experiences requires lots of trial and error, in particular when working in a fast environment where a lot of the product decisions need to be tested. In this talk, we'll present our framework to define metrics, select the right participants, and provide the information the team needs to move forward with confidence.

Speakers

Dali Szostak

User Experience Researcher, Jigsaw

As a UX expert, Dali enjoys uncovering how to design and research experiences for complex systems such as airplanes, autonomous vehicles and VR. Currently, Dali leads a team of researchers at Google Jigsaw (jigsaw.google.com) shaping the positive impact that technology can have... Read More →

Ayush Bhargava

XR UX Researcher, Key Lime Interactive

Ayush is an eXtended Reality User Experience Researcher with Key Lime Interactive. He graduated from Clemson University with a PhD in Computer Science focusing on the effects on body scaled self-avatars on perception of affordances and object interaction in Virtual Reality. His research... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 10:20am - 10:40am EDT
Mainstage

Health & Wellness, Talk

10:40am EDT

Gamifying Social Distancing

When the pandemic hit, we had three products in development in the pediatric health space. One was an NIH/NIGMS SBIR Phase II educational game about to go into IRB testing, while another was an installation in a children's museum and another was a daily engagement platform fostering the pediatric patient support triad of child + parent/caregiver + clinician. These projects all came to a screeching halt. So, now what? We decided to gamify social distancing.

Speakers

Jesse Lindsley

CEO, Thrust Interactive

Jesse Lindsley is the Founder & CEO of Thrust Interactive, an Atlanta-based game development studio. The award-winning team at Thrust has been creating games and interactive experiences together for 10 years with over 100 product launches. The Thrust team of behavioral designers... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 10:40am - 11:00am EDT
Mainstage

Health & Wellness, Talk

11:00am EDT

Games to Train the Healthcare Force

This session will discuss the range of innovative and impactful strategies to train members of the healthcare force to be more empathic and effective in providing care to a diverse population of patients. Speakers will present their work and the rigor of the science behind it.

Moderators

Lynn Fiellin

Founding Director, play2PREVENT Lab at the Yale Center for Health & Learning Games

Dr. Fiellin is a Yale faculty member and founded and directs the NIH-funded play2PREVENT Lab at the Yale Center for Health & Learning Games. She focuses on the development/evaluation of videogame interventions targeting a range of outcomes including HIV prevention, promotion of HIV/STI... Read More →

Speakers

Ron Goldman

Co-Founder & Chief Simulation Strategist, Kognito

Ron Goldman is an EdTech and digital health entrepreneur, CEO, board member, and investor. Ron is the Co-Founder and Chief Simulation Strategist of Kognito, a virtual human health simulation company recently acquired by Blackstone Private Equity & Ascend Learning. Over the past 15... Read More →

Deepika Mohan

Associate Professor of Critical Care Medicine and Surgery, University of Pittsburgh

Dr. Mohan is a trauma surgeon and intensivist at the University of Pittsburgh. She studies how doctors think. Specifically, she is interested in the role that heuristics (intuitive judgments) play in decision making. In NIH-funded work, she has experimented with using customized video... Read More →

Jesse Schell

CEO, Schell Games

Carrie Shaw

CEO, Embodied Labs

Carrie Shaw - a public health educator, medical illustrator and former family caregiver for her mom, who died from Early Onset Alzheimer's disease - works at the intersection of health education and virtual reality storytelling. She is the CEO and founder of Embodied Labs, an immersive... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
Mainstage

Health & Wellness, Panel

11:00am EDT

DTOX - Tackling Toxicity with Play

DTOX is an interactive experience exploring toxicity in online gaming. Specifically, we will look at ideas about current and potential moderation practices as well as dispel popular misconceptions about disruptive behavior online. Attendees will play the part of moderators in fictional gaming communities, using their phones as an interface to address issues in the space and dole out punishment as they see fit. After playing through the experience, there will be time for discussion.

Moderators

Parker Ramsey

Programmer / Producer, Entertainment Technology Center

I am a Game Programmer recently graduated from Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center. I enjoy making fun games with fun people.

Speakers

Stefani Taskas

Programmer, Carnegie Mellon University

Stefani is a student at Carnegie Mellon University working towards a Master of Entertainment Technology. Their interests are focused on gameplay programming, virtual reality, game design, and serious games.

Chi Zhang

Game Designer / Programmer, Carnegie Mellon University

Chi is currently studying at Entertainment Technology Center, Carnegie Mellon University. As a game designer with a background in interactive media arts and computer science. She has specific interests in creative gameplay and transformational game design.

Xiaoyu Cui

Student, Carnegie Mellon University

Jamie Cui is a first-year graduate student studying Entertainment Technology at the Entertainment Technology Center, Carnegie Mellon University, with a Bachelor's degree in Digital Media Technology from Zhejiang University, China. With a background interdisciplinary between technology... Read More →

Derrick Pemberton

Game Producer and Designer, Carnegie Mellon University

Derrick Pemberton Jr is a game designer and producer born and raised in Centerville, Ohio. Now residing in Pittsburgh, PA, he is a new graduate from the renowned Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University. Derrick is passionate about exploring the transformative... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 11:00am - 12:00pm EDT
Sessions

Games for Learning, Round Table

11:50am EDT

You Are Here: Using Game Design to Empower Underserved Youth

Imagine never seeing anyone like you in the curriculum you’re taught or games you play. From inner-city to rural communities, this is a reality for too many youth. Game design can be a powerful tool in engaging underserved students in shaping their narrative. Using real-world examples - from Caribbean islands to Native American reservations - this session explores how game design can help students find new approaches to how their stories are told and amplified.

Speakers

Maria Burns Ortiz

CEO and Co-Founder, 7 Generation Games

Maria Burns Ortiz is co-founder and CEO of 7 Generation Games, which makes immersive educational video games and interactive apps aimed at closing the math gap in underserved communities. Taking 7 Generation Games from concept to award-winning company, she oversees all creative aspects... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 11:50am - 12:10pm EDT
Mainstage

Games for Learning, Talk

12:10pm EDT

Upskilling and Reskilling in the Fashion Supply Chain

Ms. Krasley will discuss the work she and her team do to ensure that female garment factory workers are trained to stay relevant as automation lessens opportunities for jobs over time. Ms. Krasley will share findings from Shimmy's pilots in Bangladesh, Indonesia, and New York City and will provide insights from her team's process to create an interface that's fun, affirming, simple, and designed for workers who have never used computers or smart phones before.

Speakers

Sarah Krasley

CEO, Shimmy

Sarah Krasley is a social impact entrepreneur focused on a fair future of work for fashion supply chain workers. As CEO of Shimmy, Ms. Krasley leads the company in its efforts to upskill and reskill the 75 million workers in the supply chain who are in danger of losing their jobs... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 12:10pm - 12:30pm EDT
Mainstage

Games for Learning, Talk

12:15pm EDT

Nurturing Talent in the Mediterranean: Learn It All

The panelists will discuss and share their insights of how to build a talent pipeline and enhance the ecosystem underpinned by education in the interactive gaming sector.

Moderators

Ivan Filletti

Chief Operations Officer, GamingMalta Foundation

Speakers

Jonas Eneroth

CEO, Karmafy

Jonas is co-founder of Karmafy, the platform company for encouraging positive change and impact in mobile games and beyond. Karmafy helps developers and players support good causes in a live and interactive way. With a background spanning Eidos, Bungie and Io Interactive, his work... Read More →

Jasper Schellekens

Research Support Officer, Institute of Digital Games - University of Malta

Jasper is one of the organisers of the Malta Global Game Jam. He has been part of the organising committee since 2016 and is a veteran jammer having completed a number of Game Jam Games including a couple of digital games like How was you day? and a few board games like Babelship... Read More →

Stefano Gualeni

Associate Professor, Institute of Digital Games - University of Malta

Stefano Gualeni (Ph.D.) is a philosopher who designs digital games and a game designer who is passionate about philosophy. Among his best-known playable works are the digital games ‘Tony Tough and the Night of Roasted Moths’ (1997), ‘The Horrendous Parade’ (2012), and ‘Something... Read More →

Georgios Yannakakis

Director and Professor, Institute of Digital Games, University of Malta

I am a Professor and Director of the Institute of Digital Games, University of Malta (UM) and the co-founder of modl.ai. I do research at the crossroads of artificial intelligence, computational creativity, affective computing, advanced game technology, and human-computer interaction. I have published over 260 journal and conference papers in the aforementioned fields. My research has been supported by nume... Read More →

Giuseppe Crugliano

CEO & Creative Director, PlayMagic Ltd

His expertise is in both Original IP product development and Third Party Licenses from companies such Dargaurd, Cartoon Network, Studio Canal, Universal, AD2000, Pinewood Studios. He is the CEO and the Creative Lead of PlayMagic an independent studio based in Malta that develop games... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 12:15pm - 1:15pm EDT
Sessions

Special Sessions & Events, Round Table

12:30pm EDT

What Teens Tell Us About the Role of Games During COVID-19

Tech-savvy kids and teens are showing incredible resilience during social distancing as they lean on online play and friends for human connection and mental well-being. Roblox’s recent survey of teens found that they continue spending quality time with existing friends via games and chat apps, making new ones and enjoying improved relationships. In this fireside chat, industry luminary Katie Salen Tekinbaş and Roblox’s Digital Civility leader Laura Higgins discuss the new data on play during COVID-19.

Moderators

Katie Salen Tekinbaş

Professor, Department of Informatics, University of California, Irvine

Speakers

Laura Higgins

Director of Community Safety and Digital Civility, Roblox

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 15, 2020 12:30pm - 1:00pm EDT
Mainstage

Games for Learning, Talk

1:00pm EDT

Keynote - Learning Through Digital Play

At LEGO Ventures we are investing in the future of Digital Play, and looking for new expressions of the LEGO Idea in the digital space, but away from the brick. We will explain our investment thesis and dive into how we see the idea of “Learning through Play” evolving digitally in the coming months and years.

Speakers

Rob Lowe

Head of Value Creation, LEGO Ventures

Prior to joining LEGO Ventures Rob worked at the LEGO Group as Senior Director in Digital Consumer Engagement, responsible for developing and growing LEGO Group's connected digital ecosystems, in particular launching LEGO Life. Previously, Rob worked in marketing at Nintendo of Europe... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 1:00pm - 1:20pm EDT
Mainstage

Games for Learning, Keynote

1:00pm EDT

Meet the Funder: John Spinale (Jazz Ventures)

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 Ventures

John's a co-founder and General Partner of JAZZ Venture Partners, an early stage venture capital firm focused on Human Performance Technology. With a career of over 20 years in the consumer media and entertainment technology space, he’s built and led companies whose products have... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 1:00pm - 1:30pm EDT
Sessions

Special Sessions & Events, Meet the Funder

1:00pm EDT

Speed Networking - Day 2

At the Games for Change Virtual Festival, attendees can meet someone new at any time via the Hopin "Networking" feature. We encourage you to join now and make a new connection at the Festival!

Wednesday July 15, 2020 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT
Networking

Special Sessions & Events, Networking

1:20pm EDT

New Game! You’re President. Can You Prevent Nuclear War?

Accidents happen. They shouldn’t lead to nuclear war. Join former U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest J. Moniz for the exclusive launch of Hair Trigger, a new mobile game from the Nuclear Threat Initiative, developed with Simcoach Games. The game pits the player—the U.S. president—against time, luck, and real-life nuclear incidents.

Moniz will be joined by Jess Trybus, Founder and Chief Games Officer at Simcoach Games, the team that developed the game with NTI.

Speakers

Carmen MacDougall

Vice President, Communications, Nuclear Threat Initiative

Carmen MacDougall is vice president, communications at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to strengthen global security by reducing the risk of use and preventing the spread of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. She is an award-winning... Read More →

Ernest Moniz

Co-chair and CEO, Nuclear Threat Initiative

Ernest J. Moniz served as U.S. Secretary of Energy from 2013 – 2017. As a nuclear physicist and academic, he advances innovation in energy technology, nuclear security, and the American scientific research community. In his current role as CEO of the Nuclear Threat Initiative... Read More →

Jess Trybus

Founder and Chief Games Officer, Simcoach Games

Jessica Trybus is Founder and Chief Games Officer at Simcoach Games. Simcoach Games has been the leader in delivering video games to inspire, educate and change behavior since 2005. Jessica also serves as “Firestarter of Moonshots” at X, The Moonshot Factory (formerly Google[x... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 1:20pm - 1:30pm EDT
Mainstage

Special Sessions & Events, G4C Announcements

1:30pm EDT

Keynote - At the Table: Finding Community at Games for Change

The Games for Change Virtual Festival has opened its doors to people globally by having a free, virtual event this year. Join G4C Vanguard Award recipient Gordon Bellamy as he talks about what it means to sit at the table, as well as the actions we can take to break the barriers of entry in a community.

Speakers

Gordon Bellamy

CEO, Gay Gaming Professionals

Gordon teaches at USC Games, serves as head of the USC Bridge incubator and USC esports faculty advisor. He has played key business and product leadership roles at Tencent, Electronic Arts, as a designer on Madden NFL Football, and MTV.Gordon serves as the Executive Director / CEO... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 1:30pm - 1:50pm EDT
Mainstage

Civics & Social Issues, Keynote

1:30pm EDT

Well-Played: Animal Crossing or How We Have Faith in Systems

Animal Crossing is possibly the game success story of the pandemic, providing a deep compelling experience for our socially distanced society. But why this game? What in the design elements is making it so comfortable? What in the design should make us critical of that comfort? In this talk, Nick Fortugno uses Animal Crossing to take a hard theoretic look at the concepts of faith in systems and procedural rhetoric from a very ambivalent perspective.

Speakers

Nick Fortugno

Chief Creative Officer, Playmatics

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 →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 1:30pm - 2:00pm EDT
Sessions

Games for Learning, Round Table

1:50pm EDT

Keynote - Anti-Racism + XR

This session will explore the meaning and practice of anti-racism, the intersection of anti-racism and XR and the role of technology in promoting equity and justice. 1000 Cut Journey an immersive VR experience focused on racism and other work in development in collaboration with the Virtual Human Interaction Lab will be used as case studies.

Speakers

Courtney Cogburn

Associate Professor, Columbia University

Dr. Courtney D. Cogburn is an associate professor at the Columbia University School of Social Work and faculty of the Columbia Population Research Center. She employs a transdisciplinary research strategy to improve the characterization and measurement of racism and in examining the... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 1:50pm - 2:10pm EDT
Mainstage

XR For Change, Keynote

2:00pm EDT

Meet the Funder: Adaora Udoji (RLab Accelerator)

RLab supports new ventures in VR, AR and spatial computing by connecting early-stage companies and entrepreneurs to resources, funding, mentors and a community of support. The RLab Accelerator, supported by Super Ventures, is a 12-week accelerator for early-stage startups around the world who would benefit from access to NYC’s spatial computing ecosystem.

Speakers

Adaora Udoji

Director of Corporate Innovation & Entrepreneurship, RLab

Adaora Udoji is a media innovator and award-winning storyteller with expertise in emerging technology. She currently leads corporate innovation and venture programs at RLab, New York City's groundbreaking economic and workforce development initiative focused on virtual reality, augmented... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 2:00pm - 2:30pm EDT
Sessions

Special Sessions & Events, Meet the Funder

2:10pm EDT

Designing One-Button Games for Accessibility

Members of the Numinous Design team will share the challenges and opportunities in designing accessibility first games. They will share design insight from their, still in design, one-button game for kids, as well as the challenges that lay ahead as they seek to engage the community in collaboration in the design process.

Speakers

Ryan Green

Creative Director / Head of Narrative, Numinous Games

Ryan Green is a digital interactive artist, programmer, and video game designer currently focused on VR, serious, and accessible games. With over 20 years experience in the games and healthcare industries, Ryan serves as Head of Narrative for Numinous Games, a studio he co-founded... Read More →

Mike Perrotto

Development Manager/Producer, Numinous Games

Mike is a software developer & producer with over 20 years combined experience in healthcare and videogames. Mike is an aspiring voice actor and content creator on Twitch. He has built and managed teams of over 30 developers, QA analysts and configuration managers. His heart is... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 2:10pm - 2:30pm EDT
Mainstage

Health & Wellness, Talk

2:30pm EDT

Meet the Funder: Lakita Edwards (NEA)

The Arts Education division of the National Endowment for the Arts supports arts instruction and professional development projects using electronic media and technology as an artistic medium to increase arts education access for Pre-K-12. This session provides information and insights in crafting a compelling application for arts education projects, including an overview of NEA guidelines, application resources, and descriptions of relevant funded projects. The session incorporates a Q & A component after a brief presentation.

Speakers

Lakita Edwards

Arts Education Program Specialist, National Endowment for the Arts

Lakita Edwards serves as a specialist with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), an independent federal agency supporting artists and arts organizations and bringing the arts to all Americans. As a specialist she manages the grants portfolio for both visual arts and media arts... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 2:30pm - 3:00pm EDT
Sessions

Special Sessions & Events, Meet the Funder

2:30pm EDT

IGDA Mentor Café - Day 2

Speakers

Renee Gittins

Executive Director, IGDA

Tristin Hightower

Director of Chapter and Special Interest Group Operations, IGDA

Wednesday July 15, 2020 2:30pm - 4:00pm EDT
Sessions

Special Sessions & Events, Workshop

2:45pm EDT

Games for (Remote) Learning: Challenges and Opportunities

When more than 100,000 U.S. schools closed, games for learning providers rose to the challenge. They made their products available for free, developed new user flows and features and provided an unprecedented level of support. Hear a variety of content producers reflect on the challenges and opportunities of games for remote learning, and join a discussion about plans for the future.

Moderators

Michelle Miller

Co-Founder and CEO, Games and Learning

Michelle Miller is the Co-Founder and CEO of Games and Learning, where she develops solutions to help parents and teachers find, buy and adopt high quality digital content for children. Michelle led a portfolio of game-based learning projects as Managing Director of the Joan Ganz... Read More →

Speakers

Clarence Tan

Co-Founder & CEO, Boddle Learning

Clarence Tan is the Co-Founder and CEO of Boddle Learning— an education gamification platform for practice and assessments from AT&T's Aspire Accelerator. He is a veteran in the games industry with over 9 years of game design experience and has led the development of interactive... Read More →

Christina Oliver

Executive Director, Classroom, Inc.

Christina is dedicated to bringing literacy and leadership skills to middle school youth across the United States through Read to Lead learning games. Prior to Classroom, Inc., Christina lead efforts at The Urban Assembly and ReadWorks.org, developing programs and curriculum to deliver... Read More →

Grant Hosford

CEO & Co-founder, codeSpark

Grant Hosford is the CEO and co-founder of codeSpark, the venture backed edtech company behind codeSpark Academy, the world’s #1 coding platform for young kids. Using a proprietary “no words” interface, codeSpark has introduced more than 30 million kids ages 4 to 10 to coding... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 2:45pm - 3:45pm EDT
Sessions

Games for Learning, Round Table

3:15pm EDT

Access for the Future of XR

In this Panel, we will be discussing the topic of access for the future of XR. The panel will be speaking to what access means to us individually in our respective fields, and as a group for the future of XR. Our talking points will center around different marginalized groups including topics of race, age, gender, location, and ability and how the industry needs to be providing access to immersive content for these groups.

Moderators

Regine Gilbert

Industry Associate Professor, New York University

Regine Gilbert is a user experience designer, educator, and international public speaker with over 10 years of experience working in the technology arena. She has a strong belief in making the world a more accessible place—one that starts and ends with the user.  In 2019, Regine’s... Read More →

Speakers

Kai Frazier

Founder & CEO, Kai XR

Kai Frazier is an educator turned EdTech entrepreneur passionate about using tech to provide inclusive and accessible opportunities for underestimated communities. She is the founder & CEO of Kai XR, the most inclusive and accessible, educational VR platform where kids can explore... Read More →

Erin Hawley

Digital Content Producer, The Geeky Gimp

Erin Hawley is a digital content producer and consultant 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 in not an afterthought. Erin is also a part of... Read More →

Katherine Mahon

Founder and CEO, HomeAgain VR Foundation

After working in the 3D development and immersive tech space for over four years, Katherine founded HomeAgain VR, a nonprofit that uses immersive tech to make social enrichment and adventure accessible to everyone, regardless of age, income, or physical ability. As a hospice volunteer... Read More →

Angelina Dayton

The VR Lady

Dr. Angelina Dayton is the founder of the Students in VR Conference and a virtual reality user experience designer, speaker, consultant and trainer. Her specialty is the design and deployment of virtual reality user experiences into complex organizations such as public schools. Her... Read More →

Keisha Howard

Founder, SugarGamers

Wednesday July 15, 2020 3:15pm - 4:00pm EDT
Mainstage

XR For Change, Panel

4:00pm EDT

Meet the Funder: Marc Ruppel (NEH)

Exploring the intersection of digital design and the humanities, this session will explore the ways--both large and small-- that fields such as history, literature, and civics offer a unique lens into the process and outcomes of designing for games and learning. Included in this session is an overview of NEH support for games and digital projects, strategies for applying, and examples of successful awardees.

Speakers

Marc Ruppel

Senior Program Officer and Lead, Digital Projects for the Public, National Endowment for the Humanities

Dr. Marc Ruppel is a Senior Program Officer and program lead for the Digital Projects for the Public grant line at the National Endowment for the Humanities, Division of Public Programs. His work supports games, virtual reality, mobile apps, on-site experiences and curated websites... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 4:00pm - 4:30pm EDT
Sessions

Special Sessions & Events, Meet the Funder

4:00pm EDT

Keynote - Fireside Chat with Chris Milk and Jesse Damiani

Moderators

Jesse Damiani

Deputy Director of Emerging Technology, Southern New Hampshire University

Jesse Damiani is Deputy Director of Emerging Technology at Southern New Hampshire University, Director of Simulation Literacies at Nxt Museum, and covers emerging technologies on Forbes. He's also Editor-at-Large of VRScout, with other bylines in Adweek, Billboard, Quartz, The Verge... Read More →

Speakers

Chris Milk

CEO and Co-founder, Within

Chris Milk is an American entrepreneur, director, and immersive artist known for producing challenging and unique works of art by employing technological innovations in his creative process. He is co-founder and CEO of Within, a company using immersive technologies to build products... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 4:00pm - 4:30pm EDT
Mainstage

XR For Change, Keynote

4:00pm EDT

Resilient Cities, Play and the Return to Public Space

All cities invest in play - from playgrounds to sports stadiums. When the pandemic fades, how should play return to public space? Can we play more deliberately to build community ties? Can play protect culture, and resist displacement? Even before the pandemic, digital media was changing how millions of people experience place, from Pokémon GO to flashmobs and AR storytelling. This roundtable will look for answers from experts in game design, community placemaking and play.

Moderators

Benjamin Stokes

Assistant Professor, American University Game Lab

Benjamin Stokes' new book is "Locally Played: Real-World Games for Stronger Places." He teaches in the Game Lab at American University in Washington, DC. He is a co-founder of Games for Change. Previously, Benjamin worked at the MacArthur Foundation in their portfolio on Digital... Read More →

Speakers

Nidhi Gulati

Senior Director of Programs and Projects, Project for Public Spaces

Nidhi Gulati is a Senior Director at Project for Public Spaces. She oversees the development and execution of multiple program areas, each with their own set of projects, and manages a team of placemakers. Nidhi’s professional interests lie at the intersection of city design, gender... Read More →

Yennie Solheim

Head of Social Impact, Niantic, Inc.

Yennie Solheim leads the social impact work at Niantic, finding ways to create real world impact through the technology Niantic creates. Notable projects include an annual Earth Day campaign, hundreds of hyper local community events around the world, and partnerships with organizations... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 4:00pm - 5:00pm EDT
Sessions

Civics & Social Issues, Round Table

4:30pm EDT

Keynote - Building the Volumetric Future

Nonny de la Peña is the CEO & Founder of the award-winning innovation company Emblematic Group. She is a pioneer of virtual, augmented, and mixed reality and is widely credited with inventing the genre of immersive journalism. She’ll discuss her journey from working as a Newsweek journalist, premiering the first ever VR piece at Sundance, to now being at the forefront of the industry providing an easy XR creation and sharing platform called REACH.Love.

Speakers

Nonny de la Peña

CEO & Founder, Emblematic Group

Nonny de la Peña, founder and CEO of Emblematic Group, is regarded as one of the most influential pioneers in virtual and augmented reality. Recently awarded the WSJ Tech Innovator of the Year title, she is also one of CNET's 20 Most Influential Latinos in Technology, Wired Magazine's... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 4:30pm - 4:50pm EDT
Mainstage

XR For Change, Keynote

4:30pm EDT

COVID-19 and Games in Higher Education

The rise of COVID-19 has created both challenges and opportunities for game makers: on the one hand, industry is booming and games are being touted as vital for social cohesion and mental health; on the other hand, educating the next generation of game designers is increasingly difficult as students need to social distance. This panel brings together a variety of game designers/educators to discuss the repercussions of today’s unique situation.

Moderators

Maxwell Foxman

Assistant Professor of Media Studies and Game Studies, Higher Education Video Game Association/University of Oregon

Speakers

Tracy Fullerton

Director, USC Game Innovation Lab

Andy Phelps

Professor, University of Canterbury and American University

Prof. at University of Canterbury (NZ) & American University (Washington, DC, USA), Director of AU Game Lab. President. of HEVGA. Founder of School of Interactive Games & Media, the Center for Media, Arts, Games, Interaction and Creativity (MAGIC), and MAGIC Spell Studios at the... Read More →

Kelli Dunlap

Adjunct Professor, Clinical Psychologist, American University

Kelli Dunlap is a clinical psychologist and game designer. She is a full-time therapist practicing in Maryland and an adjunct professor of game design at American University's Game Lab. She is the community manager for Take This, a games-focused mental health non-profit, and the chair... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 4:30pm - 5:30pm EDT
Sessions

Games for Learning, Round Table

4:50pm EDT

Fortnite Creative Workshops - A New Partnership with Games for Change

Tune in to learn about new opportunities on learning how to bring Fortnite Creative into the classroom.

Speakers

Susanna Pollack

President, Games for Change

Linda Sellheim

Education Lead, Epic Games

Linda Sellheim is the Education Lead for Epic Games she has a passion for teaching people how to create and collaborate at the intersection of physical and digital spaces. Linda is an educator at heart with a background in illustration and visual storytelling who has been working... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 4:50pm - 5:00pm EDT
Mainstage

Special Sessions & Events, G4C Announcements

5:00pm EDT

Keynote - Changing Narratives with Immersive Storytelling

To create The March for TIME, Co-Creators Mia Tramz and Alton Glass sought to re-examine how the Civil Rights Movement is taught and developed an immersive exhibit that gives visitors a first hand experience of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s iconic “I Have A Dream” speech

Speakers

Mia Tramz

Editorial Director of Enterprise and Immersive Experiences, TIME

Mia Tramz is Editorial Director of Enterprise and Immersive Experiences at TIME. In 2016, Tramz oversaw the launch of Time Inc’s company-wide immersive storytelling brand, LIFE VR, which included producing the Emmy-winning VR-docuseries Capturing Everest. In 2019, she oversaw the... Read More →

Alton Glass

CEO, GRX Immersive Labs

Alton Glass is a creative entrepreneur who leads a team of new media gurus tackling contemporary issues through immersive storytelling and prioritizing community capacity building so communities have access to new technology tools and training. Glass is the founder of GRX Immersive... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 5:00pm - 5:20pm EDT
Mainstage

XR For Change, Keynote

5:00pm EDT

Meet the Funder: Frankie Warren (LEGO Ventures)

Founded in 2018, LEGO Ventures is the venture capital arm of the LEGO Brand Group, focusing on the future of learning, creativity, and play. LEGO Ventures invests in entrepreneurs, ideas, and startups that are closely aligned with the core LEGO Idea of learning through play and developing systematic creativity.

Speakers

Frankie Warren

Investment Partner, Americas, LEGO Ventures

Frankie is on the US investment team based in San Francisco. His focus is investing in education entrepreneurs who are as serious about "learning through play" as the LEGO Group. He has been with the LEGO Group since 2018 and joined LEGO Ventures in 2019. Previously, Frankie worked... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 5:00pm - 5:30pm EDT
Sessions

Special Sessions & Events, Meet the Funder

5:00pm EDT

Building Bridges to Fight Hate in Games

According to a 2019 survey from ADL, 74% of American adults have experienced harassment in online games. At the same time, 88% reported positive social experiences in these same spaces. In order to ensure that online games become the respectful and inclusive space they can be, it will take an all of society response. Join a conversation with industry, academia and civil society on work that's being done to make that happen.

Moderators

Daniel Kelley

Associate Director, Center for Technology and Society, ADL

Daniel Kelley (he/him/his) is the Associate Director of ADL’s Center for Technology and Society (CTS). He leads the agency's work securing justice and fair treatment for all in online game environments, building bridges between the game industry, academia and civil society to make... Read More →

Speakers

Kat Schrier

Associate Professor/Director of Games, Marist College

Dr. Kat (Karen) Schrier is an Associate Professor/Director of Games at Marist College. She has written or edited over 100 scholarly publications and educational materials. She is the author of ”Knowledge Games,” (JHU Press, 2016). She is also the editor of "100 Games to Use in... Read More →

Kimberly Voll

Co-Founder, Stray Bombay

Kim holds a PhD in AI, a cognitive-science Honours degree, and today co-runs her own studio. Previously, a principal technical designer at Riot Games, she helped create the Player Dynamics design discipline, while working on League of Legends and Valorant. In 2017, she co-founded... Read More →

Gabriela Richard

Assistant Professor of Education, Pennsylvania State University, College of Education

Gabriela T. Richard is an Assistant Professor of Learning, Design and Technology at Penn State University and an ADL Center for Technology and Society Belfer fellow (2019-20). She researches how youth and adults engage in learning, socialization, collaboration, and identity formation... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 5:00pm - 6:00pm EDT
Sessions

Civics & Social Issues, Round Table

5:30pm EDT

Rabbids Coding, Learn Programming With the Rabbids!

Presentation of Rabbids Coding, a free game to introduce notions of programming with the Rabbids.
Eject the Rabbids from the space station, sending them through washing machines!
Discover how and why the game has been conceived.

Moderators

Anthony Kozak

Senior Generalist Developer, Ubisoft Montréal

Programming Teacher, and Game Developer at Ubisoft, Anthony has been involved in educational and social projects for several years now. He has been creating online platforms to finance educational projects and to help various audiences to learn how to code via their browser. He is... Read More →

Speakers

Olivier Palmieri

Game Director, Ubisoft Montreal

Game Director at Ubisoft Montreal, Olivier Palmieri is also the official trainer of the Rational Design Methods in the company. Expert in Gameplay, Game Design & Level Design, and Virtual Reality, he provided training programs in game design methods and levels for more than 600 Ubisoft... Read More →

Mickaël Newton

CSR Manager, Ubisoft HQ

Mickaël Newton is a CSR manager at Ubisoft. He focuses on pushing our teams to adapt educational and accessibility aspects in our games that push them beyond entertainment. By leveraging our games and connecting them to philanthropic initiatives, we can enrich our players and pop... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 5:30pm - 5:50pm EDT
Mainstage

Games for Learning, Talk

5:30pm EDT

Rapid Adaptation: Lessons from 100 Years of Gamified Learning

From the launch of its first badges in 1912, Girl Scouts has understood the power of game-based learning. Hear from the national organization about how this century-old brand has rapidly pivoted its in-person model to succeed during this period of social distancing. Plus, learn about the online group dynamic and game-based techniques that Troop Leaders are using to make it all possible.

Moderators

Sarah Keating

Digital Content Strategy Lead, Girl and Adult, Girl Scouts of the USA

Sarah Keating is an award winning developer of educational materials for organizations including Girl Scouts of the USA, Scholastic, Playmada Games, and the Walt Disney Company, specializing in game- and project-based learning for middle and high school. In her current role with Girl... Read More →

Speakers

Kallen Tsikalas

Senior Research Lead - Adult Experience, Girl Scout Research Institute (GSRI)

PhD, is an educational psychologist, nature-lover, diarist and colored-pen enthusiast. For 10 years, she has worked at GSUSA’s Girl Scout Research Institute (GSRI) conducting research with volunteers, girls, and parents to generate models and insights that help strengthen and enliven... Read More →

Barry Joseph

Director, Digital User Experience, Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA)

Barry Joseph is the Director of Digital User Experience at Girl Scouts of the USA. Known as a changemaker who is passionately devoted to envisioning new ways digital media can address significant personal and social issues, he is a driving force in both youth development and digital... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 5:30pm - 6:30pm EDT
Sessions

Games for Learning, Round Table

5:50pm EDT

Accelerating Acceptance through Transgender Representation

We will examine the past, present, and future of transgender representation in games, and the unique opportunity games provide to foster empathy and acceptance for transgender people. Until very recently, gaming (like other media) only included inauthentic and disparaging representations of trans and gender nonconforming characters. Today, change is happening as we see games working with the trans community to create more authentic and compelling characters.

Speakers

Blair Durkee

Special Consultant for Gaming, GLAAD

Blair is an advocate for LGBTQ representation in gaming. She has worked with GLAAD to introduce the Outstanding Video Game category at the GLAAD Media Awards and consult with game developers on LGBTQ-inclusive projects.

Wednesday July 15, 2020 5:50pm - 6:10pm EDT
Mainstage

Civics & Social Issues, Talk

6:10pm EDT

VR for Change Alcove Challenge: Winner Announcement

Tune in to hear the winner of the VR Alcove Challenge!

Speakers

Cezara Windrem

Innovation Catalyst, Head of VR, AARP Innovation Labs

Wednesday July 15, 2020 6:10pm - 6:15pm EDT
Mainstage

Special Sessions & Events, G4C Announcements

6:15pm EDT

Creating Caring and Care-full Online Play Communities

What does a child’s best play life look like now and post-pandemic? While many online games can provide a safe and social haven for children looking to create and connect online, raising a generation of “good” gamers requires more: beyond offering a pandemic-free place to play with others, online game communities must become communities where children are cared for, and children learn, in turn, how to care for each other. Join us to explore how.

Moderators

Katie Salen Tekinbaş

Professor, Department of Informatics, University of California, Irvine

Speakers

Daniel Kelley

Associate Director, Center for Technology and Society, ADL

Mimi Ito

Director / Professor in Residence, Connected Learning Lab / UC Irvine

Mimi Ito is a cultural anthropologist, learning scientist, entrepreneur, and an advocate for connected learning—learning that is equity-oriented, centered on youth interest, and socially connected. Her work decodes digital youth culture for parents and educators, offering ways to... Read More →

Sara DeWitt

VP, PBS KIDS Digital PBS

As Vice President of PBS KIDS Digital, Sara DeWitt oversees streaming video apps, educational games, and digital experiences for kids and parents with the goal of making PBS KIDS content engaging and accessible to widely diverse audiences. Previously, DeWitt worked as a preschool... Read More →

Makeda Mays Green

Vice President, Nickelodeon Digital Consumer Insights, Viacom

Makeda Mays Green is Vice President, Digital Consumer Insights at Nickelodeon. In this capacity, she conducts research across digital platforms, including mobile devices, game consoles and emerging technologies. Prior to her role at Nickelodeon, Green worked as the Director of Education... Read More →

Nathan Sawatzky

Trust & Safety Lead, Supercell

Nathan leads Trust & Safety at Supercell (makers of Clash of Clans, Brawl Stars, and other really fun games) in the northern country of Finland. Originally, however, he comes from Canada, which is where he began his career in helping build healthy and strong online spaces at Club... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 6:15pm - 7:00pm EDT
Mainstage

Civics & Social Issues, Panel

7:00pm EDT

Newsgame Flyby: State of the Practice 2020

It’s been over 10 years since the first major work in digital newsgames was published. In that time, what’s been happening with newsgames? Who’s making them, what topics do they cover, how effective have they been and what does the future hold for them? Highlighting a content analysis of over 50 newsgames from recent years the presentation provides a who’s who in newsgames, helping the audience understand the state of practice in 2020.

Speakers

Lindsay Grace

Knight Chair of Interactive Media, University of Miami

Lindsay Grace is Knight Chair of Interactive Media and an associate professor at the University of Miami. He is Vice President for the Higher Education Video Game Alliance and the 2019 recipient of the Games for Change Vanguard award. Lindsay published the book, Doing Things with... Read More →

Katy Huang

Research Assistant, University of Miami

Katy Huang is a digital designer, a MFA candidate and a research assistant at the University of Miami School of Communication. With a focus on UX/UI design, she creates user-centric designs and experiences. Her work has been featured in Ads of the World, Graphis and AdStasher.

Wednesday July 15, 2020 7:00pm - 7:20pm EDT
Mainstage

Civics & Social Issues, Talk

7:00pm EDT

Meet the G4C Chapter: Latin America

Since 2010, G4C Latin America holds an annual Festival and participates in creative community building, innovative projects that also support educational and academic initiatives that foster real world impacts. In this session the Latin American chapter will share plans for the VIII G4CLA Festival (online, next November) and highlight the winners of the 2019 edition of "Pitch for Change" partnering with G4C Accelerator, the new game project "Children of the World" (after the Oscar-nominated animation feature "The Boy and the World") and the audio platform "The Amazonic", part of the upcoming "Macunaíma" game project inspired by leading Brazilian modernist classic, Mario de Andrade

Speakers

Gilson Schwartz

President, Games for Change Latin America

Wednesday July 15, 2020 7:00pm - 7:30pm EDT
Sessions

Special Sessions & Events, Talk

7:20pm EDT

Seizing the Awkward with Guild Wars 2

Our youth mental health campaign, Seize the Awkward, partnered with Guild Wars 2 to raise awareness about how friends can help and support one another through hard times. During this year's Friend/Ships celebration, Guild Wars 2 players received a unique Seize the Awkward t-shirt for their in-game characters to wear. Those shirts sparked authentic and vulnerable discussions about mental health - and are a great case study in the power of social cause gaming partnerships.

Speakers

Rebecca Mir

Director, Digital Product Management, Ad Council

Rebecca is an advocate for inclusive, accessible, and body-conscious design and is often inspired by the educative potential of games and meaningful play. Rebecca earned her M.A. in Decorative Arts, Design History, and Material Culture at the Bard Graduate Center in 2012 and her B.A... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2020 7:20pm - 7:40pm EDT
Mainstage

Civics & Social Issues, Talk

7:30pm EDT

Meet the G4C Chapter: Asia-Pacific

The latest Games for Change chapter, G4C Asia-Pacific, will launch this year at Melbourne International Games Week in October 2020 and commence at MIGW next year in October 2021. If you are interested in supporting or contributing to this exciting development please come along and introduce yourself. We look forward to showcasing the wonderful work that is being done in the region and inspiring a new generation of games for education, health and social change.

Speakers

Dale Linegar

Director, Games for Change Asia-Pacific

Wednesday July 15, 2020 7:30pm - 8:00pm EDT
Sessions

Special Sessions & Events, Talk

10:00am EDT

Opening Remarks - Day 3

Speakers

Susanna Pollack

President, Games for Change

Thursday July 16, 2020 10:00am - 10:05am EDT
Mainstage

10:00am EDT

G4C Virtual Marketplace: Day 3

Thursday July 16, 2020 10:00am - 8:00pm EDT
Expo

Special Sessions & Events, Expo

10:05am EDT

Role-Playing Our Way Through History

How can we expect kids to understand the perspectives of 18th Century rebels when we can’t even talk across party lines today? A year of live-action role-playing with high school students around the country suggests kids are eager to engage with tough moral perspectives and that historical thinking provides a pathway that can lead to engagement with modern civic issues and diverse perspectives.

Speakers

Greg Trefry

Game Designer, Gigantic Mechanic

Greg Trefry has designed everything from 100-person live-action simulations for museums to documentary video games to giant dodgeball battles. He co-founded the game studio Gigantic Mechanic to explore new ways to bring fun and engaging experiences to the world around us through real-world... Read More →

Jenny Lim

Game Designer & Producer, Gigantic Mechanic

Jenny is a game designer and producer whose work has shown at the Tribeca Film Festival, the Museum of Modern Art, and on HBO. She leads content and multimedia for VOXPOP.

Thursday July 16, 2020 10:05am - 10:20am EDT
Mainstage

Civics & Social Issues, Talk

10:20am EDT

Kind Words: Why Be Nice?

Being nice isn't the sexiest game mechanic -- nothing explodes and there's no reason to wear cool body armor. So how did Popcannibal convince players to send each other two million uplifting messages? Ziba Scott will share the leap of faith in humanity that birthed Kind Words, and the limits required because humans are messy.

Speakers

Ziba Scott

Optimist, Popcannibal

Ziba Scott has been making games as Popcannibal for ten years. He uses his schooling in computer science (University of Chicago) and serious games (Michigan State) to make games about seating arrangements ("Girls Like Robots"), poetry ("Elegy for a Dead World"), sailing ("Make Sail... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 10:20am - 10:40am EDT
Mainstage

Civics & Social Issues, Talk

10:40am EDT

Bringing the Natural World Into Your Living Room

Augmented and Mixed Reality experiences allow us to blend digital content with our real world. A simple idea, but one which is having a profound and transformational effect on how we interact with the world around us.

This talk will deep dive on the ambition behind the spatial computing natural history documentary 'BBC Earth - Micro Kingdoms', and examine the emerging possibilities for storytelling when the digital and physical worlds collide.

Speakers

Phil Stuart

Founder & Creative Director, PRELOADED

Phil is founder and award-winning creative director at PRELOADED. Since 2000 he has worked with game-based technologies to create playful, purposeful experiences for all. Stuart has led many of PRELOADED’s groundbreaking projects including the BAFTA-winning collaboration with... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 10:40am - 11:00am EDT
Mainstage

XR For Change, Talk

11:00am EDT

Sleep Mystery: from Escape Room to Point-and-Click Adventure

Sleep Mystery is an engaging, authentic, interactive learning game funded by the National Institutes of Health. It was designed to address two important public health issues: declining interest in health and science careers, and the role of healthy sleep habits on acute and chronic disease. What started as an escape room has morphed into a point-and-click adventure. This session will allow participants to compare-contrast these different genres when building a game for health.

Speakers

Jasminka Criley

President and CEO, Indelible Learning

Jasminka Criley, MD, FACP, FHM, is practicing physician hospitalist and Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCLA, with over 30 years of clinical, teaching and research experience. She held number of positions at prestigious Institutions including Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 11:00am - 11:10am EDT
Mainstage

Health & Wellness, Talk

11:00am EDT

Meet the Funder: Archie Stonehill and Michael Cheung (Makers Fund)

An introduction to venture capital funding for the interactive entertainment industry. It will address how VC funding works, which types of companies it typically works for, and what VCs look for in potential investments.

Speakers

Archie Stonehill

Investor, Makers Fund

Archie focuses on finding and supporting founders from across Europe. A truly passionate gamer with a diverse set of gaming interests, he enjoys working closely with founders on product and go-to-market strategies. Before joining Makers, he worked at McKinsey's private equity practice... Read More →

Michael Cheung

General Partner, Makers Fund

Makers Fund is a venture capital fund dedicated to furthering the growth and innovation in the global interactive entertainment industry. It supports founders by combining deep industry experience globally with multi-stage investment across seed to series B.

Thursday July 16, 2020 11:00am - 11:30am EDT
Sessions

Special Sessions & Events, Meet the Funder

11:00am EDT

Speed Networking - Day 3

At the Games for Change Virtual Festival, attendees can meet someone new at any time via the Hopin "Networking" feature. We encourage you to join now and make a new connection at the Festival!

Thursday July 16, 2020 11:00am - 12:00pm EDT
Networking

Special Sessions & Events, Networking

11:10am EDT

Outbreak Squad: Keeping Your Community Safe

Learning about the function of each branch of government is one thing: understanding how to use government resources to inform health policy is much more complex. Outbreak Squad, a game designed for grade 5 and above, uses health outbreaks to support civics engagement. Through the lens of food safety, it helps students think in systems terms about causes, effects, and mitigation of foodborne outbreaks.

Speakers

Pamela Martinez

Assistant Professor, Learning Technologies, New Mexico State University - Learning Games Lab

Pamela N. Martinez is an Assistant Professor of Learning Technologies with New Mexico State University’s Innovative Media Research and Extension Department and its Learning Games Lab. She earned her doctorate in learning technologies from Pepperdine University. Dr. Martinez oversees... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 11:10am - 11:20am EDT
Mainstage

Health & Wellness, Talk

11:20am EDT

Healthier by Design

What makes a game healthy or unhealthy? How does game design contribute to determining if a community becomes toxic or vibrant? Multiplayer online games fulfill an important need for players to experience feelings of empowerment and connection. They can be incredibly powerful, because in real space, many people are increasingly suffering from a lack of both of these things. We will look at how interaction in social gaming has evolved and examine the factors that have driven this evolution, and explore ways that game design can promote healthy and positive online communities.

Speakers

Ken Hall

CEO / Creative Director, 2Dogs Games Ltd.

Ken is a veteran game developer with over 20 years experience. His projects include the award-winning B-17 Flying Fortress:The Mighty 8th, TeamSAS and APB/APB Reloaded. He has also created large scale public artwork for international cities, museums, and science centres.

Thursday July 16, 2020 11:20am - 11:30am EDT
Mainstage

Health & Wellness, Talk

11:30am EDT

High School Students Impact Patients with VR Design

A small group of high school students from Atlanta, Georgia used design thinking, medical research, and immersive technology to create a virtual reality experience for pediatric rehab patients at large children's hospitals. The results were surprising and inspiring.

Speakers

Marie Graham

Director of VR/AR Program, The Mount Vernon School

Marie Graham is the director of a high school VR/AR Lab, who leads and learns with an amazing group of students and faculty at The Mount Vernon School in Atlanta, Georgia, where she runs a VR/AR lab where students develop immersive content that seeks to positively impact. In her former... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 11:30am - 11:40am EDT
Mainstage

Health & Wellness, Talk

11:30am EDT

Gaming the System: Making Games about Real-World Systems

Games are a perfect medium for modeling, exploring, and ultimately changing systems - the hidden dynamics underneath the biggest social issues we face today, from structural racism to climate change. In this workshop we'll translate real-world systems into game-based models, through a series of short systems mapping and game prototyping exercises.

Speakers

Colleen Macklin

Associate Professor, The New School

Thursday July 16, 2020 11:30am - 1:00pm EDT
Sessions

Civics & Social Issues, Workshop

11:40am EDT

How Does Turning Into a Potato Get People to Run?

This talk will explore how you can use gamification and social incentives to get more players out exercising together in the real world! Using Run To My Heart as an example, we will explore how game design and addictive core loops can inspire real healthy habits and social belonging. In a world where mental health and physical health is on the decline, it is more important than ever to create games that address these together.

Speakers

Jenny Xu

CEO, Talofa Games

Jenny Xu, Founder and CEO of Talofa Games, Jenny is founder and CEO of Talofa Games creating a social real world running game combining augmented reality with fitness and immersive story to make a richer, more engaging running experience. Over the last 10 years, she's amassed over... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 11:40am - 11:50am EDT
Mainstage

Health & Wellness, Talk

11:50am EDT

VR Brain Training for Mental Fitness

VR brain training is like the gym for the mind, and stands to promote mental health in the same way as physical exercise relates to physical health. Enhance VR brain training games are designed to help improve attention levels, promote mental fitness, and address cognitive illnesses, disorders, and learning challenges by engaging users with multi-sensory environments that trigger the autonomic nervous system, vestibular balance system, and proprioception into believing that the experience is real.

Speakers

Amir Bozorgzadeh

CEO, Virtuleap

Amir is cofounder and CEO at Virtuleap, a health and education startup that is taking cognitive assessment and training to the next level thanks to VR and AI. Their Enhance VR brain training app offers a daily cognitive workout of short, intense and fun mini-games designed to help... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 11:50am - 12:00pm EDT
Mainstage

Health & Wellness, Talk

12:00pm EDT

MetaVerse: Multi-Player VR and the Internet's Next Evolution

The last decade has seen a major paradigm shift in the way humans interact with each other through social media. The next decade will see an even more dramatic shift to a new version of the Internet and social media that links us to a globally shared virtual space, the Metaverse. 17-year old entrepreneur and VR developer Winston Matthews will provide an early look at his soon to be launched multi-player VR game.

Speakers

Winston Matthews

Founder & CEO, Winston Matthews LLC

17-year old Winston Matthews is a VR game developer, entrepreneur, and recipient of The Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth award for mathematical problem-solving. In 2016, age 13, Winston Matthews became the youngest Silicon Valley VR developer for VWA where he earned licensing... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 12:00pm - 12:20pm EDT
Mainstage

Games for Learning, Talk

12:00pm EDT

Meet the Funder: Martina Welkhoff (WXR)

The WXR Fund invests in early stage companies led by gender diverse teams that are transforming business and human interaction with spatial computing (AR VR AI). Now is a rare, time-limited opportunity to build a more inclusive foundation for the next wave of computing. The research is clear: female founders are woefully underfunded, yet gender diverse teams are out performing all male teams. WXR Fund is the intersection of these massive opportunities.

Speakers

Martina Welkhoff

Managing Partner, WXR Fund

Martina Welkhoff is an entrepreneur and early-stage investor. She’s a Founding Partner at the WXR Fund, a venture fund focused on women-led spatial computing companies. She is on the advisory board of the Center for Leadership and Strategic Thinking at the University of Washington... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 12:00pm - 12:30pm EDT
Sessions

Special Sessions & Events, Meet the Funder

12:15pm EDT

Social Tech for Youth Wellbeing | Meet the Entrepreneurs

We are starting to understand the gaps that exist online to support teen wellbeing, as well as how young people are using technology when they are feeling stressed, anxious, or depressed. Teens use digital places to build relationships, find support, and to develop social and emotional skills. The majority of social technologies weren’t designed with these complex and sensitive objectives. During this session, you'll meet four entrepreneurs who are building the future of social technologies.

Moderators

Margaret Wallace

Co-Founder & CEO, Playmatics

Speakers

Aimée-Louise Carton

Co-Founder and CEO, KeepAppy

Aimée-Louise Carton is the co-founder and CEO of KeepAppy, the wellness app and social enterprise that is the gym for your mental health. She is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin and the University of Amsterdam. She is a co-founder of the US based PCSRC and co-chairwoman of the... Read More →

Vanessa Gill

CEO and Co-Founder, Social Cipher

Tyi McCray

CEO, Founder, EquipT

Tyi McCray is the CEO and co-founder of EquipT and educational game that teaches people about diversity and social justice. This game developed out of her realization that most people never learn about social identity and equity, and a scalable solution is needed. Her career has focused... Read More →

Maria Tamellini

Co-founder & COO, GamerSafer

Maria Tamellini, is a co-founder of GamerSafer, a company designing technologies to help online games prevent fraud, toxicity and child exploitation. She was named a Headstream Innovator this year for creating positive, ethical and healthy technologies for teens and is a Child Safety... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 12:15pm - 1:15pm EDT
Sessions

Health & Wellness, Round Table

12:20pm EDT

Exploring Indigenous History in When Rivers Were Trails

This presentation explains how the educational video game, When Rivers Were Trails, fills in the missing elements of American history by introducing an Indigenous perspective to the narrative. Traveling across the northern United States, the players meet with many others on your journey, hunt for food, forage for berries, canoe beaver and rock infested waters, and fish. If you do not care for your wellbeing, then you may join your ancestors sooner than you think!

Speakers

Nichlas Emmons

Program Officer, Indian Land Tenure Foundation

Indian Land Tenure Foundation since 2014. In this role, he manages the foundation’s education programs, including the Lessons of Our Land curriculum, the development of the video game When Rivers Were Trails, the Treaty Signers Project, the Tribal Land Staff National Conference... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 12:20pm - 12:40pm EDT
Mainstage

Games for Learning, Talk

12:40pm EDT

Listening and Staying Agile During COVID-19

Since Covid19 presents barriers to traditional learning, students, teachers, and parents need new kinds of resources to address the challenges of learning from home and create new possibilities. Attendees will gain insight into how iThrive Games pivoted to address distance learning, reimagine learning, and deploy rapid development cycles. We will discuss the opportunities and challenges of designing from the ground up for new learning environments. Attendees also will gain early access to these game-based tools.

Speakers

Susan Rivers

Executive Director & Chief Scientist, iThrive Games Foundation

Susan E. Rivers, PhD, is Executive Director and Chief Scientist of iThrive Games Foundation. She believes that game design and play are powerful tools for learning, forging connections with others, supporting authentic social and emotional development, and making the world a better... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 12:40pm - 1:00pm EDT
Mainstage

Games for Learning, Talk

1:00pm EDT

VR for Inclusion

Developers for PERSPECTIVES will share about their inspiration to develop experiences using gamification for creating positive social change.

Speakers

Myra LalDin

Founder, PERSPECTIVES

Parth Naik, Michael Ballentine, Mickey Stewart, and Myra LalDin are founders of VECTRE, a VR development studio, that has worked with Fortune 50 companies on custom XR projects. From here Myra spun out PERSPECTIVES, a conscious leadership training platform at the intersection of inclusion... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 1:00pm - 1:10pm EDT
Mainstage

XR For Change, Talk

1:00pm EDT

Meet the Funder: Sandro Olivieri (AT&T Aspire Accelerator)

Sandro is the Entrepreneur-in-Residence for the AT&T Aspire Accelerator. Designed & implemented the program to be as impactful as possible for young EdTech companies. He also consults with other companies on impact acceleration programs including ISTE, Entangled Solutions, and others. If you're wondering about AT&T Aspire specifically, or would like advice on navigating the EdTech ecosystem more effectively, come have a chat!

Speakers

Sandro Olivieri

President, Productive

Sandro helps big companies leverage the innovation happening outside their walls to create positive change in their communities and their internal culture. Through his consulting work, he has designed accelerators, investment strategies, awards, and other programs to help achieve... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 1:00pm - 1:30pm EDT
Sessions

Special Sessions & Events, Meet the Funder

1:10pm EDT

Learning Remotely Using Virtual Reality

Discover how Emilie and her team are empowering K12 students to create powerful & authentic interactive experiences using immersive technologies from virtually anywhere in the world.

Speakers

Emilie Joly

CEO, apelab

CEO by day and interaction designer by night, Emilie Joly co-founded apelab, a Swiss/US Software Company working on Zoe. A distance learning platform empowering students to create powerful & authentic interactive experiences using immersive technologies from virtually anywhere in... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 1:10pm - 1:20pm EDT
Mainstage

XR For Change, Talk

1:20pm EDT

Be Earth: A VR Activation on Climate Change in Times of Crisis

The VR experience shows man-made fires in the amazon forest and their broader impacts on the Earth's ecosystems as a whole. An emotional immersive piece that combines scientific data -including Earth's representation in full size planet scale, mixing art, love and hopes for tomorrow.

The piece was created to inspire global action towards climate change and premiered at the World Economic Forum Annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2020 -in a context of global climate crisis with gigantic fires burning on the Amazon forest and Australia. Leaded by Boo Aguilar, Ylva Hansdotter and Paulo Gibbs, the experience was funded by the Swedish International Development Agency ( SIDA ) and Facebook’s Oculus, and made in collaboration with the United Nations and climate experts, researchers, artists and storytellers under the non profit organization XR impact.

Speakers

Boo Aguilar

Director, Be Earth

Creative Technologist, Project Director, Developer, and Researcher of Human-Computer Interaction processes, Boo leads globally awarded projects on the intersection of Technology, Philosophy, Science and Arts, transitioning in topics like (bio)engineering, nanotech and AI with partners... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 1:20pm - 1:30pm EDT
Mainstage

XR For Change, Talk

1:30pm EDT

The Making of Lutaw: A 3D Virtual Reality Film

Join Director Samantha Quick and Co-Creator Michaela Holland for a behind the scenes look at the partnership between Oculus's VR for Good program and the Filipino non-profit, The Yellow Boat of Hope, which provides transportation for kids who swim to school. The creators discuss the production of Lutaw—its art direction, animation, and field research—which built the foundation for this richly drawn animated world and honors the Filipino island of Caohagan and its people.

Speakers

Michaela Holland

Immersive/Interactive Storyteller

Michaela Holland is an Emmy, Webby, and Sheffield Doc/Fest award-winning storyteller. She is a creative director, producer, and project manager, who combines experimental content with traditional mediums. Her work has been featured by TIME, Forbes, The Guardian, and more. Michaela’s... Read More →

Samantha Quick

Director, Samantha Quick LLC

Samantha Quick is an immersive director and creative technologist working in interactive media. She is one of the most prolific VR content creators with over 100 bylines in The New York Times and has also created work for Al Jazeera, Sotheby's and Doug Liman.

Thursday July 16, 2020 1:30pm - 1:40pm EDT
Mainstage

XR For Change, Talk

1:30pm EDT

Raising Good Gamers Research Roundtable

Raising Good Gamers is an initiative working toward a future full of positive, inclusive, fair online game communities for youth. One key lever is research. This roundtable brings together four top researchers in games and health, adolescent development, race and gender, and games user experience to share research on the forces shaping the culture and climate of online play. What does research tell us about what it takes to play well together?

Moderators

Katie Salen Tekinbaş

Professor, Department of Informatics, University of California, Irvine

Speakers

Lynn Fiellin

Founding Director, play2PREVENT Lab at the Yale Center for Health & Learning Games

Celia Hodent

Independent Game UX Consultant

Katie Davis

Associate Professor, University of Washington, Information School

Dr. Katie Davis is Associate Professor at the University of Washington Information School, and a founding member and Co-Director of the UW Digital Youth Lab. Her research explores the role of new media technologies in young people’s personal, social, and academic lives, with a particular... Read More →

Kishonna Gray

Assistant Professor, University of Illinois - Chicago

Dr. Kishonna L. Gray (@kishonnagray) is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication and Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Illinois - Chicago. She is an interdisciplinary, intersectional, digital media scholar and digital herstorian whose areas of research... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 1:30pm - 2:30pm EDT
Sessions

Civics & Social Issues, Round Table

1:30pm EDT

Seven F Words You Can Use in School

What can educators do to understand games and make school a more rigorous, vital and enjoyable place? Building on decades of research, this session looks at the seven essential nutrients that games provide: 1. Failure 2. Feedback 3. Fairness 4. Flow 5. Fantasy 6. Freedom 7. Fellowship. Understanding these “seven F’s” can help teachers make their classrooms more successful places, even if they don’t like video games or are uncomfortable bringing them into the classroom.

Speakers

Greg Toppo

Journalist, Paragraph Factory LLC

Greg Toppo is the author of The Game Believes In You: How Digital Play Can Make Our Kids Smarter (St. Martin’s Press, 2015) and a journalist with 25 years of experience, most of it covering education. He was a 2016 Yale University Poynter Fellow and a 2010 Spencer Fellow at Columbia... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 1:30pm - 2:30pm EDT
Sessions

Games for Learning, Round Table

1:40pm EDT

Story/Background/Insights of Daughters of Chibok

A brief talk where I will be sharing the inspiration behind Daughters of Chibok, the rationale behind using VR to tell the story, and the social impact that has been achieved so far with the film.

Speakers

Joel Benson

Creative Director, VR360 Stories

JOEL ‘KACHI BENSON has been making documentary stories for over a decade. In February 2018, he became the first Nigerian filmmaker to use Virtual Reality technology for storytelling, when he produced “In Bakassi”, a virtual experience of life in one of the largest IDP Camps... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 1:40pm - 1:50pm EDT
Mainstage

XR For Change, Talk

1:50pm EDT

Announcing HEVGA's 2020 Fellows

The Higher Education Video Game Alliance (HEVGA) fellows are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to games-based research and design in higher education. Learn more about the 2020 HEVGA fellows from Jonathan Elmergreen, Executive Director of HEVGA.

Speakers

Jonathan Elmergreen

Executive Director, Higher Education Video Game Alliance

Thursday July 16, 2020 1:50pm - 2:00pm EDT
Mainstage

Special Sessions & Events, G4C Announcements

2:00pm EDT

Meet the Funder: David Ball (Headstream)

Young people grow up with technology deeply intertwined in every moment of their lives. Constant connectivity has added complexity and pressure to the complicated job of growing up. But young people know how to get the most out of social technologies. The Headstream Accelerator is uniting a community to build social technologies that actively support teens’ pressing needs for wellbeing and their desires to create, learn, and engage. Headstream is currently working with 15 entrepreneurs as part of the inaugural Accelerator program. In September, Headstream will welcome a new cohort of innovators with social tech solutions.

Speakers

David Ball

Headstream Director, SecondMuse - Headstream

David leads SecondMuse’s youth mental wellbeing innovation program, Headstream. Based in San Francisco, David works with cohorts of social entrepreneurs around the globe to scale their impact. Innovators receive curated support entering new markets, raising capital, as well as developing... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 2:00pm - 2:30pm EDT
Sessions

Special Sessions & Events, Meet the Funder

2:00pm EDT

Worldgames: Transferring In-game Benefits to Real Life (Encore)

Moderators

Nichol Bradford

Executive Director & Co-Founder, Transformative Tech Lab & Global Ecosystem

Speakers

Brie Code

Founder and CEO, TRU LUV

Chethan Ramachandran

Co-founder and CEO, Skillprint

Thursday July 16, 2020 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT
Mainstage

Health & Wellness, Panel

2:30pm EDT

IGDA Mentor Café - Day 3

Speakers

Renee Gittins

Executive Director, IGDA

Tristin Hightower

Director of Chapter and Special Interest Group Operations, IGDA

Thursday July 16, 2020 2:30pm - 4:00pm EDT
Sessions

Special Sessions & Events, Workshop

2:45pm EDT

Accelerating Acceptance through Transgender Representation (Encore)

Speakers

Blair Durkee

Special Consultant for Gaming, GLAAD

Thursday July 16, 2020 2:45pm - 3:05pm EDT
Mainstage

Civics & Social Issues, Talk

3:00pm EDT

G4C Student Challenge: 5 Years of Impact

The G4C Student Challenge is a game design program and competition that combines students' passion for games with civic engagement. To date, the program has trained 400 educators in game-based learning and inspired 30,000 students to level-up from game players to game creators. Hear from a panel of diverse perspectives as we explore the growth, impact and experiences of key stakeholders during the first five years of the program.

Moderators

Tania Hack

Senior Director of Programs, Games for Change

Working as the Director of Programs, Tania oversees a variety of youth, community and client-facing programs at Games for Change (G4C). Her primary focus is the G4C Student Challenge – a year-round game design program for middle and high public school students which, now in its... Read More →

Speakers

Brendon Trombley

Sr. Educational Content Developer, BrainPOP

Brendon Trombley is a game designer and educator who seeks to engage, inspire, and transform audiences of all ages. He has produced playful learning experiences for the web, classroom, and beyond with organizations such as Institute of Play, Quest to Learn, Games for Change, Boys... Read More →

Luna Ramirez

CTE Teacher, Information Technology HS

Luna is a CTE_Teacher/WBLCoordinator at Information Technology High School NYCDOE. Her passion for the design, evolution of technology, & engineering led her to teach WebDesign, NetworkCommunications, ComputerRepair and Robotics. In recognition for her dedication to educating young... Read More →

Sarah Applebaum

Student, School of Interactive Arts

Sarah is a student at the School of Interactive Arts, under the Urban Arts Partnership. She has been passionate about video games for as long as she can remember, and wants to pursue game development as a career. She is attending Rutgers University this fall for Information Technology... Read More →

Koen Victorica

3x Award Winning Game Designer, Student

Koen Victorica is distinguished in being the only award-winning G4C Student Challenge game designer to win three years in a row; 2018-2020. His passion for game design was ignited early in life and as a high school senior he is already studying computer science with dual enrollment... Read More →

Dr. Leah Hanes

CEO & Chief Juggler, Two Bit Circus Foundation

Dr. Leah Hanes has led Two Bit Circus Foundation (2BCF) since 2013, first as Executive Director and then CEO, 2BCF has grown into a strong voice in the 2020 STEAM Education discourse. During these seven years Dr. Hanes was charged with a complete rebranding while executing strategic... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
Sessions

Games for Learning, Round Table

3:10pm EDT

Announcement from the Institute Museum and Library Services

Tune in for a special announcement from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Speakers

Susanna Pollack

President, Games for Change

Paula Gangopadhyay

Deputy Director for Museum Services, Institute of Museum and Library Services

Paula Gangopadhyay was appointed as the Deputy Director, Office of Museum Services in January 2016. In her current role, she collaborates with IMLS’s senior leadership on agency priorities, policies, and partnerships, and provides leadership and direction for the museum grants and... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 3:10pm - 3:20pm EDT
Mainstage

Health & Wellness, Talk

3:20pm EDT

Keynote - Accessibility in Gaming

Mental health is top of mind for so many of us. Gaming is often used for self-care and as a way to connect with the community during COVID and beyond. Mindful Knight is a Minecraft world that teaches social and emotional learning for students, and Xbox titles are increasingly including characters with mental health conditions. Join our session to talk about the intersectionality of gaming and mental health conditions.

Speakers

Megan Lawrence

Senior Accessibility Evangelist, Microsoft

Thursday July 16, 2020 3:20pm - 3:40pm EDT
Mainstage

Health & Wellness, Keynote

3:30pm EDT

5 Open XR Projects

Picking up where most game jams leave off, let us together explore questions of what it might take to make this or that prototype into a finished title. How do we measure success? Is it publication? Number of downloads? Player reviews? Is it efficacy against illness? Environmental resilience? For practice, we'll start with a variety of existing prototypes from XR4C Brainjams past. In three parallel breakout rooms, we'll use Miro to whiteboard ideas. Something for everyone. GitHub repo will have Oculus Quest builds available for anyone so inclined. It's great that, with such authoring tools as Unity, a lone creator can contribute meaningfully to society, and yet it remains true that a well polished product is most often the result of big teams in diverse collaboration.

Moderators

Nick Fortugno

Chief Creative Officer, Playmatics

Jonathan Ogilvy

XR Producer, Little Red Robot

Jon’s first job was at Trilobyte, as a texturemap artist, bluescreen line producer and a DAMS project manager. Since then he has produced thousands of projects on time and on budget, even while remaining consistently at the forefront of emerging markets.As a civilian subcontractor... Read More →

Speakers

Saul Pena Gamero

Senior Software VR Developer, The Glimpse Group

Saul Pena Gamero is a Senior Software VR Developer at The Glimpse Group - A Virtual and Augmented Reality Company. He is currently developing VR training simulations for enterprise use. He has a Master's in Computer Science and a bachelors in International Business Administration... Read More →

David Gochfeld

XR Creator

David Gochfeld is an award-winning XR creator, experience designer and engineer specializing in interactive narrative and user experience design for multi-user virtual reality. He has presented his pioneering work with live performance in virtual reality at festivals and conferences... Read More →

Olivia Goldman

Co-Founder/Chief Creative Officer, NeuroStorm Studios

Olivia Goldman is a PhD candidate at Rockefeller University and artist who studies sensory perception of mosquitoes in Dr. Leslie Vosshall's lab. She is co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of NeuroStorm Studios, a startup at the intersection of neuroscience and immersive media... Read More →

Ricardo Miranda Zúñiga

Professor, Hunter College

Ricardo Miranda Zúñiga is an artist who seeks to establish dialogue in public spaces. Having been born of immigrant parents and grown up between Nicaragua and San Francisco, an awareness of inequality and discrimination was established at an early age. The ways that inequality and... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 3:30pm - 5:00pm EDT
Sessions

XR For Change, Workshop

3:40pm EDT

Learning to Be Better Digital Citizens

In 2020, we can't avoid being online, and it has been especially true during the pandemic. As we try to fight toxicity from within our esports communities, we've come to realize that it is a battle that we should also try to fix at the source. Just like school is getting us ready to be good citizens, we should have ways to learn how to become better digital citizens.

Speakers

Stephanie Harvey

Director of Esports Franchise Development and Outreach, Counter Logic Gaming

A x5 world champion in competitive CS:GO, and longtime female pro-gaming icon, Stephanie "missharvey" Harvey is now CLG’s Director of Esports Franchise Development and Outreach. Formerly a game designer for Ubisoft Montreal, Stephanie dedicates much of her time raising awareness... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 3:40pm - 4:00pm EDT
Mainstage

Games for Learning, Talk

4:00pm EDT

Announcing Endless Change the Game Challenge

Tune in to learn about an exciting new game design challenge open to all developers worldwide.

Speakers

Susanna Pollack

President, Games for Change

Dennis Bartels

Managing Director, Endless

Dennis has always been puzzled about how people learn. By chance and happenstance, that led him into the worlds of STEM education, the NSF and science and education policy more broadly. He studied policy analysis and political economy at Stanford and is a student of non-profit behavior... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 4:00pm - 4:10pm EDT
Mainstage

Special Sessions & Events, G4C Announcements

4:00pm EDT

Meet the Funder: Rene Pinnell (Kaleidoscope)

An overview of Kaleidoscope Grants, a new product that supports artists and indie studios with monthly production grants. As has been made painfully clear by the pandemic, artists are an economically vulnerable community. What the moment requires is an industry-wide response to support artists. Kaleidoscope Grants allows the creative community to pool our resources to fund and curate new work from the artists and studios we love.

Speakers

Rene Pinnell

CEO & Designer, Kaleidoscope

René Pinnell is the CEO & designer of Kaleidoscope, a community fund for artists. Playing a central role in the artistic renaissance of virtual reality, Kaleidoscope has helped creators raise more than $34MM for original projects including the first seven-figure deal for a VR film... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 4:00pm - 4:30pm EDT
Sessions

Special Sessions & Events, Meet the Funder

4:00pm EDT

Esports & Education

Join a conversation with teachers and students to understand how to bring competitive gaming into the classroom and different approaches that educators created to make esports inclusive. Learn about the work happening in the trenches of esports in the classroom.

Moderators

DJ Moreau

Senior Director of Programs and Partnerships, Games for Change

DJ leads business development efforts, manages strategic partnerships, and oversees esports initiatives at G4C. Previous, she worked at the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), GlassLab/LRNG — a games and learning initiative based at Electronic Arts — and, Events DC as Head... Read More →

Speakers

Josh Bound

President, Video Game Clubs of America

Josh Bound is the founder of the Video Games Clubs of America, a non-profit organization dedicated to establishing video game clubs in every school in the United States and beyond. Mr. Bound has taught in public schools for 19 years and is an Apple Distinguished Educator. It is... Read More →

Tristan Wheeler

Audiovisual & Event Planning Specialist, Cleveland Public Library

Tristan Wheeler is an Audiovisual & Event Planning Specialist at the Cleveland Public Library. Since 2003, Tristan has worked with library staff, city and regional schools, and other library systems to bring various video games-related programming and events to Clevelanders throughout... Read More →

Tai King

Clerk, Cleveland Public Library

Tai King is a streamer on Twitch and also a part of the eSports committee at CPL.

Jeremy Satyawan Putra

VGC Ambassador, Video Game Clubs of America

My name is Jeremy Satyawan Putra and I am a student representative of sorts for VGCUSA and I have been involved since its idea days and even before as a member of the club.

Thursday July 16, 2020 4:00pm - 5:00pm EDT
Sessions

Games for Learning, Round Table

4:10pm EDT

The Brink of Nuclear War: Gaming in the Modern Museum

Building empathy and understanding among high school students with the difficulties of being a world leader is not easy. While many museums struggle with walking the line between glorifying and addressing hard truths of historical figures, organizations like the Reagan Foundation are tackling difficult policy decisions, communication, leadership development and media literacy through immersive gaming. Join the development team to unpack simulation development and how these experiences are applicable to other museums and education spaces.

Speakers

Megan Gately

Associate Director of Education, Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute

Megan Gately has worked at museums and historical societies for 20 years through local and national history education organizations, boards and publications, striving to inspire, and be inspired, by the next generation of leaders through active participation in communities and democracy.Currently... Read More →

Matthew Wilding

Experience Designer, Engagify Studio

Matt is an experience designer and content writer. He's worked on projects with Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the US Senate, Reagan Foundation, Gigantic Mechanic, and others. He is currently working with Reagan Foundation on their new Discovery Center experience, and digital learning... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 4:10pm - 4:20pm EDT
Mainstage

Civics & Social Issues, Talk

4:20pm EDT

Creating Sparkle and Inclusion Through Gaming

The Prospector Theater, a non-profit movie theater with the mission of meaningful employment for adults with disabilities, discusses how gaming can be more inclusive to those with a disability, how it could be used to forge unlikely relationships, and why it's important that hardware and software are created with accessibility in mind. Watch how they have taken gaming and found a way to make it relevant to their mission and operation.

Speakers

Ryan Wenke

Director of Theater Operations, The Prospector Theater

Ryan Wenke is the Director of Theater Operations at the Prospector Theater. After receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Acting at Emerson College, Ryan returned to his hometown of Ridgefield, CT to help build and grow the Prospector’s mission of meaningful employment for adults with... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 4:20pm - 4:30pm EDT
Mainstage

Civics & Social Issues, Talk

4:30pm EDT

Virtual Events Production: VR, Streaming, 2D & 3D Spaces

Creating virtual events? We'll explore tips, tricks, platforms, tools for:

VR collaborative conferences
XR collaborative meetings/research/edu
AR local gameplay
Streaming mixed reality
Interactive play across spaces
Immersive worlds, from home
Remote events of all sizes and scales
Choices of platform, interface, embodiment
Avatars, headsets, mobile and web plays

Speakers

Evo Heyning

CEO, Playable Agency

CEO and Co-Founder @PlayableAgencyExperiential, Immersive, Interactive ProducerXR, VR, AR and Mixed Reality EventsGame and Program Strategy, Design, CreationEvo leads a team of creatives and technologists at Playable Agency working on a wide variety of AI, ARG, AR, XR, VR, immersive... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 4:30pm - 4:40pm EDT
Mainstage

Civics & Social Issues, Talk

4:40pm EDT

Wallpeckers - from the DMZ to the Berlin Wall

“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” ‘Wallpeckers: from the DMZ to the Berlin Wall’ is a collaborative project of Goethe Institut and Nolgong. Two countries sharing the experience of a separated country, one reunited in peace, and one is still divided in tension. We realized that the story of the two countries is now relevant to the whole world with increasing tension and conflicts. The Wallpeckers invites the world to face the wall among us.

Speakers

Peter Seung Taek Lee

CEO, NOLGONG

Peter is a game designer. He founded gameLab with Eric Zimmerman in 1999, game development studio known for one of the most popular casual games of its time ‘Diner Dash’. He is one of the co-founders of the ‘Come Out & Play Festival’ along with Greg Trefry, Nick Fortugno... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 4:40pm - 4:50pm EDT
Mainstage

Civics & Social Issues, Talk

4:50pm EDT

G4C Student Challenge: 5 Years Strong and New Announcements for 2020!

Tune in to learn about the growth of the G4C Student Challenge and what’s new for the program in 2020/2021!

Speakers

Tania Hack

Senior Director of Programs, Games for Change

Arana Shapiro

Managing Director, Games for Change

Arana Shapiro is the Managing Director of Games for Change where she oversees the daily operations and leads the organization's learning initiatives. Arana was formerly Executive Director at the Institute of Play where she led the Institute’s strategy, growth, development, and... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 4:50pm - 5:00pm EDT
Mainstage

Special Sessions & Events, G4C Announcements

5:00pm EDT

Keynote - Holograms in the Age of Social Distancing

Join Asad Malik and Hana Pestle in a discussion on the process of Jadu building a hologram of Hana and releasing it during quarantine. Together, they will explore how volumetric capture will be handled post COVID-19.

Speakers

Asad Malik

CEO, Jadu

Asad J. Malik is a director working exclusively with augmented reality as a medium of narrative story telling. His studio 1RIC carved out a pioneering position in the AR for storytelling space when his immigration focused Hololens project Terminal 3 premiered to critical acclaim in... Read More →

Hana Pestle

Artist / Producer / Streamer

A frequent collaborator of Grimes and BloodPop, HANA has crafted a unique, forward-thinking style of both making and releasing music. HANA wrote, recorded, and produced her entire 12-track debut album ‘HANADRIEL’ in four weeks while live-streaming on Twitch. In addition to being... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 5:00pm - 5:20pm EDT
Mainstage

XR For Change, Keynote

5:00pm EDT

Epic Games Educator Town Hall

Calling all Middle and High School teachers! Epic Games/Unreal Engine will use this roundtable to learn from you about the challenges you face when trying to bring games and emerging technology into your classroom. Please join us and share your experiences, your successes and setbacks. We will share opportunities to get involved with Epic's work to bring interactive, 3D technology and design into classrooms through teacher training, funding opportunities and student programs.

Speakers

Arana Shapiro

Managing Director, Games for Change

Linda Sellheim

Education Lead, Epic Games

Steve Isaacs

Teacher, Game Design and Development, Bernards Township Board of Education

Steve Isaacs has been teaching since 1992. In 1998 began teaching in Bernards Township, NJ where he developed an internationally recognized middle and high school game development program. Steve is a pioneer in using VR and AR in the classroom. He is a champion for student choice... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 5:00pm - 6:00pm EDT
Sessions

Games for Learning, Round Table

5:00pm EDT

Government Assets to Enrich Educational Experiences & Games

Learn how you can use assets available from the government to make your games come to life. From Congressional budget office or environmental data (The Wilson Center); to scientific data like 3D scans of coral (Smithsonian Institution) or data visualizations, animations, and free software (NASA); there are a wealth of free governmental resources to enrich any educational experiences.

Moderators

Elizabeth Newbury

Director for the Serious Games Initiative, The Wilson Center

Speakers

Cody Coltharp

Digital Interactive Designer, Smithsonian Institution

Working with Smithsonian scientists, researchers, and educators, Cody Coltharp develops games, graphics and simulations using museum digital resources in order to make the research, data, and stories more accessible, engaging, and fun.

Drew Robarge

Museum Specialist, Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History

Drew Robarge works at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History as a Museum Specialist in the Division of Medicine and Science. He works with the video game collections and has curated exhibitions including “Virtual Landscapes: Exploring America through Video... Read More →

Shobhana Gupta

Open Innovation and Community Applications Manager, NASA Headquarters

Shobhana Gupta, MD, PhD, serves as the Open Innovation and Community Applications Manager with Earth Science Division’s Applied Sciences Program at NASA Headquarters. She manages crowdsourcing and community-based activities to invite talents and experiences outside of the NASA community... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 5:00pm - 6:00pm EDT
Sessions

Games for Learning, Round Table

5:20pm EDT

The Future of Education with Verizon 5G

Learn about what Verizon is doing to support education today and how our first 5G school is demonstrating what's possible in schools of the future.

Speakers

Phil Puthumana

Manager, Verizon

Phil leads EdTech Innovation at the Verizon Foundation, responsible for the development and implementation of Verizon’s signature K12 Education programs focused on reducing the digital divide of underserved students and improving their STEM related academic achievement. Included... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 5:20pm - 5:40pm EDT
Mainstage

XR For Change, Talk

5:40pm EDT

Keynote - Anti-Racism + XR (Encore)

Speakers

Courtney Cogburn

Associate Professor, Columbia University

Thursday July 16, 2020 5:40pm - 6:00pm EDT
Mainstage

XR For Change, Keynote

6:00pm EDT

Making Video Games for Autistic People: A Studio's Experience

Luden.io is making educational video games. By 2018, we've received numerous requests from educators working with autistic children and adults, asking to make a game that would benefit their learners. We've come a long way, met many wonderful teachers and their students. Working with them, we've developed several interesting game-based project. This talk is a story about how games can be helpful for autism learning

Speakers

Georgii Kurgan

Product Manager, Luden.io

Working in the video games industry since 2001. Former games journalist, Georgii has also worked at major game dev companies such as ZeptoLab and CD Projekt Red. For the past 2 years Georgii is working at Luden.io, making educational video games. His current project is called Rewire.Education... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 6:00pm - 6:10pm EDT
Mainstage

Games for Learning, Talk

6:00pm EDT

Games and Moral Panic: 2500 Year History

Drawing from my research and a popular article written by Lindsay Grace in 2020, this talk discusses how moral panic around games has not only persisted since Buddha, but that it's been a part of worry around social change. Whether the dice games of Ancient Rome, Pinball in mid-century New York, or Fortnight globally attaching moral concern to games has often been the product of misaligned blame and worry. This talk draws on a variety of interviews and articles Linsday gave in 2019 as well as incorporating new observations.

Moderators

Lindsay Grace

Knight Chair of Interactive Media, University of Miami

Speakers

Roger Altizer

Associate Professor, University of Utah

Roger Altizer, Jr., Ph.D. is the co-founder of Entertainment Arts and Engineering, the director of Digital Medicine for the Center for Medical Innovation, the director of The GApp lab (Therapeutic Games and Apps), and an associate professor in Population Health Sciences at the University... Read More →

Mia Consalvo

Professor, Concordia University

Mia Consalvo is Professor and Canada Research Chair in Game Studies and Design at Concordia University in Montreal. 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... Read More →

Andy Phelps

Professor, University of Canterbury and American University

Thursday July 16, 2020 6:00pm - 7:00pm EDT
Sessions

Civics & Social Issues, Round Table

6:10pm EDT

Financial Inclusion: It's Not About the Money!

Our relationship with money is a complex one, from cultural norms to our family values, to deep psychological issues about self worth and how value is created. Traditional approaches to financial education can be text dense, fraught with jargon, and often focuses on the how and what not they why. Livin' It Up teaches these concepts in a subtle, entertaining and accessible way. It allows players to deepen their understanding of money and themselves.

Speakers

Glenn Gillis

CEO, Sea Monster

Glenn is the co-founder and CEO of Sea Monster. He has a Business Science degree from the University of Cape Town, and has been a senior executive, consultant and entrepreneur with growing, knowledge intensive businesses for over 25 years. Prior to Sea Monster that Glenn was the general... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 6:10pm - 6:20pm EDT
Mainstage

Games for Learning, Talk

6:20pm EDT

CureQuest: A Digital Game for New Drug Discovery

CureQuest is an educational adventure game about Clinical Translational Therapeutics, the process of discovery and development of new medical treatments, drugs, devices, and therapies. The game is being developed with the goal of raising awareness and improving collaboration in the "bench to bedside" process. In addition to the impact of the game when completed, the development process itself presents a novel case study in integrating the interdisciplinary fields of game development and “team science”.

Speakers

Mei Si

Associate Professor, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Mei Si is an associate professor in the Cognitive Science Department, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). She is also part of the Games and Simulation Arts and Sciences (GSAS) Program at RPI. Mei Si received a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Southern California... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 6:20pm - 6:30pm EDT
Mainstage

Games for Learning, Talk

6:30pm EDT

«When We Disappear» – A Story-Driven & History-Based Game

«When We Disappear» is a story-driven and history-based game set in 1943 when a young girl escapes the torments of WW2. Switzerland-based Inlusio Interactive has brought together storytellers, game developers, historians and education experts to develop a puzzle platformer about the darkest chapter of Europe to encourage players to think about our common past and the shared responsibility for our future. This session demonstrates the potential of story-driven and history-based games for a social impact.

Speakers

Robin Burgauer

Producer, Inlusio Interactive

Robin Burgauer has produced cinema films and interactive projects for many years and uses storytelling principles from the film industry to create emotional and engaging formats and to push the boundaries of digital storytelling. He is the co-founder of Inlusio Interactive and produces... Read More →

Robbert van Rooden

Producer, Inlusio Interactive

Robbert van Rooden is a producer of games and interactive media. For over 15 years he has been bringing together design, development and storytelling with a focus on UX and game design. He is the co-founder of Inlusio Interactive which produces purpose-driven projects with unique... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 6:30pm - 6:40pm EDT
Mainstage

Games for Learning, Talk

6:40pm EDT

SpacEscape: Learning Science on Your Mobile Device

SpacEscape is a problem-solving mobile game, which provides middle school students an opportunity to learn about space science while practicing their problem-solving skills. To create the mobile game for Android devices, a team of 12 members worked together for six months on the design, development and testing. We will share the game design, development and testing process in this presentation. The audience can also play the game during the talk.

Speakers

Sa Liu

Assistant Professor, Interactive Media, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology

Dr. Sa Liu is an Assistant Professor in the Interactive Media program at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. She teaches Data Visualization, Game Engines, Front-end Web Design/Dev, and Mobile Experience Design/Dev. Her co-developed game PIVOT won the Best In Show in 2014... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 6:40pm - 6:50pm EDT
Mainstage

Games for Learning, Talk

6:50pm EDT

Keynote - A New Era of Experimental Medicine

A critical and global challenge that we face is the development of effective and safe approaches to enhance brain function and cognition in both healthy and impaired individuals. I will share with you an approach that has spanned academic and industry initiatives over the last decade to create and validate custom-designed, closed-loop video games to achieve meaningful and sustainable cognitive enhancement. innovations in software/algorithms and hardware

Moderators

Asi Burak

SVP Business Development, Tilting Point

Asi Burak is a veteran of the videogame and tech industries, and an award-winning executive producer. He is currently the CEO of Power Play and also the chairman of Games for Change. He has served as a strategic advisor to organizations like EON Productions (producer of the James... Read More →

Speakers

Dr. Adam Gazzaley

Professor & Executive Director, Neuroscape, UCSF

Adam Gazzaley, M.D., Ph.D. is the David Dolby Distinguished Professor of Neurology, Physiology and Psychiatry at the UCSF, and the Founder & Executive Director of Neuroscape at UCSF. Dr. Gazzaley is co-founder and Chief Science Advisor of Akili Interactive, Sensync and JAZZ Venture... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 6:50pm - 7:10pm EDT
Mainstage

Health & Wellness, Keynote

7:10pm EDT

Closing Remarks

Speakers

Susanna Pollack

President, Games for Change

Thursday July 16, 2020 7:10pm - 7:20pm EDT
Mainstage

Special Sessions & Events, G4C Announcements