Chris Swain

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Chris Swain is an American game designer, educator, and co-author of the textbook Game Design Workshop.

He is an Assistant Professor in the USC School of Cinematic Arts’ Interactive Media Division. He co-directs the Electronic Arts Game Innovation Lab at USC.[1] As of 2007 his grant funded lab projects include:

• Immune Attack – funded by National Science Foundation. An immersive 3D game set at in the human blood stream at the level of immune cells. The game teaches immunobiology to AP biology students. It was created in collaboration with Brown University, the USC Gamepipe Lab, and the Federation of American Scientists.[2]

• The New New Deal – funded by the Rockefeller Foundation. A simulation game based on the writings of Los Angeles Times economics correspondent Peter Gossellin. The game explores the shifts in the US economy from a new deal economy (in which economic risk was largely shouldered by government and corporations) to an ownership economy (in which risk is shouldered more by individual households).

• Enhanced Learning with Creative Technologies (ELECT-BiLat) – funded by the United States Army. It’s a PC game that teaches cultural sensitivity and bi-lateral negotiation. This game has a unique conversation engine that allows players to derive meaningful play from conversational actions vs physical actions. The project was produced for USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies.[3]

• The Redistricting Game – funded by the Annenberg Center for Communication. This is a game that attempts to educate people about the issues surrounding congressional redistricting. In addition it attempts to empower people to take civic action regarding redistricting reform.[4]

Chris served as one of the faculty advisors on the game fl0w which began as an MFA thesis project and was released by Sony Computer Entertainment of America for the Playstation 3 in March 2007.

As with all projects in the EA Game Innovation Lab the games above attempt to push conventional wisdom about what games are and can be.

Prior to coming to USC Chris was a founding member of the New York design firm R/GA Interactive. At R/GA he lead development of over 150 interactive products for clients that include Microsoft, Sony, Disney, Activision, America Online, Warner Bros., PBS, BBC, Intel, IBM, Kodak, Discovery Channel, Ticketmaster, and many other companies. Notable projects include: Netwits for the Microsoft Network, Multiplayer Jeopardy! and Multiplayer Wheel of Fortune for Sony Online, Stickerworld for Children's Television Workshop, and Poetry of Structure – the interactive companion to Ken Burns’ documentary about Frank Lloyd Wright.

Chris was vp of production at game developer Spiderdance, Inc. Spiderdance’s participatory television projects included webRIOT [5] for MTV and Weakest Link Interactive for NBC among others.

Chris served on the Board of Directors of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Emmy’s) from 2000 – 2004 and on the Board of Advisors for the American Film Institute’s Enhanced Television Workshop from 1999 - 2002. He started his career in 1991 at Robert Abel’s pioneering interactive software company Synapse Technologies.

His projects have received many awards including Time Magazine’s Best of the Web.