Chris Swain is an American game designer, entrepreneur, and professor. He is the founder of two venture-backed game companies. He worked full-time as a professor at

The University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

from 2004-2011.

Career

Swain started his career in at Robert Abel’s interactive software company Synapse Technologies. Chris was VP of Programming at game developer Spiderdance, Inc, where his work included participatory television projects. He was a founding member of R/GA Interactive. Swain co-founded the Electronic Arts Game Innovation Lab at USC and served as the director of the USC Games Institute. He co-authored the first edition of ''Game Design Workshop: Designing, Prototyping, & Playtesting Games'' with

Tracy Fullerton Tracy Fullerton (born June 21, 1965) is an American game designer, educator and writer. She is a Professor in the USC Interactive Media & Games Division of the USC School of Cinematic Arts and Director of the Game Innovation Lab at USC. In 2014 ...

and Steven Hoffman in 2004. Notable projects in his early career include: Netwits for the

Microsoft Network MSN (meaning Microsoft Network) is a web portal and related collection of Internet services and Mobile app, apps for Windows and mobile devices, provided by Microsoft and launched on August 24, 1995, alongside the release of Windows 95. MSN Dia ...

, Multiplayer Jeopardy! and Multiplayer Wheel of Fortune for

Sony Online Daybreak Game Company LLC is an American video game developer based in San Diego. The company was founded in December 1997 as Sony Online Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment, but was spun off to an independent investor i ...

, Stickerworld for

Children's Television Workshop Sesame Workshop (SW), originally known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), is an American nonprofit organization that has been responsible for the production of several educational children's programs—including its first and best-know ...

, and Poetry of Structure, the interactive companion to

Ken Burns Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary film, documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle United States, American History of the United States, history and Culture of the ...

’ documentary about

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

. Swain served on the board of directors of the

Academy of Television Arts & Sciences The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the television industry in the United States. It is a 501(c)(6) non-prof ...

from 2000 to 2004. The games ''SurgeWorld'' and ''Immune Attack'' (2006) address health topics. ''The Redistricting Game'' (2006) models

gerrymandering In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...

, aimed at informing voters. Enhanced Learning with Creative Technologies (ELECT) is a project funded by the US Military which produced a game on

urbanism Urbanism is the study of how inhabitants of urban areas, such as towns and cities, interact with the built environment. It is a direct component of disciplines such as urban planning, which is the profession focusing on the physical design and m ...

, as well as a game about bi-lateral negotiation. Swain is also known for his mentorship of students at USC. Several projects by his students, for which he was their advisor, have gone on to become published games. These include '' fl0w'' (Sony PlayStation), ''Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom'' (2K Games), and ''Reflection'' (Konami). In 2010, Swain founded the games studio Talkie for story-driven social games. They created the

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

game Ecotopia to promote environmental conservation, launched in 2011.

References

External links

Video of Chris Swain speaking at MIT on the Future of Games

Interview in Forbes about independent games
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swain, Chris American academics American video game designers Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American male writers University of Southern California faculty