Colleen Macklin | |
---|---|
Occupation(s) | Video game designer Professor |
Years active | 1993 - Present |
Notable work | PETLab |
Website | https://www.colleenmacklin.com/ |
Colleen Macklin is a female game designer,[1] an associate professor of media design at Parsons The New School for Design and founder and co-director of PETLab (Prototyping Education and Technology Lab) which focuses on games for experimental learning and social engagement.[2]
She has a BFA in Media Arts from Pratt Institute and has done graduate studies in computer science at City University of New York and in international affairs at The New School.[3]
On July 26, 2012, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy launched an Academic Consortium on Games for Impact.[4] Macklin was one of 16 academics invited to join the invitation-only group.[5]
PETLab, the research group Macklin founded and co-directs, is known for encouraging "creative approaches to, and deeper, dynamic understandings of, the complex issues society faces today, such as climate change, wealth and resource distribution, and media literacy."[6][7][8] The project also aims to get games to teach the player by allowing them to reflect on not only what the game is about but also how it's structured.[9]
She was part of game design group Local No. 12 who made games like Dear Reader, an online word puzzle game, and The Metagame, a board/card game .[10]
In 2011, she was a visiting scholar at University of California, Los Angeles's Art | Sci Center + Lab.[11]
Macklin also speaks about "what it means to be a woman in games" as well as speaking on the topic of gay gamers.[12][13] In 2014, Macklin appeared in the LGBTQ video games documentary film Gaming In Color.[14]