Colleen Macklin | |
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![]() Colleen Macklin, 2014 | |
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]