Tracy Fullerton
Guest Speaker
Professional Affiliation
Professor in the USC Interactive Media & Games Division of the USC School of Cinematic Arts and Director of the Game Innovation Lab at USC
Expert Bio
Tracy Fullerton, M.F.A. is an experimental game designer, professor and director emeritus of the program. Her research center, the , has produced several influential independent games, including Cloud, flOw, Darfur is Dying, The Night Journey, with artist Bill Viola and Walden, a game, a simulation of Henry David Thoreau鈥檚 experiment at Walden Pond which was named 鈥淕ame of the Year鈥 at Games for Change 2017 and 鈥淒eveloper Choice鈥 at IndieCade 2017. Tracy is the author of 鈥,鈥 a design textbook used at game programs worldwide, and holder of the Electronic Arts Endowed Chair in Interactive Entertainment.
Prior to joining the USC faculty, she was president and founder of the interactive television game developer, Spiderdance, Inc. Spiderdance鈥檚 games included NBC鈥檚 ,&苍产蝉辫;惭罢痴鈥檚 , The WB鈥檚 , History Channel鈥檚 , Sony Game Show Network鈥檚 and TBS鈥檚 . Before starting Spiderdance, Tracy was a founding member of the New York design firm R/GA Interactive. As a producer and creative director she created games and interactive products for clients including Sony, Intel, Microsoft, AdAge, Ticketmaster, Compaq, and Warner Bros. among many others. Notable projects include Sony鈥檚 Multiplayer and Multiplayer and MSN鈥檚 , the first multiplayer casual game. Additionally, Tracy was Creative Director at the interactive film studio Interfilm, where she wrote and co-directed the 鈥渃inematic game鈥 , starring Adam West and Matthew Lillard. She began her career as a designer at Bob Abel鈥檚 company Synapse, where she worked on the interactive documentary Columbus: Encounter, Discovery and Beyond and other early interactive projects.
Tracy鈥檚 work has received numerous industry honors including an Emmy nomination for interactive television, best Family/Board Game from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, most 鈥渟ublime experience,鈥 the 鈥淚mpact鈥 and 鈥淭railblazer鈥 awards from the Indiecade Festival, ID Magazine鈥檚 Interactive Design Review, Communication Arts Interactive Design Annual, several New Media Invision awards, iMix Best of Show, the Digital Coast Innovation Award, IBC鈥檚 Nombre D鈥橭r, Time Magazine鈥檚 Best of the Web and the Hollywood Reporter鈥檚 Women in Entertainment Power 100.
