CeliaPearceCV_Formatted_Spring2020

Page 1 of 19

Section D

Celia Pearce – Curriculum Vitae

Employment and Education History

Employment

2014–Present Associate Professor of Game Design

Northeastern University College of Arts, Media and Design, Department of Art + Design,

Boston, MA

2006–2014 Assistant/Associate Professor of Digital Media

Georgia Institute of Technology Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, School of Literature,

Media, and Communication, Atlanta, GA

2001–2006 Lecturer/Visiting Researcher/Arts Research Manager (Joint Appointments)

University of California, Irvine, Claire Trevor School of the Arts; Donald Bren School of

Information and Computer Science; California Institute for Telecommunications and

Information Technology (Calit2), Irvine, CA, and San Diego, CA

2006–Present Co-Founder and Festival Chair/Special Project Director

IndieCade International Festival of Independent Games

1998–2001 Adjunct Instructor/Interactive Media Program Head/Visiting Researcher

University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts; Information Sciences Institute;

Annenberg Center for Communications, Los Angeles, CA, and Marina Del Ray, CA

1989–Present Experience and Game Design Consultant

Celia Pearce & Friends, Los Angeles, CA/Atlanta, GA/Boston, MA

1983–1989 Senior Game Designer/Project Manager

Edwin Schlossberg Incorporated, New York, NY

Education

2006 PhD in Site-Specific Media Arts

SMARTlab, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, University of the Arts, London

Thesis: “Playing Ethnography: A study of emergent behaviour in online games and virtual

worlds.” Advisor: Dr. Lizbeth Goodman

Note: No prior degrees. Professional accomplishments were accepted in lieu of prior degrees for admission into the PhD

program. These included award-winning interactive media projects, scholarly publications including a book, and academic

appointments including helping to set up a master’s degree program. See remainder of CV for details.

Celia Pearce — Curriculum Vitae

Page 2 of 19

Research/Scholarship/Creative Activity

Publications

Reviewed Articles

Pearce, C., Gillian, S., Choi. J., & Carlsson, I. (2017). Designing eBee: A reflection on quilt-based game

design. Proceedings of the 12

International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games 201, August 14–17,

Hyannis, MA. Winner – Best Paper. (50% Contribution)

Pearce, C., Gillian, S., Choi. J., & Carlsson, I. (2016). eBee: Merging quilting, electronics & board game

design. Proceedings of the CHI 2016 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, May 7–12, San Jose,

CA. (50% Contribution)

Symborski, C., Pearce, C., Barton, M., & Crane, G. F. (2013). Quantitative and qualitative methods in virtual

worlds behavioral research. Proceedings of the 2013 DiGRA International Conference, August 26–29, Atlanta,

GA. (25% Contribution)

Rosier, K., & Pearce, C. (2011). Doing gender vs. player gender in online worlds: Masculinity and femininity

in Second Life and Guild Wars. Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds, 3(2). (25% Contribution)

Magerko, B., Manzoul, W., Riedl, M., Baumer, A., Fuller, D., Luther, K., & Pearce, C. (2009). An empirical

study of cognition and theatrical improvisation. Proceedings of the 7th ACM Conference on Creativity and

Cognition, October 27–30, Berkeley, CA. (20% Contribution)

Pearce, C. (2009). Collaboration, creativity and learning in a play community: A study of the university of

there. Proceedings of the 2009 DiGRA International Conference September 1–4, London, England.

Pearce, C. (2008). Spatial literacy: Reading (and writing) game space. Proceedings of the 13

Vienna Video Games

Conference, Future and Reality of Gaming, October 17–19, Vienna, Austria.

Morie, J. F., & Pearce, C. (2008). Uses of digital enchantment: Computer games as the new fairy tales.

Proceedings of the 13

Vienna Video Games Conference, Future and Reality of Gaming, October 17–19, Vienna,

Austria. (50% Contribution)

Pearce, C. (2008). Identity-as-place: Trans-ludic identities in mediated play communities—The case of the

Uru diaspora. Proceedings of Internet 9.0: Association of Internet Researchers, October 15–18, Copenhagen,

Denmark.

Fron, J., Fullerton, T., Morie, J., & Pearce, C. (aka Ludica). (2007). The hegemony of play. Proceedings of the

2007 DiGRA International Conference, September, 309–318, Tokyo, Japan. (25% Contribution)

Fullerton, T., Morie, J., & Pearce, C. (aka Ludica). (2007). A game of one’s own: Towards a new gendered

poetics of digital space. Proceedings of the 2

International Conference on Digital Interactive Media in Entertainment

Arts, September, 136–146, Perth, Australia. (25% Contribution)

Fron, J., Fullerton, T., Morie, J., & Pearce, C. (aka Ludica). (2007). Playing dress-up: Costume, roleplay and

imagination. Conference Proceedings of the Philosophy of Computer Games, January 25–27, Reggio-Emilia, Italy.

(25% Contribution)

Pearce, C., & Ashmore, C. (2007). Principles of emergent design in online games: Mermaids phase 1

prototype. Proceedings of the 2007 ACM SIGGRAPH Symposium on Video Games, July, 65–72. (70%

Contribution)

Pearce, C. (2008). The truth about baby boomer gamers. Games & Culture, 3(1), 142–174.

Celia Pearce — Curriculum Vitae

Page 3 of 19

Pearce, C. (2006). Productive play: Game culture from the bottom up. Games & Culture, 1(1), 17–24.

Pearce, C. (2006). Games as art: The aesthetics of play. In K. Friedman & O. Smith (Eds.), S. Poggenpohl

(Series Ed. and Publisher), Fluxus and Legacy: Special Issue of Visible Language, 40(1), Part 2, 66–89.

Fron, J., Fullerton, T., Morie, J., & Pearce, C. (aka Ludica). (2005). Sustainable play: Towards a New Games

movement for the digital age. Proceedings of the Digital Arts and Culture 2005 Conference, December,

Copenhagen, Denmark. (25% Contribution)

Pearce, C. (2005). Theory wars: An argument against arguments in the so-called ludology/narratology

debate. Proceedings of the 2005 DiGRA International Conference, June 16–20, Vancouver, Canada.

Pearce, C. (2002). Emergent authorship: The next interactive revolution. Computers & Graphics, 26(1), 21–30.

Pearce, C. (1994). The ins & outs of nonlinear storytelling. Computer Graphics, 28(1), 100–101.

Non-Reviewed Articles

Ellis, J., Nardi, B., & Pearce, C. (2009). Productive play: Beyond binaries. Productive Play: Special Issue of Artifact,

2(2), 60–68. (50% Contribution)

Fron, J., Fullerton, T., Morie, J., & Pearce, C. (aka Ludica). (2007). Sustainable play: Towards a new games

movement for the digital age. Invited reprint. Games & Culture, 2(3), 261–278. (25% Contribution)

Pearce, C. (2005). The art of worldbuiling: A conversation with Raph Koster. Game Studies Journal, 5(1), May.

Pearce, C. (2003). Game noir: A conversation with Tim Shafer. Game Studies Journal, 3(3), May.

Pearce, C. (2002). The player with many faces: A conversation with Louis Castle. Game Studies Journal, 2(2),

December.

Pearce, C. (2002). Sims, BattleBots, cellular automata, God and Go: A conversation with Will Wright. Game

Studies Journal, 2(2), July.

Books

Pearce, C. (in press). IndieCade: A history—The interdependence of independents. Pittsburgh: ETC/CMU Press.

Hollengreen, L, Pearce, C., Rouse, R., & Schweizer, B. (Eds.) (2014). Meet me at the fair: A world’s fair reader.

Pittsburgh: ETC/CMU Press. (25% Contribution)

Boellstorff, T., Nardi, B., Pearce, C., & Taylor, T. L. (2012). Ethnography and virtual worlds: A handbook of method.

Princeton: Princeton University Press. (25% Contribution)

Pearce, C. (2009). Communities of play: Emergent cultures in multiplayer games and virtual worlds. Cambridge, MA:

MIT Press.

Pearce, C. (1997). The interactive book: A guide to the interactive revolution. Indianapolis: Macmillan Technical

Publishing.

Celia Pearce — Curriculum Vitae

Page 4 of 19

Book Chapters

Pearce, C. (in press). Playing ethnography: Participant engagement in role/play. In D. Snyder-Young & M.

Omasta (Eds.), Impacting audiences: Methods for studying change. New York: Routledge.

Pearce, C. (in press). Foreword: “Press play.” In B. De Koven with H. Gramazio, E. Zimmerman & C.

Pearce (Eds.), The infinite playground: A player's guide to imagination (pp. xi–xiv). Cambridge, MA: MIT

Press.

Pearce, C. (in press). Strange bedfellows: Indie games and academia. In P. Ruffino (Ed.), Independent

videogames: Cultures, networks, techniques and politics. London: Routledge.

Pearce, C., & Schweizer, B. (2016). Remediation on the high seas: A Pirates of the Caribbean odyssey. In S.

A. Lukas (Ed.), Reader in immersive and themed spaces (pp. 95–106). Pittsburgh: ETC/CMU Press. (50%

Contribution)

Pearce, C. (2016). Curating for diversity. In Y. B. Kafai, G. T. Richard, & B. M. Tynes (Eds.), Diversifying

Barbie and Mortal Kombat: Intersectional perspectives and inclusive designs in gaming (pp. 200–216). Pittsburgh:

ETC/CMU Press.

Pearce, C. (2016). Role-play, improvisation and emergent authorship. In G. Lewis & B. Piekut (Eds.), The

Oxford handbook of critical improvisation studies, volume 2 (pp. 445–468). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Pearce, C. (2015). Foreword. In A. Harvey, Gender, age, and digital games in the domestic context (pp. xi–xiv). New

York: Routledge.

Pearce, C. (2014). Eames at the fair: A legacy of communication design. In L. Hollengreen, C. Pearce, R.

Rouse, & B. Schweizer (Eds.), Meet me at the fair: A world’s fair reader (pp. 207–220). Pittsburgh:

ETC/CMU Press.

Pearce, C. (2014). Independent and art games. In M. L. Ryan, L. Emerson, & B. J. Robertson (Eds.), The

Johns Hopkins guide to digital media (pp. 273–277). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Pearce, C. (2014). Online game communities. In M. L. Ryan, L. Emerson, & B. J. Robertson (Eds.), The Johns

Hopkins guide to digital media (pp. 367–371). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Pearce, C. (2011). Identity-as-place: The construction of game refugees and fictive ethnicities. In G.

Crawford, V. Gosling, & B. Light (Eds.), Online gaming in context: The social and cultural significance of online

games (pp. 161–183). London: Routledge.

Pearce, C. (2011). Simulation and other reenactments. In S. Cook and S. Diamond (Eds.), Euphoria and

dystopia (pp. 273–274). Banff: Banff Centre Press.

Pearce, C. (2010). Discovering uru: Hard fun and the sublime pleasures of impossible gameplay. In D.

Davidson (Ed.), Well-played 2.0: Video games, value and meaning (pp. 159–187). Pittsburgh: ETC/CMU

Press.

Pearce, C. (2010). The diasporic game community: Trans-ludic communities and latitudinal research across

multiple games and virtual worlds. In W. S. Bainbridge (Ed.), Online worlds: Convergence of the real and the

virtual (pp. 43–56). London: Springer-Verlig.

Fron, J., Fullerton, T., Morie, J., & Pearce, C. (aka Ludica). (2008). Getting girls into the game: Towards a

virtuous cycle. In Y. Kafai, C. Heeter, J. Denner, & J.Y. Sun (Eds.), Beyond Barbie and Mortal Kombat: New

perspectives in gender and gaming (pp. 161–176). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. (25% Contribution)

Pearce, C. (2007). Communities of play: The social construction of identity in persistent online game worlds.

In N. Wardrip-Fruin & P. Harrigan (Eds.), Second person: Role-playing and story in games and playable media

(pp. 311–318). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Celia Pearce — Curriculum Vitae

Page 5 of 19

Pearce, C. (2007). Narrative environments from Disneyland to World of Warcraft. In F. von Borries, S. P.

Walz, & M. Böttger (Eds.), Space, time, play: Computer games, architecture and urbanism: The next level (pp. 200–

205). Basel, Switzerland: Birkhäuser.

Pearce, C. (2004). Towards a game theory of game. In N. Wardrip-Fruin & P. Harrigan (Eds.), First person:

New media as story, performance and game (pp. 143–153). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Pearce, C. (1997). Beyond shoot your friends. In C. Dodsworth (Ed.), Digital illusion (pp. 209–228). New

York: Addison-Wesley.

Abstracts

Pearce, C. (2006). Seeing and being seen: Presence and play in online virtual worlds. Workshop, Online,

Offline & the Concept of Presence when Games and VR Collide, USC Centers for Creative

Technologies, Los Angeles, October 25–27.

Other Publications

Research Reports

Pearce, C., Symborski, C., & Blackburn, B. R. (2015). Virtual worlds survey report: A trans-world study of non-game

virtual worlds–Demographics, attitudes, and preferences. March, Leidos.

Edwards, K., Weststar, J., Meloni, W., Pearce, C., & Legault, M. J. (2014). IGDA developer satisfaction survey

2014–Summary report. June 25, International Game Developers Association.

Exhibition Catalog Chapters

Pearce, C. (2010). Games as art: The aesthetics of play. In C. Touchon (Ed.), Fluxhibition #4 Catalog (pp. 9–

41). Revised and Reprinted with additional reviews and new introduction.

Pearce, C. (2002). Story as play space: Narrative in games. In L. King (Ed.), Game On Exhibition Catalog (pp.

112–119). London: Lawrence King Publishing Limited.

Editorial

Pearce, C., & Losh, E. (Eds.), Media Origins Book Series, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Books published to

date: Wernimont, J. (2019), Numbered lives: Life and death in quantum media.

De Koven, B. and Gramazio, H. (in press), C. Pearce & E. Zimmerman (Eds.), The infinite playground: A

player’s guide to imagination. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Ellis, J., Nardi, B., & Pearce, C. (eds.). (2009). Productive Play: Special Issue of Artifact, 2(2). Served as co-editor

on referred special issue of Artifact. Note that publication date is mislabeled on the publication’s web

site as 2008. (50% Contribution)

Celia Pearce — Curriculum Vitae

Page 6 of 19

Presentations

International

August 2018. “Project:INDIE – Understanding the Indie Ecosystem.” Workshop presentation. Digital Games

Research Association, Turin, Italy.

August 2018. “Remembering Bernie De Koven,” with Eric Zimmerman and John Sharp. Presentation. Digital

Games Research Association, Turin, Italy.

June 2018. “Strange Bedfellows: Indie Games & Academia.” Keynote. Develop: Brighton, Academic Summit,

Brighton, UK.

November 2016. IndieCade Europe, Paris.

October 2016. ReFIG, Montreal Canada.

September 2016. Incubate Arcade, Tilburg, Netherlands.

August 2016. Guest lecture. Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden.

August 2016. First International Joint Conference of DiGRA and FDG, Dundee, Scotland

May 2016. CHI, San Jose, California

August 2015. SIGGRAPH 2015 Conference, Los Angeles. California.

October 2014. Keynote. Creative Territories, Bristol, UK.

June 2013. Speaker. Feminists in Games, Vancouver, Canada.

February 2013. Speaker. Euphoria and Dystopia, Toronto, Canada.

2012. Speaker. Feminists in Games, Toronto, Canada.

November 2010. Speaker. ITU Copenhagen, Denmark.

September 1–4, 2009. “Some Assembly Required”: Starting and Growing a Game Lab (w/ Mary Flanagan).”

Panel. 2009 DiGRA International Conference, London, UK.

November 20–21, 2008. Online avatar keynote. Virtueel Platform, Walled Garden, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

July 2008. Online avatar keynote. IADIS Multi Conference on Computer Science and Information Systems,

Amsterdam, Netherlands.

October 2007. Guest lecture. Chelsea College of Art and Design, London, UK.

July 19–22, 2007. Cultural Studies Now, University of East London, London, UK.

February 2007. Keynote. Media Terra, Athens, Greece.

July 2005. Invited panelist. Interactive Screen, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Banff, Canada.

February 2005. Invited lecture/keynote. Game Innovation Workshop, Maastricht, Netherlands.

April 2004. Panelist. Simulations and Other Re-enactments, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Banff,

Canada.

April 2004. Guest lecture. Simon Frasier University, Vancouver, Canada.

November 2003. Paper presentation. Digital Games Research Association, Utrecht, Netherlands.

October 2003. Panelist. Skinning Our Tools, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Banff, Canada.

November 2002. Panelist. b-playful, National Center for Popular Music, Sheffield, UK.

Fall 2000. Speaker. Living Architectures, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Banff, Canada.

Spring 2000. Panelist, master class instructor. Banff Television Festival, Banff, Canada.

Celia Pearce — Curriculum Vitae

Page 7 of 19

Spring 2000. Panelist. Emotional Computing, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Banff, Canada.

Fall 1999. Keynote. Scope1: Information vs. Meaning, Vienna, Austria.

Summer 1999. Panelist. Interactive Screen, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Banff, Canada.

1998. Panelist, master class instructor. Banff Television Festival 1998, Banff, Canada.

1995. Speaker. CyberDesigners, Denmark.

1995. Panelist. Virtual Reality Symposium, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001. Panelist. SIGGRAPH.

National

October 2019. “Indie Histories” with Jesper Juul. Keynote Conversation. IndieCade, Los Angeles, California

November 2018. “My Mother was a Computer”: Legacies of Gender and Technology. Panel on gender and

gaming, William and Mary College, Williamsburg, Virginia.

October 2018. IndieCade, Los Angeles, California:

• “VR Time Travel.” Keynote panel organizer/moderator.

• “Escape from the Theme Park.” Panel organizer/moderator.

• “(The) Play's the Thing: Games Meet Theatre.” Keynote conversation with Anthony Robinson.

February 2018. “Playable Theatre Project.” Presentation. Immersive Design Summit, San Francisco, California

October 2017. IndieCade 10th Anniversary Panel. Panelist. IndieCade, Los Angeles, California.

Summer 2017. “Playing with History: Creating Games Around Historical Themes & Content.” Panelist.

Foundations of Digital Games Conference, Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

October 2016. Keynote conversation with Rand Miller. IndieCade, Los Angeles, California.

July 2016. “A Decade of Indies: A View from the Trenches.” Presentation. Boston Indies, Boston,

Massachusetts.

December 2015. “Confessions of a Serial Instigator.” Presentation. Boston Women in Games, Boston,

Massachusetts.

August 2015. Artist’s talk on eBee Project. Presentation. SIGGRAPH 2015, Los Angeles, California.

March 2015. Panelist. Game Developers Conference, San Francisco, California.

March 2015. Educators Summit. Panelist. Game Developers Conference, San Francisco, California.

October 2014. Speaker. IndieCade, Los Angeles, California.

April 2014. Panelist. Different Games, NYU Games Center, New York, New York.

October 2013. Panelist/speaker. IndieCade 2013, Los Angeles, California.

August 2013. Panelist. Digital Games Research Association, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, Georgia.

April 2013. Keynote. Different Games, NYU Polytechnic Institute, New York, New York.

February 2010. Speaker. Art History of Games, Woodruff Arts Center, Atlanta, Georgia.

June 2009. Games 101 Workshop. Co-facilitator. Games for Change, New School/Parsons School of Design,

New York, New York.

February 2009. StoryBox Workshop. Invited workshop participant. USC Institute for Creative Technologies,

Los Angeles, California.

April 2008. Panelist. Cultures of Virtual Worlds, UC Irvine, Irvine, California.

February 2006. Speaker. Living Game Worlds II, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia.

Celia Pearce — Curriculum Vitae

Page 8 of 19

March 2005. Speaker. Living Game Worlds, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia.

Spring 2001. Panelist. Digital Arts and Culture, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island.

1995. Panelist. Mecklermdia VR World, San Jose, California.

1990. Speaker. Hypermedia for Museums, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Regional

February 2019. “Strange Bedfellows: Academia & the Indie Games Ecosystem.” Presentation. Boston FIG,

BFIG Learns, Boston, Massachusetts.

2018. “Teaching Video Game Design (and Feminism!) Through Larping.” Presentation with Lizzie Stark.

Living Games 2018 Edularp Summit, Boston, Massachusetts.

February 2018. “Beyond Screens.” Presentation. IndieCade East, New York, New York.

2018. Guest critic. Games and Ancient Cultures 2018, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

April 2016. Speaker. IndieCade East, New York, New York.

February 2015. Speaker, panelist. IndieCade East, New York, New York.

November 2014. Guest lecture. MIT Comparative Media Studies, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

February 2014. Town hall moderator. IndieCade East, Museum of the Moving Image, Astoria New York.

February 2013. Panel moderator. IndieCade East, Museum of the Moving Image, Astoria, New York

September 2012. Panelist. MIT Comparative Media Studies Program, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

December 2010 Guest lecture. Design Dialogs Lecture Series, Pasadena Art Center, Pasadena, California.

June 2011. Guest lecture. Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

February 2009. Guest lecture. MIT Comparative Media Studies Program, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

February 3, 2009. Distinguished speaker. Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire.

June 2008. Guest lecture. University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California.

April 24, 2007. Guest lecture. Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Georgia.

September 2005. Guest lecture. University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California.

February 2005. Guest lecture. University of Ohio, Aesthetic Technologies Lab, Athens, Ohio.

Awards and Honors

50 over 50 List: GameAdvocacy.org, 2018

Winner, Best Paper: Foundations of Digital Games, 2017

Fellow: Higher Education Video Game Alliance (HEVGA), 2017

Winner, eBee: Most Innovative Tabletop Game: Boston Festival of Independent Games, 2016

Best Virtual Reality: Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (Now D.I.C.E.), 1995

Celia Pearce — Curriculum Vitae

Page 9 of 19

Creative Activity

Performance

(F)unfair (in production)

Participatory immersive theatre project. Co-creator with Nick O'Leary. Signed for production in the

2020/2021 season by Dacha Theatre in Seattle (postponed from July 2020 due to Covid-19 pandemic).

www.funfairshow.com

Return to Innocence (2019)

Live-action roleplaying game. Co-creator with Swedish designer/researcher/author Annika Waern.

• Sandcon 2019, Ocean City, New Jersey, September 2019 (commissioned).

The Night Cafe (July 2019)

Created three commissioned pieces for participatory/immersive theatre performance developed by Kellian

Pletcher-Adams and Lizzie Stark around theme of insomnia:

• Suite for Overhead Project: Pop Quiz: Series of test-themed games played on an analog overhead

projector.

• Fluxus Scores: Series of original and repurposed Fluxus scores do be conducted throughout the café.

• writers/block: a beat poetry game: Cut-up poetry game using work from selected Beat Generation

authors.

nGender (May 2018)

A site-specific live action role-plaiyng game for 7–8 people designed to take place in a thrift shop, in which

each player adds one item of clothing to each other player, constructing their identity and gender.

• Premiered at Living Games: A Week in Boston (Curated), The Garment District, Cambridge,

Masschusetts, May 2018.

Exhibitions

Games

Who Is R. Mutt?

(2015–Present)

“Readymade” pervasive/alternate reality/augmented reality/transmedia game concerning the attribution

controversy surrounding Fontaine, the infamous urinal alleged to have been submitted to the Society of

International Artists by Marcel Duchamp in 1917. Created with students at Northeastern as part of

Paidia Studios. Exhibitions include:

• Featured at Museum of Fine Arts (Boston, Massachusetts) Museums and the Web Reception, April

2019 (curated).

Fracture/Blinks

(2016–Present)

Electronic board game about diversity created for the Blinks smart tile system, originally developed by

Jonathan Bobrow at the MIT Media Lab’s Playful Systems group. Fracture was the first game created for the

system. Developed under the umbrella of Paidia Studios with Northeastern student Jeanie Choi, along with

MIT students Bobrow, Mike Lazer-Walker, and Joshua Sloane. Released in 2019 as a launch game with the

core Blinks set. Currently over 1,250 copies distributed to over 50 countries. Presented at:

• Toy Fair Inventors Showcase, New York, March 2019 (invited).

• IndieCade Nominee, Los Angeles, October 2016 (refereed).

Celia Pearce — Curriculum Vitae

Page 10 of 19

eBee (2015–Present)

Electronic quilt/board game hybrid, developed with games faculty member Gillian Smith, grad student Jeanie

Choi, and undergraduate research assistant Isabella Carlsson, under a Faculty Research and Creative Activity

Incentive Grants (FRCAIG) from Northeastern University’s College of Arts, Media and Design. Project web

site: www.ebeeproject.net . Presented at:

• Museums and the Web Arcade, Sheraton Hotel, Boston, Massachusetts, April 2019 (curated).

• Foundations of Digital Games (Award Recipient: Best Paper), Cape Cod, Massachusetts, August 2017

(refereed paper).

• Tech Poetics, Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, October 2015 (refereed).

• SIGGRAPH Studio, Los Angeles, California, August 2015 (refereed).

• Foundations of Digital Games, Crafts Workshop, Pacific Grove, California, June 2015 (refereed).

• IndieCade 2016 Game Tasting, Los Angeles, California, October 2016 (curated).

• Blank Arcade, DiGRA 2016, Dundee, Scotland, August 2016 (refereed).

• Boston Festival of Independent Games (Award Recipient: Most Innovative Tabletop Game), Boston,

Massachusetts, September 2016 (refereed).

• Boston Maker Fair, Boston, Massachusetts, July 2016 (refereed).

• CHI 2016 Art Exhibition, San Jose, California, May 2016 (refereed).

• Different Games 2016, New York, New York, April 2016 (refereed).

• Smithsonian Indie Arcade, Washington, DC, January 2016 (refereed).

CLITar (2015)

Arduino/Lilypad based feminist guitar controller developed in collaboration with the UCLA voidLab

(formerly CLITlab) while Artist-in-Residence at the UCLA Game Lab in the School of Design|Media Arts in

summer of 2015. Presented at:

• Different Games 2016, New York, New York, April 2016 (refereed).

• Incubate Arcade 2016, Tilburg, Netherlands, September 2016 (curated).

Candy Crusher (2015)

Physical board created as part of Northeastern-based arts research studio Paidia Studios in collaboration with

grad student Jeanie Choi. Presented at:

• Boston Festival of Independent Games, Boston, Massachusetts, September 2015 (refereed).

• Come Out & Play, New York, New York, July 2015 (refereed).

• IndieCade East Show & Tell, New York, New York, February 2015 (curated).

• Come Out & Play with Your Food, Tribeca Film Festival, New York, New York, 2015 (curated).

Suite for Overhead Projectors (2015)

A series of fluxus-inspired scores for analog overhead projector. Created as part of Northeastern-based arts

research studio Paidia Studios in collaboration with grad student Jeanie Choi. Presented at:

• Come Out & Play, New York, New York, July 2015 (refereed).

• BYOB: Bring Your Own Beamer Party, Charlestown, Massachusetts, March 2015 (curated).

Curation

IndieCade, Co-Founder/Co-Curator (2006–Present)

Co-founder and Festival Chair of IndieCade, a series of juried and curated festivals and showcases celebrating

independent, alternative and art games, launched in 2007. Responsibilities have included coordinating juried

game selection, co-chairing conference program, selecting games for curated showcases, and curating award

trophies. http://www.indiecade.com

Celia Pearce — Curriculum Vitae

Page 11 of 19

XYZ: Alternative Voices in Game Design (Museum of Design Atlanta, Summer 2013)

Held at the Museum of Design Atlanta, the first exhibition to focus on woman game designers and artists. Co-

curated with Akira Thompson, Cindy Poremba, and John Sharp. http://xyz.lmc.gatech.edu/

The New West (ISEA 2007)

Exhibition of “digital folk art” created within the virtual worlds of Second Life. Co-curated with Jacquelyn

Ford Morie, Janine Fron and Tracy Fullerton aka Ludica (refereed).

ALT+CTRL: Festival of Independent and Alternative Games (Beall Center for Art & Technology, 2004)

Supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Co-curated with Robert Nideffer and

Antoinette LaFarge.

Mapping the Unfindable: The Work of Norman Klein (Beall Center for Art & Technology, 2004)

Retrospective celebrating the work of Los Angeles–based historian and cultural critic, Norman Klein. Beall

Center for Art & Technology, UC Irvine. Co-curated with Indi McCarthy.

Projects

Playable Theatre Project (2018–Present)

An interdisciplinary arts research project, created with Northeastern Theatre instructor Dr. Dani Snyder-

Young and part-time instructor Sam Liberty, to explore audience agency in participatory and immersive at the

intersection of theatre, game design, and live action roleplaying. Recipient of a 2018 faculty development grant

from the College of Arts, Media and Design. (Also see Grants.)

Artist-in-Residence, Blast Theory (Summer 2018)

Artist-in-residence at Blast Theory, an internationally renowned, award-winning arts/performance group that

has pioneered public, pervasive and locative art and games since the late 1990s. Spent six months in residence

at their studio in Brighton/Portslade UK.

CAMD VR Working Group (Spring 2018)

Research group exploring VR across disciplines. Initiated by Media Arts/Art+Design faculty member David

Tames.

Georgia Tech Projects

Emergent Game Group {egg} (2006–2014)

From 2006 to 2014, headed up the Emergent Game Group {egg} at Georgia Institute of Technology. The

aim of this research lab/game studio was to design multiplayer game prototypes through the applications

principles of emergence drawn from my social science research into games and virtual worlds. Projects were

developed collaboratively with over 100 students during seven years. Projects developed there included:

Incubator Games

(2014)

An experimental project led by students at Georgia Tech under my supervision to research various forms of

emergence in games and develop prototypes that promote emergent behavior.

Re:Activism Atlanta (2013–2014)

Developed a site-specific version of activist pervasive game originally created by Parsons School of Design’s

PETlab. The goal was to visit activist sites associated with the civil rights movement; secondary goal was to

create a toolkit for museums and educators to use to design their own quests.

Celia Pearce — Curriculum Vitae

Page 12 of 19

Mermaids

(2006–2014)

Multiplayer game set in an underwater mermaid world. Design goal was to explore emergent behavior in

games; included dynamic underwater ecosystem, building, and novel drawing-based spell-casting interface.

Tiamat Media

(2013)

Pervasive transmedia game that ran during Dragon*Con fan convention in Atlanta, Georgia, Fall 2013.

Ellis Island (2009–2012)

Multiplayer game about immigration to the United States during the Ellis Island period.

Conventional Dress (2009)

Directed short documentary on Dragon*Con with a team of graduate students Georgia Tech graduate

students. Screened at Dragon*Con Atlanta, Georgia, September 2009 (curated), and The Association for the

Study of Play’s Annual Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, March 2010 (refereed).

Grants

External

Guggenheim Fellowship (proposal pending), September 2019

Fulbright Scholar (proposal only, not awarded), September 2019

NEA Arts Research Labs (proposal completed, not put forth by Northeastern), June 2019

NEA Art Works (proposal only, not awarded), July 2018

NEA Arts Research Labs (proposal only, not awarded), June 2017

NSF-DRL/AISL (Contract # DRL-1345424): Workshop: “Advancing STEM Through Culturally Situated

Arts-Based Learning.” September 2013–August 31, 2015. Amount $49,385.

NSF EAGER (proposal only, not awarded) for eBee Workshop, in collaboration with Boston Children's

Museum, Gillian Smith Co-PI

SAIC Strategic Partnership Grant: Grant to fund pan-world virtual worlds survey. Spring 2012–Spring 2014.

Amount: $25,000.

NSF-HCC/IIS (Contract # HCC-IIS 145244): “Creative Activity and Development of IT Skills Among

Women in Virtual Worlds.” July 2011–June 2012. Amount: $101,477.

Reynard Program Phase 2 Contract: Awarded phase 2 jointly with SAIC from IARPA (Intelligence Advanced

Research Projects Administration) to continue basic research into behavior in virtual worlds. April

2011–December 2012. Amount: $153,286.

Reynard Program Phase 1 Contract: Awarded grant jointly with SAIC from IARPA (Intelligence Advanced

Research Projects Administration) to conduct basic research into behavior in virtual worlds. Developed

under SAIC Strategic Partnership Seed Grant. October 2009–June 2011. Amount: $251,596.

SAIC Strategic Partnership Grant: Seed grant from Science Applications International to help develop new

business/research opportunities in virtual worlds. Spring 2009–Spring 2010. Amount: $25,000.

NSF HCI/IIS (Contract #IIS-0832803): “Creative Collaboration in Online Virtual Worlds.” June 2008–

December 2009. Amount: $86,677.

NSF HCI/IIS (Contract #IIS-0744197): Workshop: “Productive Play: The Convergence of Play and Labor in

Online Games and Virtual Worlds.” (Co-PI’s: Bonnie Nardi, UC Irvine, and Jason Ellis, IBM) Date

Awarded: August 2007–August 2008. Amount: $36,560.

Celia Pearce — Curriculum Vitae

Page 13 of 19

Internal

CAMD Interdisciplinary Sabbatical Grant (proposal only, not awarded). Proposal to spend sabbatical as Game

Designer in Residence in Department of Theatre.

CAMD Summer Support Grant (proposal pending), “Wearable Art: An Interdisciplinary Arts Research

Project,” interdisciplinary collaboration merging games, music, theatre and engineering. Co-PI's are

Victor Zappi (Music) and Frances McSherry (Theatre). Listed as collaborator along with Benjamin Caras

and Mark Sivak. Anticipated Award period: Summer 2020. Amount: $10,000.

CAMD Faculty Research and Creative Activity Incentive Grant. Awarded with Dani Snyder-Young for “The

Playable Theatre Project” (formerly “The Analog Holodeck Project”), an interdisciplinary initiative

between games and theatre exploring audience agency in participatory and immersive theatre. Summer

2018–Fall 2019. Amount: $10,000.

Northeastern Office of Diversity, Faculty Innovations in Diversity and Academic Excellence Grant. “Room at

The Top: A Game to Promote Diversity in Teamwork.” Joint project with CATLR to run massively

multiplayer live action card game to teach students about diversity in team formation and collaboration.

Spring–Fall 2019. Amount: $12,000.

CAMD Faculty Research and Creative Activity Incentive Grant. Awarded with Dani Snyder-Young for “The

Playable Theatre Project” (formerly “The Analog Holodeck Project”), an interdisciplinary initiative

between games and theatre exploring audience agency in participatory and immersive theatre. Summer

2018–Fall 2019. Amount: $10,000.

CAMD Faculty Research and Creative Activity Incentive Grant. Awarded with Casper Hartveld for initial

development of Embrace, a video game for older women recovering from cancer. Spring 2016.

CAMD Faculty Research and Creative Activity Incentive Grant. Awarded with Gillian Smith for initial

development of the eBee electronic quilt/board game project, Fall 2014. Amount: $10,000.

Georgia Tech GVU Seed Grant: Received internal grant to bring together games research and education

across campus under unified umbrella of “Games @ Georgia Tech.” Included guest speaker series,

workshops, summits, and creation of centralized web portal. Fall 2013–Spring 2014. Amount: $17,000.

Celia Pearce — Curriculum Vitae

Page 14 of 19

Teaching and Advising

Courses Taught

Northeastern University

Term

Course #

Course Title

# of Students

Spring 2020

GAME 4155.01

Designing Imaginary Worlds

GSND 7676.01

Designing Imaginary Worlds Graduate Section

GSND 7990.01

Graduate Thesis Seminar

INPR 9100.02

Research - Visiting International Student

Fall 2019

GAME 1805.01

Experimental Game Design

GAME 2500.03

Foundations of Game Design

INPR 9100.03

Research - Visiting International Student

Spring 2019

GAME 4155.01

Designing Imaginary Worlds

GSND 7676.01

Designing Imaginary Worlds Graduate Section

GSND 7990.01

Graduate Thesis Seminar

Fall 2018

GSND 7990.01

Graduate Thesis Seminar

GAME 2500.03

Foundations of Game Design

GAME 4992.01

Directed Study

Spring 2018

GAME 4155.01

Designing Imaginary Worlds

GAME4701.01

Game Design Capstone

GAME 4970.01

Junior/Senior Honors Project

GAME 4992.01

Directed Study

GSND 7990.01

Graduate Thesis Seminar

Fall 2017

GAME 1805.01

Experimental Game Design

GAME 2500.03

Foundations of Game Design

GAME4701.01

Game Design Capstone

GSND 7990.01

Graduate Thesis

Spring 2017

GAME 4155.01

Designing Imaginary Worlds (New Course)

GAME 4992.01

Directed Study

GSND 7990.01

Graduate Thesis

Fall 2016

GAME 1805.01

Experimental Game Design

GAME 2500.02

Foundations of Game Design

GAME 4992.01

Directed Study

Spring 2016

ARTE 6976.05

Directed Study

GAME 1805.01

Experimental Game Design

GAME 4701.02

Game Design Capstone

GAME 4994.01

Internship

Fall 2015

ARTE 6976.05

Directed Study

GAME 1110.01

Games and Society

GAME 1110.02

Games and Society

GAME 1111.01

Games and Society Recitation

GAME 1111.03

Games and Society Recitation

Spring 2015*

GAME 3899

Experimental Game Design (New Course)

(no record)

Fall 2014*

GAME 3700

Rapid Idea Prototyping for Games

*Note: No records available in Banner prior to Fall 2015

Celia Pearce — Curriculum Vitae

Page 15 of 19

Graduate Student Supervision

Master’s Thesis Advisor, Northeastern

MS, Game Science and Design, Graduated Spring 2020

Yangyuqi “Yukie” Chang

Ysabella Coutu

Chengcheng Ding

Sidan Fan

Lue Fang

Sonya McCree

Yiyi Liu

Hao Tian

Hongshen Xu

Yunbo Yang

Haowei Yu

MS, Game Science and Design, Graduated Fall 2019

Zhihui Chang

Josiah Lou Darisan Veloso

MS, Game Science and Design, Graduated Spring 2019

Shimeng Guo

Alissa Sisson

Yu Xiao

Anthony Calabresi

Yuejia Luo

MS, Game Science and Design, Graduated Spring 2018

Ala Ebrahimi

Uttkarsh Narayan

Qi Wang

Zhanxi Shi

Jiayu Lu

Tyler Corwin

Wen Yao

MS, Game Science and Design, Graduated Fall 2017

Mengling (Absinthe) Wu

Rick Menasce

Suhas Murthy

MFA, Interdisciplinary Arts, Graduated Spring 2016

Jeanie Choi

Celia Pearce — Curriculum Vitae

Page 16 of 19

International Education

Northeastern Dialog of Civilizations: “Adventures in Nordic Larping.” Cancelled due to under-enrollment.

(Designed for Summer 2019)

Experimental Game Design, PhD Master Class, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan China (Summer

2017)

External and Previous Advising

PhD, External Advisor

Zhang Jin, Visiting PhD, Wuhan University of Technology, China (Fall 2019–Spring 2020)

Haolu Jiang, Visiting PhD, Wuhan University of Technology, China (Fall 2018–Spring 2019)

Sijia Lui, Visiting PhD, Wuhan University of Technology, China (Fall 2018–Spring 2019)

Rao Zenghang, Visiting PhD, Wuhan University of Technology, China (Fall 2018–Spring 2020)

Fangnan Ma, Visiting PhD, Wuhan University of Technology, China (Fall 2018–Spring 2019)

Zhu Xiaofeng, Visiting PhD, Communication University of China, China (Fall 2015–Spring 2017)

Kelly Bergstrom, University of Toronto, PhD Committee Member (Completed Fall 2015)

David Thomas, University of Colorado, Denver, PhD Committee Member (Completed 2012)

Previous PhD Supervision, Georgia Tech

Nettrice Gaskins, Committee Chair (Completed Summer 2014)

Current Position: Assistant Director, STEAM Learning Lab, Lesley University

Bobby Schweizer, Committee Chair (Completed Spring 2014)

Current Position: Assistant Professor, Texas Tech University

Sybrina Atwaters History of Science and Technology, Committee Member (Completed Fall 2014)

Current Position: Director, OMED: Educational Services, Georgia Institute of Technology

Brian Schrank, Committee Member (Completed Fall 2010)

Current Position: Associate Professor, De Paul University

Hartmut Koenitz, Committee Member (Completed Spring 2010)

Current Position: Professor of Interactive Narrative, HKU University of the Arts Utrecht

Clara Fernández-Vara, Committee Member (Completed Spring 2009)

Current Position: Associate Arts Professor, NYU Game Center

Master’s Thesis, External Advisor

Theresa Tanenbaum, Simon Fraser University, SIAT, Master of Arts (Completed 2008)

Cindy Poremba, Simon Fraser University, SIAT, Master of Applied Science (Completed 2008)

Courtesy Appointments

Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China

Communication University of China, Beijing, Hebei, China

Celia Pearce — Curriculum Vitae

Page 17 of 19

Service and Professional Development

University Service (Northeastern)

A+D Search Committee: Assistant Professor of Virtual Environments (Fall 2019–Spring 2020)

A+D Search Committee: Visiting Assistant Professor of Games (Fall 2019–Spring 2020)

CAMD Diversity & Inclusion Committee (Spring 2019–Present)

CAMD Interdisciplinary PhD Committee (Fall 2017–Present)

A+D RISE Undergraduate Research Liaison (Fall 2018–Spring 2019)

CAMD Executive Committee (Fall 2018–Spring 2019)

CAMD Interdisciplinary Minor Committee (Fall 2018–Spring 2019)

A+D Search Committee (Chair): Visiting Assistant Professor of Games (Fall 2018–Spring 2019)

A+D Syllabus Format Task Force (Fall 2017–Spring 2018)

Curriculum Committee, Department of Art + Design (Fall 2016–Spring 2018)

Head of Undergraduate Games Program, Department of Art + Design (Fall 2017–Spring 2018)

Head of Games & Media Arts, Department of Art + Design (Fall 2016–Spring 2017)

Dean’s Working Group for Art +Design/Media Arts (Fall 2015–Spring 2016)

Tenure and Promotion Committee, Art + Design (2015–Present)

Chair, Game Design Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (2014–2015)

University Service (Georgia Tech)

LMC Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (2012–2014)

Computational Media Curriculum Committee: Joint Program between Interactive Computing and Literature,

Media and Communication (2012–2014)

Digital Media Events and Marketing Committee (2012–2014)

Digital Media Vision Committee (2011–2012)

LMC Department Chair Search Committee (2011–2012)

Digital Media Graduate Program Student Committee (2010–2011)

LMC Minds, Machines and Media: LCC Distinguished Speaker Series Committee (2008–2009)

Digital Media Admissions Committee (2006-2014)

Responsive Objects, Surfaces and Spaces Initiative (ROSS) (Member, 2007–2009)

Guest Lectures Series (2006–2014)

Games @ Tech Initiative (with Mark Riedl) (Fall 2013–Spring 2014)

Living Game Worlds IV: InterPlay: Organized fourth annual Digital Media symposium on game design; focus

on multiplayer games and virtual worlds (December 1–2, 2008)

Playology: Weekly game-playing and discussion group (Fall 2007–Spring 2008)

Living Game Worlds III: Playing with Reality: Organized third symposium on game design; focus on

documentary and games that tackle real-world topics (March 29, 2007)

Games as Expressive Medium: Visiting Artists Residency, including one course, three lectures, and three

exhibitions (Spring 2007)

Celia Pearce — Curriculum Vitae

Page 18 of 19

Service to the Discipline/Profession

Events

HERE Immersive Festival and Summit 2020 Programming Committee (postponed due to Covid-19

pandemic)

IndieCade 2020 Programming Committee

IndieCade 2019 Conference Co-Chair

DiGRA 2013: DeFragging Game Studies, August 2013: Co-chair/host for the Digital Games Research

Association’s biannual conference

Productive Play—Convergence of Work and Play in Online Games and Virtual Worlds, UC Irvine, May 17,

2008: NSF-funded conference organized with Bonnie Nardi and Jason Ellis

Bridges I: Summit on Interdisciplinary Collaboration, USC Annenberg Center for Communication, May 2001:

Summit organized with Sara Diamond from the Banff New Media Institute; brought together

international experts in art/science/technology collaboration

Entertainment in the Interactive Age, USC, January 2001; Sponsored by the ESA

Creating for Convergence, Designing for Divergence, USC, October 2000–April 2001: Lecture/panel series

on design and narrative for transmedia

SIGGRAPH 1998: Panels Chair

Tenure Reviews

Sarah Zaidan, Emerson College (2019)

Gillian Smith, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (2019)

Patrick LeMieux, UC Davis (2019)

Clara Fernández-Vara, New York University Game Center (2017)

Mitu Kandahar, New York University (2017)

Matt Parker, New York University Interactive Telecommunications Program (2017)

Emma Westecott, OCAD University (2016)

John Sharp, Parsons School of Design (2015)

Frank Lantz, New York University (2015)

Manuscript Reviews

Sharp, J. (2015). Works of game: On the aesthetics of games and art. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Harvey, A. (2015.) Gender, age, and digital games in the domestic context. New York: Routledge.

Boards, Panels and Committees

Advisory Boards

Values @ Play Advisory Board

Digital Games Research Association: Founding Board Member, 2003–2005

Celia Pearce — Curriculum Vitae

Page 19 of 19

Advisory Workshops

NSF Workshop on the Future of Research on Computer Games and Virtual Worlds (CGVW), UC Irvine,

September 23–24, 2010. Participated in advisory workshop for the NSF to help formulate the agency

direction in virtual world and games research.

Editorial Boards

Well Played (print journal)

Journal of Virtual Worlds Research (print journal)

Journal of Gaming and Virtual Worlds (print journal)

ACM Computers in Entertainment (print journal)

Games & Culture (print journal)

Funding Agency Review Panels

National Science Foundation (multiple panels), including Spring 2017

Canadian Humanities and Social Science Research Council

MacArthur Foundation

Singapore Ministry of Education, Educational Technology Division

Professional Development

Improv Boston, Improvisation 101, Summer–Fall 2019

Punch Drunk Artist's Play Date, July 2018

Punch Drunk, “Devoted and Disgruntled” Workshop on Safety in Immersive Theatre, July 2018