Welcome to the Game Innovation Lab
We are the premier center for experimental game design research at USC. Founded in 2004, the lab is directed by Professor Tracy Fullerton. The mission of the lab is to pursue experimental design of games in cultural realms including art, science, politics and learning.
The international success of games that have emerged from the lab, including Cloud, flOw, Darfur is Dying, The Cat and the Coup and The Night Journey, have made it a hub for indie and experimental games culture in Los Angeles. Our Playthink Salons attract speakers and participants from across the city and across disciplinary boundaries.
Associated faculty include award winning game designers Richard Lemarchand (Uncharted series) and Peter Brinson (Waco, The Cat and the Coup) as well as pioneering games user researcher Dennis Wixon. Research staff include up and coming game designers Sean Bouchard, Martzi Campos, as well as the talented digital media artists Todd Furmanski and Lucas Peterson. Graduate student researchers in the lab have gone on to stellar careers at Microsoft, Electronic Arts, Zynga and more.
The lab has a strong history of collaboration with cross-disciplinary experts in many fields, including education and technology. Our commitment to an iterative, participatory process brings users, stakeholders and designers into constant dialogue.
Current projects, such as the FutureBound suite of games Walden, a game, and the ChronoCards History games are supported by The National Endowment for the Humanities, Microsoft Research, The Gates Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts, The Gilbert Foundation, and The Department of Education.
While there are many areas of game design that the members of the lab community are pursuing, the top-level initiatives of the lab focus on the following areas of investigation:
Experimental game design
Games and learning
Games user research, analysis and metrics
Game aesthetics
Narrative play
Emergent world design
Communities of play
Convergence and cross-media play
> recent instagram posts from @uscgameinnovationlab
News
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April 2019
- Apr 27, 2019 Walden selected for Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial Apr 27, 2019
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March 2019
- Mar 18, 2019 Walden now available on Steam Mar 18, 2019
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October 2018
- Oct 28, 2018 Playthink Salon Podcast now available Oct 28, 2018
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September 2018
- Sep 23, 2018 The Cat and the Coup launches on PS4 Sep 23, 2018
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July 2018
- Jul 13, 2018 The Night Journey launches on PS4, PC and Mac Jul 13, 2018
Play our Games
walden EDU
Accessible and flexible game modules for classrooms based on the award winning indie game, Walden. Developed in collaboration with teachers in the areas of English Language Arts, History, Civics, Geography, and Social Emotional Learning, these free game modules offer immersive and integrated lessons for middle and high school teachers.
ChronoCards
Two games about history on one deck of cards -- Chrono Scouts and Fact Fuse teach middle and high school students about the causes of both World War I and the American Revolutionary War through practicing historical thinking and creative play.
Graduate Strike Force
Graduate Strike Force is a game about college choice and financial decision-making. The game offers the player freedom to experiment with different potential college options and suggests that colleges can offer tradeoffs among academic reputation, cultural fit, and financial burden.
Walden, A GAME
Play as philosopher and naturalist Henry David Thoreau in his experiment in self-reliant living at Walden Pond. Live off the land, seek out the small wonders and beauties of the woods, and find balance between your need to survive and your desire to find inspiration.
Mission:Admission
Mastering the game of college applications takes practice, but, for most people, it is a game we only get to play once. Mission: Admission is a game about that process that gives young people the chance to play and learn about the applications process before they take on the real deal.
futurebound
Future Bound is a game for middle schoolers about career ambitions and self-advocacy. Players take on the role of a student confronted by monsters that represent their doubts and fears. The must seek out career ambitions and related powers to conquer these monsters and prepare for their future.
The Night Journey
The Night Journey, a collaboration between the Game Innovation Lab and media artist Bill Viola, was one of the first experimental art games ever made. It uses both game and video techniques to tell the universal story of an individual’s journey towards enlightenment.
Life Underground
The Life Underground game is an educational game for 7th and 8th grade classrooms in which students take the role of a young scientist investigating extreme subsurface environments for microbial life. Players navigate through extreme conditions to lear what characterizes life in each environment.
The Cat and the Coup
In The Cat and the Coup, you play the cat of Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh, the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran. During the summer of 1953, the CIA engineered a coup to bring about his downfall. As a player, you coax Mossadegh back through significant events of his life by knocking objects off shelves, scattering his papers, and scratching him.