Robin Hunicke
| Robin Hunicke | |
|---|---|
 Hunicke at 2009 TGC photoshoot |
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| Born | March 15, 1973 Albany, New York |
| Residence | Los Angeles, CA |
| Occupation | Executive Producer Designer |
| Known for | thatgamecompany Electronic Arts |
| Notable work(s) | MySims, Boom Blox, Journey |
| Spouse | Ben Smith |
| Website | |
| http://www.cs.northwestern.edu/~hunicke/ | |
Robin Hunicke (born March 15, 1973)[1] is an American video game designer and producer, currently working at thatgamecompany. She is also finishing a PhD in Computer Science at Northwestern University, where she is researching artificial intelligence and game design.
Hunicke began her career at Electronic Arts, where she worked on multiple games, including MySims as lead designer and Boom Blox and its sequel as a producer. After leaving EA, she was hired by thatgamecompany, and is currently producing Journey, an upcoming online cooperative game for the PlayStation 3
Aside from her work on video games, she is also recognized in the industry for her support of independent game development, experimentation in game design, and research in Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment and women in games.[2]
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[edit] Career
[edit] Electronic Arts
Robin began her work with Electronic Arts at Maxis, where she became a designer for The Sims 2: Open for Business after meeting famed game designer and Sims director Will Wright. Following her work on The Sims 2, Hunicke went on to become the lead designer for MySims on the Nintendo Wii, and later, was a producer for Boom Blox and its sequel, Boom Blox: Bash Party.[3][4][5]
[edit] thatgamecompany
Following her work at Electronic Arts, Robin joined thatgamecompany as producer.[6] She joined the team in the early conceptual stages for the studio's third project Journey, a multiplayer cooperative adventure game set for release in early 2012..[7][8]
[edit] Conferences and events
Hunicke contributes to various video game industry conferences and events throughout the year. She is an organizer of the annual Game Design Workshop at the Game Developer's Conference, where she teaches with designers Doug Church, Marc LeBlanc, Frank Lantz, Stone Librande, Clint Hocking and others.[9] Robin is also an organizer of the Experimental Gameplay Sessions at GDC with Jonathan Blow, Doug Church, and Chris Hecker.[10] Many successful games have made their first public appearance at the session, including Jonathan Blow's Braid and Valve's Portal.[11] Hunicke is also an organizer of IndieCade, an annual festival dedicated to independent game development.[12]
Hunicke is a founding member of the IGDA Education SIG, helps with the Global Game Jam, teaches at USC, and is a judge for the Independent Games Festival.[13][14]
[edit] Education and research
Robin Hunicke holds a B. A. Degree from the University of Chicago and is finishing a PhD in Artificial Intelligence with a focus on Games and Game Design from Northwestern University.[15]
In her studies, Hunicke extensively researches Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment. She is also highly interested in how "the notions of fate, meaning, and consequence can be communicated via video games".[16]
[edit] MDA framework
In 2008, Robin Hunicke, Marc LeBlanc, and Robert Zubeck created the Mechanics-Dynamics-Aesthetics framework to focus and improve game analysis. The framework categorizes the many aspects of a game as Mechanics, Dynamics, or Aesthetics, and outlines the inverse perspectives of designer and player. From the perspective of the designer, the Mechanics generate Dynamics which generate Aesthetics. From the perspective of the player, the player experiences the game through the Aesthetics, which are provided by Dynamics that emerge from Mechanics.
[edit] Awards and recognition
On May 21, 2008, Robin was chosen for Gamasutra's "Gamasutra 20", "honoring the Top 20 women working in the video game industry". In 2009, Microsoft awarded Hunicke the Women in Gaming Award for Design. She also earned a spot on the Hot 100 Game Developers of 2009 list by Edge Magazine.[17][18][19]
To date, the various titles Hunicke has worked on have garnered many awards, such as a BAFTA award for "Best Casual Game of 2008" for Boom Blox.[20]
[edit] References
- ^ "Robin Hunicke - Photos". Robin Hunicke. http://www.cs.northwestern.edu/~hunicke/photos/hotr/index.html. Retrieved 2011-10-02.
- ^ "GDC Vault - Indie Gamemaker Rant". GDCVault. http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1012312/Indie-Gamemaker-Rant. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
- ^ "Moby Games - Sims 2". Moby Games. http://www.mobygames.com/game/sims-2-open-for-business. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
- ^ "Moby Games - MySims". Moby Games. http://www.mobygames.com/game/mysims. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
- ^ "Moby Games - Boom Blox". Moby Games. http://www.mobygames.com/game/wii/boom-blox. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
- ^ "thatgamecompany - People - Robin Hunicke". thatgamecompany. http://thatgamecompany.com/about/robin-hunicke/. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
- ^ "thatgamecompany - Games - Journey". thatgamecompany. http://thatgamecompany.com/games/journey/. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
- ^ "thatgamecompany - Robin Hunicke Joins TGC". thatgamecompany. http://thatgamecompany.com/general/robin-hunicke-joins-tgc/. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
- ^ "Game Developers Conference - Tutorials". GDC. http://www.gdconf.com/conference/tutorials.html. Retrieved 2011-05-31.
- ^ timw (2011-03-04). "GDC 2011: The Experimental Gameplay Sessions Highlights". IndieGames. http://www.indiegames.com/2011/03/gdc_2011_highlights_from_the_e.html. Retrieved 2011-05-31.
- ^ "EGW - History". www.experimental-gameplay.org. http://www.experimental-gameplay.org/blog/?p=230. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
- ^ "IndieCade - About". IndieCade. http://www.indiecade.com/index.php/about/. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
- ^ "Gamasutra 20 - Women in Games". Gamasutra. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3589/women_in_games_the_gamasutra_20.php?page=7. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
- ^ "IGF Judges Announced". Independent Game Festival. http://igf.com/2010/12/2011_independent_games_festiva_8.html. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
- ^ "Robin Hunicke - Bio". Robin Hunicke. http://www.cs.northwestern.edu/~hunicke/bio.html. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
- ^ "Robin Hunicke - Homepage". Robin Hunicke. http://www.cs.northwestern.edu/~hunicke/research.html. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
- ^ "Gamasutra 20 - Women in Games". Gamasutra. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3589/women_in_games_the_gamasutra_20.php?page=7. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
- ^ "Women in Games Awards". IGDA. http://archives.igda.org/women/archives/2010/03/nominees_for_mi.html. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
- ^ "The Hot 100 Game Developers". Edge. http://www.next-gen.biz/features/hot-100-game-developers-2009?page=2. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
- ^ "2009 BAFTA Awards". BAFTA. http://www.bafta.org/awards/video-games/nominations,664,BA.html#overlay=hidden. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Robin Hunicke |
- Robin Hunicke official website
- Robin Hunicke on Thatgamecompany
- Robin Hunicke's profile at MobyGames
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