Bernie De Koven
Bernie De Koven | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Bernard Louis De Koven October 15, 1941 Appleton, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Pen name | Major Fun, General Fun |
| Occupation | Game designer, writer, humorist, fun theorist |
| Nationality | American |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Alma mater | Villanova University |
| Period | 1967-present |
| Notable works | The Well Played Game |
| Notable awards | 1967 Rockefeller Fellowship (playwriting) 2006 Iffil-Raynolds award |
| Spouse |
Rosanne "Rocky" Friedlander
(m. 1966) |
| Children | Shael, Elyon Avram Micah[1] |
| Website | |
| http://www.deepfun.com/ | |
Bernard Louis "Bernie" De Koven (born October 15, 1941)[1] is an American game designer, author, lecturer and fun theorist. He is most notable for his book The Well Played Game, for his contributions to the New Games Foundation, his pioneering work in computer game design, and for his long-running web site, deepFUN.com.
Career
In 1982, De Koven was interviewed by InfoWorld magazine concerning the future of computer gaming; he accurately predicted the advent of games using motion control similar to the Kinect, as well as app store and related game distribution systems, stating that networking "will greatly increase the availability of games. Instead of having to buy each game, users will be able to download more and more complex games as networks become more popular."[2]
In 1999 De Koven coined the term coworking to describe computer-supported collaborative work.
Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman, in their 2003 game design textbook Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals, extensively reference De Koven's The Well-Played Game.[3]
Christopher Noxon's interview of De Koven was featured in the 2006 book Rejuvenile. His role as a professional "fun coach" is emphasized, as is De Koven's involvement with the New Games Movement of the mid-1970s, and his later work with the Esalen Institute in California.[4]
De Koven has worked with major toy and game manufacturers to design and develop new products. Notably, he has partnered with LEGO on the development of their LEGO Game System.[5] Additionally, De Koven has designed award-winning games for Ideal Toy Company, Children's Television Workshop, CBS Software and Mattel Toys.[6]
In September 2011, De Koven was a keynote speaker at the 2011 DiGRA Conference ("Think Design Play"). His talk, "Playing Well Together," described some of the underlying principles of New Games and his book, The Well-Played Game.[7]
De Koven is a lifetime member of The Association for the Study of Play.
Awards
- 2006 Iffil-Raynolds award for "outstanding achievement in the field of fun" from the North American Simulation and Gaming Association
Books / publications
- Interplay: a curriculum for elementary school children, Office of Policy Planning and Development, School District of Philadelphia, 1971 (OCLC 9095130) See: Interplay Manual for Parents
- The Well-Played Game, 1978, updated edition 2002 (ISBN 978-0595217908), MIT Press edition August, 2013 (ISBN 978-0262019170)
- Connected Executives: A Strategic Communications Plan, 1986 (ISBN 978-0962583407)
- Junkyard Sports, 2004 (ISBN 978-0736052078)
- Great Games for Big Activity Balls (with Todd Strong), 2009 (ISBN 978-0736074810)
- "The Play Community" in The New Games Book, 1976 (ISBN 0-385-12516-X)
Games and interactive media
- Ricochet (1981): one of the first abstract strategy games for computers[8] by Automated Simulations (designer), E. Connelley, programmer
- Alien Garden (1982) one of the first computer art games by Automated Simulations (designer; programmed by Jaron Lanier)(video)
- Light Waves (1984): computer game by Children's Computer Workshop (designer; prototype by Dave Winer)
- Junkyard Games (2008) business simulation game published by HRDQ (designer; manual by Ron Roberts)
References
- ^ a b c De Koven, Elyon. "DeKoven Family Tree". Paging the DeKoven family. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
- ^ Frieberger, Paul (April 12, 1982). "Supergames". InfoWorld. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
- ^ Salen and Zimmerman (2004). Rules of play: game design fundamentals. MIT Press. p. 645. ISBN 978-0-262-24045-1. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
- ^ Noxon, Christopher (2007). Rejuvenile : kickball, cartoons, cupcakes, and the reinvention of the American grown-up (1st pbk. ed. ed.). New York: Three Rivers Press. pp. 71–72. ISBN 978-1-4000-8089-2.
{{cite book}}:|edition=has extra text (help) - ^ "It's Never Too Late – Confessions of a LEGO® Game Consultant". LEGO web site. The LEGO Group. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
- ^ "Out Of The Box Publishing: Bernie De Koven Bio". Out Of The Box Publishing. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
- ^ "Bernie DeKoven | Think Design Play". DiGRA. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
- ^ DeKoven, Bernard. Ricochet. Automated Simulations. Accessed: 8/9/2013.