Ken Eklund

Ken Eklund
Portrait of Ken Eklund, Writerguy
Ken Eklund
Born (1957-05-17) May 17, 1957
San Francisco, California, United States
Pen name Writerguy
Occupation Game designer, game experience designer
Alma mater Santa Clara University
Website
www.writerguy.com

Ken Eklund (born May 17, 1957) is an American game and experience designer known as Writerguy. He is perhaps most famous for World Without Oil, an early "serious game" in the alternate reality game genre[1] he created and ran in 2007.[2] His recent projects "explore the positive social effects of collaborative experiences and open-ended, creative play.[3] "

Philosophy

Eklund creates immersive games that intend to have a socially relevant, transformative effect[4] and to be informal learning experiences[5] and crowdsourcing for good.[6] Much of his recent transmedia[7] work explores how contributing to 'authentic fictions' (real-seeming yet fictional stories) engages people directly in real-world issues by allowing them to have fun collaborating on storymaking, positive solutions and action.[8] By creating "barely fictional" gameful situations he creates a new kind of space for negotiating reality, where the candor afforded by interacting with fictional characters presenting the reality of social issues is seemingly more impactful than the realities themselves.[9]

As an artist, Eklund's emphasis on response plus respect for diversity "charges notions of the 'vox pop' with an appealing edge as a tool for transformation 'from the inside'.[10] He speaks on how to use alternate reality experiences and other playful "what if?" spaces in pursuit of serious goals[11] and the potential for gamelike activities to help solve global problems.[12]

Selected Games and Interactive Projects

  • FutureCoast (2014-2016, director)
  • Rogue Squirrelbot and other cellphone adventures (2015, director-producer)
  • Ruination: City of Dust (2014, game designer)
  • Hiss Pop (2012, co-creator)
  • Ed Zed Omega (2012, director and lead producer) [13][14]
  • Giskin Anomaly (2010, creator and writer)
  • Urgent Evoke (2010, community lead)
  • Zorop (2010, co-creator)
  • Ruby's Bequest (2009, creator)
  • World Without Oil (2007, creator)
  • DRIV3R: LAS VEGAS (mobile) (2006, writer)
  • Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (mobile) (2006, writer)
  • In Her Shoes (mobile) (2006, writer)
  • Move It! (2005, game designer and writer)
  • Mr. And Mrs. Smith (mobile) (2005, writer)
  • Strange Dead Bird (educational science mystery) (2004, creator)
  • Tigo Learning Kit (2003, writer)
  • Two Forks, Idaho (educational science mystery) (2002, creator)
  • Mystery of the Poison Dart Frog (educational science mystery) (2002, creator)
  • Pool of Radiance II: Ruins of Myth Drannor (2001, writer and game designer)
  • Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Harbinger (1995, writer and game designer)
  • World of Aden: Entomorph - Plague of the Darkfall (1995, writer)
  • Al-Qadim: The Genie's Curse (1994, writer)
  • Dark Sun: Wake of the Ravager (1994, writer)
  • Eagle Eye Mysteries in London (1994, writer, game and character designer)
  • Eagle Eye Mysteries (1993, writer, game and character designer)
  • Buck Rogers: Matrix Cubed (1992 writer)
  • The Dark Queen of Krynn (1992, writer)
  • Death Knights of Krynn (1991, writer)
  • Buck Rogers: Countown to Doomsday (1990, writer)

Awards and honors

DateAwardReference
2014The Webby Awards, finalist, Net Art category, for FutureCoastwebbyawards.com/winners/2014
201122nd Annual MUSE Awards, Games and Augmented Reality category, Silver, for Giskin AnomalyAmerican Association of Museums (AAM), (scroll to or search on "Giskin")
2008South by Southwest Interactive - Award for Activism for World Without OilSXSW Interactive Awards, past winners (scroll to or search for "2008 Activism Category")
2008The Webby Awards, finalist, Games category, for World Without Oilwebbyawards.com/2008
2008Zero1.org, Honorable Mention, for World Without Oil2nd Biennial 01SJ Festival announcement of awards
2008Stockholm Challenge, Honorable Mention, for World Without OilStockholm Challenge Event 2008 Finalists

References

  1. ↑ "ITVS Press Release for "World Without Oil"". Independent Television Service (ITVS).
  2. ↑ McGonigal, Jane (2011). Reality Is Broken. The Penguin Press. pp. 304, 305, 310. ISBN 978-1-59420-285-8.
  3. ↑ "LunchtimeTalk: Ken Eklund on Transmedia For Change". Watershed. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  4. ↑ Weiler, Lance (March 3, 2009). "Culture Hacker: An Interview with Ken Eklund". Workbook Project. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  5. ↑ "ARGs in the Service of Education - interview with Ken Eklund". THINKtransmedia. 29 November 2010. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  6. ↑ Möller, Patrick (15 July 2009). "15 Questions to Ken Eklund". ARG-Reporter.de. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  7. ↑ Rees, Diane (February 3, 2012). "Transmedia: A new instructional literacy". Instructional Design Fusions. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  8. ↑ British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) (May 2, 2013). "Ken Eklund presents "Play It Live It Shape It: Exploring Authentic Fiction"". Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  9. ↑ Atkinson, Sarah (2014). Beyond the screen: Emerging cinema and engaging audiences. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. pp. 163, 164. ISBN 978-1-62356-637-1.
  10. ↑ Alston, Adam (October 6, 2015). "Listening Post: Alternate reality games, ecology and the popular voice". Contemporary Theatre Review. Interventions. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  11. ↑ Games For Learning Institute at NYU (June 2011). "8th Annual Games for Change Festival". gamesforchange.org. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  12. ↑ Butterworth, Alex (May 2013). "State of Play". BBC Radio. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  13. ↑ Michael Andersen "Reinventing Education For The Disaffected With Ed Zed Omega" Wired Aug 21, 2012
  14. ↑ Mike Janssen, "With young actors, Localore’s interactive Ed Zed Omega critiques education system" Current.org, November 2, 2012
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