Search Results
Game Design

5 days ago History & Theory

Games @ Berkeley

with Jane McGonigal, Director of Game Research and Development, Institute for the Future; Greg Niemeyer, Data Artist and Professor of Media Innovation, UC Berkeley; Alex Leavitt, Principal Researcher, Roblox; Scotty Hoag, Interactive Software Engineer, Sphere Entertainment; Bo Ruberg, Professor, Film & Media Studies, School of Humanities, UC Irvine; Alenda Y. Chang, Associate Professor, Film & Media Studies, UC Santa Barbara; Christopher J. Goetz, Associate Professor, Cinematic Arts, University of Iowa; Rob Curl, Museum Historian and Research Manager at the Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment; Phil Salvador, Library Director, Video Game History Foundation; Danny O'Dwyer, Founder, Noclip; Henry Lowood, Harold C. Hohbach Curator for History of Science & Technology Collections and Curator for Film & Media Collections, Stanford University Libraries

A History and Theory of New Media special event co-sponsored by the Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies Read more

22 Apr, 2021 History & Theory

Indigenous Games

with Elizabeth LaPensée
Assistant Professor, Michigan State University

Co-sponsored by the Department of Art Practice.

Image credit: Elizabeth LaPensée Read more

09 Apr, 2018 Art, Tech & Culture

new art, flag art, good art, portal art

with Ian Cheng
Artist, Los Angeles, CA
Presented in partnership with the Wiesenfeld Visiting Artist Lecture Series, and as part of the Arts + Design Monday Nights at BAMPFA program. Read more

13 Feb, 2017 Commons Conversations

Our Landscape Futures

with Geoff Manaugh, NYT best-selling author Read more

17 Mar, 2016 History & Theory

Critical Play

Mary Flanagan will explore this rich history and point to the theoretical concerns that arise when playing critically.  Read more

06 May, 2015 Special Events

Game Design Showcase and Arcade

Come to Kroeber to view student-created games! Read more

26 Oct, 2013 Special Events

The Queerness and Games Conference

Gear up for another fantastic schedule at the Queerness and Games Conference, hosted here at UC Berkeley Read more

02 Feb, 2012 Special Events

Transforming Community Through Pervasive Play

with Jeff Watson (USC) Read more

24 Feb, 2011 Special Events

World Craft, Business and Culture of Gaming in East Asia

03 Feb, 2011 Special Events

Immersed in Mediated Spaces – Playful Immersion and the Quest for Immediacy in Video Games

A lecture by Carl Therrien (Stanford) Read more

23 Sep, 2024

Announcing Our Fall 2024 Class Fund Recipients

We're excited to offer small grants to further support our faculty in their new media classes. Read more

08 Jun, 2023

Jill Miller & Asma Kazmi Receive C/Change Grant Read more

06 Apr, 2023

Announcing the Spring 2023 BCNM Faculty Seed Grants

Congratulations Alex Saum-Pascual, Asma Kazmi, and Jill Miller! Read more

27 Jul, 2022

Jane McGonigal Talks Future Thinking with Gwyneth Paltrow

She features on Gwyneth Paltrow's podcast The Goop. Read more

22 Jul, 2022

How to Predict the Future on Ted Interviews

Listen to the TED interviews podcast of alum Jane McGonigal sharing how to predict the future. Read more

11 Jul, 2022

Jane McGonigal on KQED's Mind Shift

Paul Darvasi interviews alum Jane McGonigal on "Harnessing the power of future-forecasting to help invent a better world." Read more

08 Jul, 2022

Abigail Lomibao on the Undergraduate Research Fellowship

Abigail was mentored by Haripriya Sathyanarayanan on of immersive virtual environments. Read more

01 Jul, 2022

Jane McGonigal on Whether Games Can Prepare Us for Catastrophes

Alum Jane McGonigal features on Steve Levitt's popular podcast. Read more

16 May, 2022

Congratulating Our Spring 2022 Undergraduate Certificate Recipients

Project by Jessie Mindel with Selin Longmire, Angelica Song, Bradley Russo. Read more

13 Apr, 2022

BCNM Around the Web April 2022

Check out the great work of our students, faculty, and alumni around the web this April 2022!

  Read more

05 Apr, 2022

Anisse Gross Reviews Imaginable

Alum Jane McGonigal's “Imaginable” is reviewed in the Datebook. Read more

30 Mar, 2022

Pop Mythology Reviews Imaginable

'Imaginable' is the most important book you’ll read this year! Read more

23 Mar, 2022

Announcing the Spring 2022 BCNM Faculty Seed Grants

Art by Greg Niemeyer. Read more

22 Mar, 2022

Bo Ruberg in Conversation on Queer Gaming

Alum Bo Ruberg chats about queer gaming with designers Jess Marcotte and Dietrich Squinkifer. Read more

08 Mar, 2022

To Practice an Understanding that the World is Made with Alenda Chang

Natalia Zuluaga in conversation with Alenda Y. Chang and Jason Edward Lewis on Shift Space 2.0. Read more

02 Mar, 2022

Shira Abramovich Reviews Imaginable

Jane McGonigal's latest book Imaginable was reviewed by Shira Abramovich on Reboot.  Read more

08 Dec, 2021

Bo Ruberg's Queer Games Avant-Garde Reviewed

Daniella Gáti reviews Bo's book for Information and Culture Read more

27 Nov, 2021

Alenda Chang on Ecological Crisis and Video Games

Computer games can address ecological concerns. But is a game only ecological if it explicitly deals with environmental issues on the content level? Read more

30 Aug, 2021

Jane McGonigal on Slaying Stress

BCNM alum Jane McGonigal was recently featured on the 3 Books podcast, where she discussed how she designs games to help people develop resilience and positive attitudes in the face of life's challenges.  Read more

04 Jul, 2021

Bo Ruberg on Making Players Care

Bo Ruberg & Rainforest Scully-Blaker publish Making players care: The ambivalent cultural politics of care and video games in the International Journal of Cultural Studies! Read more

22 Jun, 2021

Spring 2021: BCNM Events in Review Read more

19 Jun, 2021

BCNM Around the Web June

Check out the amazing work of our faculty, students, and alumni around the web this June! Read more

25 May, 2021

BCNM Around the Web May 2021

Check out the amazing work of our faculty, students, and alumni around the web in May! Read more

05 May, 2021

ATC Revisited: Elizabeth LaPensée Read more

18 Apr, 2021

Jane McGonigal Interview on Futurist Thinking on Coursera

BCNM alum Jane McGonigal is instructing a Coursera course on handling life after Covid-19 through the Institute for the Future.  Read more

17 Apr, 2021

BCNM Around the Web April 2021

Check out the amazing work of our faculty, students, and alumni around the web this April! Read more

04 Apr, 2021

Announcing the 2020 Eugene Jarvis Recipient

The generous Eugene Jarvis Design Innovation scholarship was awarded to Emily Xia Que. Read more

15 Mar, 2021

BCNM Around the Web March 2021

Check out the amazing work of our alumni around the web this March! Read more

14 Feb, 2021

Bo Ruberg on Critical Perspectives in Technology

Bo Ruberg is a guest on the sixth episode of public lecture series "Critical Perspectives on Technology." Read more

09 Feb, 2021

Jane McGonigal on The Knowledge Project

Jane McGonigal was recently interviewed by The Knowledge Project on her work and beliefs on video games. Read more

01 Feb, 2021

Jane McGonigal on Because Games Matter

Jane McGonigal shares her story and experience on Because Games Matter. Read more

29 Jan, 2021

BCNM Around the Web January 2021

Check out the amazing work of our faculty, students, and alumni around the web this January! Read more

28 Nov, 2020

Bo Ruberg in Queer Gaming In Conversation

Bo Ruberg leads a conversation with fellow designers Jess Marcotte and Dietrich Squinkifer to talk about queer game design and the thought processes behind it. Read more

25 Nov, 2020

Spring 2021 BCNM Events

Mark your calendars for this incredible line up of speakers! Read more

09 Nov, 2020

Miyoko Conley Awarded Tailspinners Fellowship Read more

13 Oct, 2020

Bo Ruberg At the Crossroads Video Online Now

Missed out on Bo Ruberg's amazing talk on their new book "The Queer Game Avant-Garde" for At the Crossroads? Check out the video online now! Read more

18 Aug, 2020

BCNM Around the Web August 2020

Check out the amazing work of our faculty, students, and alumni around the web this August! Read more

25 Jul, 2020

Jane McGonigal Featured on Verizon

Alum Jane McGonigal's work is featured for how to save the world with games. Read more

09 Jul, 2020

Alum Alenda Chang Publishes A Manifesto for Environmental Game Design

"The landscapes we inhabit are in part a product of our representations, and increasingly they will need to be consciously designed rather than left to chance." Read more

14 May, 2020

BCNM Around the Web May 2020

Check out the amazing work of our faculty and alumni in May 2020! Read more

16 Apr, 2020

BCNM Around the Web April 2020

Check out the amazing work of our faculty and alumni in April 2020! Read more

01 Apr, 2020

Alum Bo Ruberg on Empathy and Its Alternatives

BCNM Alum Bo Ruberg published an article in Communication, Culture and Critique. Read more

10 Mar, 2020

Alum Alenda Chang Publishes A Life Well Played in FMH

BCNM Alum Alenda Chang published "Une Vie Bien Jouée / A Life Well Played: The Cultural Legacy of Game Designer Muriel Tramis" in Feminist Media Histories. Read more

24 Feb, 2020

Review of Jane McGonigal's Future Thinking Course

Belgian newspaper De Tiljd reviews Jane McGonigal's "Futures Thinking Specialization" classes on Coursera. Read more

24 Feb, 2020

Alenda Chang's Playing Nature in Science

Alum Alenda Chang's book Playing Nature was reviewed in Science. Read more

20 Feb, 2020

BCNM Around the Web February 2020

Check out the amazing talks and discussion around the work of our faculty and alumni in February 2020! Read more

20 Feb, 2020

BCNM at SCMS 2020

The Society for Cinema and Media Studies' annual conference features presentations by eight BCNM students, faculty and alumni! Read more

18 Feb, 2020

Alum Jane McGonigal’s SuperBetter Featured on BuiltIn

McGonigal's smartphone app on wellness SuperBetter was just featured on BuiltIn. Read more

02 Feb, 2020

Jane McGonigal on WAMC on a Better Life Through Gaming

Listen to alum Jane McGonigal discuss creating games that heal. Read more

19 Jan, 2020

Jane McGonigal on Meditative Story

Alum Jane McGonigal presents "Finding my own reflection" on this great podcast. Read more

17 Jan, 2020

Bo Ruberg in Oxford Bibliographies

Bo Ruberg contributed to an overview on the work in Feminist and Queer Game Studies for Oxford Bibliographies. Read more

13 Jan, 2020

BCNM Around the Web January 2020

Check out the amazing talks and discussion around the work of our faculty, students, and alumni in January 2020! Read more

01 Sep, 2019

BCNM around the Web September 2019

More in the media from faculty Abigail De Kosnik, Nicholas de Monchaux, Ken Goldberg, and Tom McEnaney; and alumni Jenni Higgs, Andrea Horbinski, Jane McGonigal, Trevor Paglen, Ritwik Banerji and Jen Schradie.  Read more

11 Aug, 2019

Alum Bo Ruberg at FDG 2019

Ruberg presents "Necklines and ‘Naughty Bits’: Constructing and Regulating Bodies in Live Streaming Community Guidelines." Read more

24 Jun, 2019

BCNM around the Web July 2019

Ken Goldberg at BrainBar, on home robots and the relationship between robots and retirement. Nicholas de Monchaux on the moon suit at the Santa Fe Institute. Alum Bo Ruberg's Video Games Have Always Been Queer in Real Life. Alum Jane McGonigal on the gamification of the warehouse. Alum Trevor Paglen on Our Privacy Mess and at Art Basel. Alum Jen Schradie at the Microworks Platform Conference. Read more

09 May, 2019

Congratulating our 2019 Undergraduate Certificate Graduates

These students invested in the new media landscape at Cal, and we're excited to see what new endeavours they undertake in their respective fields Read more

28 Feb, 2019

New Reviews of Queer Games Studies

Two more publications have reviewed alum Bonnie Ruberg's Queer Game Studies. Read more

21 Jan, 2019

Alum Jane McGonigal on Your Brain in Video Games

Quartz published an article by Frank Lantz in which he explains our brains' relationships with gaming. Alum Jane McGonigal argues that it has positive effects. Read more

21 Nov, 2018

Announcing our 2018 Undergraduate Cohort

We are thrilled to welcome to the BCNM these talented students from across campus. Read more

05 Nov, 2018

Alum Bonnie Ruberg on Queer Indie Video Games in American Quarterly

Volume 70 of American Quarterly features pieces on the Digital Humanities, one work of which is written by BCNM alum Bonnie Ruberg. Read more

10 Sep, 2018

Lyman Dispatch: Grace Gipson on Unleashing Your Inner Superhero Read more

05 Sep, 2018

BCNM Alum Chris Gates on Function and Fiction in Videogames in Arts

BCNM alum Chris Gates's paper "Trellis and Vine: Weaving Function and Fiction in Videogame Play" published in Arts. Read more

19 Jul, 2018

Alum Bonnie Ruberg at DIGRA 2018

The Digital Games Research Association held their 2018 conference with the theme "The Game is the Message." Read more

09 May, 2018

Congratulating our 2018 Graduates Read more

20 Feb, 2018

Announcing the Lyman 2018 Fellowship Recipients Read more

02 Nov, 2017

Michelle Carney and other MIMS Students Win AR Hackathon!

Michelle Carney, Michelle Chen, Connor Hunihan, Daphne Jong and Ching-yi Lin won CitizenAR hackathon with an application for the Tenderloin community to interact and connect through an AR game design. Read more

19 Oct, 2017

Alums Bonnie Ruberg and Chris Goetz in Camera Obscura

Bonnie Ruberg and Chris Goetz, co-organizers and founders of the Queerness and Games Conference, collaborated on a published piece titled "In Practice: Queerness and Games." Read more

17 Oct, 2017

Alum Bonnie Ruberg at IndieCade

At the beginning of October, alum Bonnie Ruberg attended IndieCade in Downtown Los Angeles to speak about the relationship between games and politics. Read more

24 May, 2017

Christo Sims Publishes Disruptive Fixation Read more

24 May, 2017

Greg Niemeyer at If You Weren't Read more

24 May, 2017

Greg Niemeyer Publishes Alternate Reality Games with Antero Garcia

Alternate Reality Games at the Cusp of Digital Gameplay is a volume of scholarship on the state of alternate reality gaming. Read more

17 May, 2017

Announcing Our 2017 Undergraduate Certificate Grads

These students have made extensive contributions to New Media at Cal Read more

02 Mar, 2017

Bonnie Ruberg Speaks at Game Developers Conference

BCNM alum Ruberg presented her talk, "Teaching Students How to Make Games under Fascism" at this game industry event. Read more

02 Mar, 2017

Video Now Online: "Our Landscape Futures"

Watch this event by Geoff Manaugh, New York Times-bestselling author on technology and utopias. Read more

16 Dec, 2016

Revisited: "Rogue Archives" Book Launch

The discussion of Prof. De Kosnik's new book was held at University Press. Read more

05 Apr, 2016

Game Design Research Group Revisits HTNM with Mary Flanagan

on her lecture, "Critical Play" Read more

21 Mar, 2016

Revisited: "Critical Play"

A recap of Mary Flanagan's lecture, recapped by Kate Mattingly. Read more

24 Sep, 2015

Announcing the 2015-2016 HTNM Series! Read more

03 Feb, 2015

Announcing the Eugene Jarvis Scholarship for Innovation in New Media

Sponsored by the game designer, Eugene Jarvis Read more

07 Apr, 2014

Playing Race with Bonnie Ruberg

This summer, BCNM DE Bonnie Ruberg will be teaching New Media 150 AC – “Playing Race: Investigating American Racial Identities through Video Games,” which will fulfill the American Cultures requirement Read more

02 Dec, 2013

Connect with Chris Goetz and QGCon

The Berkeley Center for New Media’s interdisciplinary environment has provided Chris with a research home that allows him to draw from various fields — from psychology to computer science to design Read more

15 Oct, 2013

First Winner of the Turing Test Tournament

Every month, BCNM recognizes a Turing Test Tournament player with the highest leaderboard score and awards the designated UC Berkeley student organization with a $1000 prize Read more

22 Jul, 2013

Bot or Not?

We are excited to announce the launch of a new online chat game for UC Berkeley's incoming class of 2013, the Turing Test Tournament. Read more

31 Aug, 2012

The Art of Video Games?

Alenda Chang, Ph.D. Rhetoric, DE in New Media, UC Berkeley Read more

15 Jun, 2011

Pwning Asthma Triggers: Health Games as Technologies of Social Engagement

Undergraduate Opportunities

Spring 2025

Spring 2024

This list is updated regularly. Check back often for the latest updates. Email lara@berkeley.edu with suggestions.

Spring 2023

This list is updated regularly. Check back often for the latest updates. Email lara@berkeley.edu with suggestions.

Spring 2022

This list is updated regularly. Check back often for the latest updates. Email lara@berkeley.edu with suggestions.

Spring 2020

This list is updated regularly. Check back often for the latest updates. Email lara@berkeley.edu with suggestions.

Fall 2019

This list is updated regularly. Check back often for the latest updates. Email lara@berkeley.edu with suggestions.

Fall 2018

Fall 2017

Applications are due October 1, 2024

Faculty Seed Grants

Eugene Jarvis Scholarship for New Media Innovation

Strategic Plan

Applications are due October 1, 2024

Faculty Seed Grants

Eugene Jarvis Scholarship for New Media Innovation

Strategic Plan