The Team

I started playing and writing games on a TRS-80, and despite a detour into other professions, made it back into game development. I’ve helped launch genres like MMOs and rhythm games, saw two radically different approaches to high quality at Bungie and PopCap, which I brought to shipping a new medium at Oculus. There’s something deeply meaningful about mediated cooperation and collaboration I’ve wanted to bring to games - I would have been a better dad (and human!) if I had a dog earlier. My spare time (!) is spent with my family (which includes our pup) and at the velodrome, racing bikes. Windup Minds is the place where I want to make games, with people I want to make games with.

I started patrolling the moon at around 4 years old, shortly after picking up a pencil, and haven’t looked back. My lifelong interest in art and computing led me through DOOM mods, into early VR labs, and into the professional world with Electronic Arts. I’ve always loved games, yet felt they were just the tip of the iceberg. I’ve explored the medium in many ways, as programmer, designer, artist, and director, and in many kinds of productions, including independent game studios, AR & VR startups, museums, and pop-up shows. I love the dance of excitement, expectations, and constraints while innovating in interactive experiences and creating unexpected joy.

I've tinkered with game programming since my teenage years when I picked up ActionScript and RPG Maker 2. This passion ultimately led me to spend seven years at Meta (Oculus) and Microsoft, where I worked on games and experimental AR/VR features. Outside the tech sphere I find joy building a community of writers, artists and other creatives in NYC.

From the very beginning I've had the pleasure of being raised in a family full of creatives. My life has been centered around the art of animation and from a very early age, I knew there was nothing else I wanted to do. Not long after finishing Animschool, I joined a wonderful group of game artists during the initial exploration phase of Niantic's newest game, Peridot. I fell in love with interactive games while on this project and now I have the opportunity to dive headfirst into VR games with a group of insanely great artists. When I'm not animating, you'll find me at a coffee shop with a mocha and book in hand... or perhaps while I'm bringing characters to life.

I spent my childhood drawing, writing stories, and playing games. Little did younger me realize she could turn those things into an amazing career. In the past ten years, I've worked on many projects across different platforms and genres, but none were quite so rewarding (and challenging) as Bogo and First Steps. I love making games that take risks and defy expectations—with smart and creative people..

As far as I can remember, I've been obsessed with crafting, designing, and making things. I earned my Bachelor's at the University of Southern California's Games program, where I led and designed several small-to-large-scale projects. Upon graduation, I spent a year working with game designers and shipping Niantic's first AR pet simulation game Peridot. I am passionate about designing games that are not only systemically rich and fun but also positively enrich players' lives. In my free time, you might find me practicing archery, sewing plushies, or doting on my pet bunny.

Author, game designer, narrative designer, teacher. I started designing games in 1992 at the very beginning of real-time 3D, and went on to work on classic immersives like System Shock, Deus Ex, and Dishonored. I moved into XR design as Director of Design at Magic Leap, finding the new paradigms mixed reality offers in game design and storytelling. I’m always looking for the next big new technology - and how to make it sing.
In my other life I’m a novelist. My published books include Soon I Will Be Invincible, YOU, and Crooked, with more forthcoming. I like to put my own spin on different styles of genre fiction, to tell new sides of old stories.