Michelle Hinn 2010 Board Statement
Candidate Position Statement:
It is my honor to run for the Board of Directors of the IGDA, an organization that has for so long supported diversity within the gaming community as well as outreach to game developers and consumers on diversity issues. For about a decade I have been a proud member of the IGDA and have served to promote the area of game accessibility during my entire term of membership.
As a gamer and game user researcher in the industry and in academia with dyslexia and neuropathic disabilities, game accessibility has been my personal passion for about fifteen years. If elected to the Board of Directors, it is my hope that I can help this area grow even more and that I can serve as a champion for promoting other areas of game diversity as well. It is my belief that different diversity groups within the IGDA can work together to create a greater voice that can help promote change across the gaming industry versus working alone. The lessons and wisdom of every diversity group can help all of our groups grow and support one another as we seek to bring a greater level of diversity to the industry and its gaming audience.
I am excited to report to the membership that after years of petitioning every major gaming award show for an award for “Most Accessible Game of the Year” that the ELANS have picked up that category and that core members of the SIG are involved in the judging of that award. Additionally the SIG will receive 5% of the monies earned by the award show to be distributed to VA and other hospitals, as well as independent living communities for those with disabilities via the purchase of accessible gaming equipment to help with rehab and as an important leisure activity to help foster positive psychological well being.
Without the IGDA, opportunities such as the ELANS that happened through friendships made over the years within the group would not have been possible. As a board candidate it is my intent to continue to fight for game accessibility and game diversity from a greater level of leadership within the organization. I ask only to be given that chance by you, the members of the IGDA, to be empowered to do so as a member of the Board of Directors.
Candidate Volunteer Credits:
• Current Chair of the Game Accessibility SIG
• Current Co-Chair of the IGDA’s Diversity committee
• Currently serves on the advisory board of the IGDA’s Women in Games SIG
• Received one of the IGDA’s “Most Valuable Player” awards (2006)
Candidate Bio:
Michelle Hinn is an instructor at the University of Illinois where she teaches game design and developmental psychology courses. She was recently named one of Edge Magazine's 100 Most Influential Women in Gaming based on her work as chair of the International Game Developer’s Association’s Game Accessibility Group and has won one of the IGDA’s “Most Valuable Player” awards (2006). Michelle is also the co-chair of the IGDA’s Diversity committee and serves on the advisory board of the IGDA’s Women in Games SIG. She also works as an independent consultant for companies including VTree, Inc (which designs and develops games for those with cognitive and mobility disabilities) and Information in Place, Inc (as an accessibility content expert for educational games). Michelle is also the Chair of the ECA’s Game Accessibility SIG and is the head judge for the first industry award show award for “Most Accessible Mainstream Game of the Year” at the 2010 ELANS.
Michelle completed her doctorate at the University of Illinois in HCI & Game Accessibility. Michelle has worked at Microsoft Game Studios where she focused on piloting usability tests for Xbox multiplayer games. Additionally, she has worked for Computer Sciences Corporation, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), and the University of Nevada at Reno. She is the co-editor of the 2001 book Visions of Quality: How Evaluators Define, Understand, and Represent Program Quality and is on the editorial board of the Computers in Entertainment magazine. She has a new chapter on Game Accessibility that came out in March 2009 in Chris Bateman’s book “Beyond Game Design” and is currently working on a textbook on Game Accessibility published by Charles River Media based on her doctoral thesis.
Board Interview Q and A:
Coming Soon!
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