Christopher Swain

Experience

USC Iovine and Young Academy – Los Angeles

(08/21 –present)

 Associate Professor, Business of Innovation

Develop curriculum and teach courses in all three departments at the Iovine and Young Academy. Courses taught include:

-          ACAD 181 Disruptive Innovation

-          ACAD 182 Case Studies in Innovation

-          ACAD 187 Design Toolbox: 3D Design

-          ACAD 207 Narrative Media Design

-          ACAD 406 Purpose Driven Incubator

-          ACAD 475B The Garage Experience

-          IDSN 515 Professional Practices Residential

-          IDSN 520 Design Essentials

-          IDSN 523 User Experience Design

-          IDSN 534 Fueling Business with Exponential Technologies

-          IDSN 540 Processes and Perspectives

-          IDSN 545 Integrative Project

-          IDSN 590 Directed Research

-          PRIN 526 Virtual Lab: Mixed Reality Development

-          PRIN 535 Entrepreneur Lab (Exponential Technologies)

Co-head, Student Led Ventures initiative which produces the annual IYA Innovation Quest and IYA Venture Showcase. Committee chair: Faculty Merit Review 2022, Portfolios@IYA 2024

Techstars – Los Angeles

(6/24  –present)

 Mentor

Serve as a mentor to ventures in the USC Techstars Digital Economy program. Follow the schedule provided by Techstars for the Pre-Accelerator.

Spear It Technologies, Inc. – Los Angeles

(3/23 –present)

 Co-Founder

Spear It creates technology and services to enable consumer packaged goods companies to market products and build audience loyalty via QR codes placed in the real world. Funded by co-founder and serial entrepreneur, Sean Pierce. Currently in MVP stage.

 Figma, Inc. – San Francisco

(03/22 – present)

 Education Advisory Board

Work with the amazing people building Figma. Offer what help I can in regard to education initiatives.

ProofOfLearn.io - New York

(12/21 –3/23)

 Co-Founder

Proof of Learn, Inc. (POL) was a Web3 education platform with a mission to unlock accessible, high-quality education across the world through blockchain and a learn-to-earn protocol. The company’s vision is to ensure that anyone with an internet connection can gain a world-class online education, as well as direct access to income earning opportunities and employment. With a focus on addressing the skills shortage experienced by the Web3 economy. The company is funded by $15M from New Enterprise Associates, Animoca Brands, and others. The company pivoted to become Ohai.ai in Sept 23.

 University of Southern California - Los Angeles

(06/12 –08/21)

 Part time Lecturer and Researcher

Taught part-time at the USC Iovine Young Academy, USC Viterbi School of Engineering, and USC Annenberg School for Communication. Research and lead curriculum development for USC Center for Third Space Thinking. Courses taught:

-          ITP 310 – Design for User Experience

-          ITP 499 – Innovation Workshop

-          PRIN 526 – Virtual Maker Lab

-          ACAD 187 – 3D Design

-          ACAD 490 – Directed Research

-          IDSN 585 – Capstone

-          IDSN 599 – Visual Software Development for Startups 

-          IDSN 520 – Design Essentials

-          IDSN 570 Decisions and Solutions

-          IDSN 590 – Directed Research

-          CSCI 499 – Free to Play Games

-          ASCJ 420 – Dynamics of the Video Revolution

-          COMM 499 – Life Design Workshop

-          COMM211x – Professional Effectiveness

Swain Corp.– Los Angeles

(6/02 – present)

 Principal

Strategic consulting to technology and media companies.  Clients include RAND, DARPA, SPB Partners Private Equity, Disney Imagineering, Intel, Viacom, SPACES, TallyUp, Hersch and Co, Turner, Payoff, CrowdFood, others

Credible Research Corporation – Los Angeles

(5/11 – 12/13)

 Founder and CEO

Raised $2mm. Built, launched, and marketed original online games. Recruited and led 10 engineers, designers, and marketers. Led Lean Startup Methodology to find product market fit. Merged it with a second company I founded called, Talkie. Responsible for fund raising, financial modeling, marketing, business development, dish washing, etc. Projects include: Cred.FM, Ecotopia, The Vine

USC School of Cinematic Arts- Los Angeles

(8/09 –06/12)

 Director, USC Games Institute and Research Associate Professor

Directed this research institute. It was a collaboration between the School of Cinematic Arts, Viterbi School of Engineering, and Annenberg School for Communication. It was a focusing entity for game-related initiatives across the university. Lead projects with:  Gates Foundation, ABC News, US State Dept, others

USC School of Cinematic Arts - Los Angeles

(8/04 – 8/09)

 Co-Director

Electronic Arts Game Innovation Lab and Assistant Professor

Co-founded this lab as a research space where new concepts in game design, play, and usability can be prototyped and play tested. Designed an environment separate from the constraints of commercial game development.  Lead projects with National Science Foundation, Brown University, Rockefeller Foundation, NIH, US Counter-Terrorism Center, Annenberg Center. Example project is: The Redistricting Game – www.redistrictinggame.org

Courses taught:

-          CTIN 309 Introduction to Interactive Media

-          CTIN 488 Game Design Workshop

-          CTIN 489 Intermediate Game Design

-          CTIN 491 Advanced Game Project

-          CTIN 541 Design for Interactive Media

-          CTIN 558 Business of Interactive Media

Spiderdance, Inc. – Los Angeles

(5/99 – 6/02)

 VP Programming

Vice President of a game technology start-up. Created a mass audience server technology that accommodated millions of simultaneous users and synchronized their activities to television. Secured partnerships with MTV (webRIOT), NBC (Weakest Link), The WB, TBS, History Channel, Game Show Network, Lions Gate Entertainment, Ford/J. Walter Thomson.

R/GA Interactive, Inc. – New York

(5/93 – 5/99)

 Executive Producer and Design Lead

Founding member of premiere design agency. Company grew from 4-200+ employees and $0 - >$50mm in revenue. Project lead on over 50 interactive products big and small.  Had 30 direct reports.  Clients included: Disney, Microsoft, Intel, IBM, Sony, AT&T, NASDAQ, Ticketmaster, Mattel, Warner Brothers, Kodak, BBC, General Electric, Sprint, Compaq, many others. 

Synapse Technologies, Inc. - Los Angeles

(6/91 – 5/93)

 Producer

Started entry level and became producer on three groundbreaking interactive documentaries: Air Power (Smithsonian Air and Space Museum), Evolution/Revolution: The World, 1890 -1930 (with IBM); Columbus: Discovery, Encounter, and Beyond (with IBM, on permanent display at US Library of Congress)

Part Time Academic Positions

New York Film Academy – New York and Los Angeles

(05/2013 – 08/2021)

Chair, Game Design School

Created education strategy and curriculum for the NYFA game design school. Recruited faculty and students for operations in New York City and Los Angeles.

CG Spectrum College of Digital Art and Animation –Melbourne

(07/2019 – 08/2021)

 Head of Academics

Developed education strategy and curriculum for the online game program at CG Spectrum - launched Fall 2019.

Art Center College of Design – Pasadena

(08/2019 – 05/2021)

 Adjunct Professor, Design

Developed and taught courses in Immersive Design (VR, AR, location-based) and User Experience for the Art Center Game Design program.

City University of Hong Kong – Hong Kong

(Summers 2004 and 2005)

 Visiting Scholar

Taught a game design workshop for two great summers in Hong Kong.

Digital Content Institute – Taipei

(Summer 2006)

 Visiting Scholar

·           Game Design Workshop

School of Visual Arts. - New York

(08/1996 – 05/1998)

Adjunct Professor

·           Studio II: Game Design

Select Publications

Books

·         Fullerton, T, Swain, C, and Hoffman, S (2004) Game Design Workshop, 304 pages,: CMP Books (First Version)

Select Chapters

·         Swain C (2010) The Mechanic is the Message, Schrier K and Gibson D, Ethics and Game Design  IGI Global Publishing

·         Swain C (2008) Master Metrics Isbister, K and Schaffer, N  Game Usability (pp 119-140) Morgan Kauffman

Select Papers

·         Swain, C “The Augmented Conversation Engine – A System for Achieving Believable Conversation in Games” (Dec 2008) Proceedings of the ICAC Conference, Tokyo

·         Swain, C “Designing Games to Effect Social Change” (Oct 2007) Proceedings of the DIGRA Conference, Tokyo

Select Organizations

 Board of Directors

  ·         Academy of Television Arts and Sciences [Primetime Emmy’s] (2000 – 2004)

·         ORCAS, Inc. (2014-2016)

 Board of Advisors

Startups

·           TallyUp (2019-2022)

·           Alpha District (2019)

·           Ignite, Inc. (2017-2019)

·           Amavitae.com (2015-2018)

·           CrowdFood, Inc. (2015-2017)

·           Kimingo, Inc. (2015-2016)

Other

·           TEDxUSC (2012)

·           Whitehouse Healthy Kids Challenge (2010)

·           USC Annenberg Innovation Lab (2010-2012)

·           Games for Change Organization (2007-2012)

·           American Film Institute Enhanced Television Workshop (1999-2003)

Select Awards

1.       Games for Change – 2007 (The Redistricting Game)

2.       IBC’s Nombre d’Or 2001 (webRIOT)

3.       Milia d’Or Award 2000 (Frank Lloyd Wright: Poetry of Structure)

4.       New Media Invision Gold Award, Best UI 1999 (Frank Lloyd Wright: Poetry of Structure)

5.       International Web Page Award 2000 (ArtMuseum.net)

6.       WebAwards Outstanding Website 1999 (Jeopardy! Online)

7.       WebAwards Best Game Site 1999 (Wheel of Fortune Online)

8.       One Show: Gold Pencil 1999 (Discovery Kiosks)

9.       Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, Best Family/Board Game of 1999 (Jeopardy! Online)

10.    WebAwards Outstanding Website 1999 (Stickerworld)

11.    ID Magazine Interactive Design Review, 1997 (NetWits)

12.   Time Magazine Best of 1996, Internet Top 10 list (NetWits)

13.   Others

Select Speaking

·          Cambridge University – Conversation Games in Social Networks, November 2011

·          SIGGRAPH – Games, Program Chair, June 2010

·          MIT - “Games and the Future”, Cambridge MA, January 2009

·          Future and Reality of Gaming, Vienna, October 2008

·          Nanyang University Singapore/USC conference, “Disruptive Forces in the Media Marketplace”, August 2008

·          Netherlands Games Festival – “Game Design Workshop”, Utrecht Holland, June 2008

·          Games for Change conference – “Let the Games Begin”, New York, June 2008

·          SXSW conference – “Games for Change: Real World Games with Real World Impact”, Austin TX, March 2008

·          Game Developer’s Conference – “Master Metrics: The Art Behind the Science of Game Design”, San Francisco, February 2008

·          USC Board of Trustees – “Game Innovation and Interdisciplinary Research”, Palm Springs, November 2007

·          “HR 2642: Fairness in Redistricting Act and The Redistricting Game” – Joint Press Event at the U.S. Capitol with Rep John Tanner (D-TN) and reform groups, Washington DC, June 2007

·          Columbia University – “Games in Academia” New York, January 2007

·          Carnegie Mellon University – “Playcentric Game Design” Pittsburgh, January 2007

·          Korean Game Conference, “Achieving Believable Conversation in Games” Seoul  November 2006

·          US FIRST National High School Robotics Competition, “Games and Robotics”, July 2004

·          Sorbonne, Universite Paris - “Principles of Game Design” – Paris, December 2002

·          Harvard Business School, Cyberposium – “New Media vs Old Media” Cambridge, February 2001

Select Press 

·          Forbes.com – “Indie Game Developers Rise Up”, by Mary Jane Irwin, November 20, 2008

·          NPR Morning Edition – “In 'Spore,' Players Create Civilizations From Cells”, by Laura Sydell, September 4, 2008

·          Wired.com – “Redistricting, or How Elections Are Stolen”, by Chris Kohler, June 18, 2007

·          CNN – “Gamers Take On Politics”, by Kara Finnstrom, June 16, 2007

·          Roll Call – “Calling All Political Geeks”, June 14, 2007

·          NPR Morning Edition – “Computer Game Shows Voters How to Win at Redistricting”, by Andrea Seabrook, June 14, 2007

·          New York Times Online – “A Gamer’s Guide to Redistricting”, by Michael Falcone, June 14, 2007

·          Toronto Globe and Mail – “You Too Can be an Expert at Rigging Elections”, June 13, 2007, by John Ibbitson

·          USA Today – “Gerrymander ‘Til you Drop with New Online Videogame”, by M. Memmott, June 12, 2007

·          Washington Post – “The New Political Games Make a Point”, by Mike Musgrove, June 10, 2007

·          San Jose Mercury News – “Now What? Wii, PS3 Alone Aren’t Enough to Raise Games to Serious Art”, by Mike Antonucci, February 3, 2007

·          NPR Morning Edition – “Video Game Programs Look for New Ways to Use Games”, by Laura Sydell November 14, 2006

·          USA Today – “New Videogames play to Serious Objectives”, by Mike Snider October 30, 2006

·          USAToday.com – “Into the Pixel” May 3, 2005

·          Los Angeles Times – “Action Morphs Into Art”, by Alex Pham, March 26, 2004

·         Wired.com – “Media Makers Content to Interact”, by Brad King, January 25, 2004

Select Skills

·         Lean Methodology

·         Startup Recruiting

·         Startup Fund Raising

·         Startup Financial Modeling/Pro Formas

·         Adobe CC

·         Figma and other UX

·         JIRA, Trello and other AGILE

·         MTurk and other user research

·         Advanced Excel

·         Fusion 360

·         Unity

·         Engagement mechanics

Education

MBA, University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business

BA, Indiana University

Regular technology-related coursework through Singularity University, Game Thinking Academy, Coursera, and Udemy