Brenda Laurel is an advocate for diversity and inclusiveness in video games, a "pioneer in developing virtual reality", a public speaker, and an academic.
15 Facts About Brenda Laurel
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Brenda Laurel was founder and chair of the Graduate Design Program at California College of the Arts.
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Brenda Laurel has worked for Atari, co-founded the game development studio Purple Moon, and served as an interaction design consultant for multiple companies including Sony Pictures, Apple, and Citibank.
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Brenda Kay Laurel was born on November 20,1950 in Columbus, Ohio.
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Brenda Laurel received her Bachelor of Arts from DePauw University, and her Masters of Fine Arts as well as her Ph.
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Brenda Laurel is a board member at several companies and organizations.
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Brenda Laurel posited that while the early video game industry focused almost exclusively upon developing products aimed at young men, girls were not inherently disinterested in the medium.
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Brenda Laurel's research suggested that young women tended to prefer experiences based around complex social interaction, verbal skills, and transmedia.
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In 1996, Brenda Laurel founded Purple Moon, a software company focused on creating games aimed at young girls between the ages of 8 and 14.
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Brenda Laurel's vision was to create games for girls that had a greater focus on real life decision-making rather than appearances and materiality.
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Brenda Laurel was an experiment in turning research on girl's gaming preferences into marketable video games.
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Brenda Laurel produced ten games primarily divided into two series: "Rockett", which focused around a young girl's daily interactions, and the more meditative "Secret Path" series.
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Brenda Laurel currently teaches Design Research, Critique, Methods for Innovation and Creativity, and Interaction in the Polis.
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In 2015 Brenda Laurel won the Trailblazer award at the IndieCade festival.
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Brenda Laurel works as a consultant and speaker, and is a part-time abalone diver.