Erin Reynolds shares how collaborative video game design can educate and empower players to make the world a better place.

"Innovations in technology, from virtual reality to game design, allow us to access experiences we wouldn't normally encounter in day-to-day life."

"Games not only invite people to let their guard down but also cross the divide into different shoes, other worlds, and strange circumstances. They allow people to experience the un-experienceable, to go to places that were once out of reach and see through other eyes and to take risks and have fun while doing so."

Erin Reynolds is the Founder, President, and Creative Director of Flying Mollusk. She has a diverse background spanning the past 15 years in game development within a variety of different environments, including as a developer (handheld, social, and mobile), publisher, academic, and now indie. Erin is passionate about the potential games have to empower, educate, and inspire players of all kinds and to make the world a better, more playful place.

To this end, she took a sabbatical from her career in Game Development in 2009 to pursue her MFA through the prestigious Interactive Media & Games Division of the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. There, Erin led projects such as "Trainer," (winning the two top awards for Michelle Obama’s Apps for Healthy Kids competition at the White House) and the critically acclaimed academic version of "Nevermind."

As Chief Mollusk of Flying Mollusk, Erin is dedicated to continuing to create edgy games and interactive art that leave a lasting positive impact on the user and the world.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx Erin Reynolds is the Founder and Creative Director of Flying Mollusk. She has a diverse background spanning the past 15 years in game development within a variety of different environments, including as a developer (handheld, social, and mobile), publisher, academic, and now indie. Erin is passionate about the potential games have to empower, educate, and inspire players of all kinds and to make the world a better, more playful place.

She took a sabbatical from her career in Game Development in 2009 to pursue her MFA through the prestigious Interactive Media & Games Division of the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. There, Erin led projects such as "Trainer," (winning the two top awards for Michelle Obama’s Apps for Healthy Kids competition at the White House) and the critically acclaimed academic version of "Nevermind."

Erin is dedicated to continuing to create edgy games and interactive art that leave a lasting positive impact on the user and world. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx