VITA: ERIC ZIMMERMAN

 

 

 

                              CONTACT INFORMATION

 

                              Eric Zimmerman

                             

                              Home:

                              49 McGuinness Blvd

                              Brooklyn, NY  11222

                              718 383 1193

                              e@ericzimmerman.com       

 

                              Office:

                              gameLab

                              368 Broadway #210

                              New York, NY 10013

                              646 827 6644

                              fax 827 6645

                              eric@gmlb.com      

 

                              cell: 917 554 0214

 

 

 

                              EDUCATION

 

1994                       M.F.A. in Art & Technology

                              Advanced Computing Center for the Arts & Design

                              The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

 

1991                       B.F.A. in Painting

                              The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

 

                              Indiana University, Florence, Italy and Bloomington, Indiana

                              Study towards Penn BFA degree

 

 

 

                              SELECTED DIGITAL PROJECTS

 

2003 (upcoming)      Junkbot Level Editor

                              Software tool that lets players create game levels and post them online

                              A gameLab game created for lego.com

 

2003 (upcoming)      Worldbuilder

                              Singleplayer game in which player creates and manages a LEGO world

                              A gameLab game created for lego.com

 

2003 (upcoming)      Arcadia

                              Singleplayer postmodern game about multitasking and retro-gaming 

                              A gameLab game licensed to Shockwave.com

 

2003                       CRASH

                              Singleplayer game about traffic patterns

                              A gameLab game licensed to Shockwave.com

 

2003                       Motobike Blast

                              Singleplayer high-speed racing game that induces the flow state

                              A gameLab game created for lego.com

 

2002                       Spybotics

                              Singleplayer kids game about programmable robots

                              A gameLab game created for lego.com

 

2002                       Drome Racing Challenge

                              Multiplayer internet game where kids build and race cars

                              A gameLab game created for lego.com

 

2002                       Junkbot Undercover

                              Sequel to Junkbot game

                              A gameLab game created for lego.com

 

2002                       BLiX Level Constructor Kit

                              Software tool that lets players create their own game levels

                              and share them with friends

                              a gameLab project created for Shockwave.com

 

2001                       FLUID

                              Singleplayer non-commercial kiosk game about liquid ecosystem

                              A gameLab game created for Swiss Re

 

2001                       Junkbot

                              Singleplayer game featuring original LEGO character

                              A gameLab game created for lego.com

 

2001                       LOOP

                              Singleplayer game about catching butterflies

                              a gameLab game created for Shockwave.com

 

2000                       SiSSYFiGHT 2000

                              Multiplayer Internet game developed with Word.com,

                              available at www.sissyfight.com

                             

1999                       Strain

                              Artificial life non-commercial computer game

                              Premiered November 1999 at the Rotunda Gallery, NYC

 

1999                       BLiX

                              Single player puzzle game now available at www.shockwave.com

                              Developed with Peter Lee & Michael Sweet

 

1998 & 1999            The GameZone

                              9 Internet games published by Addison Wesley Longman’s KnowZone

                              Developed at Flat, Inc.

 

1998                       Flat Email Games

                              Multiplayer games played over email (never released to the public)

                              Developed at Flat, Inc.

 

1998                       The Robot Club

                              CD-ROM Educational Game published by Southpeak Interactive

                              Developed by R/GA Interactive & Learn Technologies, Inc.

 

1996                       Gearheads

                              CD-ROM Game published by Philips Media

                              Developed by R/GA Interactive

 

 

 

                              SELECTED NON-DIGITAL PROJECTS

 

2004 (upcoming)      The Intricate Investigation

                              Pop-up book childrens game set in the world of Lemony Snicket

                              A gameLab game created for Harper-Collins Press

 

2003 (upcoming)      Alphabet City

                              Massively multiplayer social word game

                              Created for the Game Developers Conference 2003 by gameLab

 

2002                       Power at Play

                              Massively multiplayer social card game for Blur conference

                              Co-created with Marina Zurkow

 

2002                       Leviathan

                              Massively multiplayer social board game

                              designed for the Game Developers Conference 2002 by gameLab

 

2002                       Devices of Wonder exhibition brochure

                              Designed interactive museum brochure for Getty Museum exhibition

 

2001                       Bite Me

                              Massively multiplayer social game

                              designed for the Game Developers Conference 2001 by gameLab

 

2000                       Link

                              Massively multiplayer social game designed for the FlashForward2000

                              Conference, also appeared at FlashForward 2001

 

2000                       Manifesto

                              Massively multiplayer card game

                              Premiering at AIGA Collision Conference, April 2000

 

2000                       Organism

                              Artificial life boardgame and accompanying essay

                              Published as insert in ArtByte  magazine

 

2000                       Life in the Garden

                              Interactive paper book project with designer Nancy Nowacek

                              Published by RSUB

 

2000                       Toys

                              Game for a gallery setting that utilizes several dozen action figures

                              premiered at the Bellevue Museum of Art, Seattle

 

1999                       PUSH

                              Game installation (non-computer)

                              Project Room, Artists Space, NYC

 

1999                       Three Games for a Gallery

                              Game installation (non-computer)

                              Pl@ytimes exhibition, Le Magasin,

                              Center for Contemporary Arts, Grenoble, France

 

1999                       Suspicion

                              Card game designed for an office

                              Pl@ytimes exhibition, Le Magasin,

                              Center for Contemporary Arts, Grenoble, France

 

1998                       120 Words

                              Poetry card game for Installed exhibition at Sara Meltzer Gallery, NYC

                              Developed with Jeremy Sigler

 

 

 

                              CONFERENCES ORGANIZED AND DIRECTED

 

 

2003 (upcoming)      Game Developers Conference Academic Summit

                              Planned and organized 2-day conference about gaming studies

                              Created with the IGDA for the GDC2003

 

2002                       STRATEGIES: Making Games in NYC

                              Designed and moderated event about game design, business, and culture

                              Presented by the IGDA and the Center for New Design

 

2002                       Blur

                              Co-planned conference on Art and Technology

                              Presented by Creative Time and the Center for New Design

 

1999                       RE:PLAY Online Forum and Conference   

                              Director of online and real-world conference about game design and culture

                              Sponsored by Eyebeam Atelier, NYC

 

 

 

                              SELECTED EXHIBITIONS & FESTIVALS (DIGITAL WORK)

 

2003 (upcoming)      Digital Arts and Culture 2003

                              FLUID selected for DAC conference exhibition

 

2003 (upcoming)      Wisconsin Film Festival

                              FLUID selected for film festival exhibition on moving images

 

2003                       American Museum of the Moving Image [Alt Digital]

                              FLUID selected for AMMI exhibit on experimental digital culture

 

2002                       ArtFutura 2002 Gallery

                              FLUID selected for conference exhibition

 

2002                       SIGGRAPH 2002 Art Gallery

                              FLUID selected for conference exhibition

 

2002                       GAME ON, Barbican Museum, London

                              Junkbot selected for major museum exhibition about history of games

 

2002                       Experimental Gameplay Workshop

                              Arcadia exhibited at Game Developer Conference show

                              honoring experimental games

 

2001                       Animation at PS1

                              SiSSYFiGHT 2000 selected for interdisciplinary exhibition on animation

 

2000                                              Art Entertainment Network

SiSSYFiGHT 2000 selected for Walker Art Center exhibition of online art

 

2000                       Open Source Lounge

                              STRAIN exhibited in show about digital culture in Athens, Greece

 

2000                       Electrolobby, ARS ELECTRONICA, Linz, Austria

                              SiSSYFiGHT 2000 exhibited in juried show on digital culture

 

2000                       Shift-Ctrl: computers, games, and art

                              SiSSYFiGHT 2000 selected for show on digital culture at UC Irvine

 

2000                       World Wide Video Festival

                              STRAIN exhibited in Amsterdam film festival

 

2000                       SIGGRAPH 2000

                              SiSSYFiGHT 2000 & BLiX accepted into juried Art Gallery

 

1999                       Digital Salon Exhibitor (juried exhibition), NYC

                              BLiX computer game

 

1999                       Cyber99, Lisbon Portugal (juried exhibition)

                              BLiX computer game

 

1999                       ARS Electronica Exhibitor (juried exhibition), Linz, Germany

                              BLiX computer game

 

 

 

                              SELECTED EXHIBITIONS (NON-DIGITAL WORK)

 

2000                       Game Show (group show + residency)

                              Bellevue Museum, Seattle

 

2000                       Artists Space project room

                              Push installation at Artists Space, New York City

 

1999                       The Lottery (group show)

                              Rotunda Gallery, Brooklyn, NY

 

1999                       Pl@ytimes (group show)

                              Le Magasin, Center for Contemporary Arts, Grenoble, France

 

1998                       Group show

                              Sara Meltzer Gallery, New York City

 

 

 

                              BOOK & ARTICLE PUBLICATIONS

 

2003 (upcoming)      Game + Design: Fundamentals of Meaningful Play

                              Textbook on game design co-authored with Katie Salen

 

2003 (upcoming)      RE:PLAY / Game Design + Game Culture

                              Editor for book based on critical diaglogues of the RE:PLAY conference

 

2003 (upcoming)      First Person

                              Contributed chapter about games and stories to book on digital narratives

                             

2003 (upcoming)      Handbook of Computer Gaming

                              Contributed chapter about game design for interdisciplinary handbook

 

2003                       IGDA Curriculum Guidelines

                              Contributor to industry whitepaper about educating game developers

 

2002                       GAME ON Catalog

                              Essay on Independent Games for museum book catalog

 

2001                       Game Design Syllabus

                              Co-authored with Frank Lantz

                              Syllabus appearing in Education of an E-Designer, edited by Steve Heller

 

2001                       Technologies of Undressing: The Digital Paper Dolls of KISS

                              Chapter in Flesh Eating Technologies, co-authored with Elena Gorfinkel

                              Semiotext(e) Press & Banff Center for the Arts

                              Sylvere Lotringer & Sara Diamond, editors

 

2000                       Technologies of Undressing: The Digital Paper Dolls of KISS

                              Co-authored with Elena Gorfinkel

                              Appeared in online journal LUCKYKISS_XXX

 

2000                       Against Hypertext

                              Essay in American Letters & Commentary book publication

 

2000                       Technologies of Undressing: The Digital Paper Dolls of KISS

                              Co-authored with Elena Gorfinkel

                              Chapter in SEX: The Art of Allure in Graphic and Advertising Design,

                              Allworth Press, Steve Heller, editor

 

1999                       Rules, Play, & Culture: Checkmate!

                              Article in Merge Magazine #5, co-authored with Frank Lantz

 

1999                       Pl@ytimes exhibition catalogue

                              Le Magasin, Center for Contemporary Art, Grenoble, France

                              Documentation on Three Games for a Gallery

 

1998                       Rules of the Game

                              Chapter in If/Then 1.0: Play

                              Netherlands Design Institute

                              Jan Abrams, Editor

 

1998                       Technologies of Undressing: The Digital Paper Dolls of KISS

                              Co-authored with Elena Gorfinkel

                              Article in Zed Magazine, issue 5

 

1997                       Kiss And Tell

                              Co-authored with Elena Gorfinkel

                              Article in 21C, January 1997 issue

 

1997 - 1999             Digital game & toy reviews, interviews

                              I.D. Magazine

 

 

 

                              SELECTED INTERVIEWS AND REVIEWS

 

2001                                              Alsteel

Selected for documentary & ad campaign about Alsteel-designed chair

 

2002                       NPR Interview

                              Appeared on Public Radio show Studio 360

 

2001                                              Game Boys

Feature on gameLab in Metropolis Magazine

 

2001                       How Magazine review of LOOP

 

 

2001                       Game Boy

                              Visual essay and write-up for One design magazine, May 2001

 

2001                       Newsweek review of BLiX

 

2000                       Interview with Eric Zimmerman

                              Interviewed by Huan-Hu Chye for Satellite Magazine, Dec 2000

 

2000                       Wired Magazine BLiX Review

 

2000                       Profile on Eric Zimmerman in Design

                              (Korean design magazine)

 

2000                       Interview with a Game Designer (extended interview)

                              Eric Zimmerman interviewed by Lionel Bauvier & Fabrice Stron

                              Parachon (French Journal)

 

2000                       Guardian SiSSYFiGHT 2000 review

                              (London newspaper)

 

2000                                              Feature on SiSSYFiGHT 2000

Vancouver Today newspaper

 

2000                       NPR Interview

                              Appeared in roundtable discussion in nationally syndicated show

                              Connections

 

2000                       Happy Web review of SiSSYFiGHT 2000

                              (Italian lifestyle magazine)

 

2000                       Feature on SiSSYFiGHT 2000

                              The Globe Review newspaper (Canadian)

 

2000                                              Feature on SiSSYFiGHT 2000

The New York Times

 

2000                       Play (interview with Bill Jones)

                              ArtByte Magazine, March/April 2000

                              Interview about games and art

 

1999                       RE:PLAY

                              Village Voice review of RE:PLAY Conference

 

1999                       BLiX (featured on cover)

                              Leonardo Magazine, October 1999

 

1999                       Artist Interview

                              Artists Space Newsletter

                              Interviewed by Janelle Porter, Artists Space Curator

 

1999-2000               Online interviews in nytimes.com, newmedia.com, macgaming.com,

                              next-generation.com

 

                             

 

                              LECTURES & PANELS

 

2003 (upcoming)      White Plains College

                              Lecture on game design presented with Katie Salen

 

2003 (upcoming)      HOW Design Conference

                              Lecture on designing meaningful play

 

2003 (upcoming)      Wisconsin Film Festival

                              Lecture on games and cinema for film festival

 

2003 (upcoming)      Game Developers Conference 2003

                              Co-lecturing on rule-breaking with Katie Salen

 

2003 (upcoming)      GDC Academic Summit

                              Moderating panel on the future of gaming for Game Developers Conference

 

2003                       Consolate General of Sweden, NYC

                              Moderated panel on games and business

 

2002                       ArtFutura2002

                              Panel on Independent Games for Barcelona conference

 

2002                       British Broadcasting Corporation

                              Design lecture for BBC New Media research group

 

2002                       Canadian Film Centre

                              Interactive Arena panel on game culture

 

2002                       New York University

                              Artists Talk at Interactive Telecommunications Program

 

2002                       NYC SIGGRAPH

                              Panel on Game Development in New York City

 

2002                       University of Minnesota Design Center

                              Presentation at interdisciplinary think tank on design

 

2002                       Center for Communication

                              Panel on Careers in Media

 

2002                       Kaiser Family Foundation

                              Roundtable on games, media, and violence

 

2002                       Creative Time: Projects and Prototypes

                              Critique of Grand Theft Auto 3 for public lecture