Gamifying Chaos: Embracing Uncertainty Through Play

n moments of chaos, games and interactive experiences can help us remain playful in the face of uncertainty. When circumstances greater than us, be it climate change, politics, love, or family, seem to render personal choices meaningless, chaos is a tool for catalyzing unexpected connections and creativity in ourselves and others, and game-theater is the training ground where we learn how to use it. Game-theater combines the tight-knit storytelling of immersive theater and the agency of game design to explore whether chaos is a situation to be wrestled into submission or a blank canvas of unbridled opportunity. Learn more at https://tedxasburypark.com/ Jessica is an immersive experience game designer and performance artist based in NYC and Philadelphia. She teaches Serious and Experimental Games at Drexel University and University of the Arts and she is the founder of IKantKoan Immersive Experiences, focused on fostering agency through play. Jessica holds an MFA in Devised, Ensemble Theater from The Pig Iron School of Advanced Performance Training and a BA in Political Communications and Creative Writing from The George Washington University. She has worked on Broadway, on mountaintop trails, and in the digital abyss. Her work has been presented at BostonFIG, HERE Arts Center, The Franklin Institute, FringeNYC, and Bandwi/d/th International. She is currently game-designer-in-residence at Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Park. Jessica's Website and Social Links: www.jessicacreane.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-creane Twitter: https://twitter.com/IKantKoan