Drew Davidson

Drew Davidson is a professor, producer and player of interactive media. His background spans academic, industry and professional worlds and he is interested in stories and transformational experiences across texts, comics, games and other media. He is a Teaching Professor at the Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University and is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Play Story Press, an open community publishing consortium, and the Well Played series and journal. He served as the Director of the ETC and Founding Editor-in-Chief of ETC Press, as well as the Interim Director for Randy Pausch’s Alice Project. His professional activities are closely related to his research interests, as he has worked to help grow fields of study, creating forums and founding organizations to foster academic scholarship in new areas. He engages with academic and industry communities, leading grants, consulting for companies, institutions and organizations, and serving on advisory, editorial and review boards as well as judge and jury panels. He has supported the advancement of the academic study of games, along with the design and development of games for impact. He has also been involved in the growing academic study and creation of crossmedia communications and transmedia experiences. And he has worked on the academic study and creation of makerspaces located in public institutions like museums, libraries, science centers and schools. With academic and industry colleagues, he has been articulating best practices in creative development and how orchestrating inclusive practices enables more innovative collaborative work. And he’s conducting an exploratory qualitative study on the international field of play with support from Connected Learning Alliance, Games for Change, Global Game Jam, International Game Developer Association, Higher Education Video Game Alliance, and IndieCade, along with the Pittsburgh Remake Learning Initiative and the Pittsburgh Technology Council. He is an expert in leading creative collaborations with interdisciplinary groups, orchestrating change, and building initiatives focused on making positive social impact. He has written and edited books, journals, articles, and essays on narratives across media, serious games, analyzing gameplay, and cross-media communication.