Matthew Coopilton (formerly Hamilton)

Matthew Coopilton (they/them) is a game designer, researcher, and educator. They taught at a high school re-engagement program in Seattle for ten years, where they collaborated with students and colleagues to address conflict and harm while minimizing oppressive punitive discipline policies. They were also involved in Seattle’s movement to abolish the local youth jail, e.g. working with the ARTifACTs collective to design interactive media projects at demonstrations against the jail. The world-building of Kai UnEarthed emerged from these activities and conversations.  A chapter in the book Speculative Pedagogies explains how.

Matthew is currently a Sustainability Fellow at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts Interactive Media and Games Division; they are organizing and studying climate justice and abolitionist learning environments featuring games and game design.

Matthew has a Ph.D. in Education from USC, and they have published writings on topics such as critical speculative imagination, critical game literacies, adolescent digital literacies, and Afrofuturist development. Their doctoral dissertation was about an Afro-futurist themed Critical Game Jam where young Black, Latine, and LGBTQIA+ people gave feedback on our prototype of Kai UnEarthed and also prototyped their own games about unpoliced futures. Matthew has also exhibited Kai UnEarthed at multiple peer-reviewed/curated conferences such as Storybits, Queer Temporalities, and Games, Learning, and Society.

Matthew makes games for learning, and they co-design learning spaces where people of all ages can make their own games. See mcoopilton.com for their design portfolio and publications.

Olivia Peace

Olivia Peace is a student Academy Award winning director and visual artist from Detroit, Michigan living in Los Angeles. Their work is heavily informed by artistic experimentation, dreamspaces, and a deep reverence for the ecosystems that made them.

Olivia attended film school at Northwestern University where they studied animation and interactive art. Their senior film “Pangaea” was created with a research grant aimed at studying the effects of ecological displacement on young children specifically from New Orleans. The final piece utilized a mixture of live action and animation and went on to win a Fellowship with The Sundance Institute as a part of the year long intensive Sundance Ignite x Adobe 1324 Fellowship.

Olivia also holds a master's degree in Interactive Media and Games from The University of Southern California where they specialized in Worldbuilding. Their thesis project, "Against Reality," is a roomscale interactive experience built using AI neural networks. “Against Reality” premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival and won the 2022 Student Academy Award.

While still in their master's program, Olivia's debut feature film, TAHARA, premiered to rave reviews at the 2020 Slamdance Film festival and went on to screen and win awards at dozens of festivals around the world. TAHARA opened in theaters June 2022 via Film Movement immediately becoming a New York Times Critic’s Pick.

Olivia remains committed to discussing and exploring critical imagination and taking motivated risks in the face of loss and change.

Olivia’s portfolio can be found here.

Claire Hu

Mengqing “Claire” Hu (she/they) is a game designer, a game developer, and an artist. She graduated with an MFA degree from the Interactive Media and Games Division at USC, and a BFA degree from the Parsons School of Design in Design and Technology.

Diving deep into the field of interactive media, Claire finds this interdisciplinary space incredibly fun to explore, and she believes in the potential of games to bring joy, courage, and inner strength to those in need.

Claire’s favorite games range from World of Warcraft, to Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Monument Valley, Florence, and other inspirational games.

In Claire's free time, aside from professional endeavors, she also plays piano and practices Chinese calligraphy. These hobbies bring her precious peaceful moments, and encourage her to self-care and stay mindful.

Claire’s portfolio can be found here.