Lien Tran to join as trainer for 2023 YSEALI Game Changers

YSEALI Game Changers 2023 logo

The U.S. State Department and the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur has invited Lien Tran via a funded cultural engagement to participate as an international game design trainer and workshop facilitator for YSEALI Game Changers (YGC) in May 2023.   YGC brings together mid-level professionals to learn about and explore, through a 2-day game jam,… Continue reading Lien Tran to join as trainer for 2023 YSEALI Game Changers

International Women’s Day op ed on virtual reality for a just and real-world reality

Illustration by Nikki Muller, New Thinking Magazine

International Women’s Day 2023 On #InternationalWomensDay, Lien Tran published an op ed in New Thinking Magazine entitled “Leveraging Tech to Address Gender-Based Violence Impactfully” on how emerging tech, including the VR simulation “A Just Reality” project, can fill a major gap in essential skills training for law enforcement who respond to and investigate sexual assault & domestic… Continue reading International Women’s Day op ed on virtual reality for a just and real-world reality

Games for civics op ed published in New Thinking

Illustration by Nikki Muller (New Thinking magazine)

The majority of Americans know little about civics and government; video games could prove the unorthodox solution to our miseducation. This is the topic of Professor Lien Tran’s second op ed as a Public Voices fellow with The OpEd Project. On February 4, 2023, New Thinking magazine published her op ed entitled “The Game of Life: Leveraging Tech for Civics Education“. Educators… Continue reading Games for civics op ed published in New Thinking

Emerging technology’s role for telling critical Asian American history

Photo by Red Morley Hewitt

Professor Lien Tran is part of DePaul University’s 2022-23 The OpEd Project’s Public Voices fellowship. Professor Tran’s first op ed entitled “Lunar New Year Offers a Chance to Reflect on Asian American History“, was published in VISIBLE magazine ahead of Lunar New Year on January 22, 2023. In this op ed, Tran shares examples for how… Continue reading Emerging technology’s role for telling critical Asian American history

Transformed Reality VR Workshop (2022)

A Just Reality VR

Transformed Reality VR Workshop Meaningful Play 2022, East Lansing, MI, USA October 12-14, 2022 Presented by Lien Tran, Brighten Jelke, Lynn Baus, Chryselle Rego, LeAnne Wagner In this workshop participants will learn about a set of resources and processes for creating a VR training experience and test a working project in a VR headset (Oculus… Continue reading Transformed Reality VR Workshop (2022)

Teaching the Next Generation of G4C Developers

Teaching the Next Generation of Games for Change Developers Lien Tran participated in the 2022 Games for Change festival as a panelist speaking about how she has been approaching teaching the next generation of games for change developers as a college professor. Below are a few of the slides shared during her segment. Previous Next… Continue reading Teaching the Next Generation of G4C Developers

Dwell wins GLS Creativity and Design Award

Lien Tran receives Creativity and Design award at the 2022 Games+Learning+Society conference in Irvine, CA.

Judges for the 2022 Games+Learning+Society conference’s game showcase awarded Dwell the Creativity and Design award in June 2022 in Irvine, CA.  The games showcase selections were double-blind peer-reviewed. 30+ games were selected for showcase, and a panel of expert judges reviewed the games for award consideration. There were a total of four awards, 1 of… Continue reading Dwell wins GLS Creativity and Design Award

Poor Not Guilty Challenges featured as a National Homelessness Law Center (NHLC) resource

Matters at Play collaborated with several subject matter stakeholders on the creation of Poor Not Guilty: Fines and Fees Challenge, including the National Homelessness Law Center (NHLC). The challenge is now available on the NHLC’s website along with a suggested Street Law lesson plan. The Fines & Fees Challenge is an interactive educational tool based on a… Continue reading Poor Not Guilty Challenges featured as a National Homelessness Law Center (NHLC) resource

Rethinking GBV Training for Law Enforcement

Former law enforcement testing VR training

Lien Tran was invited and presented at the international Gender Justice and Human Rights Symposium organized by and held at University of Miami School of Law on April 21-22, 2022, with financial travel support from UN Women. Tran joined a seasoned panel of international retired and active members of law enforcement from International Association of Women Police (IAWP, International… Continue reading Rethinking GBV Training for Law Enforcement

Teaching Games with Games at GDC 2022

GDC 2022, Education Summit: Tran intro

On March 22, 2022, at the 2022 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, CA, Professor Lien Tran joined an esteem group of educators to share new ways to look at games for change and learning. This Educators Summit session called “Teaching Games with Games 7: Changing the Game” was particularly useful for seasoned and new… Continue reading Teaching Games with Games at GDC 2022

Big Build Up for the win at #LoveLifePAX Unplugged

On Sunday, December 12, 2021, Jennifer Ann’s Group (JAG)’s Drew Crescente moderated the “Gaming Against Violence: Unplugged” panel at PAX Unplugged on the potential for analog games to communicate signs of and concerns for Power & Control in romantic relationships. #LifeLovePAX The judges for JAG’s 2021 Unplugged game design challenge made up the panel speakers:… Continue reading Big Build Up for the win at #LoveLifePAX Unplugged

Going Unplugged with Jennifer Ann’s Group as game challenge finalist

The Big Build Up

Lien Tran, Matters at Play director and DePaul’s School of Design assistant professor, and Lynn Baus, DePaul’s graduate student in the Experience Design program, teamed up to propose an analog game concept for Jennifer Ann’s Group (JAG)’s 14th Annual Game Design Challenge, which challenges game makers everywhere to design compelling prosocial games for violence prevention.… Continue reading Going Unplugged with Jennifer Ann’s Group as game challenge finalist

UM Law’s HRC challenges you to “Buckle Up”

Click here to play the ‘Buckle Up’ #PoorNotGuilty Challenge to learn more about how minor traffic violations perpetuate the cycle of poverty in the U.S.: https://t.co/2Mx814zeAC@homeless_law @FinesandFeesJC @LienT @EricTars pic.twitter.com/49kMM7heO4 — UM Law Human Rights (@UMLawHRC) October 1, 2021 M@P was fortunate to collaborate with a dedicated team of human rights advocates and legal experts… Continue reading UM Law’s HRC challenges you to “Buckle Up”