Associate Professor
Clay Ewing is creative technologist with a focus on serious games, implementing game mechanics into real world applications, and social justice. As an award winning game designer and developer, Professor Ewing’s games have tackled issues such as vector borne diseases, the cost of health care, social safety nets and labor practices. His most recent game, Unsavory, is the winner of a special emphasis award at the Serious Games Showcase and Challenge for its use of social media crowdsourcing for peer learning. Clay has worked with numerous non-profits including Red Cross Red Crescent, Open Society Foundations, ROC United, Oxfam, and the AIDS & Rights Alliance for Southern Africa. His projects have been covered by The Huffington Post, NPR, Forbes, and The Consumerist. He also is the creator of Queso, an open source learning management for gamifying the classroom.
Courses Taught
- Intro to Game Design
- Intro to Creative Code
- Dynamic Data
Research Interests
- Social Impact Games
- Interactive Design
- Gameful Learning
- Mobile Development
Featured Publications
Papers
Stoler, J., Ewing, C., Appiah Otoo, R., Tran, L., Adu, N.T.B., Nyoagbe, M., Nunoo, D.N.O. 2015. Tapping customers: A spatially explicit, open-source platform for crowdsourcing water service data in Ghana. Proceedings of the 38th WEDC International Conference: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Services Beyond 2015: Improving Access and Sustainability. Loughborough, UK, 27-31 July.
Awards and Recognition
- BEA Festival of Media Arts 2016, Best of Competition, ROC United Diners Guide
- Serious Games Showcase & Challenge 2015, Special Emphasis Award for Use of Social Media Crowdsourcing, Unsavory
- International Serious Play Awards 2015, Gold Award, Unsavory
- Davey Awards 2015, Silver Award, ROC United Diners Guide
- Appy Awards 2015, Finalist, ROC United Diners Guide
- AEJMC Best of Web Competition 2015, First Place Mobile App Design, Zoo Rush
- AEJMC Best of Web Competition 2015, Second Place Mobile App Design, ROC United Diners Guide
- IndieCade 2014 Official Big Game Selection, Atlantis
- Balefire Labs, Top Rated EdApp Award, Zoo Rush
- International Serious Play Awards 2014, Silver Award, Zoo Rush
- W3 Awards 2014, Silver Award, Zoo Rush
- Communicator Awards 2014, Award of Distinction, Queso
- Horizon Interactive Awards 2014, Silver Award, Queso
- EdTech Digest Awards Finalist 2014, Reporting Solution, Queso
Invited Presentations and Workshops
Ewing, C (2015). Massive Multiplayer Games… in Person! MozFest, London, England.
Ewing, C. and Dickinson, D (2014). Duel Stereo. New Ways to Involve Your Audience, New World Symphony. Miami Beach, FL.
Tran, L. and Ewing, C. (2014). Vanity. Meaningful Play. East Lansing, MI. [Web Site]
Tran, L., Lang, K., Carcioppolo, N., Ewing, C., and Beyea, D. (2014). Measuring the Social Impact of Games for Health and Policy Reform. Meaningful Play. East Lansing, MI. [Web Site]
Tran, L. and Ewing, C. (2014). Humans vs. Mosquitoes. Meaningful Play. East Lansing, MI. [Web Site]
Ewing, C., Tran, L., and Fanelli, K. (2013). Building a Gameful Classroom. Madison, WI. [Web Site]
Ewing, C., Bogost, I., Jansen, A., Rawlings, T., and Crecente, B. (2013). The Rejected: Censorship of Social Impact Games. Games for Change. New York. [Web Site]
Tran, L. and Ewing, C. (2013). Mechanics and Outcomes: Factors for communicating humanitarian messages with games. Digital Games Research Association. [Web Site]
Ewing, C., Fishman, B., Deterding, S., Fanelli, K., Vattel, L., Higgin, T., Schenke, K., and Sheldon, L. (2013). Beyond Badges & Points: Gameful Assessment Systems for Engagement in Formal Education. Games Learning Society. [Web Site]
Tran, L. and Ewing, C. (2013). Win Win: Models for Creating a Social Impact Game on a Budget. Games for Change. New York, NY. [Web Site]
Featured Projects
Clean Gear as the New Badge of Honor: Cancer Prevention Campaign for Firefighters
Evaluation of Serious Games Outcomes