Eyeo 2015 – Nicky Case from Eyeo Festival on Vimeo.

Nicky Case is an extraordinary person. Nicky moved from Singapore to Canada at a young age. They largely confronted the world on their own, leaving home at age 16 after coming out as LGBTQ+ and not being accepted by their family. Nicky went on to pursue an internship at a video game development company, where they were faced with the idea “do video games matter?” which stuck with them ever since.

Nicky is an interactive storyteller. They develop deeply personal yet relatable games with nuanced choices that the user can make. Those choices are intended to cause the user to reflect on some aspect of society and identity. I really admire this aspect of Nicky’s work. While commonly played games tend to be relatively surface level, Nicky thinks about poignant, often subtle moments in life, and allows people to play through those moments to increase their own self awareness. It is a greatly heightened connection between game, player, and the developer. Nicky’s most popular game is probably their “Coming Out Simulator” which is autobiographical and follows the choices a young asian teen faces when coming out. Another one of my favorite works is “We become what we behold” which is a commentary on manipulation of the media and biases we develop. The games typically have simple often cute graphics, and easy game play that purposefully and effectively communicate their overarching ideas.

In regards to how Nicky presents, honestly when first watching their lecture I thought it was somewhat awkward with some jokes falling flat. However, thinking back, the message of the lecture stays with me, concerning telling stories through systems as well as making systems out of stories. What worked about the presentation was how Nicky presented in the method of the ideas they were discussing – Interweaving anecdotes and structure, all the while in a human, relatably not-smooth-sailing way, makes the presentation all the more memorable.