Heather Kelley is an Associate Teaching Professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center, where she teaches game design and interactive media. A celebrated game designer, media artist and curator, her work explores sensory-rich experiences, integrating touch, smell, movement and nervous system response into gameplay.
Before joining the ETC, Heather built an extensive career in the games industry, working with Ubisoft, Eidos (Ion Storm) and Behaviour Interactive on AAA console games. She is a co-founder of Kokoromi, the experimental game collective behind SUPERHYPERCUBE, and has curated international exhibitions, including Joue le Jeu in Paris. Named one of Fast Company’s 30 most influential women in technology, she has received awards from Microsoft Women in Gaming and Vienna’s Content Awards.
At the ETC, Heather is passionate about mentoring students in experimental and socially impactful game design. Her research interests include disability justice, climate-conscious play and alternative sensory interfaces. When she’s not teaching or designing, Heather enjoys performing music, biking, hiking, wild swimming and foraging—always seeking inspiration from her senses and the natural world.
Heather Kelley joined the ETC in 2015.
Education
Master of Arts, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, United States 1 Sep 1994 - 30 May 1997
Best Application Award and FemPower Award. OhMiBod Remote. Content Awards, Vienna, AT, 2011.
Fast Company’s Most Influential Women in Technology. Fast Company magazine, 2011.
Publications
The How Well Anthology. Kelley, Maier, and Skibba, ed. Editor. The How Well Project, CMU Center for Arts and Society. Pittsburgh, PA, 2021.
Women in Gaming: 100 Professionals of Play. Contributor. Marie, ed. Roseville, CA, Prima Games, 2018.
“Ontology of the Senses in Interface” in SP--AN Conversations About Design and Technology No. 3. Contributing writer. Google Design, 2017.
“Proverted Pleasures: Orgasm and Gameplay” in Screw The System: Explorations of Spaces, Games and Politics through Sexuality and Technology Grenzfurthner, Friesinger, and Fabry, ed., Contributing writer. RE/Search Publications, 2014.
On Turtles & Dragons and the dangerous quest for a media art notation system. Contributing writer, contributing editor. Time’s Up, Linz, 2012.
News Stories & Media
“Play at the V&A: A Conversation with Marie Foulston and Kristian Volsing on the Videogames: Design/Play/Disrupt Exhibition.” ROMchip: A journal of game histories. December 2020.
“Videogames: Design/Play/Disrupt at the V&A” LondonStudent. November 2018.
“5 Contemporary Developers Shaking Up What Video Games Do, Say + Mean” AIGA Eye On Design. September 2018.
“Game Cube: On a New Media Gallery in Pittsburgh” Art in America. July 2018.
“VR gets casual at Casual Connect Europe 2017.” Realmix blog. February 2017.
“The way we AR.” Learning with ‘e’s blog, February 2017.
“Virtual Reality’s Possibilities Lure Video Game Developers” New York Times. September 2016.
“Not Just a Gimmick: This puzzle game proves virtual reality can be addictive, not just a distraction.” Slate, October 2016.
