Talk:Jesse Schell

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Latest comment: 8 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

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Edit Request: Biographical and Career Updates

Latest comment: 9 days ago2 comments1 person in discussion

Hello Wikipedia Team!

I am an employee at Schell Games proposing neutral updates to this article about Jesse Schell. Here are the changes I'm proposing. Can you please review these changes, and if appropriate, can you help me apply the changes.

I appreciate your help.

All the very best,

Jill Sciulli

The user below has a request that an edit be made to Jesse Schell. That user has an actual or apparent conflict of interest.
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Jillsciulli (talk) 19:14, 14 September 2026 (UTC)Reply

== Lead Section ==

'''Jesse N. Schell''' (born June 13, 1970) is an American video game designer, author, entrepreneur, and academic.<ref>https://scholars.cmu.edu/2486-jesse-schell</ref> He is the founder and CEO of Schell Games, an independent game studio based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and serves as a Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Entertainment Technology at Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center (CMU ETC).<ref>https://etc.cmu.edu/about/our-people/faculty-staff/jesse-schell</ref>

Schell previously worked as the Creative Director of the Walt Disney Imagineering Virtual Reality Studio, where he worked on virtual reality experiences for DisneyQuest and led the design of the massively multiplayer online game ''Toontown Online''.<ref>https://www.toontownrewritten.com/news/item/492/meet-the-minds-behind-toontown-online</ref> He is the author of the textbook ''The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses''. <ref>https://www.amazon.com/Art-Game-Design-Lenses-Third-dp-1138632058/dp/1138632058</ref> His 2010 D.I.C.E. Summit talk, "Beyond Facebook," addressed the application of game mechanics to non-game contexts, a concept known as gamification.<ref>https://www.interactive.org/news/hit_list_jesse_schell.asp</ref>

== Early Career and Education ==

Schell earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in 1992.<ref>https://etc.cmu.edu/about/our-people/faculty-staff/jesse-schell</ref> He completed a Master of Science degree in Information Networking at Carnegie Mellon University in 1993, with a thesis focusing on networked virtual reality architectures.<ref>https://etc.cmu.edu/about/our-people/faculty-staff/jesse-schell</ref>

His early career included work as a software engineer for IBM and Bell Communications Research.<ref>https://www.hcii.cmu.edu/news/event/art-game-design-0</ref> Prior to entering the video game industry, he worked as a performer, writer, and artist for organizations including Freihofer's Mime Circus.<ref>https://www.cmu.edu/ini/academics/msin/careerbios/jesse-schell.html</ref>

== Walt Disney Imagineering ==

In 1995, Schell joined Walt Disney Imagineering, where he worked for seven years, eventually serving as Creative Director of the Disney Imagineering Virtual Reality Studio.<ref>https://scholars.cmu.edu/2486-jesse-schell</ref><ref>https://www.cmu.edu/ini/academics/msin/careerbios/jesse-schell.html</ref> His work included the design of interactive theme park attractions and virtual reality experiences for DisneyQuest.<ref>https://www.ted.com/speakers/jesse_schell</ref>

Schell was the lead designer and creative director for ''Toontown Online,” Disney's massively multiplayer online game released in 2003.<ref>https://youtu.be/_NyXpL6ydVQ?si=Kz__rg78FsSZlvqa</ref> He also served as lead designer for the virtual reality attraction ''Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for Buccaneer's Gold''.<ref>https://www.mobygames.com/person/282434/jesse-schell/</ref>

== Schell Games ==

In 2002, Schell founded Schell Games, an independent game studio based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.<ref>https://www.gamesindustry.biz/best-places-to-work-awards-winner-schell-games</ref> The studio develops digital experiences, including games for virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and education.<ref>https://www.gamesindustry.biz/best-places-to-work-awards-winner-schell-games</ref>

Titles developed by the studio include:

The VR puzzle series ''I Expect You To Die''.<ref>https://growjo.com/company/Schell_Games</ref>
The VR combat game ''Until You Fall''.<ref>https://www.uploadvr.com/quest-devs-make-1-million/</ref>
The co-developed VR adaptation ''Among Us VR''.<ref>https://etc.cmu.edu/about/our-people/faculty-staff/jesse-schell</ref>
Educational titles including ''Happy Atoms'' and ''HoloLAB Champions''.<ref>https://www.post-gazette.com/life/lifestyle/2016/09/25/schell-games-happy-atoms-helps-kids-bond-with-chemistry/stories/201609250011</ref><ref>https://roadtovr.com/expect-die-studio-releases-educational-vr-chemistry-game-hololab-champions/</ref>

== Academic Work and Publications ==

Schell joined Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center in 2002, where he holds the title of Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Entertainment Technology.<ref>https://www.cmu.edu/ini/academics/msin/careerbios/jesse-schell.html</ref><ref>https://ideate.cmu.edu/about/people/participating-educators/jesse-schell.html</ref> He has taught courses including "Building Virtual Worlds," originally created by Randy Pausch.<ref>https://www.cmu.edu/homepage/collaboration/2007/winter/building-virtual-worlds.shtml</ref>

From 2004 to 2005, Schell served as President of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA).<ref>https://etc.cmu.edu/about/our-people/faculty-staff/jesse-schell</ref>

In 2008, he authored the textbook ''The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses''.<ref>https://www.amazon.com/Art-Game-Design-Lenses-Third-dp-1138632058/dp/1138632058</ref> The book received the Front Line Award from ''Game Developer'' magazine in 2008.<ref>https://www.gamedeveloper.com/audio/game-developer-s-front-line-awards-2008</ref>

== Honors and Awards ==

**2004:** Named to the TR100 list of young innovators by ''MIT Technology Review''.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PkUgCiHuH8</ref>
**2008:** ''Game Developer'' magazine Front Line Award for ''The Art of Game Design''.<ref>https://www.gamedeveloper.com/audio/game-developer-s-front-line-awards-2008</ref>
**2013:** Game Changer Award, Games for Change Festival.<ref>https://www.eventsforgamers.com/games-change-festival-2013-overview/</ref>
**2015:** Carnegie Science Award (Entrepreneur category).<ref>https://schellgames.com/about</ref>
**2016:** Pittsburgh Tech 50 CEO of the Year.<ref>https://etc.cmu.edu/about/our-people/faculty-staff/jesse-schell</ref>
**2024:** Inducted into the Augmented World Expo (AWE) XR Hall of Fame.<ref>https://www.awexr.com/hall-of-fame</ref> Jillsciulli (talk) 19:15, 14 September 2026 (UTC)Reply

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Edit Request: Biographical and Career Updates