I am a Development Director on the EA Sports FC Connected Modes team, currently supporting the launch of FC 24. Previously, I worked as a Development Manager on the FIFA Gameplay and Game Modes teams to help launch FIFA 23. I consider myself a product-oriented project manager, working closely with production and engineering to deliver game-changing features on time and to quality.
Outside of day-to-day game production at EA, I teach game development at TWU, covering topics as wide ranging as project management, interactive storytelling, and videogame aesthetics. I’ve supervised many successful student game projects, and have also supported students in their industry field placements. I work hard to not only train my students in essential games industry skills but to cultivate in them an ethical, people-first mentality.
I have a background in academic game studies, focusing on the philosophy of games and play, gameplay dynamics, and narrative design. I’ve presented my research at conferences like the Canadian Game Studies Association conference, the International Conference on Games and Narrative, and the Southwest Popular and American Culture Association conference. Over the last several years I have also maintained a critical design practice, publishing a large catalogue of tabletop roleplaying games on itch.io that use the medium of analog play to explore questions of identity, belief, and social action.
Book Chapters
Stein, Eric. “Dramatic Operations,” in An Educator’s Guide to Interactive Digital Narrative: Syllabi and Resources From Across the World. Pittsburgh, PA: ETC Press, forthcoming.
Book Reviews
Stein, Eric. “Imagined Agency: Review of Stefano Gualeni and Riccardo Fassone’s Fictional Games.” Ancillary Review of Books, May 26, 2023. Web.
―――. “Mechanics of Speculation: Review of Cameron Kunzelman’s The World Is Born From Zero.” Ancillary Review of Books, September 9, 2022. Web.
―――. “Being Meat: Review of Tom Tyler’s Game: Animals, Video Games, and Humanity.” Ancillary Review of Books, August 29, 2022. Web.
―――. “A Wonderfully Inconsistent Being: A Review of Timothy Morton’s Spacecraft.” Ancillary Review of Books, January 19, 2022. Web.
―――. “Joyful Study: Review of Experimental Games: Critique, Play, and Design in the Age of Gamification by Patrick Jagoda.” Ancillary Review of Books, March 11, 2021. Web.
Books
Stein, Eric. The Deep: Poems. Forthcoming. Print.
Chapbooks
Stein, Eric. Stratum of Choice: Poems. Sechelt, BC: forthcoming. Print and Digital.
―――. On the Back of a Tiger: A Prose Poem. Sechelt, BC: 2023. Print and Digital.
Conference Papers
Stein, Eric. “Beasts and Sovereigns: The Zoopolitical Imagination of FromSoftware’s Demon’s Souls, Bloodborne, and Elden Ring.” Canadian Game Studies Association Annual Conference, Online, June 6, 2023. https://zenodo.org/record/8051188.
―――. “Tactile Thematics, 2: Passages of Plurality in FromSoftware’s Elden Ring.” International Conference on Games and Narrative, The Games Institute, University of Waterloo, May 16, 2023. https://zenodo.org/record/7948775.
―――. “Production and Pedagogy: Teaching Game Development in the University Classroom.” TWU CREATE Conference, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, August 26, 2022. https://zenodo.org/record/7036777.
―――. “Play to Lose: Animation, Failure, and the Milieu in Trophy Dark.” GENeration Analog: The Tabletop Games and Education Virtual Conference, Online, July 28, 2022. https://zenodo.org/record/6932651.
―――. “No Dice, No Masters: Procedures for Emancipation in Dream Askew / Dream Apart.” GENeration Analog: The Tabletop Games and Education Virtual Conference, Online, August 5, 2021. https://zenodo.org/record/5156494.
―――. “Bodies in Form, 2: Tabletop Roleplaying as Cosmic Poetics.” Bio and Psyche: Reading the Symptomatic Body, Online, May 28, 2021. https://zenodo.org/record/4824078.
―――. “It’s More Like a Tendency: Trajectories of the Literary in Kentucky Route Zero.” Northeast Modern Language Association Annual Convention, Online, March 12, 2021. https://zenodo.org/record/4603525.
―――. “The Dark Sigil Will Guide Thee: The Hollowing Mechanic in FromSoftware’s Souls Games.” Northeast Popular Culture Association Annual Conference, Online, October 23, 2020. https://zenodo.org/record/4603519.
―――. “It Can’t Be For Nothing: Communicating Intentions for Play Through Trophy Design in The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part II.” TWU Research and Creativity Symposium, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, August 28, 2020. https://zenodo.org/record/4603514.
―――. “Pure Vessels: The Insect and the Other in Dark Souls and Hollow Knight.” Insect Entanglements, Centre for Environmental Humanities, University of Bristol, Online, June 19, 2020. https://zenodo.org/record/4603508.
―――. “Praise the Sun: The Metaphysics of Dark Souls from the First Flame to the End of Fire.” Canadian Game Studies Association Conference, Western University, London, ON, June 3, 2020. https://zenodo.org/record/4603500.
―――. “The Fire Fades: Navigating the End of the World in FromSoftware’s Dark Souls.” International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, Orlando, FL, March 19, 2020. https://zenodo.org/record/4603492.
―――. “Tactile Thematics: From Power to Skill in FromSoftware’s Souls Games.” Southwest Popular/American Culture Association Annual Conference, Albuequerque, NM, February 19, 2020. https://zenodo.org/record/4603488.
―――. “Bodies in Form: Motricity Across Mediums in The Last of Us and The Last of Us: American Dreams.” ImageText in Motion: Animation and Comics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, April 13, 2019. https://zenodo.org/record/4603470.
―――. “The Torqued Horizon: Preliminary Notes on the Hypersurface of the Real.” Radical Resistance: Dissent and Boundary Crossing in the Humanities, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, April 6, 2019. https://zenodo.org/record/4603406.
―――. “Thoreau’s Cabin: An Economy of Space, Sociality, and the Commons.” Free-Exchange: Community Building as Resistance, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, March 9, 2019. https://zenodo.org/record/4603398.
Courses Taught
Stein, Eric. “GAME 260 Project Management for Video Games.” Syllabus, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, Fall 2023. Course Description.
―――. “GAME 471 Video Game Aesthetics.” Syllabus, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, Spring 2023. Course Description.
―――. “GAME 491 Game Development Project III.” Syllabus, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, Spring 2023. Course Description.
―――. “GAME 391 Game Development Project II.” Syllabus, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, Spring 2023. Course Description.
―――. “GAME 490 Game Development Project III.” Syllabus, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, Fall 2022. Course Description.
―――. “GAME 390 Game Development Project II.” Syllabus, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, Fall 2022. Course Description.
―――. “GAME 341 Interactive Storytelling.” Syllabus, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, Fall 2022. Course Description.
―――. “GAME 380 Game Development Field Placement.” Syllabus, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, Summer 2022. Course Description.
―――. “GAME 491 Game Development Project III.” Syllabus, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, Spring 2022. Course Description
―――. “GAME 391 Game Development Project II.” Syllabus, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, Spring 2022. Course Description
―――. “GAME 380 Gane Development Field Placement.” Syllabus, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, Spring 2022. Course Description.
―――. “GAME 140 Introduction to Game Design.” Syllabus, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, Spring 2022. Course Description.
―――. “GAME 490 Game Development Project III.” Syllabus, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, Fall 2021. Course Description.
―――. “GAME 390 Game Development Project II.” Syllabus, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, Fall 2021. Course Description.
―――. “GAME 380 Game Development Field Placement.” Syllabus, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, Fall 2021. Course Description.
―――. “GAME 340 Advanced Game Design.” Syllabus, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, Fall 2021. Course Description.
―――. “GAME 260 Project Management for Video Games.” Syllabus, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, Fall 2021. Course Description.
―――. “GAME 341 Interactive Storytelling.” Syllabus, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, Summer 2021. Course Description.
―――. “GAME 471 Video Game Aesthetics.” Syllabus, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, Spring 2021. Course Description.
―――. “GAME 391 Game Development Project II.” Syllabus, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, Spring 2021. Course Description.
―――. “GAME 290 Game Development Project I.” Syllabus, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, Spring 2021. Course Description
―――. “GAME 390 Game Development Project II.” Syllabus, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, Fall 2020. Course Description.
―――. “GAME 341 Interactive Storytelling.” Syllabus, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, Fall 2020. Course Description.
―――. “GAME 240 Game Design for Video Games.” Syllabus, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, Fall 2020. Course Description.
―――. “GAME 140 Introduction to Game Design.” Syllabus, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, Fall 2020. Course Description.
Game Development
Electronic Arts. EA SPORTS FC™ 24. PlayStation, Xbox, PC, and Switch. Burnaby, BC: Electronic Arts, 2023. Official Site.
―――. EA SPORTS™ FIFA 23. PlayStation, Xbox, PC, Switch, and Stadia. Burnaby, BC: Electronic Arts, 2022. Official Site.
Game Jam Organization
Stein, Eric. Radical Futures. itch.io, March 1, 2023 to May 1, 2023. Event Site.
Schut, Kevin, Andrey Goncharov, and Eric Stein. TWU High School Game Jam. On Campus, November 4, 2022 to November 6, 2022. Event Site.
Walton, Jo Lindsay and Eric Stein. Applied Hope: The Solarpunk and Utopias Jam. itch.io, May 31, 2021 to August 31, 2021. Event Site.
Stein, Eric. Intergalactic Memorial Carnival. itch.io, October 11, 2020 to January 10, 2021. Event Site.
Tabletop Game Design
Stein, Eric. AFK. Radical Futures Jam. Hosted by Eric Stein. itch.io, April 24, 2023. Digital.
―――. Concrete Rules. One-Page RPG Jam. Hosted by Unknown Dungeon. itch.io, August 20, 2021. Digital.
―――. Utopics. Applied Hope: The Solarpunk and Utopias Jam. Hosted by Jo Lindsay Walton and Eric Stein. itch.io, June 9, 2021. Digital.
―――. Method. The Body in Poetry, Bio and Psyche, May 29, 2021. Digital.
―――. Fear of Play. Tech Jam. Hosted by Will Jobst and World Champ Game Co. itch.io, April 22, 2021. Digital.
―――. Earth Without Us. Alternative Ecologies Jam. Hosted by Em Reed. itch.io, March 28, 2021. Digital.
―――. Skin & Stars. Cosmic Horror Tabletop RPG Jam. Hosted by Martian Muckraker. itch.io, March 15, 2021. Print and Digital.
―――. Buffering. Pleasure-not-Business Card RPG Jam. Hosted by ozmodeuz. itch.io, March 6, 2021. Print and Digital.
―――. The Last Tree. In Play 4, forthcoming. Print and Digital.
―――. A Game, Perhaps. List Jam. Hosted by Em Reed and Critical Distance. itch.io, February 18, 2021. Digital.
―――. Chasm. In Play 3, forthcoming. Print and Digital.
―――. Glitchspiel. Zine Quest 3. Kickstarter, February 2, 2021. Print and Digital.
―――. Dead Letters. In Play 2, January 31, 2021. Print and Digital.
―――. Notoriously Frivolous. Intergalactic Memorial Carnival. Hosted by Eric Stein. itch.io, January 9, 2021. Digital.
―――. Living Failures. Failing Entities Jam. Hosted by Chris Bissette. itch.io, November 28, 2020. Digital.
―――. Silent Prayer. 4’33’’ Jam. Hosted by Adam Hegemier. itch.io, November 17, 2020. Digital.
―――. Lovepunk. In Play 1, November 15, 2020. Print and Digital.
―――. Jam Session. Not a Game Jam. Hosted by Riverhouse Games. itch.io, November 2, 2020. Digital.
―――. Useless Passions. Philosophy Game Jam #3. Hosted by Zack Garrett. itch.io, October 15, 2020. Digital.
―――. Good Exercise. Anti-Fascist Game Jam. Hosted by Game Curious Montréal. itch.io, September 15, 2020. Digital.
―――. Metanarrative. Unearthed Expansions Jam. Hosted by Aaron Lim. itch.io, August 10, 2020. Digital.
―――. Among Farmers. Post-Police Design Challenge. Hosted by yenofven, NAmin23, kellielu, ImagineHam, and kasbec. itch.io, July 31, 2020. Digital.
―――. Stay. Nonviolent Adventures Jam. Hosted by IAKANATT. itch.io, 2020. Digital.
―――. Lost Scriptures. Zine Quest 2. Kickstarter, March 11, 2020. Print and Digital.
―――. Moonfall. Lunar New Year Jam. Hosted by (Dallas) Society of Play. itch.io, January 15, 2020. Digital.
―――. Advent. 200 Word RPG Challenge. Hosted by Jacqueline Bryk, Marshall Miller, and David Schirduan. November 18, 2019. Digital.
―――. umbral / rhizome. Cryptid Jam. Hosted by Grim Baccaris. itch.io, October 14, 2019. Digital.
―――. Hollow Machines. Met Jam. Hosted by Riverhouse Games. itch.io, September 26, 2019. Digital.
―――. Affinity. DREAMJAM. Hosted by Giantkiller Industries, Rae Nedjadi, and Megan. itch.io, August 3, 2019. Digital.
My current research program is plural and open, with many concurrent branches of inquiry. Right now, I am thinking about:
© by Eric Stein, 2013–2023. www.steinea.ca and all of its contents are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
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