Nicole Lazzaro
Founder and President, XEODesign
Nicole Lazzaro, Founder and President of XEODesign, Inc., has twenty years of expertise in Player Experience Design (PXD) for mass-market entertainment products. Voted by Gamasutra as one of the Top 20 women working in video games, and cited by Wired, Fast Company, CNET, ABC News, The Hollywood Reporter, and Red Herring, her clients include Sony, EA, Ubisoft, Sega, PlayFirst, The Cartoon Network, Disney, Lucas Arts, Nickelodeon, LeapFrog, Mattel, Monolith, Xfire, D.I.C.E, Leap Frog, Ugobe, The Learning Company, Broderbund, Roxio, Cisco, Go Pets, Sierra Online, and Maxis. She has an undergraduate degree in Psychology from Stanford University, where she also studied film making and computer programming.
Since founding XEODesign in 1992 Nicole's design and research has improved over 40 million player experiences, including several popular franchises for casual audiences such as three of the Myst Series, Diner Dash, GoPets, Cosmopolitan Virtual Makeover, Mavis Beacon teaches Typing, Jeopardy Online, as well as creativity coaching for the designers of The Sims.
Since founding XEODesign in 1992 Nicole's design and research has improved over 40 million player experiences, including several popular franchises for casual audiences such as three of the Myst Series, Diner Dash, GoPets, Cosmopolitan Virtual Makeover, Mavis Beacon teaches Typing, Jeopardy Online, as well as creativity coaching for the designers of The Sims.
The gaming expert waxes nostalgic for the wireframe universe of the arcade game she loved most as a kid.
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The modern workplace is a crime against the human spirit. Deepening our understanding of what truly motivates people will make work more productive—and more playful.
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5 min
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Those who think newspaper reading will be the dominant use of the iPad are fooling themselves, says Nicole Lazzaro. It’s going to be gaming—especially two-player gaming “like that Star Wars […]
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Nicole Lazzaro explains how she’s trying to reconcile fun gameplay with a social message. (And, as a bonus, drops a reference to nerd-film classic “The Powers of Ten.”)
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For years, video game culture has basically been a boys’ club. Nicole Lazzaro’s work will help change that trend forever.
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4 min
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Based on the seven emotions we can identify in the face, researchers have identified the four factors that make for an addictive game.
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9 min
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In the dazzling heat of the desert, gamer Nicole Lazzaro was struck by a vision of human fun throughout the ages.
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A conversation with the founder and president of XEODesign.
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27 min
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