College of Visual and Performing Arts Dean bruce d. mcclung has announced the appointment of Varun Saxena as Lecturer in Game Design and Production.
Varun Saxena is a game designer, writer, and educator currently based in Greensboro, where he is a Post-MFA Fellow in Interactive Media at UNCG, teaching classes on games and animation. Originally from Mumbai, India, he draws inspiration from having grown up on the other side of the globe to explore themes of culture, migration, identity, and community in his work.
As a game designer, Varun Saxena’s work has often explored human conversations and how they can be used as playful mechanics in interactive media. Recognizing early on the dichotomy between talkers and listeners, he identifies as a listener who finds immense joy in actively listening to people and remembers the nuances of these conversations. This perspective deeply influences his creative work, where emotional intricacies serve as a recurring theme.
One of his most recent projects is Ghosts from the Future | Dream for the Future, an analog game where two players sit down across each other and visit their pasts as ghosts from the future, take artefacts from the past, and place them in an imagined future. The game explores how ritualistic, collaborative storytelling can be used to foster connection and promote cooperation.
Prior to joining UNCG, Varun Saxena worked for Killer Snails, a New York-based educational technology company. There, he was involved in the development and creation of educational science games that allow children to step into the roles of scientists, educating them about the interconnected nature of environmental issues and highlighting the importance of community-driven problem-solving.
Varun Saxena holds a Master of Fine Arts from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and a Bachelor of Science from Whistling Woods International in Mumbai.
