iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

I have been waiting 20+ years for this moment.

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 25/05/2025

New life achievement: I met Chili and got a hug from Mum. I’m sure the happy tears will stop at some point….

Signed picture of the Bluey Heeled family. To Kelli, you’re doing great. Lots of love, Chili. Melanie Zanetti

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

You can find me at MomoCon. I’m the one with the GOOSE TOTE!!

Canvas tote with a white goose made of pulled yarn on it.

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 12/04/2025

This is just one number in a six digit code he’ll need to free his Easter basket from a lock box. (Easter bunny had to hide it from Eddy, the cat). 6 puzzles total, one for each number in the code. Each puzzle has a stamp that corresponds to where it goes in the code.

Picture of a note book with 3 different Easter themed stamps. Handwritten notes say crossword = 5, website = 8, snd boarding pass = 3

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 12/04/2025

For those playing along at home, the annual Easter escape room / scavenger hunt for the kiddo is progressing. I finished the boarding passes that, when put in order, create a flight path that makes the # 3. I have an inflatable globe so the kiddo will draw the path and trace the number

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

We’re in Yerba for some therapeutic art in the park!! Share your game dev stories and help make a zine of joy, grief, hope, and resilience!! Here from 11-1

Woman in a dress, holding a bubble machine

Close-up of a blanket with lots of art and craft supplies and art artifacts from the event.

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

Conclusions: 1 in 5 players are queer and that number will only grow Queer players are not a monolith - and many of their experiences haven’t been represented Support queer developers!!

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

“We saw a lot of Dragon Age” Over 1/3 didn’t feel represented.

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

Even though a majority of participants had a fave queer character, most couldn’t name a comment where they felt represented outside of romance

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

As an educator, assigned the use of the sketchbook as homework to make them a habit for students.

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

Sketches benefit from being images and texts. They also can be messy - transfer from brain to paper is the key. Can be more formalized and laid out, such as flow charts, maps, spatial relationships, etc

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

Next panel let’s go!! Educators Summit: Sketchbooking and Visual Analysis in the Game Design Classroom with the fantastic @totter87.bsky.social

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

Really looking forward to this talk! Independent Games Summit: Careful Leadership Through Crisis with @trentkusters.bsky.social , @richmakesgames.bsky.social , and @helenburnill.bsky.social Thread starting soon!

G D C 25. Independent games summit: careful leadership through crises

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

I met the design lead for Hay Day (Supercell) and my day has been made. And yes, I asked for her autograph.

Business card with a signature in blue ink

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

Key takeaways 1) stop talking politics / empathy and talk values 2) values can be invisible or explicitly embedded 3) values change how games are understood 4) values can be a powerful (marketing) tool to get players to understand the game

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

What choices can the players make (narrative, ludic) How can we make players think? How will players feel? What can players learn? Is there ambiguity? How do we transform, do we want to?

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

Framework 1 - Questions to ask devs, publishers, and players

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

Reportage space How games and values are reported: - whose values are we talking about? - who decides what games should contain - how are those values interpreted?

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

Development space Personal - digging into well of self Vs Representation - how can we ensure stakeholders are accurately represented in our game?

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

3 key elements in the design space: narrative, systemic, and presentation elements

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

Focus on values in our games. Everything we make has our values and personal beliefs in them. Values aren’t a game verb, but an abstract idea of things we care about.

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

We want to make players feel things. Let’s do an empathy. Empathy can be reductive and potentially and appropriative. Let’s break it down into the concepts we might actually be talking about.

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

Circa 2016, empathy games are a big deal. But what are empathy games? Spectrum from least to most emotionally intensive

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

Next talk - beyond empathy: frameworks for embedding pro social values in games by Adam Jarrett

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

Pillars of thriving games: 1) empower, connect, and amplify 2) curate, create, and promote 3) champion the work

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

When people play your game, do they feel good? Not just about themselves but the people they’re playing with.

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

“Healthy games and players don’t exist in a vacuum, they’re intentionally designed for.” - Matthew Soeth, Thriving in Games Group. #GDC #DigitalThrivingPlaybook

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

The only thing more exciting than going to GDC in two weeks, is going to GDC with @drhayspsyd.bsky.social and the Accelerate fellows! #GDCScholarImpact

Take this. Accelerate. See you at GDC. Logos for riot games, GDC, I need diverse games, and Sony. Thank you to our title sponsor Riot! games into additional sponsorship from GDC. I need diverse games and Sony entertainment. Your support made it possible for the accelerate fellows to attend GDC 2025 takethis.org And
takethis.org/accelerate.

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

“Fair” isn’t quite the f-word that comes to mind…

Screenshot of weather.com showing that the current temperature is -8 degrees Farenheight and fair.

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

Finishing out the year with one more work and chill stream.

Woman with red hair and glasses smiling. She’s wearing a baseball cap that looks like a snowman’s face and a spiral lighted Christmas tree is in the background.

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

I spent this week at “horse camp” and I’m excited to share I passed my assessment and now am certified in Equine Facilitated Learning! The good boy chestnut is Arrow and the good girl white/gray is Cheyenne. Couldn’t have done it without them!!

Chestnut horse standing at a wooden fence

On the left is a white horse with its head down. On the right is a red-haired woman with glasses smiling at the camera. The background is a sand paddock with trees and grass behind.

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

Still can’t believe I got to be part of the Eras Tour. An amazing experience thanks to the one and only @drkowert.bsky.social

Image of a Taylor Swift concert with the audience in the foreground and a large screen in the background with Taylor Swift, and her dancers

Picture from the Taylor Swift errors tour. Audience in the foreground and the eras tour background in the distance.

Picture of the outside of the Rogers stadium decorated with giant friendship bracelet reading Taylor Swift, the eras tour

Selfie of two women pointing to the countdown clock in the background in the stadium waiting for Taylor Swift

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

This came across my FB marketplace feed and I am having serious regrets that I didn’t act when I had the chance.

Screenshot of the Facebook marketplace. Two items are shown. On the left is a pair of writing breaches, on the right is a framed picture of a duck that’s labeled $10 possessed painting.

A detailed description of the duct painting. It reads I can’t take it anymore. The legends are true, and the duck painting is possessed by a spirit. My cousin looked at it too long one day, and the duck spirit possessed him. He attacked me, slapping my face and screaming for bread and crackers. Ritz crackers do the trick but I can’t keep buying crackers every week. Please take it 10 bucks.

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 01/11/2024

It’s not official until there a profile change video of it.

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 29/10/2024

It’s always a delight to be in the room when Eric Zimmerman talks games, play, and design.

A picture of a conference room with a screen on the left reading Design is a process of learning how to solve problems. On the right is the presenter in front of a games and s d g summit backdrop

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 18/10/2024

Hello new followers, welcome! I’m a psychologist and game designer with a love for ethics and #Bluey. Penny says hello.

A small tri color beagle curled up on a bed and looking at the camera.

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 08/03/2024

Crushed the original goal and now only $592 off the all-time fundraising record ($37,515). It ends today and it feels like watching a speedrunner approaching a personal best… itch.io/b/2256/solo-...

Screenshot of the itch dot I o solo but not alone website. Image displays a fundraising goal of 30,000 and currently raised $36,923.61. The image also shows that 123% of the goal has been reached and that there have been 3324 contributors. There is a button that says by all for $10 and beneath that it says offer ends in 17 hours 43 minutes and 23 seconds

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 14/11/2023

It was a gorgeous day to talk about video games and mental health on the Hill.

My goober face smiling ear to ear in front of t of the US capitol building.

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 12/11/2023

Heading to DC to talk games and mental health at the Family and Online Safety Institute conference and to alongside the ESA for a congressional panel. Got everything I need right here.

Image of a V8 energy fusion can and a chibi style psychomancer hugging a heart.

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 07/11/2023

Happy Birthday @takethisorg.bsky.social !! Donate $11 for 11 years of service to the gaming community! www.takethis.org/support/dona... You can also support by joining our Discord or newsletter!

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 02/11/2023

It was a massive team effort. But here it is, the definitive astrological potato chart.

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 31/10/2023

Starting soon!! I’m with the RPG Valkyries talking about non-traditional cozy games (and the inevitable tangents). Twitch.tv/therpgvalkyries

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Kelli Dunlap, PsyD @kellidunlap.bsky.social · 30/10/2023

The fantastic RPG Valkyries are fundraising for @takethisorg.bsky.social . I'll be popping in for a bit tomorrow (Tuesday the 31st) to talk about non-traditional cozy games! #ComfortInChaos

Charity event: speedrun raganrok hosted by the R P G Valkyries and benefitting Take This. Interview with Kelli Dunlap, take this community director. Topic is non-traditional cozy games. Tuesday October 31 at 11AM Eastern on twitch dot tv slash the r p g valkyries

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