Zoë Quinn facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Zoë Quinn
Quinn at the 2015 XOXO Festival
Born	1987 (age 37–38) United States
Occupation	Video game developer
Known for	Depression Quest

Zoë Tiberius Quinn (born in 1987) is an American video game developer, programmer, and writer. Quinn created the interactive fiction game Depression Quest, which came out in 2013. In 2014, an online post led to a large online harassment campaign called Gamergate. During this time, Quinn faced many online threats and harassment. The next year, Quinn helped start Crash Override. This was a helpline and resource center for people who were victims of online harassment.

Early Life and Games

Zoë Tiberius Quinn was born in 1987. They grew up in a small town near the Adirondack Mountains in New York. When Quinn was young, their favorite video game was Commander Keen. This was an old computer game about an eight-year-old hero who builds a spaceship. He then travels the galaxy to protect Earth. Quinn was diagnosed with depression at age 14.

Becoming a Game Creator

When Quinn was 24, they moved to Canada. This is where they first started learning about video game programming. Quinn's very first game came from a six-week course on how to make games. They saw an ad for the course in a newspaper. In an interview later, Quinn said, "I felt like I'd found my calling." This means they felt like they had found what they were meant to do.

About Depression Quest

One of Quinn's first big projects was Depression Quest. It was made as a "choose-your-own path" story. The game shows the difficult life of someone dealing with depression. Many of the "correct" choices in the game are blocked. This shows how hard it can be for the main character to take care of themselves mentally.

Quinn thought this kind of game would be a good way to show what depression is like. It set rules for players who might not understand these problems in their own lives. Depression Quest was released in February 2013. Quinn tried to get the game on Steam Greenlight twice. It was finally accepted and released on Steam in August 2014.

Other Creative Projects

Quinn also created the Game Developer Help List. This list helps connect experienced game developers with new ones. In 2014, Quinn was going to be part of a YouTube reality show. The show was called "Game_Jam" and was meant to bring together many independent game creators. However, the show was canceled.

In 2015, Quinn worked as a story designer for an iOS game called Framed. They also worked on a full motion video game. This type of game uses real video clips.

In 2015, Quinn wrote a chapter for a book called Videogames for Humans. This book was about games made using the Twine tool. Quinn also wrote a chapter for another book, The State of Play: Sixteen Voices on Video Games. In this chapter, they shared their experiences making Depression Quest and the challenges they faced afterward.

Quinn appeared in the documentary GTFO in 2015. They also wrote a story for "Widow's Walk." This was an expansion for the board game Betrayal at House on the Hill, released in 2016.

A game called "Kickstarted in the Butt: A Chuck Tingle Digital Adventure" started a Kickstarter campaign in October 2016. It asked for $69,420 to fund the project. The game raised over $85,000 from 2,450 supporters in a few weeks. In January 2018, it was announced that Quinn would be the Narrative Designer for Heart Machine's upcoming game Solar Ash Kingdom.

In June 2018, Quinn started writing comics. They worked with artist Robbi Rodriguez on DC Vertigo's Goddess Mode. This was one of the last comics released under the Vertigo label. In July 2019, it was announced that Quinn would work on upcoming issues of IDW Publishing's The Addams Family: The Bodies Issue and Marvel's Fearless.

Quinn has also worked on other games like Fez, Jazzpunk, and They Bleed Pixels.

Tech and Implants

Quinn is interested in human enhancement. This means using technology to improve human abilities. They have implanted a small NTAG216 NFC chip in the back of their hand. This chip can be programmed to do different things. Quinn first used the chip to load the download code for the game Deus Ex. Quinn also has a small magnet implanted in their left ring finger.

See also

In Spanish: Zoë Quinn para niños