Turning Research into Passion
Adanna Nedd '21 has loved video games since childhood. Now, she has turned that passion into a career.
Turning Research into Passion
Adanna Nedd '21 is helping to redefine what gaming looks like for people who look like her.
While in IST, Nedd was also the recipient of a Millennium Scholars Program scholarship, which assists underrepresented students in joining STEM fields. She majored in information sciences and technology, minored in English, and served on the executive board of WIRED IN.
“I chose IST because I love video games and I love using computers,” said Nedd, whose first console was a Game Boy Advance. “I took advantage of the co-curricular activities like WIRED IN that supported diverse students. Those resources helped me and taught me to support others.”
She completed a research fellowship through the iSchool Inclusion Institute (i3) program on how diverse players represent themselves in online games. In 2018 and 2019, she shared her findings at iConference, an international gathering of scholars and researchers with common concerns about critical information issues in contemporary society.
“I found that players of color would spend more money to look like their real- life selves in a virtual world,” she said.
Nedd set out to develop games that better represented gamers from all backgrounds. Since graduating from Penn State, she has worked as an independent game writer and narrative designer. She is active on the video game circuit and has spoken at multiple conferences.
“Being a Black woman in the games industry hasn’t been easy, but I’ve been lucky to find amazing support from my peers,” she said. “Games organizations like Black in Gaming and Black Girl Games have offered a safe space for me, especially because Black game developers compose less than 6% of the game development space. But we’ve always been involved in games—one of the first game consoles was developed by a Black man, Jerry Lawson.” Nedd pays it forward by creating resources and mentoring other women of color on games writing and narrative design. She collaborates with the Black in Gaming Foundation to help Black developers amplify their games to players of all backgrounds.
Nedd has worked on games such as KISS U and Recommendation Dog and has been nominated for a Black in Gaming Independent Development Award. Spirit Swap: Lofi Beats to Match-3 To, a game she’s worked on since 2021, was released on Xbox and PC in February.
“Even though I’ve struggled with confronting racial bias within this field, Black people have always been involved in the game development space,” Nedd said. “Some may believe otherwise, but there was and always will be a space for diverse stories within games.”
