Kellee Santiago: The artification of games. She writes: “Since my 2009 TEDxUSC talk, 'Video games are art: What's next?,' we have seen video games exhibited in major national museums, the explosion of mobile, free-to-play, and micro-transaction-based gaming, the NEA and the NEH awarded major grants for video game projects, Kickstarter happened, VC investment came and then left from the market — and, of course, seven more years of video games. In this talk, I will revisit the conversation and talk about what did 'happen next,' exploring the ways in which video games have both grown in their complexity and receded further into their roots as a commodity sold behind closed curtains in the back of the shop. Is there a momentum towards something greater, or have we seen the wave crash and roll back into the sea?”

As president and co-founder of thatgamecompany from 2006-2012(flOw, Flower, Journey), Kellee Santiago developed one of the most prominent brands in independent and innovative game development, pushing the communicative possibilities of video games as a medium. Further feeding her passion for independent game development and the creative possibilities it unlocks, she co-founded Indie Fund, an angel investment fund, and participates in the organization of the Independent Games Summit at GDC as well as the IndieCade festival. Kellee speaks around the world at video game, business, and entertainment conferences on innovation in games, games as art, entrepreneurship, and better methods for video game development. In 2010 she became a TEDFellow, and was recognized as one of The Ten Most Influential Women in Games of the Decade. Kellee was also recently nominated for the Microsoft Women in Games Lifetime Achievement Award. Kellee currently works at Google Play Games as a Partner Manager for indie developers.