Margaret Wallace

Margaret Wallace (born May 30, 1967) is an American entrepreneur and video game professional. In 2007, she co-founded Rebel Monkey with Nicholas Fortugno in New York, New York. The company focuses on bringing new kinds of immersive experiences to CASUAL gamers. In 2006, she was named one of the hundred most influential women in the game industry.

Education

While in high school, Wallace participated in the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Scholarship, which allows students to study a year abroad in Germany. Under the scholarship, she attended a one-month language and cultural preparation course at The Experiment in International Living (now World Learning) in Brattleboro, Vermont and spent her final year of high school at the Gymnasium Mellendorf in Mellendorf, Lower Saxony, Germany.

As an undergraduate, she attended Boston University, where she studied Communication and Philosophy and received a Bachelor of Science in 1989. Wallance subsequently studied Communication and Cultural Theory at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, earning an MA in 1996.

Career

After Boston, Wallace moved to San Francisco, California, where she became professionally involved in Internet multimedia.

PF.Magic

In 1996, Wallace joined PF Magic, a video game developer founded in 1991 and located in San Francisco, CA. Though it developed other types of video games, PF.Magic was arguably best known for its virtual pet games, such as Dogz, Catz, and Oddballz; Wallace participated in the development of:

  • Catz II: Your Virtual Petz (1997)
  • Dogz 2: Your Virtual Petz (1997)
  • Oddballz: Your Wacky Computer Petz (1996)

Mindscape

After Mindscape, Inc.’s acquisition of PF.Magic in early 1998, Wallace continued employment with the company’s online content group. The Learning Company (TLC) acquired Mindscape, Inc. in March 1998 for $150 million. Mattel soon purchased TLC in 1999 for $3.8 billion, renaming it "Mattel Interactive”.

The copyright on the Petz, Oddballz and Babyz titles was eventually acquired by Ubisoft. Currently, Petz is Ubisoft’s number six top-selling brand, having sold over thirteen million units to date.

Shockwave.com

In 1999, Wallace joined Shockwave.com—then operating under its early name, Shockrave.com. There she produced some of the company’s most popular titles, including Shockwave Tetris, Blix, Shockwave Jigsaw Puzzles, and content for Photo Greetings and Jigsaw Puzzle Maker.

For the 2000 Shockwave Tetris game, Wallace worked closely with Blue Planet Software on staying true to the Tetris brand. She also incorporated a techno soundtrack to this version of Tetris, having a techno version of the Tetris theme song composed. She also worked with Astralwerks Records who provided a track from Q-Burns Abstract Message called “Feng Shui” for the game. Beatnik, Inc. was the primary music provider for this version of Tetris. The game had a unique sonified accompaniment that is customized to a player’s individual gameplay and skill level.

Skunk Studios

In 2001, Wallace went on to Co-Found and become Chief Executive Officer of Skunk Studios. Formed by all former employees of Shockwave.com, Skunk Studios was one of the first to call itself a casual game company. Skunk Studios is best known for titles including:

  • Varmintz
  • QBeez
  • QBeez 2
  • Gutterball
  • Gutterball 2
  • Mah Jong Adventures
  • Word Up

Rebel Monkey

In 2007, Wallace cofounded and become Chief Executive Officer of Rebel Monkey Inc., a New York City-based entertainment company focused on providing new kinds of real-time immersive play for casual gamers. The company was cofounded with Nicholas Fortugno, lead designer behind the original Diner Dash game brand. In October 2007, the company secured an initial round of investment from Redpoint Ventures. In early 2009, Rebel Monkey announced the launch of casual MMO CampFu and the Monkey Wrench gaming platform on which it is built.

CampFu CampFu is an online virtual world with a summer camp theme. Emphasizing collaborative team play and aimed at the teenaged demographic, CampFu officially launched on March 17, 2009 after a beta stage that began in February of the same year. CampFu is free to play, but users can access premium content by purchasing in-world currency called FuCash and/or a VIP membership subscription. Users can also earn Tickets, which can be exchanged for clothing items, by playing CampFu games. Games currently playable include:

  • Veg-Out
  • WordMob
  • Fungeez
  • Critter Smackdown

Rebel Monkey Inc.'s Monkey Wrench development platform will be make available to third-party developers in the second quarter of 2009.

Public Speaking

Wallace is a frequent speaker on the state of the industry, business and casual and online games at conferences such as the Game Developers Conference/San Francisco, GC Developers Conference (Leipzig), Casual Connect, The Austin Game Conference, and the LA and NY Games Conference. She was a keynote speaker at the ICEC 2006.

In Print

  • Co-Editor, IGDA Casual Games White Paper 2006
  • Data Collection, The Social and Cultural Aspects of VCR Use
  • Interviewee, Creating Casual Games for Profit and Fun

Memberships and Affiliations

  • Member of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences
  • Steering Committee member for the International Game Developers Association Casual Game Special Interest Group (2005-2008)
  • Adjunct Faculty of Parsons the New School of Design
  • Screen Burn Advisory Committee