On Friday, November 7 2025, Game Development Strategy Guide author Cheryl Platz visited the storied Cathedral of Learning in Pittsburgh to deliver an invited guest lecture on “The Modern Motivators of Play” for a packed house of students largely drawn from UPitt’s groundbreaking Digital Narrative and Interactive Design program.
For this lecture, Cheryl worked with program administrators to customize her academic talk with specific content for their interests to help support their use of the book in future book clubs and class discussions – specifically adding user experience content to the base Motivators of Play microtalk.
To keep students engaged, Cheryl focuses on weaving interactivity into her talks at key points, which led to enthusiastic and wide-ranging participation as nearly the entire audience responded to her call to action to share their favorite game and their personal reflections on what motivators of play apply to their interactions with that game. This led to a great teaching moment as Cheryl and Dr Christopher Maverick, assistant teaching professor for the program, reinforced for students that while the Motivators apply to everyone, each person may bring a subjective set of motivators to their personal experience with a game – one person might choose a game because they enjoy the quest for mastery its quests provide, while another might only play because the story is well-crafted enough that it provides adequate immersion for their needs. Games can be built to serve multiple motivators of play in parallel or in simultaneity, but knowing them is the first step.
Want your own interactive session with Cheryl for your class? If you’d like to learn more about working with Cheryl on an invited guest lecture for your school or university, please complete this Google Form and she will reach out, or you can purchase 10 or more copies of The Game Development Strategy Guide through Rosenfeld Media or Ingram Academic in order to qualify for a free remote Q&A session – visit https://rosenfeld.com/academic for more information.
After the talk, Cheryl held a lengthy signing for students, signing dozens of bookplate stickers and books and answering thought-provoking questions with a line of students patiently waiting all the way out the door. Thank you to everyone for waiting so patiently so that everyone got a chance to have their moment – Cheryl enjoyed the chance to meet all of you and field your questions in detail!
Scroll down for photos from the event – thank you to our hosts from the Digital Narrative and Interactive Design program at the University of Pittsburgh for creating an amazing atmosphere for lively discussion and learning about game development!
Get The Game Development Strategy Guide
If you’re an educator, head to https://rosenfeldmedia/academic to learn about volume discounts and the ability to get a free remote Q&A with Cheryl when purchasing books in bulk for your class.
Want to pick up the book for yourself or someone for the holidays?
Use code ENDURINGPLAYS1 at RosenfeldMedia.com to get 15% off your order – and all physical orders at Rosenfeld Media receive a free ebook. Podcast Season 1 discount offer expires November 30, 2025.
DISCOUNT CODE
ENDURINGPLAYS1
Event Photos: University of Pittsburgh, November 2025
