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Judith Pintar is a sociologist and author of interactive fiction. As the Director of the Game Studies and Design Program, she teaches game studies, narrative design, and Southeastern European Studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She is also a Celtic harp player and a composer of instrumental music, performing her albums that combine harp music and storytelling internationally.


Biography and Career

Pintar received a master's degree in
Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...
and a PhD in
Sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...
from the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...
(UIUC) with a concentration in science and technology studies, and an area focus on the former
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
. Currently she is Teaching Associate Professor and Acting BS/IS Program Director at the UIUC School of Information Sciences, as well as a faculty affiliate at the Illinois Informatics Institute where she teaches the design and programming of Interactive Fiction. She was noted as one of 54 instructors ranked as excellent in Spring 2024.


Works


Interactive fiction

In 1991, Pintar wrote and designed ''CosmoServe'', using an early game design system for
interactive fiction Interactive fiction (IF) is software simulating environments in which players use text Command (computing), commands to control Player character, characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narrati ...
(IF),
Adventure Game Toolkit The Adventure Game Toolkit (AGT) is a development system for interactive fiction, text based adventure games. Description It was written in 1987 by David Malmberg, based on Mark J. Welch's 1985 Generic Adventure Game System (GAGS). AGT was produced ...
(AGT) developed by Mark Welch and David Malmberg. This game simulates the interface of
Compuserve CompuServe, Inc. (CompuServe Information Service, Inc., also known by its initialism CIS or later CSi) was an American Internet company that provided the first major commercial online service provider, online service. It opened in 1969 as a times ...
Information Service (CIS), the first major online service provider before and during the early years of the
World Wide Web The World Wide Web (WWW or simply the Web) is an information system that enables Content (media), content sharing over the Internet through user-friendly ways meant to appeal to users beyond Information technology, IT specialists and hobbyis ...
. The game won the 5th Annual Softworks AGT game-writing contest in 1991. The following year, 1992, she organized a team of Compuserve Gamer's Forum members and was the principal designer for creating ''Shades of Gray'': an Adventure in Black and White. This game won the 6th Annual AGT contest in the group category. ''Shades of Gray'' is “generally considered the finest AGT game of all time.” The collaborative authorship of the game is referenced as an example of the kinds of creative possibilities that emerged within the early online IF community. Both games were published in a book and CD by
David Gerrold David Gerrold (born Jerrold David Friedman; January 24, 1944)Reginald, R. (September 12, 2010)''Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, Volume 2'' Borgo Press p. 911. Archived at Google Books. Retrieved June 23, 2013. is an American science fict ...
, ''Fatal Distractions: 87 Of the Very Best Ways to Get Beaten, Eaten, Maimed, and Mauled on Your PC'', (Waite Group, 1994).


Non-fiction work

With psychologist Steven J. Lynn, she co-authored ''Hypnosis: A brief history''. This multidisciplinary work covers the history of hypnosis as well as the current contexts and controversies for its practice.


Critical Studies

Her critical works include: Pintar, J. & S.J. Lynn. 2008. ''Hypnosis: A brief history''. Oxford: Blackwell-Wiley. Pintar, J. 2020. The Valley Between Us: Narrative manipulation and information bias in the racial segregation of Milwaukee. In W. Aspray and M. Ocepek (Eds.), ''Deciding Where to Live: Information Studies on Where to Live in America''. (pp. 177–210).
Rowman & Littlefield Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an American independent academic publishing company founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns ...
. This anthology explores how media and information technology shape housing choices and cultural understanding. Pintar, J. 2021. Stories from the Other Notebook: The poetics of encounter in post-war Croatia. In W. Leggett and I.F. Leggett (Eds.), ''Field Stories: Teaching the Relevance of Anthropology in the 21st Century''. (pp. 23–38). Lexington Press. Pintar, J. 2022. Not Your Grandmother’s Family Tree: Technology-mediated kinship & practices of privacy in genetic-genealogy networks. In W. Aspray (Ed.), ''Information Issues for Older Americans''. (pp. 221–246).
Rowman & Littlefield Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an American independent academic publishing company founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns ...
. Pintar, J. & D. Hopping. 2023. ''Information Sciences: The basics''. Oxford: Routledge. Pintar, J. 2023. Invisible, Aesthetic, and Enrolled Listeners across Storytelling Modalities: Immersive preference as situated player type. ''Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies''. Pintar, J. & L. Bievenue. 2024. Playful by Design: A third space community of practice for game studies & design. ''International Journal of Games and Social Impact''. 2(1), 8-27.


Discography and Music


Music and performance

One of the first musicians signed by the New Age record label Narada Productions in the 1980s, Pintar released three recordings of original music for Celtic harp on their Sona Gaia imprint. Selected compositions were also included on several Narada compilations. Her recordings are now owned and distributed by
Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...
. Pintar performed internationally during the 1980s as a harp player and storyteller. Her popular non-fiction book, ''The Halved Soul: Retelling the Myths of Romantic Love'', and the liner notes on her albums and CDs, incorporated stories and poetry that were originally performed.


Solo recordings

*Secrets from the Stone (1984) *Changes like the Moon (1987) *At Last the Wind (1990) *Quiet Conversation (1997)


Compilation appearances

* Sona Gaia Collection (1990), * Faces of the Harp (1997) * ''Narada Film and Television Music Sampler'' (2003)


References


External links


Judith Pintar Official Site

Judith Pintar on Spotify

CosmoServe on ifwiki

CosmoServe on the Interactive Fiction Database (IFDB)


* ttp://www.ifwiki.org/index.php/Shades_of_Gray Shades of Gray on ifwiki
Shades of Gray on IFDB


{{DEFAULTSORT:Pintar, Judith Year of birth missing (living people) Living people New-age composers Narada Productions artists American electronic literature writers University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni