Think Like A Game Designer Theresa Duringer — UI as Game Design, Onboarding Without Friction, and the Ethics of AI (#99)
Jan 29, 2026
Theresa Duringer, CEO of Temple Gates Games and veteran of digital board game adaptations, talks UI as game design and translating complex tabletop systems into clear digital play. She explores onboarding without friction, VR and cross-platform UX trade-offs, neural-net AI opponents, and the ethics of generative AI. Short, practical takes on flow, clarity, and preserving social presence in digital board games.
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MoMA AR Residency Project
- Theresa was artist in residence at SF MoMA and built an AR app featuring museum art.
- That project came from a MoMA initiative inviting developers to create AR experiences for exhibits.
Get Comfortable With Rejection
- Build tolerance for rejection and failure by exposing your work and entering contests.
- Use rejection as fuel to iterate rather than a defeat to avoid creative stagnation.
Prioritize Trust Over Generative AI
- Avoid using generative AI trained on creators' work until copyright and trust issues are clearer.
- Prioritize player trust and respect creators' rights when adopting new AI tools.
