Filmmaker Theresa Loong has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to finish her documentary about Brenda Romero, the visionary game designer.
Game On is a documentary celebrating the extraordinary career of Romero, a pioneering developer who has made games for decades. It’s about “daring to build worlds when the real one doesn’t always make space for you.”
Through Loong’s lens, the film will explore not just a remarkable career, but the heart, humor, and humanity behind it. The Kickstarter has been up since last week and it has about $23,000 of the $25,000 goal, with a good chance to hit other goals.
“Game On is joyful, thoughtful, and fiercely inspiring, just like the woman at its center,” Loong said in the description. “Women filmmakers and women game developers have often been the hidden architects of our stories and our play. When we celebrate women who design our games and women who direct our films, we expand who gets to imagine, who gets to lead, and who gets to be remembered.”
Loong said the funding is needed to complete post-production and jumpstart distribution and impact campaigns to bring Game On to the world.
“With your support, we can ensure this powerful story is told with the care, craft, and celebration it deserves. Thanks for being here. Let’s level up together,” Loong wrote.
Romero has worked on an astounding 45-plus games throughout her career, including a number with her husband, John Romero, at their recently upended Romero Games (the studio is still operating). The titles include Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes, Wizardry 8, Playboy: The Mansion, Jagged Alliance 2, Ghost Recon: Commander, the family-created Gunman Taco Truck and Empire of Sin. She also created the award-winning Train tabletop game as part of a series dubbed the Mechanic is the Master.
The film delves into Romero’s process as she creates must-play titles, inspires youth, and nurtures a global fan base by turning home life and personal challenges into games.
Romero incorporates game play into every aspect of her life. She treats the board and video games she creates as an opportunity to both entertain players and amplify important social issues. Her games explore cultural histories including Black, Indigenous, Irish, Mexican and Jewish, in ways that challenge us.
Game On follows Romero’s life as a CEO, wife and mother. The parents are on a mission to do what they love while raising four kids in an ethnically-blended family. Romero helms the production of a new game, and opens up a timely discussion about sexism in the gaming world.
The funding will go directly to paying the crew, finishing the edit and mixing the sound. Remaining funds will help with distribution and awareness. The team is also working on impact and outreach to make games more accessible for all. Loong is planning hands-on game design workshops and educational events that carry the spirit of the Game On into schools, communities, and creative spaces.
Game On has partnered with Games for Change, a nonprofit organization providing support to individuals and organizations using serious games for social change. They are educating youth around the world about the power of games and helping them explore career paths. Loong has worked with Games for Change and high school students from New York City at the Microsoft Experience Center in New York City.
Additional Outreach Partners are Immigrant Social Services and Women in Games International (WIGI). Loong spoke about her work in a panel with Khaalid Booker at our recent GamesBeat Next event.
Loong continues to present Game On at conferences to raise awareness about how film and games can inspire future designers to create serious and entertaining games. One story makes a difference. Through our strategic approach to community partnerships, outreach and engagement, Game On reaches an international audience, contributing to positive changes in the world of video games and STEM. Our goal is to impact 10,000 youth to create meaningful games and find jobs in game and game-adjacent industries.
Loong is an award-winning director, producer, game creator, and immersive storyteller whose work lives at the intersection of play, human connection, and transformation. Working across documentary film, interactive media, and augmented, virtual, and mixed reality (AR/VR/MR), she crafts stories that don’t just inform, they invite audiences in.
Her documentary Every Day Is a Holiday premiered on public television and screened at venues including the Asia Society Hong Kong and the National Gallery of Art, as well as the Montclair and Black Maria Film Festivals. As a producer, Theresa has created ten games, including interactive experiences for AMC’s The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad. She co-created Feed Me a Story, which brings families together to share memories and recipes, and is directing Bought/Broken, a VR project highlighting intimate partner violence.
Loong has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. She was an artist-in-residence at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island National Monuments, a Flaherty Film Seminar Fellow, and has exhibited work at the Brooklyn Museum, Triennale di Milano, Círculo de Bellas Artes, and on Governors Island. She has mentored teams at POV Interactive and produced Farmers for America, which debuted on public television. She serves as chairperson of the non-profit film collective Filmshop (NY/New Orleans/LA) and as a trustee of the Thomas Edison Media Arts Consortium.
A graduate of Harvard University with an MFA from Hunter College, Theresa teaches part-time at Parsons and Vassar. In the experience design realm, she has collaborated with museums, companies, and artists, including Kaki King, Jonah Bokaer, the New York Hall of Science, the Tech Museum of Innovation, and Smithsonian Channel, to create interactive works for children and adults alike.
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