Early Inspiration
Gaming and fun have been a critical part of Dr. Briggs’ development throughout her life, coloring her perspective of the world. From an early age, Dr. Briggs was surrounded by professionals in the entertainment industry and was taught to never let age dim the excitement and joy connected to fun. She began playing Dungeons and Dragons with her family at age five, which then evolved to include video games and board games as she got older. At age thirteen, Dr. Briggs began to engage with live-action roleplay (LARP) at Otakon, and has continued to do so as a games master. This background and passion for games followed Dr. Briggs into her higher education and professional journey.
No Ordinary Gamers
In 2014, Dr. Briggs and her husband moved to Hickory, NC after spending their undergraduate years in Salem, VA. It was in Hickory that Dr. Briggs would meet James Doster, the founder of a volunteer gaming group known as No Ordinary Gamers while at a local game store. Dr. Briggs joined the group and was connected to Lynn and Todd Holiman, leaders of the HullBreach! demonstration team and major developers of the game. This marked the beginning of Dr. Briggs’ experience as a board game facilitator and small game developer. Over the years, Dr. Briggs has become a leader within the small organization and regularly attends gaming conventions as a game master and developer. This role also led Dr. Briggs to host community gaming events with her husband at their local coffee shop, developing professional connections within their community.
Academic Interest
At the same time that Dr. Briggs started working with the No Ordinary Gamers, she was also pursuing her masters degree at Lenoir-Rhyne University. It was during her career counseling internship that Dr. Briggs began discussing her desire to pursue the subject of gamification in greater detail, drawing upon her personal experience. Director Katie Wohlman of the Alex Lee Career and Professional Development Center encouraged Dr. Briggs to follow her passion of gaming and incorporate it into a doctoral program. Dr. Briggs utilized Director Wohlman’s feedback and focused her doctoral research on gamification and leadership development, culminating in the completion and defense of her dissertation, “Gamification of Leadership Training Methods: Utilizing Modern Gaming Culture to Train Effective Leaders in Corporate and Non-Profit Settings”.
Briggs Gamified Consulting
Dr. Briggs began consulting for small businesses as a part of her work with No Ordinary Gamers, starting with Twice Alive Studios and their game products in 2019. At the time, Dr. Briggs was uncertain if she would pursue her own business in earnest, and stuck to consulting as a side business. However, in 2021 Dr. Briggs was let go from her full time role as a job developer, just as she was finishing up her dissertation. With plenty of spare time at her disposal, Dr. Briggs decided it was time to take her love of gaming and combine it with her professional experience as a career counselor and consultant. These factors in conjunction with her knowledge as a doctoral subject expert in gamification spurred Dr. Briggs to take the professional leap and begin putting her own views and beliefs into practice. Today, she works with individuals to reconsider their professional goals and branding, while also working with small businesses and programs to examine their approaches and adjust them to fit a world where gaming has become accessible to all and the COVID-19 pandemic has forever shaped the professional landscape.
Briggs Gamified Consulting 