Ten Toed, Inc. is the freelance business of Traci Lawson.

I am a children's game designer, specializing in educational games.  I can't stand educational games that feel more like worksheet activities than games.  Neither can kids!  When you design a game with fun as the first priority, the player's learning grows naturally as he plays the game.  It's hard to play a game and not learn something, so it's just a matter of weaving something valuable into the experience itself.

As a nine year veteran of the children's media industry, I know what it takes to make good stuff.  But my most valuable experiences come from spending time with kids, and remembering what it was like to be a kid who loved media.  I played all the hot educational titles on the Apple IIe in the 80s, carried my Game Boy everywhere, and got online at the age of ten with a 2400 baud dial-up modem.  Antoine de Sainte-Exupéry said "I come from my childhood as from a homeland."  In this sentiment, today's 'digital natives' are my countrymen.

I have worked with Sesame Workshop, Noggin, The Walt Disney Company, PBS, World Wide Workshop, and author Marc Prensky.  My writing has been featured on Gamasutra, Geek Crafts, and Game Design Aspect of the Month.

Cognitive psychology research is a major influence in my design work.  I hold a master's degree in Cognitive Studies in Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

I am available for consulting work in children's game design.  I also help game development teams make their games better and more intuitively playable, by conducting research with children.

I'd love to work with you!  Please contact me at traci (at) tentoed.com.