Nicky Case
Independent game designer & explorable explanation creator
About
Nicky Case is an independent creator known for interactive games, simulations, and “explorable explanations” that teach complex social and scientific ideas through play. Their projects include The Evolution of Trust, We Become What We Behold, Adventures with Anxiety, and Parable of the Polygons. Case’s work blends systems thinking, game design, education, and public-interest technology, often making abstract ideas feel concrete and emotionally accessible. They make their work freely reusable under a public domain waiver.
Key Contributions
- Created The Evolution of Trust, an interactive guide to game theory and cooperation
- Created We Become What We Behold, a viral game about media feedback loops and social polarization
- Built Adventures with Anxiety, an interactive story about anxiety and mental health
- Helped popularize explorable explanations as a format for learning through interaction
- Publishes open, freely reusable educational projects on systems, AI safety, mental health, and social dynamics
Notable Projects
The Evolution of Trust
An interactive guide to the game theory of trust, cooperation, betrayal, and how social systems shape behavior.
Parable of the Polygons
An explorable explanation showing how small individual biases can produce large-scale segregation and systemic patterns.
We Become What We Behold
A short game about media feedback loops, outrage cycles, and how attention can reshape society.
