I'm Lorraine Hopping (@HoppingFun), author, writer, game designer with experience in product development and editorial direction. I'm into interactive storytelling (any media), languages, science, math, games, puzzles, education, certain cats.




Current Projects


Do I Know You?


Who and where?

SERIOUS GAME: It's a point-and-click biography game about a (real) woman with dementia who's not sure who she is or where she lives. Your goal: Figure out how to get her home by uncovering clues to her past and chatting via text box.

I'm collecting a resource list of similar interactive projects about dementia (Lebensnetz, TimeSlips, Carpe Kilimanjaro, etc.). Please let me know of any projects to add. I'm happy to share that list. Here's the design document for my game, which is currently in development with the help of graduate students in Vienna.

This is a DOC file. Do I Know You? (design doc) (14.3KB)

Inanimate Alice



TRANSMEDIA FICTION: I'm working with the talented Inanimate Alice team to extend this transmedia story across the internet and beyond, including Everloop, the social media site for tweens, Education Services Australia, USC Shoah Foundation, Edmodo, Mozilla, and other partners.

Heart of Ganesh


SERIOUS GAME: Our Global Game Jam 2013 project, Heart of Ganesh, has legs—elephant legs! You play a matriarch elephant in India. Your goal:

Lead your elephant family along a memorized route to the watering hole in the shortest amount of time and moves you can. Oh, and try not to trample anybody. Bad karma.

Contact me if you'd like more information or to get involved.

My Global Game Jam profile:

Global Game Jam

My Meetup Groups


If our geography and interests align, here are a few chances for us to connect in real life. My Meetup profile lists a few more groups, too.

IGDA (Independent Game Developers Assoc) New York City
Game-Based Learning (NY)
New York Gaming
StoryCode.org
A non-profit group for transmedia creatives.
NYC Transmedia Cocktails and Conversation
NY Tech Meetup

Just a Joke



Q: How many creative types does it take to change a light bulb?
A. That depends: What do you want to change it into?

Q. How many editors does it take to change a light bulb?
A. Three. One to change it. Two to change it back.

Q: How many writers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Tell me again, "Why do we have to change it?"










search Hopping Fun Creations





Google+
Suggested circles: game design, writers/authors, transmedia, publishing, science, journalism.

EMAIL LORRAINE
EMAIL LOUISE (Readalicious! blog)

Books, Games, Scripts, Jazzy Content



I'm glad you stopped by.

Hopping Fun Creations is my editorial services and content development company, creating professional quality board and card games, video game scripts, interactive stories and articles, books (50+ titles!), and other jazzy content for publishers, game makers, and media producers.

If you're developing a transmedia or crossmedia property, let's talk!

Check out so very many successful projects and satisfied, repeat clients!

Scholastic :: Smithsonian :: FableVision :: PBS-WGBH

Bradfield Productions :: Microsoft Education :: Edmark/​Riverdeep

Penguin :: Sterling :: Sesame Workshop and many others!

Interactive storytelling is a specialty.


I wrote "Escape from Antcatraz," my first interactive fiction script, in 1985. (Anyone still own an Apple IIe?) I love writing game scripts and other interactive stories! My credits run several pages long.


I've authored 50+ books.


Titles include narrative nonfiction and fiction for tweens and teens and books of games and activities for all ages. Whatever the topic and medium, I love to tell a great story.

I've invented a dozen board games.


This bestselling, well-reviewed board game is now a classic: 16 years in print! In addition to the dozen board games I developed from idea to store shelf, I've created hundreds of casual and learning games, print and digital.

Good writing is good writing, whatever the medium or the message.


Teamwork! I love it.

Professional Recommendations


"Lorri is naturally inclusive, full of inspiration and energy. These are terrific attributes for those, like us, who inhabit a virtual environment developing and stretching a transmedia property across platforms and markets. In addition to core writing and editing skills, she has demonstrated strategic thinking and delivered raw ideas through execution. It has been a thrill to have Lorri be part of this effort and we have loved working with her."
—Ian Harper, producer, Inanimate Alice

"Lorraine wrote fiction for Microzine, a Scholastic software product, that was funny, educational, and scientifically sound. Our interactive fiction was a new medium back then, and Lorri just "got it." She understood the capabilities and limitations of the machine and used it to the story's best advantage. All that insight, plus her professionalism in meeting deadlines and working with our editors. She was a delight to work with."
—Amy Kefauver, former editorial director at Scholastic

"Lorraine Hopping Egan is a tour de force writer, editor, and creator of games. I learned an enormous amount under her tutelage at Scholastic and continue to be impressed by the books, games, and other materials she creates."
—Mary Kay Carson, children's book author and former associate editor of Scholastic's SuperScience magazine

“Lorraine has written several books for becker&mayer! Each book required extensive research, a high degree of creativity, and the ability to meet ridiculous deadlines. She is a professional who writes to the age group, gets her facts straight, and makes dry material fun. I hope she'll write many more books for us!”
—Betsy Pringle, Manager, Juvenile Editorial Group, becker&mayer

"Lorri has so many ideas, angles and original products, it's amazing! She does a masterful job of balancing ideas and enthusiasm with experience in such a way that her process and products are realistic and engaging. Highly motivated and creative. She's a natural collaborator."
—Alison Austin, program coordinator at Washtenaw Literacy

Teachers and Other Educators


My bestselling game and activity book for teachers has sold more than 50,000 copies and is still going strong.

See what games and fun educational activities Hopping Fun Creations has created just for you. As you browse the site, look for FREEBIE word searches, math puzzles, and topical quizzes to download, print out, and use in your classroom today.

KIDS!


Have you read my books or played my board games? Find out who I am and why it's fun to be a writer.

If you're looking for your next favorite book, take a look at the Readalicious! blog, written by Ms. Hopping (my sister), a teacher who loves books and kids and knows how to put the two together.

All the material on this website is copyright © 2000-2013 by Hopping Fun Creations. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to visitors to download, print, and use the "Freebie" reproducibles free of charge for educational use only. Reproduction, reposting, or distribution in any form or media is prohibited without the written permission of Hopping Fun Creations.

Featured Books and Games

Children's Books
Read the sad, moving tale of a peace-loving leader who lost his land, many of his people, and his life-long fight to keep the peace. (FREEBIE history puzzles.)
The true science adventures of Diane France, forensic anthropologist. NSTA Selector's Choice, AAAS/SB&F Subaru finalist, starred reviews!
Adriana Ocampo found her path to science adventure through space-traveling robots and crashing asteroids! (FREEBIE science quizzes and a FREE ebook by Adriana.)
The Body as Evidence (Autopsies) and Crime Scene Investigation!
Venus and Serena, Peyton Manning, Michelle Kwan, and others for ages 6-9. (FREEBIE sports quizzes.)
Outdoor fun for 6 to 8 year olds.
Tornadoes! and Hurricanes! are my two best-selling books with 1.6 million sold!
Games
A must-have card game set for English language (ESL/EFL) and language arts teachers and tutors. (FREEBIE ESL materials.)
My top selling game book! (FREEBIE math puzzles.)
Lively games and activities about grammar, vocabulary, and dictionary skills. (FREEBIE word puzzles.)
Great American History Games, 15 Primary Source Activities (plays, games, readings, and more) and more!
Race from Earth to Mars, an orbiting target, by fixing malfunctions and answering intriguing science questions. Endorsed by astronaut Jack Lousma.