Margaret Wallace
Margaret Wallace (born May 30, 1967) is an American entrepreneur, gaming and media professional. In 2009, she co-founded Playmatics with Nicholas Fortugno in New York, New York. The company focuses on bringing new kinds of immersive experiences to casual gamers. In 2006, she was named one of the hundred most influential women in the game industry. Education While in high school, Wallace participated in the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Scholarship, which allows students to study a year abroad in Germany. Under the scholarship, she attended a one-month language and cultural preparation course at The Experiment in International Living (now World Learning) in Brattleboro, Vermont and spent her final year of high school at the Gymnasium Mellendorf in Mellendorf, Lower Saxony, Germany. As an undergraduate, she attended Boston University, where she studied Communication and Philosophy and received a Bachelor of Science with Distinction in 1989. Wallace subsequently studied Communication and Cultural Theory at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, earning an MA in 1996. Career After Boston, Wallace moved to San Francisco, California, where she became professionally involved in the Internet and gaming, particularly casual games. PF.Magic In 1996, Wallace joined PF Magic, a video game developer founded in 1991 and located in San Francisco, CA. Though it developed other types of video games, PF.Magic was arguably best known for its virtual pet games, such as Dogz, Catz, and Oddballz; Wallace participated in the development of: Catz II: Your Virtual Petz (1997) Dogz 2: Your Virtual Petz (1997) Oddballz: Your Wacky Computer Petz (1996) The Petz Web Fun Pack Mindscape After Mindscape, Inc.’s acquisition of PF.Magic in early 1998, Wallace continued employment with the company’s online content group. The Learning Company (TLC) acquired Mindscape, Inc. in March 1998 for $150 million. Mattel soon purchased TLC in 1999 for $3.8 billion, renaming it "Mattel Interactive". The copyright on the Petz, Oddballz and Babyz titles was eventually acquired by Ubisoft. Currently, Petz is Ubisoft's number six top-selling brand, having sold over thirteen million units to date. Shockwave.com In 1999, Wallace joined Shockwave.com—then operating under its early name, Shockrave.com. There she produced some of the company's most popular titles, including Shockwave Tetris, Blix, Shockwave Jigsaw Puzzles, and content for Photo Greetings and Jigsaw Puzzle Maker. For the 2000 Shockwave Tetris game, Wallace worked closely with Blue Planet Software on staying true to the Tetris brand. She also incorporated a techno soundtrack to this version of Tetris, having a techno version of the Tetris theme song composed. She also worked with Astralwerks Records who provided a track from Q-Burns Abstract Message called "Feng Shui" for the game. Beatnik, Inc. was the primary music provider for this version of Tetris. The game had a unique sonified accompaniment that is customized to a player's individual gameplay and skill level. Skunk Studios In 2001, Wallace went on to Co-Found and become chief executive officer of Skunk Studios. Formed by all former employees of Shockwave.com, Skunk Studios was one of the first to call itself a casual game company. Skunk Studios