Meet Kaitlin (KB”) Bonfiglio | educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kaitlin (“KB”) Bonfiglio and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kaitlin (“KB”), what role has risk played in your life or career?
I think risk-taking is crucial to living a full life!! In my early years I was very anxious to leave my comfort zone; I was basically on the computer all day every day. But all that changed about when I turned 18, and I left my family for the first time. There is privilege in being able to leave home to go to college, and I owe all that to my parents. Additionally, they provided me with the ability to leave the country for a study abroad program. These two experiences pushed me far out of my comfort zone and since my late teens/early 20s, I’ve found that my mindset on risk has changed completely. Rather than avoid it, I now desire to be in situations where I’m uncomfortable or challenged. I find that it really pushes you to be a more well-rounded person, and I’m so grateful I’ve had the opportunity to make that growth.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
So I make a variety of art: games, writing, music. As far as writing goes, I’m extremely into surrealist stuff, gothic writing, and scifi/magical realism. The works of Carmen Maria Machado, Octavia Butler, Neil Gaiman, Yann Martel, and Isabel Allende are some that inspire me and my writing style. As far as games go, I am really into strange, thought-provoking, weird and radical games that tend to stray from the more corporate industry. Games like the Stanley Parable, merritt k’s Lim, and nicky case’s systems-based work are what inspire me in that sense. Right now, I’m working on a game called (val)iant: or, val’s guide to having a broken vag, which basically combines all of my passions in one project. It’s a sex education game and also a weird narrative game. I am really excited to be working with my team to make this project come to life, because there aren’t enough games about vaginas. And also, I’d love to be able to share this project with sex educators across the country who need media that can support them in comprehensive sex education practices.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I live in the San Fernando Valley, so here’s my ideal day in the valley: a cinnamon vanilla latte from Coffea (shoutout to Jessica Mora, holding it down up there!) and some potato balls from Porto’s, a bike or hike in Griffith Park (I recommend the Amir’s Garden trail), birria tacos at Pablito’s Tacos, then I’ll go over to Lankershim Blvd and buy more comics at Collector’s Paradise (even though I have a stack of unread shit in my room already), maybe go shopping at some of the vintage stores there, and then it’s soooo hard to pick where to end the night but I’m a gamer, so I’m gonna have to say GuildHall. Recently I’ve gotten into Magic: The Gathering, and my friends and I like to have drinks and play commander over there.

Man, there’s so many places I could’ve pointed out too: The Mystic Museum on Magnolia, Weirdough’s Pizza, E.A.T. and The Fat Dog, Roguelike Tavern (they have jazz shows on Sundays!), Hank’s Bagels, so many more!!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Yes, 100%! I view my life as being successful thanks to the amount of love I have in it – I’m thankful every day for my partner and my supportive community of friends and family. I’ve also been able to get multiple degrees and live in various parts of the country/world, and so there’s no shortage of richness and fulfilment to my life. That, to me, is success. And I owe 100% of this to my parents. They deserve not just a little, but all the credit and recognition!!

Website: https://kbgamedesign.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kmbonfiglio/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/square2mom

Image Credits
Matthew Chupack (the creator & director of the short film “I Think I’m Gay”) – A shot from this short film appears in one of the screenshots of a game I worked on called Our First Kiss. It’s the one of the two men kissing.