pklwrks llc was founded in brooklyn, ny by john domenico calvelli while he was pursuing his mfa in game design at new york university. now located in bronxville, ny, pklwrks LLC is a locus for the sustainable development of experimental, artistically driven interactive work in community with other developers, local and global. to align with those ideals, pklwrks LLC is divided into three primary arms: consultancy, development, and micro-publishing.
as a consultancy, pklwrks LLC works with select clients both as thought partner and consultant engineer primarily in the areas of digital game design and development, interactive exhibition design and development, and full stack web design and development.
as a developer, pklwrks LLC creates digital games and interactive experiences that focus on experimental mechanics, compelling narratives and accessibility of play, with an eye towards games as a medium of poetic expression and as a vector for learning and the broadening of perspectives.
as a micro-publisher, pklwrks LLC supports creative computing endeavors from likeminded creators around the globe, with a particular interest in projects from up and coming teams and individuals. think of us like the stage crew ready to help put on your show - production management, marketing, engineering support, and even some micro scale funding.
john domenico calvelli
head pklr (read as: founder, studio director)
current
john domenico (jd) calvelli is the founder, studio director, and lead software engineer of pklwrks llc. he is an assistant professor of digital game design and development at long island university. prior, he received his mfa in game design from new york university, worked as a software engineer and data analyst regarding prosocial games for economist steve levitt at the center for risc at uchicago, and got his ba in modern culture and media and political science at brown university.
samira herber
advising pklr
current
samira herber serves on the advisory board of pklwrks llc. she is a game studies scholar and ux researcher holding an mfa in game design from new york university. her research focuses on prosociality and civic engagement in gaming communities and games as a vehicle for teaching empathy and collaboration.
ruochong (diane) wang
advising pklr
current
ruochong (diane) wang is a writer and solo developer whose work focuses on narrative design, serious games, and the process of meaning-making in video games. her project 'silencer' was selected for the 2024 nyu game center incubator and later received the silver award at international serious play.
anson tong
advising pklr
current
anson tong serves on the advisory board of pklwrks llc. she is a behavioral scientist, writer, and photographer based in chicago. she holds an msc in behavioural science from the london school of economics and a ba in cognitive science and economics from rice university.
sam lieber
advising pklr
current
sam serves on the advisory board of pklwrks llc. he currently works in marketing technology for a global investment banking firm in new york city. he received a bachelor's degree in business administration from fordham university.
melody hsu
advising pklr
current
melody hsu serves on the advisory board of pklwrks llc. melody is a ph.d. student in the computer science department at the university of colorado boulder, researching algorithmic game theory and machine learning theory. she is enthusiastic about many things, including but not limited to music (of all kinds), fashion (of modern kinds), and birds (of all kinds).
fumika mizuno
advising pklr
current
fumika serves on the advisory board of pklwrks llc. she is a civil rights lawyer, violinist, and a lover of racquet sports. she holds a jd from yale and a ba from princeton.
dan lu
marketing and communications intern pklr
september 2026 - current
dan lu is a marketing and communications intern at pklwrks llc. she is a game developer, writer, and poet dedicated to exploring where these fields intersect. they recently graduated from wellesley college with a ba in comparative literature + media arts and sciences.
caitlin derosa
technical art intern pklr, ex officio
may 2025 - september 2026
joncarlos quintanilla
technical audio intern pklr, ex officio
may 2026 - september 2026
