We are really glad to be able to present Mariana Muñoz-Rodríguez as speaker at this year’s festival!
WHO AM I?
Mariana Muñoz-Rodríguez has spent her career building worlds. Using her skills as a bioarchaeologist, she’s reconstructed the worlds of past populations from monument to molecule. Wanting to pursue more creative applications for her experience, she now helps build believable worlds in video games. As World Building Researcher at Sharkmob, she draws from science, history, and other specialist fields to give worlds a consistent structure and a foundation in realism.
WHAT WILL I TALK ABOUT?
Research and Worldbuilding in Videogames
Videogames take place in worlds that are often built from scratch. Regardless of how sci-fi or fantasy-heavy a world may be, its content should be recognizable to the player whilst preserving artistic license and “fun factor”. Worldbuilding is crucial for fleshing out a story with depth and context, but the research behind it makes the story world feel believable. This session will discuss different approaches to worldbuilding research and the challenge of knowing when something is accurate enough.