In the interest of complementing the instruction offered to students at University Park as part of CMLIT 191N: Introduction to Video Game Culture, Video Game Design and Production: Roundtables with Industry Professionals was a two-day event on Tuesday, April 20, from 9:00am-10:20am, and Thursday, April 22, from 9:00am-10:20 a.m. Organized and moderated by Jonathan Correa, PhD candidate in Comparative Literature at Penn State, and sponsored by the Liberal Arts Collective and the University Park Allocations Committee, the two panels brought together video game designers and producers to talk about their experience and involvement in the creation of this increasingly popular branch of the entertainment industry. The events were held via Zoom and open to every member of the Penn State community.
The roundtables offered students at University Park who might be interested in pursuing a career in the video game industry an opportunity to learn and inquire about the potential career paths available to them, and the kinds of preparation and skills that would be required of them, depending on the kind of work they were interested in pursuing (artist, designer, producer, etc.). This event also brought together producers, artists, marketing specialists, and game designers who outlined their work and responsibilities for students. The panelists also devoted some time for a Q&A with the audience. This event was a meaningful educational complement for our students, bringing them together with experts whose experiences and preparation could only enrich students’ professional and intellectual development. Find recordings of the roundtables below!
Tuesday Presenters:
Sandra Castro Pinzón is a Colombian journalist with a Master degree in Political Communication from the Externado University. She has a strong interest in human rights, with work experience in non-governmental organizations and civil society defending the human rights of economic interests through political advocacy to promote a public policy that protects these rights. She also advocates to promote the video game development industry through her organization Tan Grande Y Jugando. In 2019 she was the Director of the Video Games Chapter and the Digital Entrepreneurship Chapter at FEDESOFT, the Colombian software federation, and today she is an ambassador in Colombia for the international organization Women In Games and is the leader of Colombia Women In Games, strongly promoting the participation of women in this creative industry.
Pedro Cruz is a software engineer specialized in VR/AR, Machine Learning, and Tech for Good applications. Pedro is the co-founder of VeoVeo Studios, a Puerto Rican VR/AR studio creating VR Sports games; and Developer Advocate at IBM, where he helps communities launch open-source projects for disaster response.
Shirley McPhaul
Shirley McPhaul currently works with the Cultural Heritage Innovation Program as Cultural Heritage Technology Specialist. She holds two Master degrees, one in Viking and Medieval Norse Studies from the University of Iceland, and a second one in Comparative Literature from the University of Puerto Rico. For her thesis in both degrees, she chose to direct her research towards reception, Popular Culture and video game design, focusing on the adaptation and remediation of myth and legend for one project, and gender theory/semiotics/character design for the second. She currently teaches videogame criticism and design at a private institution. In addition, she is a founding member of the Puerto Rico Game Developers’ Association, where she holds the position of executive secretary. Her current research is geared towards the intersection (and potential) between video games and blockchain technologies.
Watch below:
Thursday Presenters:
Sebastián Franchini is a freelance illustrator and concept artist from Chile. He studied graphic design at Universidad de Chile. Despite being a professional graphic designer, he has worked exclusively as an illustrator since he finished his studies, with a strong focus on the entertainment industry, including video games, animation, board games and some editorial work. Since early childhood, he has been very interested in games; as a student, he was a member of gaming communities, shaping his career and skillset so he could work with the products he likes the most. He has worked in-house as a 2D artist for local video game studios in Chile, and he currently works as a freelance artist for books, animation, and games.
Joel Morán is an art director and 3D generalist at VeoVeo Studios currently developing VR experiences along with a small team of talented individuals. With a background in photography and illustration, his personal work is focuses on 3D character art and texturing. As a games enthusiast in a constantly evolving industry, he is always eager to keep learning and sharing with others.
Coraly Rosario is a senior UX designer working on an unannounced project at Niantic. She’s also the VP of the Puerto Rican Game Developers Association (PRGDA), an initiative focused on growing and supporting the game dev community in Puerto Rico and beyond. As a diversity, inclusion, and belonging advocate, she’s actively involved in creating opportunities for underrepresented communities of any age to find careers in the game industry.
Watch below: