Presented at Sweden Games Conference,19th Oct, 2018, Skvode, Sweden. Video and speech available here: https://www.christydena.com/2018/11/my-sweden-games-conference-talk-worldbuilding-our-world/

1. WORLDBUILDING OUR WORLD
(How what we make affects the world, and ourselves)
ALTERNATE REALITIES
CHRISTY DENA, UNIVERSE CREATION 101,
SWEDEN GAMES CONFERENCE, OCT 19th 2018
@christydena

2. LIFE CLIPBOARD QUESTIONS

3. LIFE CLIPBOARD QUESTIONS
1) Why is it I don’t find many AAA, double AA and Hollywood
studios appealing to work in, despite the great talent and
resources?
2) How can I help others understand/ justify why I turn down
working with some great clients and companies?
3) Do you really have to make one kind of project for a mass
market?
4) What other ways can the core essence of a creative project be
understood?
5) Do I, and others, do harm with the projects we create?
6) Can creative projects really change the world?
7) Can I, can you, change the world, now?

5. PETER BERGER & THOMAS LUCKMAN’S
“THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF REALITY”

6. DEFINING REALITY, QUICKLY
“Reality” = “phenomena that we
recognize as having a being
independent of our own volition”, we
can’t “wish them away”
Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann (1991 [1966])
The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge, UK: Penguin Books, p.15

7. How is reality constructed??

8. How is reality constructed??

9. Humans externalize

10. Our activities become habits
We are freed from the burden of decisions
Our activities become routines
Our activities become automatic
We forget we had choices

11. Habits become Institutions

12. Habits become Institutions
“reciprocal typification of habitualized actions by types of actors”
types of actions performed by types of people

13. Parents also transmit
Institutionalizations to kids = Socialization

14. Institutions are experienced as objective reality,
but are human constructions
We create an “objective reality”
through our externalisations

15. Reification (we ascribe our social reality to anything
but our minds), Internalization (we take on the
social order), and Roles (we be the types)
CBS’ “THE BIG BANG THEORY”

16. Institutions exert coercive control socially, &
through Socialisation & Internationalization
shouldn’t need additional control mechanisms
Photo by the Boston Herald newspaper

17. The Social Construction of Reality
OBJECTIVE
REALITY
SUBJECTIVE
REALITY
ExternalizationHabitualization
Institutionalization Internalization

18. WORLDBUILDING OUR WORLD:
Four Key Realities/Universes
1. Paramount Reality/Universe
2. Reality Maintenance
3. Reality Metamorphoses
4. Universe Creation
Developed from Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann’s (1991 [1966])
The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge, UK: Penguin Books.

19. The Reality of Everyday Life is the Paramount Reality
OBJECTIVE
REALITY
SUBJECTIVE
REALITY
PARAMOUNT REALITY
“Among the multiple realities there is one that presents itself as the reality par excellence.
This is the reality of everyday life. It’s privileged position entitles it to the designation of
paramount reality. [...] It is impossible to ignore, difficult even to weaken in its imperative
presence. Consequently, it forces me to be attentive to it in the fullest way. [...] I apprehend
the reality of everyday life as an ordered reality. Its phenomena are prearranged in patterns
that seem to be independent of my apprehension of them…”

20. PARAMOUNT UNIVERSE
“The reality of everyday life is taken for granted as
reality. It does not require additional verification
over and beyond its simple presence. It is simply
there, as self-evident and compelling facticity. I
know that it is real. [...]”
“everybody knows”

21. How can you make for the Paramount
Universe if you don’t agree with it?

22. The Paramount Universe isn’t challenged if
routines remain the same

23. Can Paramount Universe works do good?

24. “Reality is for people who lack imagination”
Hayao Miyazaki

25. “the world of everyday life proclaims itself and,
when I want to challenge the proclamation,
I must engage in a deliberate, by no means easy effort.”

26. UNIVERSE METAMORPHOSES

27. Lana & Lilly Wachowski’s
“The Matrix”

28. ROD STERLING’S “THE TWILIGHT ZONE”

29. James Baldwin’s
“The Fire Next Time”
Jordan Peele’s
“Get Out”

32. CHRIS CRAWFORD’S ”BALANCE OF POWER”

33. GONZALO FRASCA’S “SEPTEMBER 12th”

34. MOLLEINDUSTRIA’S “UNMANNED”

35. Lucas Pope’s
“Papers, Please”

36. Lucas Pope’s
“Papers, Please”
Creatrix Tiara,
Charlotte Tan & Patrick Laban
“Here’s Your Fuckin’ Papers”

38. Anna Anthropy’s “Dys4ia”

39. INFINITE FALL’S “NIGHT IN THE WOODS”

40. TILTFACTOR’S “BUFFALO GAME”

41. Business Model for Reality Metamorphoses?

42. UNIVERSE MAINTENANCE
“puts everything in it’s right place”
“return to reality”
“Institutional conduct and roles =
primacy in the hierarchy of human
experience”

43. Legitimization = explain & justify
GLU GAMES’ “KIM KARDASHIAN: HOLLYWOOD”

44. UNITED STATES ARMY’S “AMERICA’S ARMY”

46. TRUMP’S “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN”
“puts everything in
it’s right place”
“return to reality”
(Associated Press)
“It should not surprise us,
then, that a profound affinity
exists between those with
an interest in maintaining
established power positions
and the personnel
administering monopolistic
traditions of universe-
maintenance.”

48. https://twitter.com/FergusonNews/status/1035255624999694336
Sticks and stones may break my bones,
but words are incantations.

50. UNIVERSE CREATION
The difference here, is that rather than
aiming your creations towards
maintaining or changing existing
realities, you’re co-creating a new social
reality.

51. AARON SORKIN’S “WEST WING”
You can
only stretch
your
imagination
as far as
your have
personally
stretched
your inner
world.

53. THE WACHOWSKI’S “SENSE8”

54. REBECCA SUGAR’S “STEVEN UNIVERSE”

55. Kim Boekbinder’s “Fractal”

56. THATGAMECOMPANY’S “JOURNEY”

57. DAVID O’RIELLY’S “EVERYTHING”

58. FRED ROGERS’ “MISTER ROGERS’ NEIGHBOURHOOD”
MORGAN NEVILLE’S “WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOUR”
MARIELLE HELLER’S “YOU ARE MY FRIEND”

59. FRED ROGERS’ “MISTER ROGERS’ NEIGHBOURHOOD”
MORGAN NEVILLE’S “WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOUR”
MARIELLE HELLER’S “YOU ARE MY FRIEND”

60. Universe Creation requires you to
choose your words and deeds.

61. Tru Luv’s “#SelfCare”
The first step to creating a universe is
creating yourself.
We stare into the alchemical cauldron
and see our interior world.
It is there that new pathways,
new lands are created.

63. LIFE CLIPBOARD QUESTIONS
1) Why is it I don’t find many AAA, double AA and Hollywood
studios appealing to work in, despite the great talent and
resources?
2) How can I help others understand/ justify why I turn down
working with some great clients and companies?
3) Do you really have to make one kind of project for a mass
market?
4) What other ways can the core essence of a creative project be
understood?
5) Do I, and others, do harm with the projects we create?
6) Can creative projects really change the world?
7) Can I, can you, change the world, now?