Krzysztof “Chris” Solarski

GAME DESIGN & CULTURAL HERITAGE EXPERT
csolarski@gmail.com

Chris Solarski is a game design and cultural heritage expert, with additional skills in game art, UX and storytelling. Chris started work in video games at Sony Computer Entertainment’s London Studio before making a career-defining detour into figurative oil painting. The unusual mix of game art and classical art eventually inspired him to author a series of books that explore the relationship between traditional art practices and interaction design. Chris’ work has been described as gaming’s equivalent to Joseph Campbell’s universal storytelling structure, and Robert McKee’s screenwriting classic Story. An up-coming book, titled Kinaesthetic Time Capsules: A Game Design Method Celebrating Cultural Heritage and Identity (TBD), presents disruptive ways of thinking about game design, to help broaden the aesthetic scope of the medium. Chris’ previous books on game art and interactive storytelling are endorsed by the likes of Hollywood director Marc Forster, and Assassin’s Creed founding member Stéphane Assadourian.

Chris has had the pleasure of presenting at the Smithsonian Museum’s landmark The Art of Video Games exhibition in Washington D.C., Disney Research, SXSW Austin and Google, to name a few. Aside from game theory work, Chris is involved in various game development projects, and lectures at SAE Institute in Zurich and FHGR in Chur. He also Chairs the International Game Developers Association’s Switzerland Chapter (IGDA Switzerland), which primarily serves to promote innovation, diversity and sustainable work practises for local developers, while forging connections with the wider international community. Chris also co-founded the IGDA’s Game Art Special Interest Group (IGDA Game Art SIG) together with Natasha Skult of IGDA Finland, and has recently joined the IGDA’s Ethics Committee. His community management experience means that I receive mandates from the Swiss Arts Council, Pro Helvetia, to organise events for the #swissgames community, and often serve as industry liaison for Pro Helvetia’s New Delhi office to support partnerships between the Swiss and Indian game development communities. Please feel free to get in touch if you’re interested to collaborate, or wish to learn more about the up-coming book Kinaesthetic Time Capsules and its accompanying 6-day workshop.

  • Based in Switzerland, collaborating worldwide

    chris@solarskistudio.com

My inspiration