My co-worker Petr and I presented this at Game-Access ’17 in Brno, Czech Republic on May 5, 2017.  It’s a dense 45-minute look into creating the gameworld for Mafia 3.  The last 10 minutes are a Q&A session with the audience.

Mafia III’s Nathan Cheever (Lead World Designer) and Petr Zavesky (Lead Architect) share the history, process, and challenges creating New Bordeaux, their fictional version of New Orleans.

Topics for Hangar 13’s project will include the collaboration of Art & Design, the role of architecture, landmarks, 1960’s culture, and player affordance. The city became more than a place − it became a unique character!

Backdrop Videos

The following clips were used in the presentation above.

Companion Videos

More presentations about Mafia 3 have appeared at conventions.  Some of them compliment and crossover into similar topics with the New Bordeaux presentation above.  They’re all worth watching when you have time.