Lara Lunardi – Womenize! – Inspiring Stories
Womenize! – Inspiring Stories is our weekly series featuring inspirational individuals from games and tech. For this edition, we collaborated with ESBD – eSport-Bund Deutschland e.V. and talked to Lara Lunardi, Head of Creative at SK Gaming. She speaks about how her roles at SK Gaming and as a cosplayer complement each other, highlights the value of her game design background in creating immersive esports content, and advises aspiring women in the industry to seek support networks. Read more about Lara in this interview:
Hi Lara! As the Head of Creative at SK Gaming and an influential cosplayer with a significant social media following, how do you balance these dual roles, and what insights can you share about the intersection of creativity in professional esports and cosplay?
Balancing the roles of being a creative lead and a content creator is not as complicated as you’d think. Both roles fit in together very well, because I am constantly living and breathing content creation and content consumption, it allows me a lot of insight on what is trending in gaming right now. Creating content on your own, for me it’s been about a decade, for an example, also gives you really good insight on how to create cost effective campaigns, or products. The same works the other way around, working with bigger budgets for bigger gaming campaigns gives you insight on what realistically you can offer partners and your audience.
Esports and cosplay can also be paired quite effectively. Gaming is the core of this industry, and depending on what type of cosplayer you are, gaming will also be front and center of your content. In general, esports events are more exciting if you get to enhance the fan experience, and essentially, this is what cosplayers offer. Eye-catching creations that people are naturally drawn towards, whether it is online or at an event.
We have had campaigns where we need a costume for a player, or a prop from a video game, and because I am able to create these things from scratch, it brings an extra edge to the content we can produce together with SK, whether I am the one fulfilling these artistic duties, or I am hiring someone for it.
With a strong educational background in game design and media, how do you leverage your technical skills to enhance the storytelling and immersive experiences in the projects you lead?
The studies revolving Game Development and Media throw you in the middle of almost every creative scenario you will encounter in gaming, or gaming entertainment. From Storytelling, to Character Building, and World building, you can take this experience to create visually rich worlds for campaigns that allow more creative freedom. You also have the more analytical side of game development, where you can hone your skills to understand a game’s mechanics. This is especially useful in the esports field, where you often need to understand what aspects of a game are important, and WHY are these players you work with so good at their game.
Reflecting on your journey from Brazil to becoming a prominent figure in the gaming industry, what pivotal moments or decisions do you feel were instrumental in shaping your career, and what lessons did you learn from them? What message do you have for other young women in the industry and aspiring game designers?
Growing up in Brazil taught me to be flexible. I think this is one of the most valuable lessons to bring into the gaming and esports industry, because we are always shape shifting, whether it is a new game that will be prominent for the next decade, or the undenying instability of our industry, which often leads to professionals having to wear multiple hats.
I was fortunate enough to be able to study abroad and work in the United States for almost a decade, which have allowed me to experience the core of the gaming industry and how it works. For me, the pivotal moment was when I started to work with Inven, a South Korean gaming outlet, and started to cover esports events internationally. They allowed me the opportunity to experience esports in three different continents, with all its differences and similarities. Through them, I eventually relocated to Europe, which taught me how to stand on my own two feet in an international field. For lack of a better term, it also teaches you how to do a big old YOLO, haha, and take these leaps of faith into the unknown.
I think a message to my fellow women in games and esports would be to find your support system within the industry. Whether you’re starting off by going to events, or joining a Discord Server if you travel is limited, try to meet people and exchange knowledge and experiences. More often than not, women that are in this industry are willing to share valuable thoughts wit you, so find people that work in the career you aspire to be part of, and ask them “how did you make it happen?”
Even if they come from a different background, or start off from a more fortunate spot, you can strategize your unique path into the career you aspire based on this data. Treat your career like a video game quest, break it down into smaller steps and chase them.
Womenize! – Inspiring Stories Feature by Madeleine Egger