Pioneers in Gaming | Marilou Lopez-Aguilera

The series Game Changers, featured on GamesIndustry.biz, highlights individuals and groups making a positive impact in the gaming industry. These interviews showcase people from around the world who are working to improve diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, mental health, and more. Additional Game Changers interviews can be found here. New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Southwest Pacific Ocean, is home to the indigenous Kanak people, Europeans, and a unique cultural blend. This archipelago is not a typical setting for video games, but Montreal-based studio Awaceb is changing that with their upcoming adventure game Tchia, thanks in part to the efforts of team manager Marilou Lopez-Aguilera. Lopez-Aguilera describes her role as 'somewhere between HR, studio manager, and happiness manager,' overseeing team welfare, operations, and contributing to the game's production. Born in France but raised in New Caledonia, Lopez-Aguilera pursued art and theatre in Paris before transitioning into communications and HR. She joined Awaceb, co-founded by Phil Crifo and Thierry Boura, who share her New Caledonian roots, and found her place in the gaming industry. Building a game around New Caledonia in Tchia is a passion project for Crifo and Boura, one that Lopez-Aguilera shares. 'The culture of New Caledonia is unknown, magical, and rich, making it an ideal subject for a video game,' she explains. 'It's crucial to involve people from New Caledonia in the development process to ensure authenticity. You can't truly understand the culture by just visiting; you need people who have lived it.' As a small team of nine, Awaceb's members often took on multiple roles. Lopez-Aguilera, with her extensive knowledge of local actors and actresses from her childhood theatre experiences in Nouméa, led the voice casting for Tchia and even directed audio recordings. 'It's a small community, so I knew many of the actors and actresses, making it easier to find the right fit for each character,' she says. Lopez-Aguilera stresses the importance of authentic casting, citing the 2021 film House of Gucci as an example of affected accents. 'When depicting a culture, it's essential to involve people from that culture to ensure accuracy and respect,' she emphasizes. The casting of Tchia, the titular character, was particularly successful, with the young voice actress being the same age as the character and having input into the script. Lopez-Aguilera traveled to New Caledonia for seven weeks to handle casting and audio recording, prioritizing her official role while preparing for the trip. She maintained constant contact with the team members in New Caledonia, from voice actors to engineers recording authentic sounds. Lopez-Aguilera arranged a two-week excursion for the entire studio to New Caledonia, which she describes as both a gift to the team and a means to ensure authenticity. 'When we hired team members, I would spend an hour explaining the history and culture of New Caledonia, but that wasn't enough,' she says. 'Seeing the real landscapes and meeting the people we were depicting in the game was phenomenal.' The trip allowed Awaceb to gauge the reactions of New Caledonians to the game, with Lopez-Aguilera arranging a presentation in Lifou, where locals could see the game in action and experience its use of the indigenous language Drehu. 'It was crucial to present the game to the people of Lifou, using real languages and showing them how we incorporated the language of the island,' she explains. Lopez-Aguilera finds the experience rewarding and emphasizes the importance of thorough research when depicting cultures in games. 'If you're talking about a culture, you need people from that culture involved,' she says. 'It's obvious, yet it's something that often gets overlooked.' Lopez-Aguilera encourages developers to explore different cultures in their games, particularly those that are rarely represented. 'The gaming industry is still young, and it's easy to stick with what's comfortable, but it's essential to take risks and explore new settings and stories,' she advises. 'Working with people from the culture you're depicting is the only way to ensure authenticity. It's not just about avoiding mistakes; it's about creating something genuine and respectful.'