90. Kurt McClung: Worldbuilding, Communities and the Storyteller's Responsibility
About this episode
Kurt McClung discusses the importance of worldbuilding in storytelling and its impact on audience engagement.
In this episode of Future of Film, Alex Stolz speaks with worldbuilding pioneer Kurt McClung, a narrative designer whose “world-first” methodology has helped build over 100 fictional universes across AAA games, film, TV, animation, and transmedia. From major gmaing franchises such as Ghost Recon and Beyond Good & Evil 2 to original IPs in development for the screen, Kurt has worked at the intersection of storytelling, design, and audience engagement for over two decades. Kurt shares why the traditional focus on characters and plot is no longer enough and how starting with a flawed world, defined by a central metaphor or societal question, can unlock new creative possibilities and commercial longevity. But more than that, Kurt explores how powerful worlds don’t just contain stories they create space for audience participation, debate, and community-building. With real world and practical examples, Kurt explains how worldbuilding is not just a storytelling tool, it’s a strategic engine that can align creative teams, connect with real-world conversations and give audiences something they want to explore, contribute to, and advocate for. Whether you're developing a game, a TV series…
Topics covered
- worldbuilding
- storytelling
- audience engagement
- narrative design
- creative strategy
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- 94. Ben Lock: Visual Intelligence, AI Workflows and the Future of VFX
- 93. Mehret Mandefro: Empowering Storytellers and Building Creative Infrastructure
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