International Virtual Roadshow

John R. Diaz is a 1st generation Dominican-American with a B.S. in Game Design & Development from Full Sail University. John is a prominent industry figure who has contributed to the design of the most critically and commercially successful games of the last decade including Grand Theft Auto V & Red Dead Redemption.

He has over 15 years of experience as a Game Designer for studios all across North America including Midway Games Austin, Rockstar San Diego, Warner Brothers Games Montreal as an AI Systems Designer, at Amazon as a Tutorial Designer for their Lumberyard/Open3D game engine, and now at Electronic Arts on their Frostbite engine working out of Seattle.

As a Technical Designer, John designs tools and workflows that empower developers to build the most engaging games imaginable. He is a prominent frequent speaker at GDC, Game Devs of Color Expo, Ai4, and the LatinX Games Festival. He promotes inclusivity & diversity while mentoring and interviewing other video game industry thought leaders on his bi-weekly game development podcast Out of Play Area available on Spotify, YouTube, Apple, and Google.

Credits: Grand Theft Auto V, Red Dead Redemption, Blacksite: Area 51.