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Diablo IV producer Lauren Barnard ’15 makes art with action for immersive storytelling

Video game producer Lauren Barnard ’15 has the same message for art students and the millions of people playing Diablo: you’re supposed to be here.

Barnard is a game producer at Blizzard Entertainment, the company behind Diablo, Overwatch and World of Warcraft. Her job includes leading the creative teams that handle Diablo IV’s effects – everything from gore to explosions that make the roleplaying game’s dark, fantastical landscape believable.

“My Auburn experience defined my work ethic and how I solve problems,” Barnard said. “Getting a fine arts degree, you are often challenged with storytelling and expressing yourself or getting out of the way and let the medium express itself. It's been pivotal for me in my career in terms of storytelling and video games.”

Barnard majored in photography, worked for the Glomerata and even delayed graduation to take a full-time position with Auburn Athletics, where she coordinated photography for partners including ESPN and Sports Illustrated.

After graduation, Crate & Barrel, Nike and Target tapped Barnard’s creative vision for their digital presence.

She said all the late nights in Biggin Hall, home of the Department of Art & Art History, prepared her for the grit, creative problem-solving and administrative skills it takes to gain opportunities with household names.

“You are exactly where you need to be,” Barnard said. “Being able to set my own rules on who I am and who I'm not, engaging with the courses and being a part of the liberal arts college, I was able to really pick and choose and refine what experience I wanted to take into the world and who I wanted to be, which I felt was really unique and it's led me to this really colorful career.”

It wasn’t until she was freelancing for digital ad agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic that a career in video games caught her attention. During lockdown, she helped her partner develop an application for Apple and was drawn to solving problems by making games.

Barnard joined the Mortal Kombat team as an associate game producer at NetherRealm Studios. She cast most of the faces you see in the game, helped develop the user interface and established the game’s art style guide, among other responsibilities from legal to cutscenes.

“I'm happiest when I help people think together and how a player sees that is through my contribution with the effects team, whether it be your encounters with the monsters and the bosses and helping players approach them differently and think differently,” Barnard said. “That's often communicated through effects.”

In both her work on Mortal Kombat and Diablo IV, Barnard works hard to make the game accessible to all players. Mortal Kombat was named the Best Accessible Game of 2023 by Can I Play That. Before Barnard joined Blizzard Entertainment, Diablo IV was nominated twice for The Game Award for Innovation in Accessibility, and she looks forward to continuing that mission.

Barnard said every job in the video game industry is driven by the immersive user experience, which includes accessibility from the beginning. She advocates for accessibility by speaking publicly about breaking down barriers to gaming, challenging the idea of a “perfect gamer” and encouraging representation in the stories so many will live through a screen.

“What I'm excited about my role now and the gaming industry as a whole would have to be when players can pick up the game and see themselves in the game,” Barnard said. “When people talk about games, it can seem kind of cutting edge when you're talking about performance or higher graphics, but in all it really translates to deeper immersions and deeper connections.”

Learn more about majors in the Department of Art & Art History.

Tags: Art and Art History Alumni