Rafael Brown

Rafael Brown is a veteran game developer and creative technologist with over 27 years of experience in the video game industry.2 He is currently the CEO and Founder of Symbol Zero, a company he established in June 2020.2

Professional Background

Rafael's career in game development spans across multiple renowned studios and publishers:

• He started his career at Looking Glass Studios in the late 1990s, working on games like Thief Gold and Thief 2.2
• He has worked with major studios such as id Software, BioWare, Black Box, Neversoft, and Luxoflux.1
• His game credits include popular franchises like Tony Hawk, Need for Speed, Mafia, Mass Effect, Doom, and Wolfenstein.1

Symbol Zero

As the CEO and Founder of Symbol Zero, Rafael leads a company that specializes in:

• Interactive software development across Games, XR (Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality/Mixed Reality), Virtual Worlds, and Virtual Concerts.2
• Creating virtual concert experiences for platforms like Roblox, including events for artists such as Lil Nas X, Twenty One Pilots, and David Guetta.12
• Developing open-world games and cloud platforms.2

Other Ventures and Roles

• Founder and Creative Director of Digital Leaf Design since 2002, focusing on game design consulting.2
• Co-founder and former CEO of Rust Nebula (January 2021 - September 2021).2
• Former CEO and Design Co-Founder of Digital Myths, a games and VR tech company (2015-2020).2
• Microsoft Regional Director since July 2020, recognized for his contributions to the tech/games/XR communities.2

Education and Expertise

Rafael studied Psychology & Africana Studies at Brown University.2 He is known for his expertise in:

• Game design and development
• Virtual reality and virtual worlds
• Artificial intelligence in gaming
• The metaverse and 3D internet
• Technology history of computers, consoles, and networks1

Rafael Brown is a frequent speaker at game and tech conferences, and he also consults and teaches at colleges and universities on various topics related to gaming and technology.1