Maru Nihoniho
Most Recent Affiliation(s):
Metia Interactive
ISEA Bio(s) Available:
ISEA2024
Maru Nihoniho is the founder of Metia Interactive, where she leads a team of developers, artists and programmers. As a game designer and producer, Maru’s focus is on Indigenous storytelling through culture-based games that provide a powerful outlet for engagement and learning. She has published several Māori games, including Sparx which teaches rangatahi how to manage depression; Māori Pa Wars, a strategic tower defence game; Takaro to teach rangatahi about coding concepts; and Guardian Maia, interactive fiction that follows the journey of a Māori woman through a dystopian New Zealand. Her goal is to deliver games that are meaningful, featuring strong cultural themes with unique stories to tell in an authentic Indigenous voice.
