Does story matter in Mario games? Tain Barzso,  a new media expert, thinks it does.

He’ll host “Mario to Skyrim: Making story matter at all levels of gaming” from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16, at GameCoLab. The workshop, part of GameCoLab’s Osmosis series, will explore narrative-based games and the various structures and processes that go into building and crafting original game concepts.

Barzso is an educator and technology professional in the areas of new media, gaming and technological research. He’s interested in “gamification,” the use of game mechanics in non-game contexts, as well as educational and narrative-based games.

His current projects include directing technology for the Digital Culture program at ASU and he co-owns the media and consulting agency Lab238 LLC.

Guests can RSVP on the event’s Meetup page.