Gabriel Massan and LYZZA explore identity, world-building, and digital decolonization in an extensive audio-visual collaboration for the multi-level offline metaverse game Third World, as detailed in Fact’s S/S 2023 issue.
Here is the kicker: instead of tailoring their virtual environments for easy digital consumption, the creators deliberately inject discomfort and abstraction to challenge how audiences navigate both virtual and physical spaces.
The Bottom Line
- Third World is an offline metaverse game commissioned by Serpentine Arts Technologies that utilizes Web3 integrations built on the Tezos blockchain.
- Soundtrack creator LYZZA and CGI artist Gabriel Massan constructed the project simultaneously using abstract mood boards rather than traditional linear references.
- The project features contributions from an expanding roster of artists and developers, including Castiel Vitorino Brasileiro, Novíssimo Edgar, and Carlos Minozzi.
Constructing an Offline Metaverse Without Representation Maps
Working simultaneously yet independently, Gabriel Massan built the visual architecture of Third World while LYZZA crafted the sound design from sparse keyword notes and mood boards. Massan noted that unlike an earlier project designed for young children in Brazilian favelas, this game avoids standard cultural representation. Knowing his audience in Europe would be predominantly white, Massan refused to hand over his identity as a digestible plaything.
Instead, the creators built systems designed to replicate the frictions and structural inequalities they have experienced. LYZZA pointed out that stripping away familiar cultural signifiers forces players to confront their own internal biases rather than relying on preset identities. This intentional abstraction mirrors the academic concept of critical fabulation, a practice of weaving fictional details with factual material to expand the documentation of Black history.
Pushing Back Against Institutional Tokenism
Both artists address the persistent pressure from arts institutions to commodify their identities and categorize their work neatly. Massan argued that his very existence and method of creation are already decolonial, questioning why cultural institutions demand that creators of color constantly explain their spatial politics. LYZZA echoed this frustration, noting that her music serves as the one space where she can explore complex emotional layers without being reduced solely to her physical identity or diaspora background.
The collaboration bypasses traditional industry demands for immediate digestibility. While fine art routinely accepts discomfort, commercial music and digital art face heavy pressures to be universally likable and easily packaged. By retaining raw textures, jarring soundscapes, and non-existent audio frequencies, Massan and LYZZA carve out an autonomous zone for communal storytelling.
| Project Element | Collaborator | Primary Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Visual World-Building | Gabriel Massan | Consciousness-raising CGI, offline metaverse, speculative archaeology |
| Sound Design & Score | LYZZA | Abstract audio production, non-existent sonic frequencies |
| Technical Infrastructure | Serpentine Arts Technologies / Tezos | Web3 integrations and commissioning support |
Broader Exhibition Context at 180 Studios
As reported by The Vinyl Factory, the feature interview was originally published in Fact’s fifth print issue, which is tied to an art and gaming special curated around 180 Studios. The issue’s limited-edition die-cut covers feature exclusive artwork and photography from Jon Rafman, Gabriel Moses, Kali Malone, Massan, and LYZZA. The physical release captures a broader movement of artists pushing video games and digital media into unexpected directions, sitting alongside works by Theo Triantafyllidis and Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley.
By anchoring these digital explorations in physical exhibitions and print media, the collaborators continue to challenge how virtual ecologies are consumed. The resulting metaverse stands not as a map for others to follow, but as an open-ended invitation for players to question their own relationship to space, power, and identity.
