David Matencio Durán

Marie Skłodowska-Curie postdoctoral researcher, University of Glasgow
Doctor in Spanish Literature and Game Studies

About

I am David Matencio Durán, a Marie Skłodowska-Curie postdoctoral researcher in the University of Glasgow. I am a doctor in Golden Age Spanish Literature and Game Studies. My predoctoral research, “The Spanish Picaresque as a literary model for Video Games” was funded by Séneca Foundation - Agency of Science and Technology of the Region of Murcia. My PhD dissertation received an international mention, a cum laude award and the best doctorate award in Arts and Humanities (University of Murcia, 2024). I hold a degree in Spanish studies (2018) and a master’s degree in Comparative European Literature (2019). I have been a visiting researcher at the Center of Excellence in Game Culture Studies of University of Tampere, Finland (2021).My research focuses on Spanish Literature, Game Studies, and Comparative Literature. I am very interested in the literary influences of video games, with a primary focus on the influence of Picaresque Literature (Spanish and English, mainly) in tabletop role-playing games and video gamesGet in touch

Contact

I answer as quick as possible. If there is any delay, it is probably because I am busy.You can also find me in X and Bluesky.

[email protected]

Publications

PAPERS

  • Matencio Durán, David. Soon (2025). “Picaresca y determinismo social: expresiones contemporáneas de la picaresca en los videojuegos”. In Bulletin of Hispanic Studies.

  • Matencio Durán, David. 2024. “Playing rogues: Picaresque experiences in video games”. In Eludamos 15(1), pp. 97–124. https://doi.org/10.7557/23.7750

  • Matencio Durán, David, & Apperley, Thomas. 2024. "Dungeons, Dragons, and Rogues: How Picaresque Literature Shaped the Thief Class in Dungeons & Dragons". Games and Culture, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/15554120241293523

  • Matencio Durán, David. 2024. “The rogue as a queer agent in Video Games: The Picaresque Novel legacy”. In Unbound Queer Time in Literature, Cinema, and Video Games. Routledge. ISBN: 9781032508467. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003399957-15

  • Matencio Durán, David. “Reseña: Ensayos de historiografía Literaria (castellana, catalana, gallega, vasca)”. En Monteagudo 28, 407-410. 2023.

DOCTORAL DISSERTATION
It is written in Spanish and English. The part about Literature is written in Spanish and the part about video games is written in English.

  • Official download: here.

  • You can ask for a version with slight changes, mostly typos and improved short explanations.

CONFERENCES

  • Matencio Durán, David. “Are you Lázaro? Picaresque Childhood in Baldur’s Gate 3”. In DiGRA 2024. Mexico, 2024.

  • Matencio Durán, David. “La influencia del teatro del Siglo XVII en los videojuegos”. Keynote speaker in University of Almería. Almería, 2024.

  • Matencio Durán, David. “Literatura y videojuegos: cuestiones de narrativa videolúdica”. Seminar in University of Murcia. Murcia, 2023.

  • Matencio Durán, David. “The rogue needs a city: Role-Playing Game cities and their literary background”. In DiGRA 2023. Sevilla, 2023.

  • Matencio Durán, David. “El destino de los pícaros: la influencia española en los RPG digitales actuales”. In DiGRAES23. Madrid, 2023.

  • Matencio Durán, David. “Am I allowed to be a rogue? Simulating picaresque narratives in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim”. In Games & Literary Theory Conference 2023. Katowice, 2023.

  • Matencio Durán, David. “The Rogue and the City: Thieves World and the expanding role of Literature in Tabletop Roleplaying”. In DiGRA 2022. Kraków, 2022.

  • Matencio Durán, David & Thomas Apperley. “Thieves’ World and the Fantasy City: The Thief and the Expanding Role of Literature in Early Tabletop Roleplaying”. In Ropecon 2022 Academic Seminar. Helsinki, 2022.

  • Matencio Durán, David. “The rogue as a queer agent in Video Games: The Picaresque Novel legacy”. In Unbound Queer Time in Literature, Cinema, and Video Games. Murcia, 2021.

  • Matencio Durán, David. “Picaresca en el videojuego: la literatura española en la era digital”. In VI Jornadas Doctorales de la Universidad de Murcia. Murcia, 2021.

CURRICULUM

You can find my CV both in English and Español.
Just click on the languages to download it.