We Won!

H.I.V.E. won the 3rd XNA Challenge Brazil!!!



Still can't believe it! Egypt, here we go!

Go Indie or Go Down

[This is a translation of my introductory article about Indie Gaming for brazilian game portal EArena Games. It's meant to be didatic, so mind the obviousness. You can read the original here].

What does it mean to be independent? "Independence" is the break of a bond between two elements, the end of domination; it is a concept related to freedom and autonomy. Some of the more anxious among you must be asking: what does that have to do with our favorite hobby?

Just like music and movies, there is an "independent" game developing scene - with less bonnet, I'll give you that, but still very interesting. This term, however, may sound a little bit awkward to some ears. After all, what's the difference between a "mainstream" game and an independent production? By definition, an independent product is published by the same company that develops it. The problem with this concept is that gargantuan companies like EA would be considered "independent", since they publish their own games. Taking some liberties, we're used to consider "indies" just those games made by guys that publish their own games and do not have full bank accounts or annual versions of sports games.

Even I, who write crooked words along these straight lines, can be considered an independent developer. Just as the majority of Brazil's game companies, Magus is indie. See how indie can also be cool?

In fact, indie is not just cool. In my opinion, it's the secret item that was missing to help defeat the biggest Final Boss that the game industry has ever faced. I'll make myself clear: the whole thing works like in the movie industry. Making a movie is a trick that's getting harder and harder to pull, and the big studios will rather bet on a done-a-million-times-before action movie, or a big screen conversion of a teen novel, than risk their precious millions in some crazy idea from some garage writer.

Pretty much in the same way, everybody knows that making electronic games has become as (or even more) expensive as making a blockbuster movie. Away went the one-man-teams from the 80's, capable of developing an Atari 2600 game in a matter of months, and enter the legions of hundreds of developers that spend from 2 to 3 years working on a single title.

Do you see what I'm talking about? This is the reason why, in '07 and '08, we reached the shameful mark of "3s" and "4s" em several titles. Ever heard of GTA 4, Elder Scrolls 4, Metal Gears Solid 4, Soul Calibur 4, Resident Evil 5, Street Fighter 4, Halo 3, Call of Duty 4 and 5 and so on?

This doesn't mean that the big publishers are evil. Well, some, are, but try to put yourselves on their shoes: if you had 100 million bucks to make a game (and it HAS to sell well), would you try something crazy and experimental in the likes of Katamari, or would you be happy in making a follow-up to your highly-successful Gears of War franchise? Putting it this way, it doesn't seem like a tough choice.

But still, big companies are having their share of problems. EA is closing studios, Midway is fighting against bankruptcy, Eidos and Atari can't find their big hit, and we are forced to see a motherload of generic and brainless games fighting for our attention during the holidays, while creativity and originality become secondary elements.

Or it would be like that, if I wasn't busy enough playing Braid, Castle Crashers, World of Goo, Audiosurf and many more to care. Besides the absence of a number at the end of their titles, what these games have in common is independent production and experiences far different than what we're used to buying in Wal-Mart. This is possible due to the same way of thinking I described above, but inverted: if you have 10 bucks to build a game, would you try to make a worthy competitor of Gears of War's throne, or would you implement a crazy, innovative and amazing ideia like Katamari? Putting it this way, it doesn't seem like a tough choice.

I'm not saying that the independent scene is the best possible way to go to deal with the sequence-spree and games that underestimate our intelligence. However, recent cases (like the genious Portal as part of Valve's Orange Box) already proved that small games, as I like to call them, have a lot to add to the game industry, and they are here to stay.

Revenge of the Return of The Blog Writer: The Final Comeback 2.0

That's right, boys and girls, I am back. And, the ones among you with a tiny bit more street-wise might have noticed, there is something a little different with the way I am arranging the letters.



Can't take a hint? Aw, shoe on you, I will spoil it: from now on, I am writing everything in plain English.



And I'm not doing it only because of my famed love for the great nation that invented video-games and Soulja Boy. Or that other one that invented soccer and allowed our politicians to vote on salary raises for themselves while we're busy watching Ronaldo play with other type of balls.

No, it's mainly because I am shifting the main subject of the blog. Yes, it's still about games, and it's still my personal writing place, but I will talk more about Game Design and Game Development, and less about what I am playing right now and my opinions on general subjects. Maybe I can get my (still lousy) english skills a little more honed for my papers and other stuff that I'm planning on writing in 2009.

Speaking of 2009, this is some kind of a hallmark year for me because, from here on, I will dedicate my career to Game Design. Sounds great, doesn't it?



So, this kinda explains why I am posting in English from now on. Oh, and I'm working on some kind of "developer's diary" for my Imagine Cup game. Also, I just got to write a column on some site about independent games. More info about both of these pretty soon. See ya.

Brincando com o Popfly da Microsoft

Brincando com o popfly :D

Se você mantiver sua imaginação em rédea curta, dá para criar jogos sem saber quase nada de programação. Esse aqui me custou apenas uma horinha e meia para aprender a fazer:

UFO Fireworks

Ainda estou tentando aprender algumas coisas, como colocar um delay entre os eventos e etc., mas a ferramenta parece poderosa o bastante para game designers analfabetos em programação como eu criarem protótipos rápidos.

Pseudo-Halo Anti-tabagismo + Wii Tunado

O vídeo fala por si só:



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Enquanto isso, no reino do "eu quero agora", o Destructoid mostra o meu Wii dos sonhos:

Segundo os autores, a parada foi feita para ser só "um brinquedo para exibição". Porra, pelo menos não vou ter inveja de alguém actually jogando nesse Wii.

Wall-E é indescritível

Aniversário ontem, fiquei doente pacas =/ Fora isso, nada extraordinário. Esse fica de fora quando for contar para os meus filhos.

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Por outro lado, fui ver Wall-E. Só tenho uma coisa a dizer: vá assistir a esse filme. É a obra máxima da Pixar, o melhor longa de animação de todos os tempos, e, arrisco dizer, um dos melhores FILMES já feitos.

It's that good.


Os caras da Pixar mostraram que não sabem só fazer filmes bonitinhos (bonitinho é o caralho, a qualidade do 3D beira a perfeição e derrubou o meu queixo) - são mestres zen da narrativa. Lembro-me de rir pacas quando vi o senil senhor Sakaguchi dizer que, com seu game Cry On, iria fazer os jogadores chorarem a cada 15 minutos. "É ridículo. Nada pode fazer alguém chorar com tanta frequência - vai acabar sendo um dramalhão mexicano digno de pena", pensei eu.

Bem, tá certo que eu sou um mantegão derretido, mas eu chorei pelo menos umas 4 vezes assistindo Wall-E (fica aí a dica, Saka). Não sei nem explicar porque. É um filme muito poderoso, que consegue fazer parecer fácil provocar as mais profundas sensações em quem está assistindo. Foge de quase todos os clichês, e mesmo quando faz uso deles, é de uma maestria incomparável. Conta uma história original e fresca (embora algumas influências mais fortes de E.T. e Fallout sejam perceptíveis), quase sem diálogos e de um jeito tão leve, tão delicado, que nem parece que em menos de duas horas nos dá uma boa idéia do que significa ser humano - nosso lado bom, nosso lado ruim, e nossa responsabilidade para com o planeta Terra.

Enfim, isso aqui é um blog de games e eu não sou crítico de cinema. VAI ASSISTIR AGORA. Assim que sair o jogo do Wall-E (que provavelmente vai ser uma bela merda) eu resenho.

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Meu aniversário passou, mas quem quiser me dar uma miniatura de Wall-E, sinta-se a vontade (BUY NOW! BUY LARGE!).