A look back at what happened this year. A public storage of my memories and wishes for the future.
Previously: Pt. 1 :: 13 Rosas :: 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
My initial impression when I started in this industry was that I would never be working for horror titles. I thought I would just have to find my own time and go the dōjinshi way. And I guess it’s still kinda true for the uncomfortable art I am bound to put out in this world, but there’s leeway for more bombastic spooky and sci-fi genre games like the prototypes these studios have been developing in the last couple of years.
Fantastic Foe was founded by three friends from CGL, and they are behind my favourite nightmare as a technical animator: their project Enclosed Encounter is a survival puzzle game in VR. An inverse Tamagotchi where you have to survive the “pet”, which in this case is a giant ten-legged critter named Barnabas (BB for short). The humor is poignant and I had both times a blast and neverending headaches making that green cutie emote.
I must have done something right with the Foes, because while they take a creative break from Enclosed Encounter, they have called me back to join their current project together with indie horror film veterans. I love the synergies (sincere use of the buzzword, I promise) emerging from film and games industries combined. This time I get to rig and animate cartoony humanoids for Dead Letters at their collab company, Spoondrift.
The project is still very early in development, but the team is bigger and I believe this game will be an ambitious delight for fans of dark comedy. Just wait, you’ll see what I mean very soon ✨
“How many times do I have to say it? I’m not a furry, I’m a monster-fucker” I claimed, hopelessly. But hey! Mars Vice continues development! The gayest publicly-funded narrative adventure is on the making.
Slowly and with pauses, to accommodate everyone’s needs, we’re making this game like a good stew. It’s this way that I can manage my other commitments, including the ones I make for myself. I only have so much energy, and this project, together with Spoondrift’s, keeps my landlord happy, my stomach full and my brain available for a creative impulse I long thought lost… about 15 years ago (I will come back to this later).
Being the 3D lead and getting to do the technical art wizardry is so much fun! I already had a great time with my little team of artists during prototype phase, and I learned a lot about managing teams and how much the world of shaders expands when your target device isn’t a phone from 2012 (although, I still like making things as technologically accessible as possible).
I came for the challenges, I stayed for the friendships one makes along the way… And the pretty anthropomorphic animals investigating corruption in Mars.
I intended to make this a recap of 2022, but I need to talk about Berlin Maniacs (also on Steam). It was one of my earliest gigs as a freelancer, and the last one I would do 3D assets for. It’s 1968 in West Berlin, you’re a young girl with nothing to lose, stealth abilities and the will to organize demonstrations despite the police violence. Be Tina, do crimes (in the eyes of the State, that is).
Whilst futuristic or undefined settings help us abstract ourselves to wonder, marvel, or cry in horror about consumerist dystopias, I think historical fiction should have a place in games besides the straw-slav scare and the reductive economy sims that dominate the market. We don’t criticize capitalism enough, but especially when looking at the recent past. It’s about time we do.
Next: Pt. 3 :: No more teaching (but back to giving talks). Take care.
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