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Contxto – Video games aren’t just for entertainment. They can be art too, ya know!
And I’m happy to write that Peruvian-developed Arrog was lauded at this year’s Valencia Indie Summit and won in the Best Art category. The festival took place earlier this month and celebrates independent video game development.
Or in startup-lingo, “bootstrapping to create your own video games.”
Arrog is a puzzle adventure game that alludes to exploring death from a Latam perspective in a surreal black and white design. The game itself was developed between art studio Hermanos Magia and LEAP Game Studios.
Likewise, sources report that Arrog was launched on video game platform Humble, in October of 2019 and gained 400,000 subscribers.
Related article: 17 Brazilian startups developing the future of video games
Indie video game sweeps in the recognition
It’s not the first award this alternative game brings home. In December of last year, it also won in the Innovation category at Spain’s Fun & Serious Games Festival. It’s also worth noting that it was the first time a video game from Peru won at one of the most coveted competitions in Spain.
And international recognition means and says a lot for this project’s leadership.
“Video games allow artistic spheres to connect with the world of engineering,” explained Mateo Alayza, the Co-CEO at Hermanos Magia.
“There are many great games in Peru, and I think there’s a need for more integration between the world of arts and science.”
Sure, marketing an independent game that covers a topic as taboo-like as death is a challenge in and of itself. However, movies like Pixar’s Coco show Latam’s rich cultural roots mean it isn’t uncomfortable touching these issues. What’s more, it can do it quite skilfully.
In sum, I can’t get enough of these little video game gems in Latin America because they show the world that the region’s not just fintechs and proptechs.
But that it’s also filled with artists and storytellers that offer engaging content with a different perspective.
Related articles: Tech and startups from Peru!
-ML
