Интервью с разработчиком компьютерных игр из Бразилии.

1. When and why did your desire to become computer games developer?
I always played videogames since a was a kid, so the desire came naturally, and at college, I did Computer Engineering, so in my last year, before graduating, I started a game studio, "LocZGames", with a friend from the same college.

2. Could you recall, what was the first computer game in your life and when it was?
That's hard to remember, but I think it were classic Atari games like "Space Invaders" and "Atari", and right after this MSX computer games, which led me to start programming in BASIC.

3. In your opinion, who was the pioneer in the gaming industry of Brazil?
That's hard to tell, we have folks like Renato deGiovanni, but frankly in the 80s and early 90s we didn't have much information about what was happening in the other cities (remember there was not internet back then), so when I started I didn't know about any other studio in Brazil doing the same.

4. When did you officially publish your first computer game? What was the title and what was it dedicated to?
My first published game was "Toca do Tuca", I worked as developer for the publisher of the game, and it was an educational title.

5. How many games had been developed by your company "LocZGames"? How many had been created for DOS platform? Did you have any products targeted towards foreign markets in Europe or in USA?
We started doing PC/Mac games, but not for DOS, and the distribution was done online, so audience was global.

6. Is it truth that your game "Buggy Racers" was officially marketing even at Middle East (in Israel)?
I didn't knew this, we sold the game online as "shareware" on sites like Tucows, so probably people from MENA and Israel bought it.

7. What was the most significant game developing company in Brazil at the end of 1990-s? For example, many gamers outside Brazil heard about "Espaço Informática" company which developed many good games.
In 90s we had some good studios but none of them reached global success.

8. Do you know something about "44 Bico Largo" company? How popular in Brazil were games developed by this company in 1990-s - beginning of 2000-s?
Yes, the founder is a friend of mine, they were pioneers in "transmedia", the company was also developing animations and some projects were a crossover of audiovisual IP's and games.

9. Can you tell us something about development history of the "Amazonia" game? Perhaps, it was the first Brazilian game for PC platform. Was the CD-version of this game really published for DOS or for Windows platforms?
I never played it to be honest, but it's indeed one of the first (if not the first) commercially launched in Brazil. Renato, the developer is like "godfather" of the industry here, but I never saw new titles being launched after "Amazonia".

10. How many old Brazilian games for DOS platform can you recall? Are there Brazilian game products designed for non-PC platforms?
Can't remember any.

11. It is not secret that in Brazil at the 1990s, pirated versions of Western (and probably Asian too) console games were extremely widespread. And what about computer games? Had any illegal copies of Western (or Asian) computer games been produced in Brazil, and had they been translated by pirates into Portuguese? To what extent were popular games developed in Europe or America available at those times?
Yes, until the 2000s (before online games were popular) piracy has 99% of the market. Some titles were translated, but not by pirates, the fans ended up doing the translation.

12. It’s well known that Argentina is also seriously engaged in the computer games development. Was there competition between developers from Brazil and Argentina in the 1990s and 2000s? How can you estimate the quality of games from Argentina if you compare with Brazilian games? Have any Argentine games been published in Brazil, and Brazilian games published in Argentina? Are there official translations from Spanish to Portuguese and vice versa?
I don't have insights about Argentina, but never saw any kind of competition, and don't recall any Argentinean game being officially publishers here in the 90s and 2000's.

13. We know that computer games are also being developed in Peru. What can you tell us about the gaming industry of this country. What is the market volume of its products?
Never heard of any successful Peruvian game.

14. Are there any other large national centers for commercial production of computer games in Latin America?
Yes, currently Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay all have great studios.

15. We know about the close cooperation between German and Brazilian gaming companies. Some Brazilian games, besides the Brazil, were published in Germany only. Can you somehow comment about this? Why was such cooperation carried out specifically with German companies and are there examples of similar cooperation with companies from other countries? (For example, the famous Amiga musician Volker Tripp aka Jester / Sanity collaborated with a small Brazilian company "Apollo Entertainment Software". How did they find each other?)
Don't know.

16. How feel the Brazilian gaming industry today? Are local exclusive games still being published? Are there any games released on CD/DVD inside the country now?
No, currently it's all online and most games have an international appeal. The biggest local case we have is "A Lenda do Heroi", by Dumativa studios, the game has an unique mechanic in which the hero sings what you are commanding him to do in real time. The game was launched in Portuguese only and only recently got a English (US) version.

17. If we look on the list of available Brazilian exclusive old games, than we can get impression that most of them were aimed for children auditory. And were there in Brazilian products from the "mainstream" genres (shooters, strategy, quests, RPGs, races, etc.) little-known and focused only for the domestic market?
You are right, most were for children.

18. What is your favorite PC game developed in Brazil?
"Ballistic Overkill", by Acquiris.

19. Do you know anything about "Traulian" game, presumably released in 2006? If so, is it truth that it was distributed digitally as shareware only? Or did it still have its own physical edition?
Don't know.

20. Can you tell us, had the game “Cuana Toon” been released at all? If not, is there a its demo somewhere which definitely existed as we know?
Don't know.

21. How many computer games were developed and published in Brazil? Can you roughly estimate this volume today?
Around 1,500 games per year, according the latest research (2º Censo da Indústria Brasileira de Jogos Digitais aponta crescimento de games no Brasil – Secretaria Especial da Cultura.)
Link: 2º Censo da Indústria Brasileira de Jogos Digitais aponta crescimento de games no Brasil – Secretaria Especial da Cultura

22. What computer games genres are most favorite among Brazilian gamers. But, please, just don't say that these are exclusively simulators or managers dedicated to one world most popular sports game :)...
Brazilians share the same taste as US/European players, so mostly shooters, MOBA (Multiplayer online battle arena), Football and Racing.

23. What are your favorite games developed in Europe or America. Could the Brazilian games compete with products developed outside the country?
"Assassins Creed", "Call of Duty". I think we have still a long way to go until we can reach triple-A quality, but on the indie side our quality if the same as global indie developers.

24. We know that in Brazil of 1990s, at least locally, there was a culture of freeware games. How popular were these games and how did they spread? Can you give us examples of titles of such games?
I guess you were mentioning shareware, in which the game was free but after 30 minutes you have to unlock the full version. This was indeed very popular, and our game "Buggy Racers" was released this way.

25. Is there a large community of fans in Brazil who are discussing, preserving and exchanging old Brazilian computer games among themselves? How many gamers in Brazil are nostalgic recalling old games or playing old games with pleasure today?
I think it's a niche, I don't see any promotion of old games, mostly old people that missed the "good times", but it's a trend.

26. Could you describe a content of "Made in Brazil Games" site (abandoned today)? We are interested in the information what happened to the games that had been there.
Don't know.

27. How do you feel about the activities of non-commercial sites and communities spending their free time and efforts for searching as well as preserving digital versions of game rarities from around the world for the next generations? How do you feel about the idea of preserving old computer games as a world cultural heritage?
I think it's a great initiative and totally support it, we have to preserve and learn from the past.

28. Could you describe your own common estimation about influence of national games industry and exclusive products developed in Brazil on the life of gamer community in your country?
The younger generation is starting to pay more attention to the local indie scene, something that didn't happen until 5-7 years ago.

29. Did you have an idea to offer old computer games developed by you, which we can’t buy anywhere today, to be downloaded by everyone for a small fee or even free of charge?
Never thought about this.

And the last question as indispensable tradition on our site…

30. What main component, in your opinion, is lacking in modern computer games today? What was so important in that atmosphere of those far-far 1990s which allowed to develop the great game masterpieces using the pure enthusiasm only?
I guess that "romantic feeling" was lost in the last decade due to the rise of free2play mechanics, which focus only on how to get more money from the player rather than in storytelling. I hope subscription services of premium games can provide a decent revenue back to developers so they can make a living out of their indie/experimental games, since these services can help them to promote their titles.

Thanks Carlos for interesting interview!

Received by WERTA, 02/01/2021