They create a video game inspired by Christmas music and the wand piglet

The world of video games is endless in imagination and creativity. That’s why when the local animation studio Gladius Studios created a game that represents our culture at Christmas time and that outside of a source of entertainment in the midst of the pandemic the consensus was popular piglet.

With this in mind they created the first game in their category for devices “That poor piglet”, inspired by our folklore, traditions, gastronomy, prints and scenes that are only found in the Puerto Rican land.

“We have had a very strong year due to the pandemic. Gladius is a studio dedicated to entertainment. We always think of betraying joy in every project. We said ‘for Christmas we need to bring something beautiful, different and folkloric’. In a video game one can take any topic and decide that it is best to do so with Puerto Rican traditions and things that do not unite as what is typical food and tasty piglet. The main goal is to bring joy to Puerto Ricans and the diaspora in a friendly video game and to identify as Puerto Ricans, “he said. Heri Martínez de Dios, founder of Gladius.

The video game released in late November can be downloaded to mobile phones or tablets. The same focuses on the figure of a pig who ventures through different corners of the island to collect musical instruments needed to compose the traditional party, a Christmas custom that brings together musicians in front of a house for intonate the Christmas classics.

The game was created entirely in the studio in Puerto Rico, with my company having 60 employees working in graphic arts and technology. The hallmark of the game, which will be named after one of the most popular songs of local Christmas, which is in the category of runner without ending up generating and combined Christmas music while walking the path that recreates many of the local settings such as: the Guavate route, the plays and the city of San Juan, among other animated prints.

“A very extensive research was done to evoke that nostalgia and recreate what Guavate is, the beaches, the kiosks of Luquillo, our chinchorros and everything is reflected in the game along with the music that distinguishes the Christmas season. You can also listen to some Caribbean reggae and typical music from here. Any of our scenarios can be reflected in other Caribbean islands because of the color of the prints “, explained the founder of Gladuis, who added that the animators who had never been to Guavate had to visit the area in Cayey to know how to project in the game.

A piglet that eats pennies

The Puerto Rican idiosyncrasy is not only reflected in the prints and music, but also in the tasty cuisine. That’s why the pig that during the game must avoid and face obstacles, instead of collecting coins as is usually the case in most of this type of animation project by sending pennies with or without mayoketchup with which you get a higher score.

The video game is made for everyone in the family what they could play, as the difficulty is not extreme or specialized. You do not need to complete levels, but collect as many points.

Martínez de Dios explained that the game allows you to customize it with different elements, including a mask to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This week the app will receive an “update” to enhance the gaming experience.

The game “Ese pobre lechón” has been downloaded in different parts of the world, including China, said Martínez de Dios.

So far the downloads have been daily and they are waiting for the first three months to know the behavior of the players and have clear download statistics.

Not only does Gladius work in the games division, he also does projects such as “Fantomville”, the first 3D animated feature film created and produced in Puerto Rico and “Slimies”, the first 2D animated series with “live action”.

The studio won this year’s Best Animation Award at the Omni TV Fest for “Fantomville” and three Emmy Awards in the last edition held in virtual mode on Saturday, December 12.