A wise African proverb said: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”. Being a Game Developer in Brazil is being a MacGyver, whether the journey is solo or in a team… dealing with deadlines, using your own resources, unforeseen events, sometimes not having support from parents and friends, the need for strong emotional intelligence to deal with adversity, among other challenges. The union of developers and the presence of events aimed at the independent market ease the Developer’s journey.
In recent years, the community has been gathering across Brazil creating bases of experienced professionals and aspirants with the dream of developing games, sharing experiences and knowledge, such as BRING in Brasília and PONG in Natal.
One of the very strong pillars that contribute to the spread of independent games are EVENTS. One of the national events promoted with the aim, or the expectation, of fostering ideas, sharing experiences and promoting the national productions of independent studios is the BIG Festival (Brazilian Independent Game Festival), but the community does not see what is said in practice.
More than 87 professionals in the field (and the number keeps growing) signed an Open and Public Letter to the BIG Festival organizers. This Letter, made with the collaboration of national developers, highlights the dissatisfaction that the event is named “Brazilian Independent” without any co-creation or co-participation with the developer community, as well as criticism regarding the Talks, Judges, Awards and Communication with the Organization. The letter also includes suggestions to make the event truly “Brazilian Independent” in practice.
The BIG Festival is, without a doubt, an event of great importance for the national games market and industry. If we really want the potential of Brazil’s game development industry to gain more and more space and reach greater heights, we come back to the old wise African proverb: “…If you want to go far, go together.”
Link to the Letter:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Zw5PDL_XkNch48A9-gnAQdmMGPLwIlNtbaBmuHzqTcU/edit
[Updated 04/19 – 11:50]
BIG Festival’s response
“Hello, everyone,
I read the Open Letter and, as we have done other times, I would like to open a frank dialogue to talk about the points mentioned.
I can say in advance that some points highlighted by the letter are suggestions that were already made last year and that will, if all goes well, be implemented this year.
Since there are many people – and not all of them are in São Paulo, where I am most of the time – my suggestion would be that you form a committee.
However, feel free to organize yourselves however you see fit.
From there, we set up a meeting, before BIG, on a date that works for everyone.
What do you think?
Gustavo Steinberg, BIG Festival”.
Let’s see what will be changed and what will be kept in the event.
SavePoint Team
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