{"id":26406,"date":"2024-11-07T11:35:43","date_gmt":"2024-11-07T18:35:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/?p=26406"},"modified":"2024-11-07T11:35:43","modified_gmt":"2024-11-07T18:35:43","slug":"mexican-developer-impressed-microsoft-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/mexican-developer-impressed-microsoft-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The incredible story of the Mexican developer who impressed Microsoft: Blas Casta\u00f1eda.\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><\/h2>\n<p><iframe title=\"Blas Casta\u00f1eda creator of The end is nahual\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tBuBa2UOvxo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is it like to develop video games in Mexico? Blas Casta\u00f1eda, a Mexican developer, managed to impress Microsoft to finance his project The end is nahual: if I may say so. Musician, programmer and artist, in Blas&#039; game there is a deeply Mexican and Latin experience. The idea of seeking security, of the world knowing your work, your talent, of getting up every day knowing that your dreams are impossible and still going out into the world to show that nothing can crush your spirit of moving forward, of showing the gods that they are wrong and taking your destiny into your own hands.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nobody is going to come to save us<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Blas David Casta\u00f1eda Mart\u00ednez, 32, is originally from Guadalajara, Mexico, and studied video game development engineering and music, without finishing either. He humorously tells us that his sisters tell him that \u201cthe average schooling of the block is lower.\u201d Being a man of action and not contemplation, he created the company called Third World Productions and embarked on a project that would take him around 10 years to complete and that would result in the game The End is Nahual.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_26407\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-26407\" style=\"width: 411px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-26407 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/third-world.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"411\" height=\"439\" srcset=\"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/third-world.jpg 411w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/third-world-281x300.jpg 281w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/third-world-11x12.jpg 11w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/third-world-150x160.jpg 150w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/third-world-300x320.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 411px) 100vw, 411px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-26407\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Logo of THIRD WORLD PRODUCTIONS, a company created by Blas Casta\u00f1eda and responsible for the creation of the video game The end is nahual if I may say so.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In an interview with P360, he said that while it is true that artists and developers succeed abroad, it is also important to create opportunities on your own. \u201cThe solution to many Mexican problems is in Mexico,\u201d he said, while acknowledging that there is a need for more coordination between the Mexican government and video game developers in this country.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mexico is a country full of talented and hard-working people, our culture is unmatched. Our joy and tenacity in facing adversity and coming out victorious is a gift to the world, it is something worth sharing. Blas urges us not to wait for anthropologists to come and take our picture, we should not wait for American movies and series to film in Mexico and present it with the famous yellow filter, because as the programmer from Guadalajara recognizes, in movies and series we are almost never portrayed in a positive light. We Mexicans have many things to say and what better way to do it than from our mouths and from our land. \u201cIt is not just that your country makes money, we cannot create our identity if all the culture we consume is from abroad.\u201d And Blas reminds us that the value of our culture is something that cannot be measured in dollars.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Developing video games in the third world<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Video games are huge projects that nowadays consume millions of dollars in resources, and need the hands of many people and the talent of different professions to be made. Blas tells us that the idea of starting to make video games came to him after watching a documentary called Indie Game. While making a video game the size of Grand Theft Auto is impossible, a small, independent game was certainly within his reach. Most of the games produced in Mexico are like that, small but eager to show the world what they are capable of.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fortunately, Blas&#039; project managed to impress Microsoft representatives to provide him with financing and the opportunity to sell his game in the Microsoft Store.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_26408\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-26408\" style=\"width: 696px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-26408 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/The-end-is-nahual-xbox-store-1024x583.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"696\" height=\"396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/The-end-is-nahual-xbox-store-1024x583.png 1024w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/The-end-is-nahual-xbox-store-300x171.png 300w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/The-end-is-nahual-xbox-store-768x437.png 768w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/The-end-is-nahual-xbox-store-18x10.png 18w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/The-end-is-nahual-xbox-store-150x85.png 150w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/The-end-is-nahual-xbox-store-696x396.png 696w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/The-end-is-nahual-xbox-store-1068x608.png 1068w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-26408\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The end is nahual in the Microsoft Store where you can buy it and play it on the Xbox platform.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The problem of money is something that always torments developers in our country, the process of creating video games is very long and finding financing in the course of finishing your product can be the difference between leaving the industry or seeing your video game finished. And this is also shared by developers who have organized themselves in the <a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/bundle\/34030\/Mexican_Entertainment_System_Bundle\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MEXICAN ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM<\/a>, an event on the Steam digital store organized by Blas Casta\u00f1eda. This event features Mexican developers offering discounts on their games, as well as serving as a celebration of Mexican culture and developers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/michoacan-video-game-artist\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The event&#039;s art was created by Sergio Rebolledo, who also gave an interview to P360 and you can read it here.\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_26409\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-26409\" style=\"width: 1017px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/bundle\/34030\/Mexican_Entertainment_System_Bundle\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-26409 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/mexican-entretainment-system.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1017\" height=\"843\" srcset=\"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/mexican-entretainment-system.png 1017w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/mexican-entretainment-system-300x249.png 300w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/mexican-entretainment-system-768x637.png 768w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/mexican-entretainment-system-14x12.png 14w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/mexican-entretainment-system-150x124.png 150w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/mexican-entretainment-system-696x577.png 696w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1017px) 100vw, 1017px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-26409\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">MEXICAN ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM is a space for Mexican video games. On its Steam store page you can buy games from all participants at a discount.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As Blas himself says, \u201cas individuals we beg, as a group we negotiate\u201d and the fact that they have managed to organize themselves to have a space on Steam is no small thing, Steam is the largest digital distribution platform in the world and the fact that Mexican developers have conquered a little piece of it is something worth celebrating.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But how is the end is nahual game?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It&#039;s essentially a puzzle game and graphic novel with a tangled story. It&#039;s not a conventional game and I think that&#039;s the first thing you should take into account, it&#039;s also important to mention that it has an M rating, recommended for ages 17 and up. Blas also tells us that the game is for anyone who wants to play it, but it&#039;s clear that despite the art style and characters that might seem aimed at a younger audience at first glance, the themes and dialogue are aimed at a more mature audience. It&#039;s also a story that constantly breaks the fourth wall to refer directly to the player, the mechanics and the medium itself, it is in that sense a modernist work to the core.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_26410\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-26410\" style=\"width: 696px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-26410 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Menu-principal-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" srcset=\"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Menu-principal-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Menu-principal-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Menu-principal-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Menu-principal-18x10.jpg 18w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Menu-principal-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Menu-principal-696x392.jpg 696w, https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Menu-principal-1068x601.jpg 1068w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-26410\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The end is nahual main menu.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite some cryptic puzzles and a very long tutorial, I had a lot of fun playing it, enjoyed some simply wonderful music, and got excited trying to get into the mind of the creator through his work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bad moments are boring, but the good moments are incredible and take you by the hand to a surreal world in an alternative Mexican history, with its own historical events, gods and characters.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you are even remotely interested in learning about the game, I recommend you look for it on Steam, or you can use this link. Its normal price is $10, but if you find it on sale it can cost you half that.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What&#039;s next for Third World Productions?\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting a new video game, of course, you can already add it to your wishlist in S<a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/3166130\/AM_Archaic_Memories\/?l=spanish\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">team their new project, Archaic Memories.<\/a> This new title will be a platform game in which you explore planets on a surreal journey full of references to Mexican culture and the humor that characterizes the people of Guadalajara. And here you can see a trailer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"blBHWLXkcrg\"><iframe title=\"AM Archaic Memories Teaser\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/blBHWLXkcrg?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; \u00bfC\u00f3mo es desarrollar videojuegos en M\u00e9xico? Blas Casta\u00f1eda, desarrollador mexicano logr\u00f3 impresionar a Microsoft para financiar su proyecto The end is nahual: if I may say so. M\u00fasico, programador y artista, en el Juego de Blas se encuentra una experiencia profundamente mexicana y latina. La idea de buscar seguridad, de que el mundo [&hellip;]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":26413,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-26406","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uncategorized"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26406"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26406\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26414,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26406\/revisions\/26414"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}