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Photo COurtEsy OF LArvA GAME stuDIOs

larva gaMe studios:

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orge Morales is a young entrepreneur from Guadalajara, Jalisco, who refuses to take game over for an answer, no matter how tough the going gets. After graduating from the Tecnolgico de Monterrey (ITESM) one of the countrys top private universities with a degree in Computer Systems, he began working in the multimedia sector designing web pages but deep inside he knew his calling was video games. Ive been a gamer my whole life. When I was 11, I received my first video games: Atari, Pac Man, Space Invaders and the like, he says. Around that time, a friend lent Morales software that allowed him to create his own gaming level and thats when he was bitten by the video game bug. Designing web pages allowed him to make a decent living but it wasnt long before he decided to take a leap of faith and start developing his own video games.

tHis MexiCan video gaMe CoMPany is known For taking tHe aCtion to tHe next level. in its sHort liFe, larva gaMe studios Has beCoMe one oF MexiCos toP video gaMe develoPers, one tHat does not know tHe Meaning oF gaMe over.

by antonio vzquez

Business didnt exactly get off to a booming start, though. His first project was a flop. The tiny multimedia department at the company where he worked never got off the ground and when his partners insisted it was a lost cause, Morales sold them his shares and went on alone. In 2007, he partnered up with a group of Colombian investors and Immersion Games Mexico a subsidiary of Immersion Games Colombia was born. Cell Factor: Psychokinetic Wars, a firstperson shooter game in which players can choose from superpowers like telekinesis, teleportation and speed running, was produced by Immersion Games Mexico for XBox and Play Station consoles and was the first video game Morales left his mark on. While we were developing this game, we met a lot of people from companies such as Slang and Televisa and thats when we began working on Lucha Libre AAA: Hroes del Ring, in mid-2008, says Morales.

Released on October 2010 for XBox360 and PS3 consoles, Lucha Libre AAA: Hroes del Ring faithfully reproduces the world of Mexican wrestling, a sport that has millions of fans not only in Mexico but worldwide. In this virtual world, players don the masks and personalities of Mexican luchadores La Parca, Doctor Wagner, Abismo Negro, Psycho Clowns and other legendary wrestlers as they immobilize each other with armlocks, execute high kicks and jump from the ropes. Some 450,000 copies of the first edition of Lucha Libre AAA: Hroes del Ring were produced. More than a video game, it is a Mexican product that has familiarized the entire continent with this iconic Mexican sport, from Canada all the way to Argentina. Over and beyond its commercial success, this game opened the door to new game studios. The National Council on Science and Technology (CONACYT, according to its Spanish acronym) realized it was a

MexiCos Partner larva game studios

niche with potential growth that was worth investing in, says Morales. FROM LARVA TO PUPA By the time Morales and his team had finished working on Lucha Libre AAA: Hroes del Ring, Immersion Games Colombia was trapped in a downward spiral. So before its subsidiary in Mexico was sucked in, they set up a new company: Larva Game Studios. The company started out making video games and doing animation for Televisa, but the original team of 12 that comprised Immersion Games Mexico has since grown to an army of 45 recruits involved in projects for XBox and Play Station consoles and games for smartphones, iPods and iPads. Larva Game Studios is currently developing Last Day On Earth. Its about an extraterrestrial invasion, explains Morales. The game begins with the arrival of hundreds of thousands of aliens, who must be kept at bay by the humans, who are outnumbered. Its a

new genre in which humans live in bunkers and have limited time to come up with a strategy before the invaders land. When you win ground, you entrench yourself in the next section and the story begins all over again. You define your strategy against the clock; we have set mines, barbed wire and canons. The game will be launched on November 2013. Mexicos video game industry is changing. Not so long ago, console companies like Sony and Microsoft werent interested in what we were doing but last year, Sony initiated an incubation program for Latin studios and Microsoft has followed suit, says Morales. According to Morales, the next level is to consolidate Mexicos studios. In five years, he forecasts, Mexico will be Latin Americas leading developer of video games, gaining a competitive advantage over countries like Brazil, Chile and Argentina that have well-established industries. n
www.larvagamestudios.com

nOt sO LOnG AGO, COnsOLE COMPAnIEs LIKE sOny AnD MICrOsOFt wErEnt IntErEstED In wHAt wE wErE DOInG but LAst yEAr, sOny InItIAtED An InCubAtIOn PrOGrAM FOr LAtIn stuDIOs AnD MICrOsOFt HAs FOLLOwED suIt, sAys MOrALEs.