“It’s a parody or an exaggeration of the suburbs. Honestly, yes it is, because the suburbs are dangerous. What’s more, they robbed me a few days ago, those things happen, but in the game they happen to you every two blocks, they are exaggerated” , Tejada explains over the phone to Ambit
an old yearning
Although Lucas had the dream of creating an open world video game for a long time, the idea only began to take shape in April 2021. For that, he had a key ally: his mother. “One day my mom uploaded a video to Tik Tok showing some homemade virtual reality glasses that I invented and it went viral. People told me to study programming and that’s when I felt inspired. I realized that -I’m not saying it’s easy- I could understand it. From there I told myself ‘I’m going to create my own video game'”, recounts.
With the decision made, Tejada began to delve into the world of programming and embarked on an adventure. As the courses were very expensive, he did it in a self-taught way. Videos, forums, websites: everything served to add knowledge. As the game progressed, Lucas shared the progress on his YouTube channel, “baiting” the sector of the gaming community that followed him.
The project came to falter because, in the middle, the young man dedicated himself to looking for work. That took energy and time. But the insistence among those waiting for the release made him reconsider: “That motivated me again. I started to polish the game as much as possible. I said that as soon as the game was minimally playable, I was going to share the beta version on a page so that can be played.”
Finally, to celebrate the New Year, Conur Life saw the light on December 30, 2021 through Itch.Io, a site that allows you to share software for free, where the young man uploads updates. In early January, an Android version was also added and is available on the Play Store.
suburban mode
Conur Life begins in the house of Alexis, its protagonist. There will appear a sign that invites the player to tour the city. This beta version does not include quests yet, so the user is free to do whatever he wants. The character must try to get money to buy weapons, pay for haircuts, dress and, later, “tune” their cars. For that, he will venture into different criminal experiences.
“One of the most popular activities is stealing from people; any video you find of kids playing is stealing from people,” Lucas explains with a laugh. The stage where the action takes place is called San Hugo and is a parody of Florencio Varela. Alexis will travel through dirt streets in humble and working-class areas and will also be able to access lavish and upper-class neighborhoods, always guarded by the Buenos Aires Police.
For those who simply want to “make a mess”, Tejada programmed a series of tricks that will facilitate the gameplay. For example, typing “irons”, the protagonist will have access to the entire arsenal without the need to buy it. Another high point is the dialogues. “You’re in a bun, salame, give me everything” and “what are you doing, you idiot?” They are part of the lexicon of the characters that walk the streets of San Hugo.
Initially, Lucas also added music: “I wanted there to be a radio in the game and that in humble or middle-class areas cumbias or reggaeton could be heard in the background, rumbling, as happens in my neighborhood and in many others. I wanted it to be people recognize a little sound or a tune”. However, he ended up giving up, since he feared retaliation for copyright. He now works with his brother Thiago -who makes music- to compose his own soundtrack and add it to future versions
Conure Life 2?
In the future, the Varelense is already working on new modifications. One of the most importants: the inclusion of the multiplayer mode, so that different people can play with each other through the Internet. It is also programming mini-games within the central plot.
“Currently I am about to upload it to Steam, a platform where games can be sold. More than anything so that people can update it much better and get it easier. In addition, I am preparing and getting down to work with the multiplayer so that the people can play from anywhere,” he says.
Lucas works as a video editor and collaborates with a youtuber. He is also studying special effects editing and blender, which is 3D modeling. His since is that Conur Life 2 is in 3D, but, as he says, for that you have to study.
Regarding the local industry, the young man states: “It seems to me that the potential that our country has is not well used in terms of games, and it always ends up focusing on some strange island or the US. I prefer that people feel identified with the game. I have a somewhat patriotic thing with that, I like that they feel identified”.
How was the reception? “My relatives tell me that I’m famous, and I laugh because I’m a normal kid. Sometimes I comment on videos of people playing and they tell me ‘uuhh, I didn’t know you were going to comment’. I don’t know what, because the People talk to me like it’s a big deal and I’m just in my bed watching videos,” he concludes.
Source: Ambito
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