cubaville - a post-apocalyptic game set in a futuristic cuba
THE CONCEPT & VISION
between 2012 and 2014 I have collaborated with The group futureperfectlab as both an art and graphic designer for the design of the post-apocalyptic game cubaville. As described on the futureperfectlab website:
“Cubaville is a multi-player, real-time strategy game that draws on political simulation mechanics and speculative fiction conceits to cultivate agency and leadership skills aimed at building civil society in Cuba. Set in a parallel universe, ripe with ghosts and zombies, players are tasked with missions to uncover clues and crack puzzles in order to acquire the experience and knowledge needed to establish and maintain sustainable governance. Players level up by making ethical decisions, strategically using resources and building their character’s influence through goodwill and social capital. The game was air-dropped into Cuba on jump drives & spread across local ICTs under the radar.“
the art and game design
as part of the cubaville working team, my main tasks were to work on the concept art for the in-game characters, the locations, and the graphical user interface. This included studying in-depth both the political and geopolitical landscape of Cuba, as well as the local cultural habits and the aesthetics of Cuban cities, in particular La Havana.
within six months of work, we released the alpha version of the game, for which I shifted my role from art designer to user experience and usability designer/tester. The beta version of the game was released to the public via unconventional and unofficial channels for a brief period of time, due to the political restrictions of Cuba in those years.
THE GAME cubaville WAS CREATED BY THE FOLLOWING TEAM:
Max Valverde, Executive Director, Oxen Films
Heidi Boisvert, Creative Director, FuturePerfect Lab
Giovanni Maria Troiano, Natalia Rodriguez, Daniel Pacheco