Spotlight Magazine - Issue 01 - May 2023 [Catalog Version]

Community - Games - Developers

Connecting the Portuguese gaming scene to the world

Game Dev Lisbon is a collective officially founded on May 1st 2022, on the idea of local action with international reach. Our forum is a safe place for the community to engage with each other, sharing their latest projects, work vision and knowledge, just as we all did across the years with previous projects that helped shape our local Game Dev scene.

Our focus is to broaden our community. Game Dev Lisbon is a space for developers, marketeers, journalists and everyone involved in the process of creating and launching video games. From Lisbon based developers, for the video games' industry everywhere. Connecting the Portuguese game scene to the world.

Spotlight Magazine is a celebration of the videogame development scene in Portugal. It’s a record of what the community is currently doing, from videogames to courses, initiatives, events and awards.

Why is having a record important? To be able to reach out to people outside of the community. To find the developers, teachers, and industry folks disconnected from one another. To find new talent and welcome them in and go beyond our borders to reach out to people outside of gaming. Be it an investor, a student or someone who didn’t even know a change of career to game development was viable, this is a way to clearly show the work we’ve put into this industry.

The Spotlight Magazine is our aniversary gift to our industry. It's a tool to be used, to be shared and to showcase the progress we made so far beyond what we could do as single voices.

Catalogue

Meet the Games & Studios

What it means to develop games and studios catalogues

One of the first games registered in Portugal was “Bala”, a game by developer “Zé Oliveira” and published by ZarSoft in 1982 for the Sinclair ZX81. Since then we’ve leapt forward and each new game release was achieved by those willing to be a part of a growing industry where there was nothing like it In time the community of videogames grew, from developers to journalists to historians and gamers. The will to never stand down and to strive for a better tomorrow has brought us to where we are today.

Following in the footsteps of the Portugal Studios Spotlight that premiered in Game Dev Camp in 2014, the Spotlight of Portuguese Games catalog is a testimony of the games that have launched in 2022 or that where in development during that year. All the games and studios present in the catalog answered our open call, and we’re sure there are even more projects in production. We hope to see you in the next, but for now take a look at this record of the state of the art in the portuguese videogame industry.

Timepunk

Aden, Caldas da Rainha

Company: Aden is a studio focused on games and interactivity. Our work stands out through the in-depth creation of original worlds, enticing stories and a constant exploration of new aesthetics and technology.

Highlighted Game: Timepunk is multiplayer bullet hell roguelike, in a retrofuturism pixel art style, that lets you jump between different time periods to take down the corrupt time travelers.

www.adeninteractive.com

contact@adeninteractive.com

Little Goody Two Shoes

AstralShiftPro, Olhão

Company: AstralShiftPro is a Portuguese independent video game software development studio that specializes in the production of narrative-driven and artistically ambitious RPGs. Officially founded in 2022, AstralShift has been active since 2016 with the release of their first title “Pocket Mirror”.

Highlighted Game: Little Goody Two Shoes is a mysterious roleplaying adventure inspired by 90’s Japanese animation and classical fairytales. The narrative is centered around Elise, an ambitious errand girl who is willing to do anything to escape her simple and humble life in the village of Kieferberg. Throughout her adventure, Elise will need to strengthen her bonds with her fellow villagers, unveil old mysteries, and face the many dangers of the wicked woods.

Little Goody Two Shoes is set to be published by Square Enix Collective.

Battlesheep, Lisbon

Company: BATTLESHEEP is a game development studio based in Lisbon, Portugal, focused on both independent and work-for-hire projects. Founded as a side-project in 2008 by a team of industry professionals with multi-platform experience, it quickly evolved into an established game studio.

Highlighted Game: We have released mobile and browser games, ranging from singleplayer to online multiplayer experiences. We started out developing casual and advergames for clients, while simultaneously publishing our own original titles. More recently we have been working on educational, serious, and casino games for domestic and international clients.

Those Who Remain

Camel 101, Angra do Heroísmo

Company: Camel 101 is an award-winning game development studio focused on creating immersive and entertaining experiences. With more than 10 years of experience, we've worked on all kinds of projects ranging from casual titles, strategic and tactical wargames, educational projects and horror adventures. We love playing games, making games and talking about games. It's in our DNA.

Highlighted Game: Those Who Remain places you in an up-close, psychological horror story set in the sleepy town of Dormont – a town in a spiraling split from the fabric of reality, warped by darkness and the deeds of the Citizens who reside. Confront the uncomfortable horrors reflected by the darkness and survive the night of Dormont as Edward is confronted with a test of his sanity, morality and the shadows of evil that lurks below.

www.camel101.com info@camel101.com

Pecaminosa

Cereal Games, Lagoa - Azores

Company: Cereal Games is a technology development company based out of the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and we are ‘ceriously’ proud to label our products with the “Made in Azores” stamp.

Highlighted Game: Pecaminosa is a Police Action RPG, based on a Film Noir concept with a Pixel Art aesthetic. As John Souza – a former detective succumbed to the pleasures of alcohol and flesh – you will explore the city and its environs, as well as chase and fight ordinary thieves, smart criminals, and even some forces of… the occult.

The Magic Flute Classplash, Lousã

Company: Almost ten years old, this multi-awarded studio focuses on educational music games, for casual and classroom use. Its titles can be played in most platforms using real instruments with no add-ons required, using only the device’s microphone. Among the supported instruments so far, you can find the drum (‘Rhythmic Village’), the recorder (‘Flute Master’), ukulele and guitar (‘Harmony City’).

Highlighted Game: ‘The Magic Flute’ is the official videogame adaptation of the upcoming movie, starring Iwan Rheon (‘Game Of Thrones’) and F. Murray Abraham (‘Amadeus’). Follow 17-year-old Tim Walker as he arrives at the legendary Mozart Music Academy, where he’ll discover a forgotten passageway into the magic world of Mozart’s masterpiece of the same name, in a musical challenge you can play with a real recorder!

Voltaire: The Vegan Vampire

Digitality Games, Fundão

Company: We’re a small team from Portugal that is really passionate about videogames and game development. We love to make our ideas come to life in a fun, quirky and challenging way. HordeCore was our first indie game title, closely followed by Voltaire: The Vegan Vampire.

Highlighted Game: Voltaire: The Vegan Vampire is an action-farming-roguelite set in Transylvania, the homeland of Dracula and his rebellious son. An epiphany results in a change of heart for the young vampire, abandoning blood in favor of a plant-based diet to prove that neck-biting is not the only way for vampires to thrive. But beware! Going vegan is (㇏(•̀ᵥᵥ•́)ノ) not for the faint of heart.

Madalia World Dimmersions, Funchal

Company: Dimmersions is a Studio focused on delivering immersive experiences that can make the Metaverse into somewhere you'll want to be. Gaming is in our DNA since the project was born back in 2018 in Madeira Island but we have been honing our skills on creating unique experiences for brands all over the world. Madalia World is our first consumer project and it incorporates everything we learned about how to create an exciting, deep and ever-growing gaming experience.

Highlighted Game: Madalia bridges the Real and the Virtual worlds together over a story that spans thousands of years and that you can explore on your terms: either on your devices or with your own two feet! The first Government Recognized Virtual World ever, Madalia incorporates digital twins as landscape making it an environmentally focused virtual world that allows for real change through virtual action. Go on an Adventure. Travel. Explore. Build. Live Madalia.

www.dimmersions.com

info@dimmersions.com

Demon Spore

DinoBoss, Lisbon

Company: Instead of using processes, meetings and planning, at DinoBoss games are made by the sheer determination of one man smashing his fists at a keyboard until polygons come raining forth. It was founded in 2018 by ex-AAA industry veteran Ed Kay after emerging from the collapse of Lucasarts and looking to take more control of his own destiny. Its debut game Hang Line has over 5 million downloads.

Highlighted Game: Demon Spore is an intense action rogue-like inspired by 80s Monster movies where you have to blast your way through tentacle hell as a failed lab experiment gives birth to a rapidly growing viral horror. As a scientist trapped inside a cutting edge genetic research laboratory, use your scientific experience to learn how the organism spreads, find it’s weaknesses and fight your way to safety.

Buck Up And Drive!

Fábio Fontes, Torres Vedras

Company: Just a shmuck that draws stuff and does some of the gamedevs. No grand cohesive vision or anything, I just do what I feel like.

Highlighted Game: Drive through all sorts of locations with procedurally-generated tracks at any and all FASTS/hour you can churn out, dodging local traffic OR bonking it out of the way and then having to deal with the Popos. Go along the asphalt, above it or grind along the guard rails for all I care! Realism need not apply! Or get a friend to go 1v1 with in the game's fighting mode. Yes, this game is dumb.

www.fabiofontes.com fontesmakua@gmail.com

Fortis, Lisbon

Company: Fortis is a global game studio with a mission to create worlds that matter that challenge minds, build connections, and inspire communities. Founded by industry veterans, Fortis believes games have the ability to create a positive impact on society and culture, and now more than ever, those are the experiences players are looking for. With team members already in the US, UK, Canada, Romania, Portugal and Brazil.

www.fortisgames.com

email@sitename.com

Plastic Heroes

Fun Punch Games, Lisbon

Company: We're an indie gamedev studio from sunny Lisbon. Founded in 2016, Strikers Edge, winner of PlayStation Awards 2015, was our first game. It opened the path to other games, with Plastic Heroes as our latest. We've partnered with global brands like Billabong, Mercedes and Red Cross, developing games and other interactive experiences. Whatever we do, we pack a punch. A fun one!

Highlighted Game: Plastic Heroes is a multiplayer roguelite FPS where you play as an action figure fighting hordes of enemy toys in action packed fashion! Select from various families and generations of toys, customize and power up your arsenal and save your tiny world, alone or by assembling your squad! Each run challenges you with new situations, enemies and power-ups. It's planned to launch on Switch, PC and Mobile. Launch date TBD.

Dune Awakening Funcom, Lisbon

Company: Funcom was founded in 1993 and settled in Lisbon in 2019 through the acquisition of the ZPX studio. We were there in the early days of the MMOs, breaking new ground and pioneering features and business models that are commonplace today. We’ve gone from making pixel platformers on the SEGA Genesis to developing cuttingedge, cross-platform online games and massive open-world sandboxes for PC and consoles. We’ve made over 25 games, from NBA Hang Time on the SNES to more recent titles such as Conan Exiles, The Longest Journey, and Secret World Legends.

Highlighted Game: Inspired by Frank Herbert’s sci-fi masterpiece and the awardwinning blockbuster film by Denis Villeneuve, Dune: Awakening combines the grittiness and creativity of survival games with the social interactivity of large-scale, persistent multiplayer games to create an ambitious next step for open-world survival MMOs, coming to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Rise from survival to dominance in a vast and seamless Arrakis shared by thousands of players.

Rabbit's Tale

Golden Bug Studios, Coimbra

Company: We are an Indie Game Development studio based in Coimbra and we are excited to develop games we love, and hopefully, you love them too! The studio was founded in 2021 by Gabriel Aguiar and its main focus is to boost and grow the game dev industry in Portugal with iconic games. We are a growing team of 5 amazing members with a passion for games and for game development!

Highlighted Game: The tale of a Rabbit that goes in search of his family after they were kidnapped by the Steam Order, a faction with an oppressive dominion over his world. But, along the way, something very mystical and dark happens to our hero. Classic metroidvania side scrolling platform with an explorable, adventurous and interconnected world! Fight the oppression, evolve your character and unveil strange mysteries

www.goldenbugstudios.com

golden.bug.contact@gmail.com

Zhed

Ground Control Studios, Porto

Company: Ground Control Studios is a game developer focused on PC, Consoles and Mobile, that also uses game-tech to solve real-world problems.

Highlighted Game: ZHED is an instant classic puzzle game. Based on a simple mechanic, it builds onto increasingly complex puzzles that challenge you to a level you would not imagine. No timers, no clocks, no stars and no tricks, just pure puzzles for you to enjoy. It's the perfect brain-teaser that lets you train focus, concentration and memory.

www.gcontrolgames.com

info@gcontrolgames.com

Oirbo

ImaginationOverflow, Lisbon

Company: ImaginationOverflow is a team created in 2011 with the goal of creating apps, games, and tools. Since 2015, its main focus is on the gaming industry, shipping its first game in 2016 - Stellar Interface The team also released two other games, Sudoku Zenkai and Super Bunny Laser Spikes, published four tools for Unity game developers, and worked on other titles as consultants.

Highlighted Game: Explore a labyrinthian spacecraft and discover its mysteries and purpose. Help Oirbo navigate a metroidvania-inspired, hand-drawn, 2D actionplatformer full of challenging platforming, mind-boggling puzzles, and a vast map to explore in order to find new power-ups, new areas, secrets, and memories from a distant past!

The choices are yours to make, how will you unravel the twisted story?

contact@imaginationoverflow.com

Package Inc.

Infinity Games, Odivelas

Company: Infinity Games creates minimalist and ethereal gaming experiences. With a team of 25 talented individuals and with over 190 million downloads on Google Play and iOS, Infinity Games is the corner for relaxation on Smartphones. Among the 30+ pulished games are titles such as Infinity Loop, Energy, Maze, Traffix, Railways or Package Inc, which are highly rated mobile gaming experiences

Highlighted Game: Package Inc. is a minimalist simulation game about building a delivery system for a growing city. As a player, one needs to build a connection between different hubs and feed multiple destinations, like factories, police stations, cafes, libraries, boutiques, saloons, hotels, pizzerias, pet shops or schools. Isn't it time to learn cargo management in a never-ending fun way?

infinitygames.io

support@infinitygames.io

@8infinitygames

Avakin Life

Lockwood Publishing, Lisbon

Company: We are the award-winning creators of Avakin Life, a 3D social universe enjoyed by more than 200 million registered users. We build new worlds and create a reality where players can truly be themselves in a community that embraces selfexpression. You can find us in Cambridge, Nottingham, Newcastle, Lisbon, Vietnam, Vilnius and the imaginations of players around the world.

Highlighted Game: Avakin Life is an endless social world without limits where you can be yourself or someone totally new! With unlimited opportunities, you can create and curate your look to be as individual as you are. Take your new style to the runway, party on sunlit beaches or explore the stars. With unlimited ways to be you, join a world with no limits.

www.lockwoodpublishing.com

info@lockwood-publishing.com

Corpus Edax

Luis G. Bento, Lisbon

Company: A two-person effort focused on making video games! We are Luís G. Bento and Nuno Bento. After making our first video game in 2020 and participating in a game jam in 2021, we're making a new game set to release in 2023. Luís focuses on making the game while Nuno focuses on making sounds for the game!

Highlighted Game: CORPUS EDAX is a first-person-melee RPG with an immersive-sim design philosophy. This means the world is highly reactive to your actions, and dialogue choices influence the outcome of the story and your play-through of the game. It has a heavy focus on narrative, physics and systems working together.

epicmcdude.itch.io

luis.grtmb@gmail.com

Feelings

Lumo Entertainment, Lisbon

Company: Lumo Entertainment is a remote Indie Game studio passionate about creating engaging and meaningful experiences. Our biggest ambition is to tell stories through games and immerse the player in the universe we created. We want to create a bond and show that the player is also part of our world. Lumo gives life to memorable experiences that will stick in your heart for the rest of your life!

Highlighted Game: Feelings is a 3D puzzle platformer where you play as Sarah, a 27 year-old girl dealing with anxiety and depression. She goes on an inner journey where she sees herself as her kid version, and explores floating islands that represents her feelings and memories. Using her camera to unveil objects she can’t see with her bare eyes, Sarah will have to solve puzzles to reconnect with her true self.

www.lumoentertainment.com

brenonp@lumoentertainment.games

Lake Side

Massive Galaxy Studios, Lisbon

Company: Massive Galaxy studios is a one man indie game studio behind LakeSide and For The Warp. Interested in new game genres and rethinking older game genres.

Highlighted Game: LakeSide is a cozy city builder in side-scrolling perspective. Build and manage a quiet town by the lake or expand it into a picturesque city state in this side-scrolling city builder featuring hybrid mechanics. Construct marvellous buildings, epic wonders and become the envy of the known world!

www.massivegalaxy.com/studios

contact@massivegalaxy.com

@massivegalaxy

Miniclip, London & Lisbon

Company: Miniclip is a global leader in digital games with a mission of ‘unleashing the gamer in everyone’. The Company develops, publishes, and distributes highly engaging games to an audience of over 400 million monthly active users across mobile, social and online platforms. They operate in 10 countries, with a global workforce of over 1000 people across 16 locations. Founded in 2001, the Company has successfully grown a huge global audience in over 195 countries and across six continents.

Highlighted Game: Miniclip has a unique understanding of the digital games space and has developed a strong portfolio of over 60 high-quality mobile games, extensive worldwide distribution, and an internationally recognised brand name. To date, Miniclip's digital games, which also include the franchises 8 Ball Pool™, Subway Surfers™, Golf Battle™, Football Strike™, Carrom Pool™, and Agar.io™ have generated more than 7 billion downloads. Miniclip has more than 70 million daily active players reaching people across the world in the pursuit of ‘unleashing the gamer in everyone’.

Cabo das Tormentas

Moonveil Studios, Leiria

Company: Moonveil Studios was created with the purpose of creating narrative-driven video games. It was founded in 2022 with the creation of the vertical slice "Cabo das Tormentas". Currently, we are aiming to publish the full game and open our studio in 2023.

Highlighted Game: "Cabo das Tormentas" is a work of fiction about one of the Portuguese Discoveries. Explore the caravel S. Cristóvão and experience one of the most crucial moments of the Portuguese history.

Basket Master

Nectar Interactive, Lisbon

Company: Nectar Interactive's main goal is to create a digital experience through a Video Game. Something in alignment to an exciting and entertaining perspective allusive to a Brand or a Product. Nowadays, consumers have a very strong connection with Videogames, and as such, we seek to develop an appealing digital interface in accordance to the customer's fondness, with the purpose of increasing brand acknowledgement and interaction with its target. Our Commitment engages its outcome in a Digital Journey full of Challenges, Excitement, and above all, Fun.

Highlighted Game: Squeeze through some hoops on this action-packed playground, where every shot counts to score the most amount before you drop the ball and time runs out! The accessible and intuitive natures of Basket Master’s gameplay make it a very enjoyable experience. It’s a time and precision basket balancing act, where only one button has to be pressed to move the ball and only one goal exists: scoring — the player having to constantly judge if their greed for points isn’t so risky as to cost them the game.

www.nectar-interactive.com

hello@nectar-interactive.com

Smithy Shop

Nerd Monkeys, Lisbon

Company: Nerd Monkeys, has 10 years of experience in video game development and publishing. We value openness and collaboration, building strong relationships with our community and partners. We're currently working on "Smithy Shop" and have other exciting projects in development. We've partnered with teams worldwide, porting games to various consoles, and have published several games ourselves.

Highlighted Game: The forge is ever burning as the clients enter the blacksmith's shop. The Blacksmith will attend to their requests, no matter their allegiance, and deal with the repercussions of your service. A charismatic casual 2D store management and crafting game where you influence the world by interacting with your customers requests, discover hundreds of crafting recipes, and uncover the fates you have set.

RUSHAWAY

Ninestudios, Coimbra

Company: Ninestudios is a small independent team of young developers that came together with the goal of creating focused, fun and challenging games. Currently, we are in the process of finishing our first big project.

Highlighted Game: RUSHAWAY is a 2.5D fast-paced single-player platformer, where your objective is to find the fastest ways towards the goal. Explore different paths, for every level, and discover the more optimal ones, avoiding or exploiting different hazards.

www.ninestudiosgames.com

contact@ninestudiosgames.com

ARcade Sports

ONTOP, Lisbon

Company: ONTOP is multi-Awarded team driven to bring people together through Augmented Reality games. With dozens of AR projects released to the market for more than 6 years, ONTOP gathers the knowledge to set new trends.

Highlighted Game: ARcade Sports is a 5G Augmented Reality multi-user platform that combines video games and physical activity. It brings new ways of joy to any location through gamified solutions based on its game currency, that increase customers loyalty and showcases products and services. Starting with just 25m², arenas can be deployed at any spot and give access to various AR games, taking place in the real world.

Back Then Outriders, Lisbon

Company: Outriders is an independent game studio currently based in Lisbon, Portugal. Founded in Early 2019 with the start of ‘Back Then’ in a Global Game Jam, the studio’s objective is creating engaging experiences that stick with you We talk about hard themes and put them in front of you, while not being afraid of asking questions and testing your beliefs… Let’s just say we want to make people feel a little uncomfortable.

Highlighted Game: Back Then is a first-person narrative exploration game about an elderly writer diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. Thomas, bound to a wheelchair, ventures through past, present and memory in an attempt to return to a time where he could still remember. The gameplay revolves around puzzle-solving and exploration, wandering through Tom's house and fragmented areas of his mind as his family narrates to us their perspectives and stories.

www.outriderstudio.com

social@outriderstudio.com

Redcatpig, Angra do Heroísmo

Company: Redcatpig is an award winning video game development studio located in the Azores, Portugal. We love playing games and making them. KEO is our debut game playable in early access on Steam. We are also heavily involved in projects like Cryptopolis. Our most recent accomplishment was joining the Madeira Games Lab consortium, which will consolidate our studio's ability to compete in a global market.

Highlighted Game: KEO is a thrilling, fast-paced multiplayer game of vehicle combat for players of all ages and skill levels, with a variety of game modes to suit every taste. By defeating rivals and winning battles in the arena, you earn currency to spend on new weapons and components. Learning the ins and outs of each RCV, and optimising your loadout around your chosen role, are the keys to victory.

www.redcatpig.com

studio@redcatpig.com

@redcatpig

Hooking Season

SpawnPoint, Lisbon

Company: We are a group of long time friends who reconnected during college over our shared love of video games, which led us to form a club dedicated to their development. Later we severed ties with the university to strike out on our own. Since then we have worked on many smaller projects to hone our skills and are now working hard to bring the holiday experience of Hooking Season to Steam.

Highlighted Game: Hooking Season is a chaotic couch competitive new take on the twin stick shooter gameplay, up to four players. Use your hook for maneuvering around the levels, and grabbing your opponents. The more you eat the fatter you get and in this world, the fatter the better.

www.spawnpoint.pt

spawnpointgamedev@gmail.com

Teknamic Software, Matosinhos

Company: We are an indie software house and publisher located in Portugal, founded in 2020, and dedicated to releasing games for classic platforms, such as the ZX Spectrum, Atari 2600, or the IBM-PC! Our mission is to encourage the creativity of programmers both in Brazil and Portugal. We distribute our games on original media used at the time, such as cassette tapes, floppy disks, cartridges, and CD-ROM.

Highlighted Game: Alongside our Brazilian sister company, we release deluxe editions of Brazilian classics, such as “Amazônia” by pioneer game creator Renato Degiovani. We develop new games, such as “Laserbirds” for the ZX Spectrum, and "Alien Holocaust" for the Atari 2600 We also publish games from other retro developers, making their dreams of having physical editions come true.

Strongman Simulator

The Gang, Stockholm & Lisbon

Company: Since 2019, The Gang has been a leading gaming studio for Roblox games and our goal is to build the best, safest, and most engaging experiences in the world. We publish our own games and develop game experiences with the most successful brands in the world in music, fashion, entertainment and technology. Our mission is to unlock the full creative potential of our audiences with innovative experiences and solutions. This year we have seen tremendous growth with several million active users every day and we are actively looking to find the best people to join us in shaping the future of metaverse experiences in Roblox and beyond.

Highlighted Game: Strongman Simulator is a top game on Roblox. It is a growing community of players and content creators, where they play to socialize, meet new friends and have fun on the quest to become stronger and bigger. The game is unique across the Roblox platform with its drag feature.

The Tip Studios, Lisbon

Company: The Tip Studios is a small team of 4 friends that share the love of game development. Producing bite-sized experiences during game jams is what we've been doing up until now, there is no such thing as a too-unhinged idea, and we thrive on creative bursts. We look to challenge ourselves with every project, never doing something we have already done before. We are actively working on a bigger project; NOK.

Highlighted Game: NOK was born from the Gobal Game Jam, a relaxing physics-based sandbox hidden object game where you find yourself throwing furniture and other items around to find what you seek. A game to go to when you need to take some breaths and wreck some beautiful dioramas. In that same year, NOK participated in Novos Talentos Fnac and won the first place award for the Videogames category.

BOOM 42

Tomás Franco, Lisbon

Company: I'm Tomás, got introduced to game dev in 2017 and since then it has been my hobby and passion. I specialize in 3D Art, but proficient in other aspects of game development.

In 2019 at an event, I had the pleasure of showcasing an unfinished game I had lying around, BOOM42 The fact that an unfinished mess I made just for fun resulted in big laughs and deep interactions between strangers, solidified my dream of releasing a game.

Highlighted Game: BOOM42 is a couch versus party game that aims to strengthen and/or break friendships of up to 8 players, in a charming blast from the past, 1BITish take. 2 to 8 players have to throw each other off the platforms whilst avoiding laser beams, collecting powerful power-ups and dodging falling comets in a dangerous, unsafe environment. Soon, on an arcade machine near you...

www.artstation.com/thomasfranque

tomasthomasfranque@gmail.com

The Tartarus Key

Vertical Reach, Barreiro

Company: Vertical Reach is an award-winning independent game development studio consisting of Leonor Parra and Kevin Colegate based in sunny Portugal.

Highlighted Game: There’s no way out for Alex Young who wakes up to find herself locked in a strange mansion filled with puzzles, traps, and cameras following her every move. Whether she and her companions live or die, and find the truth behind their abduction, is up to you in this first-person mystery thriller.

Volt Games, Lisbon

Company: Volt Games builds mobile games, with its own self-published game in Football Clash - Mobile Soccer. With a team of over 20 people, we have gathered over 3 million downloads across football mobile games. We're preparing a new and unique game using NFTs and blockchain technology, called MetaStar Strikers (https://metastar.gg/).

We raised around $2M so far to tackle Web3 Sports Games.

Townseek

Whales And Games, Lisbon

Company: We are Whales And Games, an indie studio creating positive, polished games and art brimming with whaleistic personality! By approaching game development as creatives we're constantly expanding our ever-growing repertoire! We’re currently working on Townseek, an exploration-trading game, as our debut commercial title! We also continue participating in game jams and connecting with indie communities!

Highlighted Game: Townseek is a relaxing exploration-trading game where you travel the world! Take to the skies, and travel far and wide, discover exotic landmarks, visit towns and trade with them. Complete quests, do activities such as fishing, mining, farming, and foraging, customise your airship, and more, as you strive to complete your journal and discover the lost legacy of Sir Reginald Sharkingston!

www.whalesandgames.com

contact@whalesandgames.com

Beers And Boomerangs

Witty Platypus, Lisbon

Company: We are a couple of engineers that enjoy programming, arts, and games. We started developing games in our free time in 2020. In 2021, Diogo quit his job to focus on the studio - he is a developer, 3D artist, business guy, and animator. Inês joined fulltime in March 2022 - she is a developer and 2D artist. We are currently living in a game dev co-living space in Sweden called Spelkollektivet!

Highlighted Game: A chaotic Survival/Cooking VR game where kangaroos are stealing your beer! Multi-task between cooking for your mates and assaulting Australian fauna. Master your fully physics-based boomerangs, cook and bring drinks to your mates, but don't forget to defend your BBQ from those pesky kangaroos!

www.beersandboomerangs.com

diogo@beersandboomerangs.com

Exophobia

Zarc Attack, Almada

Company: Zarc Attack is a one-man studio by José Castanheira (nickname: Zarc). After developing more than 20 game jam games, he is now adventuring into releasing his first commercial project, Exophobia. Zarc Attack's goal is to create games with the same spirit as his jam games, where there was fun in exploring exciting fresh mechanics and aesthetics for an original cohesive experience.

Highlighted Game: Fight your way through a crashed human spaceship infested with aliens to find its last human survivors in a retro-inspired first person shooter mixed with metroidvania progression where weapon upgrades unlock exciting new areas and empower you with unique combat abilities. Eliminate hordes of aliens in fast paced battles, find secrets and uncover the truth behind the massacre at the red planet.

www.zarcattack.com

contact@zarcattack.com

@gamedevlisbon

hello@gamedevlisbon.com

wwww.gamedevlisbon.com

Magazine Contributors

Alexandre Barbosa

Catarina Salvado

Mafalda Duarte

Raquel Pipa

Rui Humberto

Tiago Marques

Special Thanks

Olivia Brady

Sara Batista

Telmo Couto