Save State was present at the BIG Festival 2023, which took place in São Paulo, bringing the public news, talks and lots and lots of streamers. But before I talk about my experience at the event, let's take a brief trip back in time.
The BIG Festival began as an event dedicated to indie games, creating a space where independent developers could shine. But in 2022, the Omelete Company - responsible for big names like streamer Gaules, CCXP and Game XP - acquired the event. This marked the end of an era where the BIG Festival was known as the biggest indie games event in Brazil and Latin America.
Gustavo Steinberg, the festival's director at the time, argued that the change reflected the evolution of the games market, where the line between indie and AAA games was becoming increasingly blurred. In addition, the event now has a ticket price of R$50 and has incorporated controversial elements such as NFTs and cryptocurrencies, significantly altering the nature of the event. With these changes, the question that remained was: what would happen to the BIG Festival as we knew it?
The Big Festival 2023
Although the BIG Festival has strayed from its initial focus on indie games, I was surprised by the significant presence of independent developers. Companies like Xbox, with its ID@Xbox program, and Epic Games Brasil (formerly Aquiris) had stands dedicated exclusively to indie games.
Another pleasant surprise was the inclusion of spaces dedicated to board games and VR games, expanding the diversity of experiences available to visitors.
The event also maintained its commitment to encouraging the development of indie games through the BIG Awards, which honored several national and international games present at the event. It was a relief to see that indies still had a place to shine. Here are some of the highlights I saw:
Varney Lake:
This is an Argentinian game that was a finalist in the BIG Awards for Best Latin American Game. With a style reminiscent of old Japanese PC adventures, it managed to captivate me with its story and atmosphere.
Here, I was transported to the summer of 1954, where three best friends go on a perfect road trip, until they meet a vampire. From that point on, I found myself eager to find out what really happened that summer at Varney Lake. This game proved that a well-constructed narrative and a nostalgic art style can create a very engaging gaming experience.
Click here to buy or download the game demo.
NVDA:
A Brazilian game by Kraken studio, finalist in the BIG IMPACT: Best Social Issues Game category.
NVDA maintains the visual novel style, but sets the story in a Brazilian school environment. Even though I only played the beginning, I was immediately sucked into the story and the characters. This game serves as an excellent reminder of how culture and local contexts can enrich a game's narrative.
Click here to buy or download the game demo.
HAAK:
Moving away from totally narrative games, I came across HAAK, a Chinese game that falls into the Metroidvania-Platformer genre. This is one of those games that, passing through the corridor, hooked me by its visuals.
In HAAK, you play as a mysterious wanderer on an epic expedition across a vast cyber-desert to find his lost brother. With desert cities and subways to explore, and hack skills and weapons to hone, HAAK promises a game experience packed with action and exploration.
These were just some of the games I played and was impressed by at BIG Festival 2023. The diversity and quality of the games available were definitely highlights of the event, showing that there is still plenty of room for indie games at the BIG Festival.
Click here to buy or download the game demo.
It's not all flowers
Unfortunately, the event had some negative points. The first and most annoying was the disorganization at the entrance. I was there on the day dedicated to the press and guests, and it took me about 1.5 hours to get into the event, which was scheduled to end at 8pm, but we didn't get in until 7pm!
Another point was the excessive focus on influencers, who, although important for attracting a larger audience, should not overshadow the importance of the games themselves and the developers. In addition, the presence of large companies was smaller than expected, leaving a void that could have been filled with more innovations and game announcements.
Another aspect that bothered me was the lack of stores and merchandise dedicated to games and even retro games. It seems that, regardless of the event, we always see the same products: T-shirts, mugs and Funko Pops. We need more diversity in terms of games-related merchandise.
Finally, despite all the expectations, Nintendo's presence at the event was a disappointment. There were only games already released and nothing new. It was a missed opportunity.
The BIG Festival is an important event for the gaming scene in Brazil. Despite the changes and challenges, I believe the event still has a lot to offer. Even so, there is room for improvement. Events like this should focus on games and developers, as well as providing a diverse and unique experience for visitors.
Brazil can only gain from events like the BIG Festival. However, they need to stand out and not just be "more of the same". They must remember that, at the end of the day, they are gaming events - and should be treated as such.
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