Let’s go first with the background: The Many Pieces of Mr. Coo It is a Spanish game, point and click, based on the art of Asturian illustrator Nacho Rodríguez (also the game’s director) and developed by Gammera Nest. Gammera is a studio known for its approaches to institutions and companies (Cloudywhich he did in collaboration with Thyssen, or Tadeo Jones and Malnazidos, with Mediaset). For his part, Rodríguez is a renowned illustrator who, among other things, has been nominated for the Goya.
The launch of the game has been buried by controversy: Rodríguez, seed of the project for more than a decade, released a statement on networks when the game was released in which he accused Gammera, the developer with whom he had partnered (Rodríguez began making the game on his own and in Flash, but for the multiplatform launch and expanded its content he needed help), of releasing the game with bugs. This medium has spoken at length with both parties. To summarize the clash, Rodríguez talks about a release date with which he did not agree (Gammera claims that the date was imposed by the distributor), that the game has flaws (Gammera understands the author’s perfectionism, but defends the quality of the product and says that many of those bugs have already been solved), and that development was bumpy. The truth is that the version of the game that this writer has played is polished, although Rodríguez points out that this applies only to the most recent version, and that, if he had not made his public complaint, Gammera would not have solved many of the problems. bugs already corrected. It’s possible it is that way. Beyond all this, Rodríguez continues to point his finger at him and Gammera (his director, Daniel Sánchez) assumes his share of the blame, especially when it comes to not clearly delimiting the functions of each party involved.
It is a shame that this conflict is aired (although perhaps the impact of the game has been greater precisely because of it) because, and this is what this column wants to focus on, the game, for whoever signs this, is simply wonderful. That is, beyond the aspects that can be improved (there is no game that does not have them) Mr. Coo is a breath of fresh air in an interactive panorama that has in the most independent games the great breakers of formal and mental schemes. The game does not innovate too much mechanically, but its artistic concept and abstract narrative ready for everyone to draw their own meanings manage to elevate it. It is a universe that could be said to be Dalinian, full of humor and violence, thoughtfully thought out and with a unique flavor that leaves you wanting more. It’s a good game, all in all: a welcome spark of local talent.
Perhaps what happened with this game is not the best example (Rodríguez is a programmer and points out specific points that the other party failed), but this controversy ties in with a conflict between two forces that are sometimes opposite, sometimes complementary, but certainly condemned to understand each other: traditional artists and video game developers. The art of the future will be digital and will tend towards interactivity. And it will be part of an ecosystem in which these two forces must learn to coexist, work together and make personal concessions for the emergence of works that, due to their collective nature, may not fully satisfy all its members but that will undoubtedly satisfy the player. . Art changes, just as the world changes, and the main actors must collaborate if they do not want their creative potential to end up, like Mr. Coo, with their body parts scattered around the world. You have to row in that direction. And you have to play this game.
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