Crisol: Theater of idolsThe debut project from Spain Developer Vermila Studios is a survival in Spanish survival. The creative direction, the penetration of enemy designs, architecture and even the language of signs outside of interest are based on the cultural influences in which the team grew.
This personality, as said the general director and co -founder David Carrasco Developer at Tokyo Game Show, was a difficult sale for some when looking for a publisher.
“Without saying, some mentioned this, but one specific publisher asked us to translate signs into English,” said Carrasco. “It was almost untouchable to us, because if we are trying to offer a game with Latin American folklore and with such a strong traditional component, this would significantly reduce its reliability. It’s the same as creating a game with samurai, where everything is in English. ”
Even among visual links and signs in Spanish, Carrasco said that the team worked on the concept Tigb Given the international audience. For example, if the player approaches one of these signs, he translates them in the game. But some publishers expressed a zero interest in this or in general in a cultural aspect.
“There was one publisher who said:“ But who is interested in Latin American culture, in Spanish culture? TigbThe field but you put these things there, and there will be people who will be interested. ”
Vermila worked on Tigb For more than five years, when the game was supposed to launch at the beginning of 2026. Embracer Group purchased The studio in August 2020 for 0.9 million euros (at that time about 1.06 million US dollars), and, according to the official site, the team also received megagraming funding from Epic Games.
Horror for survival
Over time, Carrasco explained that the debut project of the studio increased significantly in size. For reference, the team consists of 20 people and some contractors. Then Vermila met again and spent what Carrasco called a considerable time in search of a new publisher.
“We have already suffered in the desert, but given the opportunity to do this again and again, I would probably have made a smaller project with which we could decide in two or three years,” he said. “But, in the end, due to the fact that this is such a large project with a small team and such a high level of production, it had a strong influence when we began to look for funding and [to] Garner publisher. You do not say: “I need a small amount of money”, you say: “I not only need a much larger amount, but instead of projecting this game in six months, it will take two years.”
Carrasco said that Vermila signed a contract with Blumhouse games about a year and a half ago, and that the publisher provided the team “huge” creative and artistic freedom. The developer had in mind the second “finalist” who proposed a similar approach, but, as Carrasko explained, the discovery of publishers who want to provide this autonomy far from the light.
“There are publishers who look and say that I want this quality of graphics, I am very interested in mechanics about the use of blood for rebooting weapons, and I see that you are well creating levels, but I really do not care about these Spanish things,” he said.
Carrasco remembered the publisher's proposal to the center Tigb Around the undisclosed civil war of the country. He argued that it is better to talk about what you know and what you grew up, unlike the culture of another country.
But some of the proposed changes sought to change the game almost completely. According to Karrasco, Vermil was asked to replace the religious statues of the game with zombies or soldiers. When he tried to resist the fact that this would save the meaning of history and the original concept, he was told that “I have a meaning that I want because I am the one who has money.”
The publisher’s pressure can crush the authenticity
No matter how jokes these conversations may be, Carrasco emphasized the serious pressure of the need to make decisions to maintain light, and how this can sometimes jeopardize the creative vision of the project.
“When you are looking for publishers who give you more freedom, the closer you come to the end of your capital, the less you begin to take care, because you want the company to survive and at least release the game in the best state,” he said.
Although he would not call this a common occurrence, he said that there are many companies that see the opportunity to earn money with the game, and feel the right to ask for changes, because they can offer five, 10 or 20 million dollars. Returning for the example of the publisher, asking to translate the signs into English, Karrasco said that he would have made a compromise if he had no other choice, even if he had not been pleased with this.
“The adoption of certain finances depends on the current situation of the studio and the state of the project,” said Carrasco. “In many cases, they can turn your game into something much more general or simplified, which drowned in a sea of projects with a similar style or genre. But perhaps this publisher has the greatest meaning, and, well, if you have financial needs and you do not have money to stay afloat, then you must start making decisions that confront your artistic goals. ”
