Introducing Papo & Yo for PSN

Hello everyone! I’m the Creative Director at Minority, a small independent team of game creators based in Montreal. It’s my great pleasure to today reveal our first title, Papo & Yo, which we are bringing to the PlayStation Network next year thanks to the support of SCEA’s Pub Fund.

I have always wanted to tell the story of my childhood, as the difficulties I lived through shaped the man I’ve come to be. But telling my story was a major endeavor for me as an artist. First I had to master videogame design so I could realize my vision; after that, I had to find an appropriate method to tell a difficult story in an engaging way. And finally, I needed to find a group of people who would believe in me and take the risk to dedicate themselves to a project like this. I’m very lucky to have the great, experienced team I have at Minority, who have completely embraced my initial concept.

But what is my story, and why would someone be interested in it, you ask? Well, the tale told in Papo & Yo is about myself and my father, a good man but also an evil one. Like many, he used alcohol and drugs to cope with a challenging life, and I was caught in the middle of it. The emotional core of this game is ultimately a fable about my relationship with my father.

Quico, our young hero, is a boy who lives in the Favelas in South America. His best friend and protector is Monster, a large beast that loves Quico. But Monster is addicted to frogs, and when he eats them he is transformed into an evil killing machine, his fury pushing him to destroy everything that is around him — including Quico. Quico’s only chance for survival is to find a way to cure his best friend.

I remember playing videogames in my difficult childhood days. I remember how the unpleasant world of adults loomed around me and made me feel vulnerable. But I did not feel like that when I was playing as Mario: I felt powerful and in control of a fantastic world. I loved defeating bosses that were larger than life to me, and today I thank you Miyamoto; now is my time to give back.

I’d very much like to thank Sony for helping us bring Papo & Yo to the world in 2012 on PSN! But you will not have to wait until next year to get a look – we will be at the Electronic Entertainment Expo demoing the game, so keep an eye out for a lot more news about the game in the near future!