MOJO 2019 took place this Tuesday, May 28th, at Taguspark campus. The game “Detective Story” was one of the 18 games presented in the event. According to Miguel Cunha, member of the team that created this game, “we have been receiving a very positive feedback from everyone. People are really enjoying the game development, the storyline and the contact with the characters”.

The only flaw is the game’s length. This feedback is important for future adjustments. “We achieved something very important in the game: we grabbed attention”, says Miguel Cunha.

“Students come here to show a game, but also to get feedback from students who play and test these games. The changes to improve the final version are based on this feedback”, explains Diogo Rato, PhD student and member of the organizing team. 14 teams were composed of students enrolled in “Game Methodology and Development” and “Game Design” curricular units. The remain 4 teams participated by their own initiative, but with the same goal. “In Portugal there are not many places where students and people in general can showcase our games. There are a few meetings but only for developers”, says Diogo Rato.

This year’s edition was organised in collaboration with Faculdade de Belas Artes. “The partnership with Faculdade de Belas Artes allowed to improve image quality of the games”, highlights Diogo Rato. “We have multidisciplinary teams and people with great ideas competing this year. It’s funny to see MOJO’s effect in the community”, he points out.

The board game created by Miguel Ribeiro, Computer Engineering MSc student, draw the public’s attention “because this is the unique board game of this edition, so people want to play”, he shares. The MSc student started working on this game – “Confront” – within a curricular unit.

“More than a thousand new board games come out every year, so I am trying to launch “Confront” into the market. I have been in contact with several companies”, shares Miguel Ribeiro.

The team that developed “Detective Story” also intends to keep investing in the game.

“We would participate next year for sure, because it’s very important to know how we can improve our game before launching it into the market”, said Miguel Cunha, who considers that “games might be the Eight Art”. “This industry is still underdeveloped in Portugal and this make no sense because we have very good computer engineers”, says the Técnico student. “These showcases prove that there is a lot of talent in our country”, he adds.