Growing up with a real monster - video game tells one boy's story

1 hr.

Winda Benedetti

It was video games that helped?Vander Caballero survive?his childhood.

"When I played games, I felt I was in control and that I was protected," Caballero, a game designer who has worked on big titles?such as?"Army of Two" and "Need for Speed," told me.

What did the young?Caballero need protection from? His volatile,?alcoholic father.

Caballero is the creator of?the game "Papo & Yo" -- a puzzle-platforming?game coming to the PlayStation Network next week.?On its surface "Papo & Yo" is a game in which a young boy and his best friend named?Monster must navigate a surreal world, solving puzzles as they go.

But?Monster is, as his name suggests, a monster with?a sharp horn and immense power. More importantly, Monster has?an?addiction?to poisonous frogs. When he eats these frogs he is utterly transformed -- just as Caballero's father was when he drank.

I first got?a chance to play 'Papo & Yo'?while it was still?in early development during the 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo. And I had a chance to talk to?Caballero about his deeply?personal, almost autobiographical game.

Caballero said he left gaming giant Electronic Arts to create "Papo & Yo" -- a game?in which he has taken his experiences growing up with an alcoholic father and?channeled?it into something that is at once?upsetting?and enjoyable, dark and?beautiful?(at least from my early hands-on experience with it).

"I wanted to?tell a difficult story, but make it entertaining at the same time," he told me.?

Indeed,?the dreamy game world Caballero has created is a delight to behold with its colorful, surreal South American landscapes. And the puzzles are uniquely challenging.?

Like Caballero's father, the monster in the game has two sides -- ?the friendly, loving side, and the dangerous and violent?one. And navigating those?moods is at the core of the gameplay.?To solve the game's puzzles?you must learn how to?use ?Monster?s volatile?emotions -- both the good and the bad -- to your advantage.

Caballero and the development crew at Minority Media?has just?released a haunting cinematic trailer in advance of the game's launch on Aug. 14. It explores Caballero's own experiences trying to live with his father -- a man he longed to save.?Check it out below.

In the game, the boy?is searching for a cure for Monster. But Caballero says,?in the real world, his?father was never cured.

"You can never truly?cure an addict," he explained.

But Caballero says that ultimately he doesn't think of "Papo & Yo" as?a game about addiction or alcoholism.?Instead, he says,?"This game is a?metaphor?about a kid becoming an adult and learning to cope with the gray areas of life."

Winda Benedetti?writes?about video?games for NBC?News. You can follow her tweets about games and other things?on Twitter?here?@WindaBenedetti?and you can?follow her?on?Google+.?Meanwhile, be sure to check?out the?IN-GAME?FACEBOOK PAGE?to discuss the day's?gaming news and reviews.

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Source: http://www.ingame.msnbc.msn.com/technology/ingame/growing-real-monster-video-game-tells-one-boys-story-931258

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