Celebrity Graffiti Artists Sign on for Papo & Yo

kitsuta

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Jan 10, 2011
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Celebrity Graffiti Artists Sign on for Papo & Yo

Graffiti "is a treasured art form," according to Papo & Yo developer Minority.

When it was first unveiled in 2011, one of Papo & Yo's noticeable traits was its unique setting. Taking place in a 'favela,' a densely-packed urban city in Latin America, the puzzle platformer about a kid and his giant pink monster's addiction to poison toads features the distinct stacked architecture and style of favelas found in real life. But developer Minority doesn't plan to stop there in its quest for authenticity. In fact, because favelas often feature colorful, intricate graffiti, Minority has collaborated with three celebrity Latin American graffiti artists to bring their real-life graffiti directly to the game.

Minority Community Manager Deborah Chantson explained that, while graffiti still carries the stigma of vandalism in North America, graffiti in Latin America "is a treasured art form because of its long history with political messaging." She elaborates that artists work together with communities and individuals who actually request graffiti art for their area. Bringing it to the game was therefore necessary to emulate an authentic favela, but "there's a high standard to meet when emulating these works inside the game."

To that end, Minority has licensed art from Sebastian Navarro, Simon Paulo Arancibia Gutierrez, and Inti Castro, who use the names INTI [http://www.flickr.com/photos/charquipunk/] respectively. The art was curated by Pablo Aravena, a documentary filmmaker who specializes in graffiti. Aravena chose the art, which represents a range of styles, to compliment the favela in the game. He further ensured that the favela resembles Valparaiso, Chile, "where subcultures collide into a dynamic tapestry of music, art, food, and personalities."

You can spot some of the graffiti art in the E3 2012 trailer above, or you can see all the art in the game when it releases August 14, 2012 on PSN.

Source: PlayStation Blog [http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/07/31/graffiti-in-papo-yo-is-part-of-the-experience/]

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kitsuta

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Jan 10, 2011
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Sober Thal said:
But the main character isn't a white male! I won't play this.

*cough

Actually, this game looks absolutely amazing. Not sure what was going on for most of it, but different is usually good in my book. Never heard of the people mentioned in this article, a trip to google is in order.

Their names in the OP link to Flickr portfolios of their work, if you're interested in seeing more art.
 

rosac

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Sep 13, 2008
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No banksy? Really? maybe its a british thing, but he's probably one of the most well known grafiti artists ever.
 

rosac

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Suki_ said:
rosac said:
No banksy? Really? maybe its a british thing, but he's probably one of the most well known grafiti artists ever.
You do realise that they are going for the authentic latin america feel right? Using a british grafiti artist would kind of be a massive slap in the face. It would also not fit in properly with the setting because the guy is british and not from latin america.
Ahhh, makes more sense, I just skimmed the article :/
 

ivc392

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Aug 26, 2010
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Suki_ said:
It would also not fit in properly with the setting because the guy is british and not from latin america.
Well, yes, "British people are not from Latin-America", at least that's what I learned at middle school. Regardless of the redundancy, I completely agree. Plus the idea to is recruit real life graffiti artists to bring a more realistic feel to the game's world, not to promote said artist's work or use their names as ad material for the game.