Morumbi Studio is a creative studio with an emphasis on videogame development.

Origins: Pitch Deck + USP

After graduating at the University of Utah, I went back to Sao Paulo, Brazil, my home city, where I met with an investor I’d been in talks with for a film or videogame project for a long time. I had a unique idea inspired by the great Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch, on a Triptych project/art piece that would create an all encompassing vision of a dark fantasy world by using the unique qualities each medium possesses.

This was showcased with 3 pieces of one singular project.

  1. A videogame prototype, pitch deck, budget, storyline, concept art and team proposal.

  2. Manga storyboards

  3. Novel excerpts (3 chapters).

The differentiator, here, was that the novel was a prequel, the manga was a bridge between timelines and the game was the sequel/actual timeline.

The pitch consisted of concept art, timeline, storyboards, novel chapters and an early prototype of the game. The business plan showcased games, manga and books in the genre and comparable sales titles.

To make sure the project reached our goals, I recruited a remote first, global team of superstars in their positions. Veterans from Elden Ring, Spider Man and The Last of Us. The first thing to know is what you don’t and to find people that can help plug those gaps and bring incredible technical expertise.

Studio Identity (Graphic Design)

Morumbi is a special word and a special place for me. It’s a beautiful neighborhood, in Sao Paulo, where I frequented often and was raised nearby. It’s a romantic, mysterious word, originally from the Tupi indigenous language that translates etymologically to “river of the big fish”.

I wanted to create something symbolic and personal that connected to the studio’s philosophy and approach to development and art. Something with striking colors and shapes. Memorable. I’ve always been in love with nature and to me there is nothing quite as mystical and timeless as the ocean. And out of all the ocean’s creatures, to me the definition of an elegant and alien swimmer is the Manta!

In explorations for the studio’s graphics, an image of a “river with stars” kept reoccurring in my mind and connected, albeit in a fantastical way, to the original meaning of the word.

We then proceeded to develop animation of the studio’s title, of the manta swimming in a river of stars, unveiling the logo. Banners for Facebook, LinkedIn, Youtube were made in multiple formats, including textured, inversed and multiple aspect ratios to fit whatever was needed.

Process (ideation + concept)

Phase 1: Pitching (May 2024)

  • the first thing was to showcase the concept in an intriguing and engaging way. The investor’s profile was old school, so I put together a beautiful physical art book that clearly communicated the aesthetic, the differentiators, the world and it’s brutality.

  • clear understanding of investor goals, objectives. Transparency in communication to understand timeline, what success meant for us, whilst explaining clear risk inherently associated with game development.

  • pitched a conservative budget to mitigate risks, with deliverable based structure. Payments would be sent only when absolutely necessary, to build trust in how economic, cautious and serious I’d take his capital.

  • Following this, the LLC was formed. Got in touch with a lawyer to procure necessary documentation for freelance/contractor contributors, including artistic deliverable based agreement and NDA’s.

Phase 2: Planning (June - Aug 2024)

  • Now, onto phase 2! What was important to me was that the budget wasn’t flexible in allowing me to make a mistake. This meant I had to paper prototype and stress-test the project, the aesthetic and more as much as possible.

  • I also understood, rather quickly, how inexperienced and fortunate I was to be in the position I was. I knew, in quick research and resource searching, that I was facing stern competition not only in an industry way (videogames are hard) but with how many levels there are to getting a startup where you envision it. This meant that I needed to find someone more knowledgeable then me as soon as humanly possible in a mentorship capacity. This is when I thought of Greg!

  • Greg Bayles, former professor of mine, was one of my biggest inspirations at University due to how knowledgeable he was/is in a generalist sense. He is quite talented at the multiple disciplines necessary to put a game together. We started doing sessions reviewing the GDD, Unique Selling Points, art and more.

  • The next step was timeline.

  • Vision

Phase 3: Recruitment

(countless interviews, many learnings here).

  • Israel Botelho - Concept Artist:

    Learnings:

  • Phong Trinh - Programmer:

  • Sol Brennan - Rigger:

  • Keita Okada - Modeler:

Phase 4: Activation

  • Hiring

Phase 5: Development

Phase 6: Endgame

Learnings

WIP

Pubishers.

Unique Selling Points

Marketing

Stress Testing

NDA’s/Public Nature

Next

Wandering Star