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If you haven’t heard of The War in Chiapas, you’re missing out. This 2D stealth-adventure, inspired by the real events of guerrilla fighters in 1980s Mexico, immediately caught my attention not just as a game, but as a unique voice in the indie game circle.
To get more insight into The War in Chiapas and its creation, I spoke with Paco Rodriguez of Bandprice, the developer behind the game.
Here’s how that went:
Inspiration & Background
What inspired you to start this project in the first place? What made you tackle this subject matter? What made you choose to go with the 2D pixel art style?
The first time I saw a video game was Super Mario Bros 1 on the NES. Since then I’ve loved video games and pixel art, it was love at first sight. I think good pixel art will never age badly.
The Zapatista uprising of 1994 happened when I was nine years old. I didn’t really understand what was going on, but I was very curious. Over time I studied the topic and my curiosity kept growing the more I learned, especially because I wanted to know what could motivate an educated and well-prepared person to abandon a comfortable, promising life for the underground, where you can very likely be killed, along with your comrades in pursuit of an objective that’s practically impossible to achieve.
Also, the idea started after I played MGS5:V, it wasn’t the ending I expected, and it inspired me to make this game.
Influences & Comparisons
A comment I’ve seen pop up a few times in the reveal trailer comments is “Mexican Metal Gear.” How do you feel about the comparison? What games do you feel had the most influence in the development of The War in Chiapas?
It’s an inevitable comparison. MGS on the PS is the main inspiration, along with Peace Walker and Ghost Babel. MGS is also my all-time favorite game. Comparisons are normal and understandable, but The War in Chiapas has its own personality. Its story is original, and its visual style is inspired by art like SNK’s from the 90s arcades. In fact, this game blends many of the things I love most about the world of video games, but it still has its own style. When people play it, they’ll notice that the mechanics fit perfectly with the story, the context, and the characters. As the game’s creator, I can say that the best part of this game is the story, and people will enjoy it regardless of whether or not they’re familiar with the historical and contextual references.
Story & Historical Context
The War in Chiapas takes inspiration from Mexico’s Dirty War while telling a fictionalized story. How did you approach balancing historical reality with creative freedom?
The first thing is to establish that the game must address the subject with great respect, but without forgetting that it’s still a game and it should be entertaining. Extensive research was carried out on the topic: visiting places, talking with people from the region and with specialists, reading books, watching documentaries, films, and journalistic reports. It was very important to try to be as objective as possible. In this sense, this game is not a story of good versus evil, since each character fights for their own personal interests or moral convictions, it’s more a story of protagonists versus antagonists. We also don’t intend to take a stance for or against any ideology (political, moral, religious, economic, etc.), but we do want to present them, to talk about it, because this was a very complex period and something the collective unconscious should not forget, so that this situation is not allowed to happen again.
Were there specific events or cultural references that you felt were important to capture authentically?
Absolutely. Some events are recreated with great fidelity, while others are handled from a more fictional perspective for narrative purposes. Basically, we decided to create a story developed within a real context, even providing fictional explanations for real events. This creates a feeling similar to a mockumentary. For this reason, in the main missions there are no on-screen elements (UI) constantly reminding the player that this is a video game. We want the player to feel inside the story, to feel that the characters are not just pixels but real people. Most of the game takes place in the 80s, and it strives to immerse the player in that era, in that context, in that guerrilla.
Gameplay & Design
You’ve included distinct roles (infantry, medics, engineers, researchers). Why those four, and how do they reflect the story you’re telling? How did you balance the game for both solo players and the up-to-four-player mode?
That’s a great question. It wasn’t a design proposal, it was a natural response to the research we did, and those roles were only established to adapt them into gameplay mechanics. For example, we found that guerrillas of the time faced a huge problem: getting weapons and ammunition was very difficult. It was easier to recruit a soldier than to obtain a weapon. This is an important mechanic in the game, which is why access to weapons is very restricted. For that reason, this game is more about stealth than combat. Every resource is extremely valuable, and a hail of bullets in the gameplay wouldn’t make much sense, it wouldn’t be consistent with the story and its context. The game rewards you for using violence as little as possible. That’s also why there’s permadeath (spoiler?), because the soldiers you have are also a very limited resource, and you have to protect them, every single one of them.
What was the most challenging gameplay mechanic to design or implement?
The camp design. That alone took us nearly a year. Mechanically, it looks very simple, and its gameplay will be very easy to pick up, but that was exactly the hardest part: imagining it, designing it, connecting everything, defining each aspect, fine-tuning it, creating the database, and making sure it all made sense to the player. Once we managed to develop a proper and functional design, it took us a long time to program it, but the result is very satisfying. Here’s an image of the entities that make up the camp’s database design, their relationships, and a color code that helped us define the order in which to create them.
How do player choices in managing the camp impact the story or outcomes?
We have factors such as camp morale, community acceptance, and the risk level in the area, as well as resources like the soldiers themselves and the general inventory. The player’s main task in the camp is to manage all of this, and if it’s not done properly, there can be negative consequences that affect the camp: from permadeath to… well, other things we won’t reveal so as not to spoil the surprise. It’s extremely important to try to manage everything well. Here, it’s not about having a high rank or scoring a lot of points — what truly matters is the lives of your comrades and the objective of the guerrilla.
Here’s another example: if your best soldier is injured, you’ll have to take them to the medical unit so they can recover. Characters don’t heal magically here, and while that happens, they won’t be able to perform any other task. So you need to maintain a balance between the missions you choose and the soldiers’ health.
How do multiplayer dynamics (up to four players) change the way the game is experienced?
Multiplayer is only available locally. The idea is to share the experience with family or friends, but only in the main missions. We designed it this way to encourage teamwork and communication, the kind you only get when sharing a video game on the couch. This isn’t like Contra or a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game where you just eliminate everything that moves. Here it’s more like a rock band: one sings, one plays guitar, another plays drums, and another plays bass. We believe this optional mechanic helps foster a bit of camaraderie and teamwork, sharing a drink or some snacks like in the old days.
Reception & Community
How have Mexican audiences responded compared to international ones? Are there differences in how people interpret or connect with the story?
The reception has been wonderful. Many of the negative messages we’ve noticed have been more about the movement that inspired this game, the EZLN, where some people support them and others are against them. However, speaking strictly about the game itself, there’s a lot of hype, and Spanish-language specialized media are speaking very positively about it, which doesn’t happen often, since the most important outlets give very little coverage to indie games. Now we know that expectations are very high, and that motivates us rather than scares us. We’re also aware that a large part of the national gaming population doesn’t consume games made in Mexico, many don’t even know they exist because the domestic industry is still very small. With this game, we hope to help change that perspective a little.
Recognition & Showcases
The War in Chiapas has been highlighted in several notable showcases including GDoCExpo Direct and even during The Game Awards edition of The Latin American Games Showcase. What has that experience been like for you and the team?
It has been incredible, especially at the first LAGS where it was announced for the first time. It was a huge surprise, generated a lot of hype, and an enormous amount of very positive reactions. In fact, we even made a video just of streamers reacting to the trailer. It’s a game that broke out of stereotypes, and people loved that. Personally, it’s given me the opportunity to meet a lot of people, make new friends, receive many offers, and of course, the highlight was when Hideo Kojima shared the game’s trailer on Twitter/X. In the dev community in Mexico, which is very small, I went from being a complete unknown to one of the most recognized devs, right in the eye of the storm. Many university students also reached out, eager to collaborate with us, and 4 of them are already working on the team.
Future Projects & Wrap-Up
Will you be making another game after The War in Chiapas? Looking ahead, do you see yourself continuing to explore historically inspired narratives, or experimenting with different directions?
The story of The War in Chiapas was designed from the start to be told in two parts, which means that if the game meets its financial goals, it will have a sequel and maybe two DLCs that tell two short prequel stories. So there’s really The War for a while (hopefully). What I am sure of, though, is that I need a vacation — I work on this every day. It’s not a complaint, I really enjoy it, but I do feel tired =P.
When you’re not developing, what games are you playing right now?
Unfortunately, I hardly play because almost every time I finish working, it’s because I can’t go on any longer, and I fall asleep quickly. This year I’ve only finished Death Stranding 2, Vlad Circus and Battletoads on NES (I love it). I bought MGS Delta on day one and I have played it about three hours. I mainly enjoy single-player games, especially PlayStation titles like PES2016, The Last of Us or Heavy Rain, as well as indie games, even more so if they’re pixel art, like Carrion or Unmetal.
What do you hope players take away from The War in Chiapas beyond just entertainment?
This game doesn’t aim to teach history, but we would love to plant a seed that sparks the player’s curiosity, something that leads them to research what really happened in those years and learn more, regardless of whether they belong to our culture or not. Universal history is very interesting, but unfortunately, in schools it’s sometimes taught in a very boring way, and in this case, due to political issues, it isn’t even mentioned. Learning new things is always very rewarding.
Is there any personal message you might want to give your fans or people who are excited to try the game?
Be patient. Our process is slow because we don’t have the resources that other projects have. Our funding comes from freelance work, which makes development very slow, but it’s the only way to maintain the standards we set for ourselves, without external pressures that could compromise the quality of the project. When it’s ready, though, you’ll have a great, complete game to enjoy, because every team member is fully committed and giving it their all.
You can wishlist The War In Chiapas on steam here
