Batú Games Story
Batú Games started as a group of univeristy friends that wanted to work on games, and decided to make them. While under the banner of Musa Creative Group Inc. they worked in various projects for a variety of clients like Banco Popular and Microsoft.
Our Logo and name have a strong connection to the Taino roots in the island of Puerto Rico, as we have always wanted to showcase the island's talent and potential worldwide. In this effort, Batú Games and its founders have been very active in the local game development community, helping organize and develop events and workshops to help improve their skills and networking opportunities.
We're strong believers in the power of games as an entertainment and social medium, be it physical or online, and after 5+ years of being formally incorporated, we've managed to launch 3 games and collaborate with others to help them launch theirs. It is only through this mutual growth that we'll elevate Puerto Rico's game development industry, and so, we'll continue to do our part.
Our Team
Gabriel Casillas
Co-Founder, Producer, Tech Lead
Lead, Producer, Programmer, Designer and Jack of All Trades for many of Batú Games’s projects, Gabriel has accumulated around 10 years of experience in the game development industry. Graduated from the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, with a BS in Computer Science and went on to Co-Found the Puerto Rico Game Developers Association (PRGDA). As a Senior Vice President of the PRGDA, led the effort for the entity's incorporation and many of the day to day activties, including social media, website management and streaming schedule. Firm believer in the potential of the game industry in Puerto Rico, has helped organize many events, like the Global Game Jam and various workshops, as well as recorded podcasts that feature the island’s talents. Some of his favorite games include: Final Fantasy VII, Marvel vs Capcom 2, Starcraft, Final Fantasy Tactics, Twisted Metal Black, D&D, Horrified, Forbidden Desert, Smallworld, The Mind, among others.
Carlo Rodríguez
Co-Founder, Programmer
Carlo has worked in game development for over 10 years, delving into character and level design, gameplay programming, network programming, and was the Project Manager for the game Save The Shapes. Fascinated by the stories and experiences brought forth by games like The Sims, Twisted Metal Black, Warcraft III, Secret of Monkey Island and The Walking Dead series, he pursued the academic path towards his goal of becoming a game developer with summer classes at DigiPen University and a double major in Computer Science and English Literature at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras campus. Realizing that there were few local resources for the emerging game dev community in Puerto Rico, he became proactive, organizing events such as game jams, bringing in speakers, offering workshops, and teaching Video Game Design and Video Game Narrative at the Interamerican University of Fajardo; eventually helping a group of students found a student game dev association at the university.
Collaborators
Game design studio based in Puerto Rico focused on tactical and dice rolling games.