Julián Palacios Gechtman

Factsheet

Developer:
Julián Palacios Gechtman
Based in Milan, Italy

Release date:
October 15th 2020

Website:
https://www.julian-pg.com/promesa.html

Regular Price:

4.99 USD
4.99 EUR

Description

Promesa is a personal project born from a conversation between a grandfather and his grandchild, where you wander through their dreams and memories.While listening to someone trying to remember their experiences, past and present blend together, forming a stream of images that are both personal and shared.From memories of homes and streets to surreal visions of imaginary places, Promesa is a contemplative experience about what happens when we’re left dreaming of the things we haven’t lived firsthand.

History

After the release of a couple of short experimental videogames, the development for Promesa started in 2016 as a personal project. Domiziano Maselli, Andrea Cedraro and Martín Palacios joined the team during development. The idea for it came after a few conversations I had with my grandfather. We live in different countries, and that was the first time that we shared our feelings directly, talking about the bad moment we were both going through. When you listen to someone who is a deep part of your identity, their memories and tales can become like dreams and visions. These images become like something that you go towards to or like something you try to resurface with your memory. With Promesa I tried to depict this underground flux of images that are both personal and shared, images that tell your dreams and memories but also those from your family.

Features

A slow and relaxing experience focused on contemplative exploration.
Every playthrough (of approximately 45 minutes) is different and it takes more than one to see all the scenes.
A distinct visual style that mixes pixel graphics with high-def light
Visit dreamlike environments inspired by Argentinian and Italian cities.
A personal project born after a few conversations I had with my grandfather and made by a small team of 4 people.
An acoustic soundtrack that uses many different instruments: from piano and double-bass, to zither and harmonium.

Videos

Promesa - Trailer YouTube

Images

download all screenshots & photos as .zip (13MB)

Logo & Icon

download logo files as .zip (1MB)

Awards & Recognition

"IGF Nuovo Award Finalist" San Francisco, March, 2020
"A MAZE Digital Moment Award Winner" Berlin, July, 2020
"Italian Game Awards: Best Italian Game of 2020" Pisa, July, 2021
"Tokyo Game Show 2020 Online | Official Selection" Tokyo (online), September, 2020
"GameHappens 2019 | Official Selection" Genova, November, 2019
"GameOn! 2019 | Official Selection" Buenos Aires, November, 2019

Selected Articles

"The game is like a friend showing you somewhere they hold dear; [...] you see the space through their eyes as well as yours."
- Lewis Gordon, Vice
"Promesa is a perfect tonic for these trying times"
- , Rock Paper Shotgun
"All these places share the sentiment I have with my own memories as well. They aren’t exactly truthful to the real moments, as much as I believe them to be, but rather fragments that form similar pictures."
- Diego N. Argüello, Into the Spine