IEM Major RIO 2022

For Brazilian youngsters who lived through the 2000s, Lan Houses were a true milestone in their lives. Counter Strike quickly became a fever among them, even gaining a widely acclaimed map developed by its fans, CS_RIO.

CS_RIO managed to accurately synthesize the atmosphere of the favelas from Rio de Janeiro; Bars, restaurants, humble homes, a football court, samba and carioca funk.

These typical elements made Brazilian gamers feel closer to the game, as well as portrayed in it.

Around the same time, Gaulês emerged, the leader of one of the first professional Counter Strike teams. Gaulês was able to bring people and sponsors together, even creating his own tribe, where multiple people felt home.

With that in mind, our promotional film for IEM Major Rio 2022 worked as a passport to honor this memorable era, as well as this emblematic e-sports character.

A trip back in time, where we tell you a story about a girl who saw her life transformed after getting to know the game and a whole new circle of friends in her community.

In the 90s and early 2000s, top-notch computers and high-speed internet weren’t easy to access for all Brazilians.

That was when the country witnessed the emergence of a new business model which appealed to youngsters of all ages, likes and lifestyles. Lan Houses were always packed. They had overnight events, organized tournaments, and even had waiting lines. All because of Counter Strike, one of the world’s most played multiplayer games to this day.

Because this is a film filled with Brazilian elements which intersect with the game, our character was inspired by these same elements. Gaulês, one of the most emblematic e-sports characters, served as inspiration for building our character.

A young football fan from a low-income suburb who got to know Counter Strike in an unusual way, and saw his life transformed.

The game added much more than fun to it. It brought him new friends, other ways of looking at the world, and an inherent talent for the game.

One of our client’s main requests for this project was that the audience should identify references to the CS_RIO scenery in our film.

Therefore, nothing better than playing a little Counter Strike, isn’t it? Hehehe

We studied the map, absorbed its most memorable features such as the water tower, the football court and the narrow alleys, and then started building our scenery. Of course we did it such that it would allow for adaptations to our drawing style, and to our character’s path inside this atmosphere.

This project required deep research.

We studied the diversity we could explore with our characters, each individual costume and accessory from that time, as well as the computers used back then. We decided for a more realistic anatomy and spatial composition, without distorting characters’ bodies or stuff like that. Colorful illustrations and detail-rich scenery (and why not easter eggs?), combined with an editing process akin to that of short films, fewer shots with loose cameras and many dry cuts.

A challenging film, which made us bet on elements of our Brazilian culture, and which connected to an audience who experienced this era, and also extolled the importance of hosting this huge event in our country for the first time.