On June 19, 2026, Colégio Técnico Bento Quirino in Campinas hosted the inaugural Lá e Cá Itinerant, a collaborative project between the school’s digital games course and PUC-Campinas that presented student-made games and market-focused lectures to exchange experiences and strengthen the local game development scene.
Program and attendees
The event brought together students, artists, developers and academics involved in games. Organizers said the goal was to showcase student projects and feature talks by industry professionals to share knowledge, broaden participants’ repertoires and reinforce development practices within academic settings.
This edition was limited to enrolled students and invited guests.
Talks on design, streaming and game art
The program included three lectures covering boss design, content creation on YouTube and art fundamentals for games, each offering behind-the-scenes perspectives on different aspects of the industry.
Conceitos de Boss Design
Gustavo Pagoto, an alumnus of the school and a PUC-Campinas student, presented on boss design — the process of creating boss encounters that assess player skill while delivering memorable moments. He discussed balancing difficulty and clear mechanics, drawing on insights developed through extensive play experience.
Minha Vida com YouTube
Octávio Souza, another former student and a YouTuber with 90,000 subscribers, recounted his path as an influencer. He described how he built a loyal audience and reflected on mistakes and successes. According to Octávio, his achievements stemmed from “feeling”: he grew his following without prior formal study, learning the platform’s algorithm through practice.
Fundamentos da Arte para Jogos
Nycolas Pedro, a freelance digital artist who has worked for companies such as Riot Games and Ubisoft, reviewed processes and roles within game development. He covered artistic concepts including lighting, color, contrast and silhouette, and explained how game art combines artistic expression with design functionality.
In an interview, Nycolas discussed the boundary between an artist’s creative vision and client requests. He said that defining scope, limitations, deadlines and budget in the briefing stage is essential. He also emphasized the need for artists to detach from rejected ideas, noting that while art is personal, game art must meet client needs.
Playtests and student projects
Following the talks, attendees participated in playtests of games developed by the students. Most submissions were board games and card games, including a tabletop RPG, intended to put first-year design learning into practice and to help students understand mechanics through hands-on testing.
There was also a digital game made by one student, inspired by Pizza Tower and featuring fast-paced, frenetic gameplay that the developer rebuilt from the ground up.
Organizers’ goals and industry connections
Kaynan Vilela, coordinator of the college’s games course, told organizers he wants both developers and players to engage actively in the local game ecosystem. Kaynan described game development as a cultural process sustained by shared memory and experience exchange, and expressed the hope of making the event a recurring fixture.
Regarding the games market, Kaynan characterized it as thriving and relevant but noted obstacles for newly trained professionals to access industry roles. Bridging that gap by connecting graduates with market opportunities is one of the event’s stated aims.
