02 Nov 2023Developer post

Foundations of the LIFE system

Happy Thursday, detectives: Here we are one more time to quench your thirst for knowledge. In contrast to previous entries, this week we’re getting a bit more technical to explore the L.I.F.E. system and its impact on Pecaminosa’s gameplay. Complex as it sounds, it's pretty easy

Happy Thursday, detectives:

Here we are one more time to quench your thirst for knowledge. In contrast to previous entries, this week we’re getting a bit more technical to explore the L.I.F.E. system and its impact on Pecaminosa’s gameplay. Complex as it sounds, it's pretty easy to break down and you'll understand it right away.

Let’s start with the basics — Pecaminosa is an action RPG inspired by classic titles in the style of Fallout: New Vegas. At a playable level, it means: first, that you edit the characters stats through a points system to determine their strengths and weaknesses; and second, that action happens in real time, so you’re in total control of these characters’ actions during combat. In Pecaminosa, basically, you’ll draw your gun and move the cursor to point at enemies.

As John Souza, you’ll walk through the decadent streets of Pecaminosa talking to your informers, looking for clues and, sometimes, facing the consequences of asking too many questions. Your outcome in each of these potential situations will depend on the L.I.F.E. system, which aggregates four variables:

Luck. It increases your chance of dodging bullets and finding money everywhere.
Intelligence. Dialectic battles will be a piece of cake to you.
Force. This stat enhances your physical strength and gives you more HP.
Endurance. It increases your max. stamina, makes you faster and reduces perks cooldown.

As John Souza, your gameplay will feel different depending on the stats you upgrade the most. He might be good at negotiations with whistleblowers but a bad fighter. Or perhaps, he's a tough guy with a bare skill for conversation. Except for the boss battles, there are several ways to face each new conflict!

Also, you’ll count on four useful Perks to get the job done. These are special passive or active abilities that appear when you reach 7 points in 2 adjacent LIFE parameters:

Hit the Road Mack! — It gives the player an AOE attack, damaging enemies on the screen with molotov cocktails for a few seconds. This perk unlocks after reaching 7 points on Intelligence and Force.
Valentine Massacre — It gives you infinite bullets for a period of time and all weapons become automatic. This perk unlocks after reaching 7 points on Luck and Endurance.
Indiana John — It increases loot dropped by enemies and breakable objects. This perk unlocks after reaching 7 points on Luck and Intelligence.
What’s up doc — It makes the player immune to all debuffs. This perk unlocks after reaching 7 points on Force and Endurance.

These abilities will be really helpful to get out of the most difficult fights safe and sound, so make sure you upgrade the right stats.

If you have any questions related to this topic, leave them in the comment section, our Twitter account or join our Discord server to ask us directly. We’ll be happy to tell you more about Pecaminosa: A Deadly Hand!

Have a great day,
Cereal Games & 2Awesome Studio

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1366770/Pecaminosa__A_Pixel_Noir_Game/

Original post

18 Oct 2023Developer post

5 noir stories that inspired us to create Pecaminosa

Happy Wednesday, detectives! We’re back with a new story around Pecaminosa’s development — this time, focused on our inspirations to create its mysterious and decadent world . The Cereal Games team grew up enjoying noir movies and dreamed of tributing these wonderful classic stor

Happy Wednesday, detectives!

We’re back with a new story around Pecaminosa’s development — this time, focused on our inspirations to create its mysterious and decadent world. The Cereal Games team grew up enjoying noir movies and dreamed of tributing these wonderful classic stories with a unique work of our own.

Yet classic noir cinema was important to us, many other enriching films and series came after them to help us define this aspiration better. Today, we’re mentioning five of them that are strongly connected to Pecaminosa’s essence. The last one will probably surprise you a lot!

Angel Heart (Alan Parker, 1987)

In this neo-noir film, private eye Harry Angel is hired to track down a famous pop singer who was critically injured during World War II. During the investigation, Angel will uncover a macabre occult plot that will change his life forever.

The most important thing we took from Angel Heart was the idea of a surprising narrative twist mixed with occult elements. In Pecaminosa, the existence of the supernatural is a certain thing from the beginning — it’s not every day that the spirit of a dead mobster asks you to investigate his old partners, you know. However, it's not until John goes down the rabbit hole that we begin to glimpse the full meaning of this “ghost story”.

Besides this, we loved Mickey Rourke for moving his character away from the idea of the fearless paladin — detective Angel is a normal guy doing his job in very unfortunate circumstances. Some kind of unwitting hero who constantly fights against his desire to flee away, let's say… Just like the good ol’ John Souza.

Midnight, Texas (NBC, 2017)

Named after the book series by Charlaine Harris, creator of True Blood, Midnight Texas tells the story of a young psychic who moves to a small community where supernatural beings live. The protagonist, along with his new neighbors, will run an investigation to learn about the strange forces that seem to be attracting all sorts of bad things there.

Midnight, Texas inspired the creation of Pecaminosa, a border town between the United States and Mexico that is under some sort of evil influence. Political corruption, drugs, violent crimes... all of them, happening at the same time everywhere. Too much to be just about human affairs, don’t you think?

John will uncover the truth as he investigates the business dealings of his most recent client, dead Charlie "Two Angels", and some of his living “friends”. Fortunately for him, there are allies worth counting on even in a place like this. Together, they will learn who’s the shadow ruler of this sinful settlement.

Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958)

Considered by critics to be the last great American noir production, Touch of Evil tells the story of a Mexican police officer who must solve a crime near the border with the United States. Mike Vargas will have to fight against the corruption of the U.S. police to solve the case, as they will not hesitate to fabricate evidence to frame an innocent man.

We love everything about this film, as well as its great director. Orson Welles is a man of taste, so here we find really intense plot twists that keep you on edge from the beginning to the end and an exquisite visual language rarely seen in neo-noir films these days.

Last but not least, we love that Orson Welles' idiosyncrasy is part of the film's script through a strong social critique focused on the legal shenanigans of border problems in the United States and police corruption. It is a film that, in a way, is still relevant today.

Sin City (Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez, 2005) / The Spirit (Frank Miller, 2008)

Sin City lets you explore the dark alleyways of Basin City, a miserable city where justice is dead, by three of its inhabitants: each of them, with a unique story originally by Frank Miller published as three separate comic books named The Hard Goodbye, The Big Fat Kill and That Yellow Bastard. As for the Spirit, based on Will Eisner’s work, it follows a unique protagonist who’s tragically murdered but returns from the dead as a vigilante with a mission.

As a great exponent of neo-noir cinema, Frank Miller had to be part of this list. In addition, we have decided to include both Sin City and The Spirit because they share many narrative and visual elements. Born as comic adaptations, they tell corruption and revenge stories happening in crime infested cities, with dark anti-heroes, all sorts of villains and beautiful femme fatales with tragic destinies.

‘Pecaminosa’ comes from the word “peccō”, which means “sin” in Latin… so you can see how much Frank Miller's work influenced us.

The Meaning of Life (Monty Python, 1983)

Under the pretext of finding out the meaning of our existence, Monty Python explores every phase of life through sketches full of crazy situations. Usually, with sharp criticism towards a society trapped between conservative ideas and savage capitalism.

Those who follow us know our curious sense of humor, dark and sometimes non-sense, partially inherited from Monty Python. As for its presence in Pecaminosa, we’d say the film that had the biggest impact on it was The Meaning of Life.

Characters like Charlie ‘Two Angels’ Roger Moon and Manuel Tender always show off a special level of foolishness that tribute the British quintet. Also, we should mention that this movie gave us the idea to structure Pecaminosa in chapters.

Did you know about any of them? Let us know in the comments section below and mention your favorite, or the one you’d give a chance to. If you feel like having an extended conversation on this topic, join our Discord server to meet us personally. Plus, there you can ask for further updates on Pecaminosa: A Deadly Hand!

And, last but not least, wishlist the game on Steam! It helps a lot.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1366770/Pecaminosa__A_Pixel_Noir_Game/

See you in our next update,
Cereal Games

Original post

04 Oct 2023Developer post

Elegantly criminal: the music of Pecaminosa

Welcome, detectives! It’s been a while since the return of detective Souza was announced and we wanted to get back in touch with you. As Cereal Games faces the final stage of the game's relaunch , we feel like sharing more bits of Pecaminosa's development . Starting with this ver

Welcome, detectives!

It’s been a while since the return of detective Souza was announced and we wanted to get back in touch with you. As Cereal Games faces the final stage of the game's relaunch, we feel like sharing more bits of Pecaminosa's development. Starting with this very entry, they’ll arrive on Steam as bimonthly updates.

We hope that these entries will have a more creative than technical approach. In order to lend credence to this declaration of will, today we will delve into music composition — a subject we tackled already long ago on YouTube. The role of a game soundtrack is none other than to add a layer of complexity to what the players see and do. That’s why their relationship must be intimate.

Ours was composed in keeping with the tension and unexpected twists and turns typical of noir fiction, so if we were asked to define it in just four adjectives, they would undoubtedly be elegant, mysterious, seductive and, sometimes, very tense. To put it poetically, we want players to feel it like a night stroll through the alleyways of a big city and taste of cigarettes, whiskey and furtive kisses.

The genre best suited to these characteristics is, as is well known, jazz. Classic noir movies like Les Liaison Dangereuses (Art Blakey), Ascenseur Pour L'échafaud (Miles Davis) and Touch of Evil (Henry Mancini) inspired our artists to create an original soundtrack. As for video games, you may ask, they inspired other aspects of Pecaminosa — expect a new entry on this topic!

Part of the magic of jazz is improvisation, so it was important to look for a formula that respected the project deadlines and the creativity of the artists as well.

We were fortunate to be able to get the whole band together in the same studio and work side by side under the direction of Cristóvão Ferreira, a wonderful artist that understood what the game needed at once. He also helped us create a pleasant work atmosphere that was very conducive to creativity. Our founder, Lazaro Raposo, could experience it in first person since he’s a professional drummer.

Watch on YouTube

Drums, bass, piano, sax and trumpet gave Pecaminosa its own voice. All instruments lead the way at some point of the soundtrack, as they’re important to create a “mood”.

We mean something in the melody that helps players read the situation beyond what they watch on screen. A proper choice will help them decipher what characters may feel and think, and even their hidden intentions. It might look as easy as having a trumpet solo in a ballad, or relying more on drums and percussion for a walk through the city. But there's much work behind all that.

The game required some technical shenanigans to produce the soundtrack, but nothing that could limit our creativity. It was a cool challenge to face, with the best result we could dream of.

That's all for the moment! We hope you stay with us until the release of Pecaminosa: A Deadly Hand to tell us how the soundtrack makes you feel, and what’s your favorite track. If you have any questions regarding this topic, remember that we are available on social media and on our Discord server.

Last but not least, remember to wishlist Pecaminosa: A Deadly Hand! It helps a lot.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1366770/Pecaminosa__A_Pixel_Noir_Game/

See you in our next update,
Cereal Games

Original post

27 Jun 2023Developer post

Pecaminosa: A Deadly Hand to reach Steam this Summer

Hello, detectives: This is a happy day for Cereal Games, as we’re finally able to reveal the surprise we kept secret all over the last months. This Summer, our project will rise from its ashes in the form of Pecaminosa: A Deadly Hand, a new edition published by 2Awesome Games. Th

Hello, detectives:

This is a happy day for Cereal Games, as we’re finally able to reveal the surprise we kept secret all over the last months. This Summer, our project will rise from its ashes in the form of Pecaminosa: A Deadly Hand, a new edition published by 2Awesome Games. This version will feature the original game plus La Soirée, an epilogue chapter that completes John’s partner’s last case and deepens into the mystery of his vanishing. It will be available on Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox Series X|S this Summer.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1366770/Pecaminosa__A_Pixel_Noir_Game/

To celebrate this special announcement, we released a new trailer that condenses the best of this original noir adventure. Get ready, once again or for the first time, to melt into the dark side of Pecaminosa, a city where vice, crime, and corruption are the daily bread.

First-timer? Let us tell you about Pecaminosa…

Take part in a dark and criminal world that will appeal to your most basic instincts at every step, just like in your favorite noir movies. Push your moral limits to the rhythm of jazz and find out how far you are willing to go to complete your mission.

Bet hard, drink till collapse, surrender to pleasure, become friends with the scum, bribe the good guys… Imagination is the limit, but be careful if you don't want to end with a bullet in your head.

Distribute your experience points into four different parameters (Luck, Intelligence, Force and Endurance) and choose your equipment according to your custom build. Plus, you’ll be able to customize your character’s appearance — classy guys have bigger chances to win!

Besides taking part in an intense and dashing narrative, you also get to fight against big, bad, bosses. Keep an eye on their moves or you’ll soon be sleeping with the fishes.

For those who owned the game on Nintendo Switch, we agreed to give you a copy of Pecaminosa: A Deadly Hand as soon as it becomes available. As for Steam, we’ll update the original build and those who purchased it will receive the update automatically. We couldn’t think of a better way to make you part of this new journey, one that makes us feel happy and hopeful.

Last but not least, we’d like to ask a little favor. We’ve been invisible for too long, so help us tell everyone that Pecaminosa is more alive than ever. Wishlist Pecaminosa: A Deadly Hand, tell your friends about it, share the new trailer, and leave a support message whenever you can — every little bit counts!

See you in our next update,
Cereal Games

Original post

30 Dec 2021Developer post

Cereal Games plays Pecaminosa

Hello detective, How are the festivities going? New games and joined by your friends, family and loved ones? We sure hope so. News from our end? 1) Pecaminosa is a great 30% off discount! 2) "That's not new!" Ok, you're right. Then we'd like to invite you to a livestream session,

29 Dec 2021Developer post

Happy New Year Giveaway

Hello detectives, Christmas has come and gone, but the gifts still keep on giving: Here's one - a Digital Bundle that includes a game key, the game's OST , and digital artbook - and it's ready to help celebrate the coming of 2022 (it'll be awesome, just wait and see)!!! So what d

22 Dec 2021Developer post

Steam Winter Sale - Save 30% on Pecaminosa

Hello detective, We're just dropping by to make sure you know that Pecaminosa is now at 30% off on Steam . Don't miss it. There's nothing that gives us more satisfaction than knowing people are experiencing the result of our dedication for the last two years. It's the first Steam

24 Nov 2021Developer post

Now available in Latin-American Spanish

Buenos dias detectives, It is with a great deal of satisfaction that we relay to you that “nuestro videojuego” Pecaminosa is now available in Latin-American Spanish. It is another objective of ours accomplished and it is important, as of the past few months, where we received sev

15 Oct 2021Developer post

Your chips...Our Tips!

Inbetween constructive critiques and compliments, one of the things we've been hearing is just how hard as s#%t Pecaminosa is, especially the boss battles! Well, the same ones who might have made your life hard are the ones that are here to help. The truth is that we never wanted

Inbetween constructive critiques and compliments, one of the things we've been hearing is just how hard as s#%t Pecaminosa is, especially the boss battles! Well, the same ones who might have made your life hard are the ones that are here to help.

The truth is that we never wanted this game to be Enter the Gungeon, where you could spend bullets to your heart's content. We'll explain why: Pecaminosa has an exploratory character. That was always the aspect we wanted our players to invest more in. It is this stance, that we recommend so that you can experience the game in its whole, and you can turn what looks hard, into easy.

Among other ways, exploring the city allows you to collect rewards (such as currency to buy more consumables and ammunition in stores) and accrue more experience points - it's a good way to level up in the early game and have a couple more points to spend on the LIFE system.

And those LIFE attributes are the ones that will make your road easier and your clashes with the bad guys go smoother - which isn't to say you'll have a red carpet laid out for you, nonetheless.

More tips from Cereal Games

Breakables and Fists (Best Friends Forever): Save your ammo, buddy. This is our nº1 tip. And think about it: there are way more reactionary and dangerous things than a wooden box, aren't there?

"But I can't resist using bullets, damn it!" Ok... Ok... you can bet on Luck then. According to our team's "ultra testers", it works like this: More drops = Better chance of getting more ammo. More crits = More damage per bullet.

Want to use that gray matter? That works also. Intelligence increases your range and will net you better deals at stores. And speaking of stores: they renew their stock while you are advancing on the story (don't forget to restock often on your daily dose of bad guy suppositories).

"I wanna get physical!" Fine, you got Force and Endurance at your disposal. With Force, you get more HP, and you can solve any differences you might have with the delicate know-how of your knuckles. Endurance, dear detective, will increase your Stamina, improve your attack speed and reduce your perk cooldowns.

"How about a recipe of Luck and Endurance?" It's great for a nasty cough: you'll get an increased rate of fire and more critical chances. Hitting crits is the best way of maximizing your damage per bullet. If you manage to obtain the Valentine Massacre perk, you can shred bosses in mere seconds.

Don't forget you've also got Poker and Blackjack. We don't know how your gambling skills are, but it's a great way to get money to spend on bullets.

So what's the perfect formula? The one you pick. You own this game and it offers several dosages and balances. Find your style, detective.

And have fun,

Cereal Games

About the Game

Pecaminosa is a Pixel Noir Game where you play as John Souza, a former police detective, caught in a web of lies and femme fatales, on a journey for redemption. Cliché? Just like we want it!

Follow Pecaminosa:

Discord: https://discord.gg/hMCheNb
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pecaminosagame/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Pecaminosagame
Website: http://cerealgames.net/

Find Cereal Games:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CerealGames/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cereal_Games
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cereal_gamesnet/
Website: http://cerealgames.net/

Please FOLLOW and WISHLIST the game, so you won't miss the upcoming news about Pecaminosa.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1366770/Pecaminosa__A_Pixel_Noir_Game/

Original post

14 Sep 2021Developer post

Game discount and some more SURPRISES!!!

Esteemed detectives, It's with great pleasure that we announce that Pecaminosa - La Soirée is now available on Steam and that the entire game can now be purchased at a 15% discount. It's important to note that this free update is now available for all players . To anyone more off

07 Sep 2021Developer post

La Soirée: Pecaminosa's free title update is coming soon

Detective, Detective… No question shall remain unanswered. La Soirée, that is the name of the additional chapter, of the epilogue where every loose end of the story will be tied up... … Actually, you will be the one to close and define its last chapter: you can remain a mess, rei

10 Jul 2021Developer post

Pecaminosa now available for MacOS and Linux

Hello detectives, The best part of the party is waiting for it and now you can enjoy the fact of being able to play Pecaminosa – A Pixel Noir Game on MacOS or Linux. Are you sad you got the game after the folks playing on Windows and Nintendo Switch? Don’t be; the game you’ll rec

27 Jun 2021Developer post

Open Letter from Game Director

Hi, Releasing a game is, at the very least, strange. We dedicate our souls wholly to making a lot of compromises in order to create something we hope could mean something to people, as it means to us... ...It’s good to see when this happens and it doesn't bother us (much) when we

27 May 2021Developer post

Pecaminosa Out Today!!!

Detectives, Pecaminosa is out today! The game is now available, and as you can seem it costs 14,99 United States Dollars and 14,99 Euros in the old continent. Unique Ambience Film noir atmosphere with an original jazz soundtrack that will make you fall in love... Mini Games Want

Detectives,

Pecaminosa is out today!

The game is now available, and as you can seem it costs 14,99 United States Dollars and 14,99 Euros in the old continent.

Unique Ambience

Film noir atmosphere with an original jazz soundtrack that will make you fall in love...

Mini Games

Want to take home the pot playing Blackjack? Be our guest…The tables are still hot.

Guns & Apparel

Customize your character's weapons and clothing, evolving them through the L.I.F.E. System..

Boss Battles

Let’s raise a glass or two to the good old times! Besides taking part in an intense and dashing narrative, you also get to fight against big, bad, bosses!

Launch day activities

Livestreams

Join Badland's livestream which will be going live today, on Steam.

Lazaro Fernandez' stream will start at 5 PM (UTC +O) , 6 PM (BST), 10 AM (PDT), 1 PM (EDT).

Too soon?

No worries... We'll be hosting a super special stream shortly after, promoted by Cereal Games, which will be transmitted later here and on Youtube.

Livestream will be held at 8:30 PM (UTC +0), 9:30 PM (BST), 1:30 PM (PDT), 4:30 PM (EDT).

Pecaminosa AMA (Ask Me Anything!)

The Pecaminosa devs will be over Discord later today answering your questions.

Head to the Cereal Games' Discord Server at 8.30 PM (UTC+0) and join the talk while our stream is going live on STEAM. The team will be around! ;)

About the Game

Pecaminosa is a Pixel Noir Game where you play as John Souza, a former police detective, caught in a web of lies and femme fatales, on a journey for redemption. Cliché? Just like we want it!

Follow Pecaminosa:

Discord: https://discord.gg/hMCheNb
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pecaminosagame/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Pecaminosagame
Website: http://cerealgames.net/

Find Cereal Games:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CerealGames/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cereal_Games
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cereal_gamesnet/
Website: http://cerealgames.net/

Please FOLLOW and WISHLIST the game, so you won't miss the upcoming news about Pecaminosa.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1366770/Pecaminosa__A_Pixel_Noir_Game/

Original post

Updates & announcements

Angel Heart (Alan Parker, 1987)

Midnight, Texas (NBC, 2017)

Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958)

Sin City (Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez, 2005) / The Spirit (Frank Miller, 2008)

The Meaning of Life (Monty Python, 1983)

First-timer? Let us tell you about Pecaminosa…

About the Game

Follow Pecaminosa:

Find Cereal Games:

About the Game

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About the Game

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Get the game here | 30% OFF

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About the Game

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About the Game

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More tips from Cereal Games

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Updates

Now available in Portuguese

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Important: All owners of Pecaminosa will be playing La Soirée as a free title update!

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About Pecaminosa's OST

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Balance Patches:

Bug Fixes:

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Unique Ambience

Mini Games

Guns & Apparel

Boss Battles

Launch day activities

Livestreams

Pecaminosa AMA (Ask Me Anything!)

About the Game

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About the Game

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