Filipe Rodrigues
| Filipe Rodrigues | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Filipe Rodrigues (Subtales).jpg | |
| Born | Porto, Portugal |
| Other names | Subtales |
| 🎓 Alma mater | Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto, University of Porto |
| 💼 Occupation |
|
| Known for | Gloomy Juncture |
| 🌐 Website | subtales |
Filipe Rodrigues, also known as Subtales, is a Portuguese indie game developer. He is known for developing the upcoming neo-noir psychological thriller and adventure game Gloomy Juncture. Prior to its release, Edge Magazine interviewed Rodrigues and featured the game. It won multiple awards, including the Visual Excellence Award at BitSummit Drift 2024 in Japan and Game of the Year at the Spotlight Awards 2024.[1][2]
Prior to game development, Rodrigues pursued an academic and professional career in software engineering and digital media research at Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP).[3] He began developing Gloomy Juncture part-time in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic before leaving his career as a software engineer to commit to the project full-time in 2023, funding it entirely from personal savings.[2][4]
Early life
Filipe Rodrigues grew up in Vila do Conde, a coastal town north of Porto.[3] He describes his first memory as seeing Super Mario Bros. running on a television in the window of an electronics shop in Póvoa de Varzim at around four or five years of age, which sparked a passion for video games. He subsequently received a Famiclone console.[2]
Rodrigues grew up in a dysfunctional family, being exposed to substance abuse and domestic violence from an early age, with video games and horror films being a form of escapism during that time.[1][2] He is a school dropout from seventh grade and worked as a waiter for several years before returning to night school around the age of 18 to complete mandatory education.[2] He has spoken in a few interviews about facing mental health challenges from an early age and has cited these experiences as a major influence on the themes explored in his work.[2]
Rodrigues pursued studies in computing, earning a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Informatics and Computing Engineering from FEUP in 2014.[2][3] He later enrolled in a doctorate in digital media at FEUP, with a thesis focused on affective computing applied to narrative in video games. Rodrigues completed the advanced studies phase of the programme, comprising the PhD coursework and thesis preparation, before pausing the remaining doctoral research during the COVID-19 pandemic due to health issues.[3][4] During his time at FEUP, Rodrigues also lectured in computer graphics, virtual reality, computer vision, and video game development,[2][3] and co-supervised master's theses in the Integrated Master in Informatics and Computing Engineering.[5]
Career
Software engineering
Following his master's degree, Rodrigues worked as a software engineer, developing distributed systems and native mobile applications.[2] After several years he sought a new direction, returning to FEUP to pursue doctoral research in digital media as a way of reconnecting with the world of games and computer graphics.[2] He left his software engineering career entirely in 2023 to develop Gloomy Juncture full-time.[4]
Game development
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Rodrigues needed to stay isolated due to health issues and began sketching game prototypes in late 2020. In 2021 the concept that became Gloomy Juncture took shape.[2] He has described the project as deeply personal, with the story drawing on his own experiences growing up, and as a form of creative therapy.[1][2]
Rodrigues handles every aspect of the game's development, including game design, programming, art, writing, sound design, and marketing, alongside his cat Link, whom he jokingly refers to as the official boss.[2] The game's visual style results from a handcrafted pipeline he developed largely by accident: wanting to lean on his love of drawing while working within the limitations of solo development, Rodrigues began sketching characters on paper and experimenting with ways to bring them to life digitally, eventually discovering that folding the paper created an unexpected papercraft aesthetic, leading to what he calls a "reversed pipeline" from classical 3D modelling, with each hand-drawn object drawn with the 3D projection already in mind, then digitised and modelled in a low-poly three-dimensional style.[2][4][6] He authored an article for Game Developer elaborating on how point-and-click mechanics can serve as a vehicle for psychological storytelling.[6]
Prior to release, Gloomy Juncture attracted attention from the international press and industry, receiving coverage from EDGE Magazine, VICE, Wireframe, 4Gamer, Rock Paper Shotgun, Game Informer, and GameSpot, among others.[1][7][8] In Portugal, Rodrigues was interviewed live on RTP Arena, the Portuguese national television, covering his personal story and journey as a solo developer.[4] HyperHype.es published an in-depth interview with Rodrigues about his life and creative process,[2] and Portuguese outlet Rubber Chicken also published an in-depth interview covering the solo development process.[3] A live interview with Rodrigues was conducted by Glitch Gamecast at Game Dev Lisbon.[9] He was also invited as an industry guest on the Combo Up! podcast to discuss the games industry.[10]
Gloomy Juncture is being critically praised, winning several awards including the Visual Excellence Award at BitSummit Drift 2024 in Japan, the Bronze Award at the Tencent GWB Game Awards 2024 in China, and both Game of the Year and Reveal of the Year from the Portuguese industry at the Spotlight Awards 2024, held at DevGAMM Portugal.[11][12] The game was also nominated for the Critics' Choice Award at Indie Cup Europe 2024,[13] Best Audio at the Indie Game Award 2026 held at the Taipei Game Show in Taipei,[14] Best Game from Portugal at DevGAMM Awards 2024,[15] Indie of the Year at IndieDB Awards 2024,[16] and Best Portuguese Game at Indie X 2023.[17] The game's poster was also selected for the Raw Fury "Games Are Art" initiative, exhibited in an art gallery during Reboot Develop Blue 2024 in Dubrovnik, Croatia.[18]
Rodrigues has stated he rejected publisher offers in order to take control, and remain true to the story he wanted to tell, and is not focused on the game's financial performance, considering it a passion project.[4]
Games developed
| Year | Title | Platforms | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| TBA | Gloomy Juncture | PC, Mac | Upcoming; solo-developed |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Gloomy Juncture: Finding hope in seedy alleys and dive bars". EDGE Magazine. No. 418. Future Publishing. January 2026. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 Roboo (4 August 2025). "Filipe Rodrigues, the independent craftsman behind Gloomy Juncture". HyperHype.es. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Urriça, Filipe (16 April 2024). "Entrevista com Filipe Rodrigues, criador de Gloomy Juncture". Rubber Chicken. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 "Gloomy Juncture no Indie X c/ Filipe Rodrigues". RTP Arena. 26 May 2025. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
- ↑ "Master's thesis supervised by Filipe Rodrigues". SIGARRA – University of Porto. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Rodrigues, Filipe (21 October 2024). "How point-and-click gameplay elevates the psychological thriller in Gloomy Juncture". Game Developer. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
- ↑ Franklin II, Anthony (23 June 2025). "Gloomy Juncture Is an Absolute Madhouse of a Game, and I Love It". VICE Magazine. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
- ↑ Okutani, Kaito (23 July 2024). "立体紙人形のような手描きアートが特徴のポイント＆クリックADV「Gloomy Juncture」，日本語対応デモを公開中". 4Gamer.net. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
- ↑ Martins, Gonçalo (26 February 2024). "Game Dev Lisbon #15 - Gloomy Juncture". YouTube. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
- ↑ "Combo Up! Podcast – Filipe Rodrigues". Spotify. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
- ↑ "Spotlight Awards 2024". Spotlight Awards. Game Dev Lisbon. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
- ↑ "BitSummit Drift 来場者数と受賞作品まとめ". Famitsu. 31 July 2024. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
- ↑ "Indie Cup Europe 2024 Nominees". Indie Cup. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
- ↑ "IGA Finalists". Taipei Game Show. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
- ↑ "DevGAMM Awards 2024". DevGAMM. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
- ↑ "2024 Indie of the Year Awards - Top 100". IndieDB. 2024. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
- ↑ "Gloomy Juncture on Steam". Steam. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
- ↑ "Art of Fury Auction". Art of Fury. Raw Fury. Archived from the original on 25 May 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
External links
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