Matilde Albuquerque

Matilde is an Animator, Motion Designer and Game Designer, based in Lisbon.

With a background in Communication Design and Illustration, she always had a passion for color, characters, and history. Her work delves into culture, comedy, and nature. In her free time, she enjoys drawing, writing and immersing herself in all things music nerds do.

In 2020 she won the PlayStation® Talents’ Best Art Award for her game CARETO and the next year, in 2021, she won the PlayStation® Talents’ Best Children’s Game Award for her game Laura. Recently, she has worked with high profile clients, such as Netflix and Ernst & Young.

Her first videogame CARETO was launched in 2023 and is displayed in the museum Casa do Careto, in Podence.

Alongside her creative work, Matilde teaches Animation, Drawing, Character Design, and Special Effects at EPI – Escola Profissional de Imagem, where she also leads the Animation department as its Pedagogical Coordinator.

matildalbuquerque@gmail.com

→ SHOWREEL
→ CARETO
→ LAURA

CARETO

CARETO is about a mysterious Carnival from Podence, a village in the north of Portugal, where the creatures Caretos are from. It a pagan celebration of the end of winter and the beginning of spring.

It’s a game for kids to collect typical itens of the region and explore. Careto aims to pass on the tradition to the young generations, as this tradition almost disappeard a hundred years ago.

Website: matildealbuquerque.itch.io/careto
Awards: Careto won the PlayStation Talents’ Best Art Award in 2020.

Concept Art: The characters and the village

During the Carnival of February 2020 (before the covid-19 pandemic), I visited Podence to work on the pre-production of CARETO. I made a small documentary compiling some interviews and footage of the tradition. That year Podence received the largest number of visitors ever recorded because Caretos were recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Characters

Village

Awards, Articles and Interviews

Laura won the PlayStation Talents’ Best Children’s Game Award in 2021.

Interview with CIAAC - Centro de Informática da Associação Académica de Coimbra, in 2023, about the games CARETO and Laura.

Selected Articles:

"Careto follows the process of the carnival ritual from beginning to end." Inês Moura Pinto, Público P3

"This is a part of our Culture that has to be safeguarded" Paulo Silva, Pplware

"Careto brings Portuguese tradition to the world of videogames" Joana Sousa, Squared Potato

"An interactive form of communication to bring a centuries-old Portuguese tradition to the younger generations" Rui Oliveira, GameHub.pt

"The game follows every step of the Careto ritual" Filipe Silva, MoshBit Gaming

"Preserving culture is important and in videogame format is even better!" Eduardo Rodrigues, Café Mais Geek

"A national indie game dedicated to a beautiful tradition." Telmo Couto, Meus Jogos

"Using a form of interactive communication to bring a century-old Portuguese tradition." Pedro Almeida, Indie Corner Games

"Careto is being developed both in Portuguese and in English so that the “Carnival of the Caretos” can be shared with locals and international players alike" Fernando Costa, InforGames

"Careto is the name of the first video game that portrays the tradition, geography and aesthetics of the Caretos de Podence" Onda Livre, Rádio Onda Livre