Wrapping up the Costume Jam 2023 interview series, today we're speaking with Heglaé Malheiros Maia, the artist of KawaiiGames.net. Hailing from the colorful Espírito Santo, Brazil, her focus is primarily on high-quality anime-styled dress-up games and virtual coloring books. Many of her own games also feature shoutouts to her favorite corners of pop culture, such as the recently updated Angel or Demon game containing items to recreate beloved characters like Nezuko from Demon Slayer. Let's dive right in and explore her creative universe!

When and where did you get your start making dress-up games? How do those origins compare to how dress-up games are now?

I started making dress-up games in 2008. I responded to a job ad on a Deviantart forum. It was an ad looking for DollMakers on the now-defunct website CartoonDollEmporium. I sent my link to my portfolio, and they asked me for a test. It was to create a base body and some clothes. I remember I made a doll very inspired by Misa Amane, from the Death Note manga and I passed! Here is the test link: https://www.deviantart.com/heglys/art/Doll-sample-1-76655404

I spent a year and a half at this company and that's where it all started and I learned a lot there.

A lot has changed since then. Dress-up games are more complex, from the art style to the game mechanics. In the past, it was a very simple system of dragging and dropping the clothes onto the doll and that's it! Now dress-up games have multiple dolls to dress in the same game, tons of options, very elaborate art, and "levels" within the game, such as starting with skin treatments, holding a fashion show, or decorating a room. Honestly, I miss the simpler, shorter games.

What do you consider to be your specialty as a creator and curator of dress-up games?

I focus on creating anime-style dress-up games. I feel that today's dress-up games have beautiful art, but always with a style inspired by Disney or inspired by the style of LOL Surprise. And I feel like there aren't that many anime-style dress-up games, avatar creators, and coloring games. In the past, there were more anime-style games, when Rinmaru was still creating dress-up games. So I try to keep this style alive because I know there are players looking for this style of art and also because I really like this style, as it is in my comfort zone when I draw.

You’ve been at this for long enough that this is a full-time job. What does a typical work day look like for you?

I consider myself organized, but I think I should be even more organized.

I wake up at 8 a.m., have breakfast calmly, and then start work.

I access my personal email and Kawaii Games work email and see what needs to be responded to, deleted, etc. In the Kawaii Games email, I usually check if there are comments about the games on the website and I always try to respond.

I also check the site's statistics and earnings.

I write down my demands in an app called Notion, where I can make a to-do list and everything I plan to do for Kawaii Games in 4 self-explanatory tables organized as follows: To Do, Pending, Issues, Done! Then I take a look at the “To Do” board and see what is a priority.

The tasks are related to developing a dress-up game or coloring game, fixing a buggy game, uploading a cool game from other game developers, checking cultural promotion notices, and making posts for social networks. I admit that the latter is something that I have a lot of difficulty with and don't prioritize as much.

Between 1:30 pm and 2:00 pm, I have lunch and rest by watching fails on YouTube with my husband.

When I get back, I continue doing something that's on Notion's "To Do" board or study a little. I'm taking a postgraduate course in Game Development.

Then I finish my work at around 6 pm.

This may be a touchy question, but what relationship have you had with your player base or users?

I don't have a big fan base. I think it took me a long time to do social media and also to dedicate myself to my own brand compared to other developers. But the few fans of the brand I have are very special to me. Sometimes I receive some extremely affectionate comments, saying how they have been playing games for years and that they have known me since the time I worked at StarSue.net and this warms my heart and gives me strength to continue, because working with games is far from being something super stable, financially speaking.

I've had a few episodes with trolls, but I honestly don't worry about it. I just saw the comment and deleted it. If it's a troll that's really bothering me, I'll ban it.

Where do you think the genre is going in the future? What would you personally like to see more of?

The trend is going more towards apps for sure. Many people prefer to download one or more apps than visit a website. That's why I always try to develop in both areas.

I feel like dress-up games lost a bit of steam after Flash's death. Flash games were easy for many artists to develop their own games because the programming was simple. Those who were unable to make this transition were left behind.

Honestly, I would like dress-up games to become popular again like in the golden era of Flash games, where there were many simple games, but with many options to choose from. Nowadays, many developers reuse game graphics a lot and we see the same doll face in multiple dress-up games, which makes everything very boring.

You were recently featured in a Brazilian art and game development event for your FolclorES (Espiritu Santo) coloring book game! This is a big victory! I bet this has opened up a lot of doors for you - what opportunities do you see yourself taking next?

Yes, I participated in Espírito Santo Innovation Experience 2023 (ESX 2023) and it was a huge event. I had my own stand where I could show Kawaii Games games, where I focused on the FolclorES Coloring Game and Mega Kawaii Chibi Avatar Maker. I think there were around 200 people at my stand, from babies to the elderly. People played the games and also received a physical coloring book as a gift.

In 2020 I discovered the cultural promotion notices in my state and signed up without much hope. I ended up passing the 2020, 2021, and 2022 notices and thus had financial support to create games! I was able to buy and upgrade work equipment, hire a small team by demand, and promote game development with advertisements. It was truly a turning point in my career.

I'm always keeping an eye on new announcements and also planning new games for Kawaii Games, always trying to make the brand known and grow more and more.

That's not the last of the Costume Jam, though! Because I'm not judging the entries, if you do make one, it will be played and given a shoutout in one final post after the 31st!

-Theta