Meet Hesiquio Mendez Alejo | Game Developer/Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Hesiquio Mendez Alejo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hesiquio, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
As a kid, I wanted to be an inventor. I was the type of kid that would put all electronics apart because I thought little beings were controlling things inside. My mom (understandably) would get upset while my dad would calm her down and tell her he would fix it (most of the time he could not or ended up with almost working). I am a curious person, and luckily I had a dad who would push that. This curiosity made me want to learn for fun, and experiment to see what would come up. Once my mom and I immigrated, I spent a lot of time playing video games. Eventually, I was able to combine these two passions and was able to learn game development and game design.

What should our readers know about your business?
We are not a big business (yet!). The thing that excites me the most is BIOPC making video games where we can identify with the characters or systems. We decided to become an LLC because we got a grant from Oculus for a prototype of a rap game, and we are continuously working on the game. The challenge has been trying to translate the feeling of rap into a playable system. We are constantly making new prototypes, exploring, and testing; we feel like we are getting closer. Another challenge is doing this after our full-time jobs, where we also make video games or software. I think what pushes us the most is making the games want to play.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My best friends and I are huge fans of food and dancing. I would take them to some of my favorite places and in no particular order. I love some good mole/coloradito from La Expression Oaxaquena, the enmoladas with quesillo is a good brunch for me. I would check out what is happening at the Music Center, Dance DTLA this summer has been awesome so far. The next food place would be, Holbox in el Mercado La Paloma, I love the aguachile with scallops and the Baja tacos. while we are on the topic of tacos, two of my favorite tacos de carnitas are from Los Cinco puntos (easy on the salsa) and Villa Morelia in the grand central market ( Saritas Pupuseria is also amazing) a good place to walk around. And for some live jazz, foosball and to have a drink I would go to Rhythm Room.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to give a shoutout to my best friends and business partners, Juan Morales-Rocha, Jonathan Morales, and Bryan Dilligard. We have been working together for a while now, and we still support and teach each other. They all are an inspiration to continue working on culturally relevant and racially diverse video games. Shoutout to No Static Games.

Website: https://nostaticgames.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/no-static-games/about/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoStaticGames