Block 123: Pinoy Street Rumble brings nostalgia to MOBA - Inquirer Technology

MANILA, Philippines — Makati-based independent game studio Halo Halo Games aims to revive childhood classics like agawan base (base stealing), rubber band flicking, and paper plane throwing in Block 123: Pinoy Street Rumble, an upcoming competitive Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game.

Spearheading the ambitious project is a dedicated trio of University of Makati (UMak) alumni: Studio founder Oliver Cape; Marketing Head Raymart Troy Catudio; and HR and Admin Head Franco Corvera.

In an exclusive interview with Tech INQ, Cape shared that Pinoy Street Rumble was born out of a desire to bridge a generational gaming gap between the older generation and the youth. 

The studio also aims to relive and preserve Filipino gaming traditions while giving it a new twist to entice modern gamers.

The title adopts a MOBA structure that challenges teams to coordinate pushes into enemy territory, secure objectives such as rubber band flicking, can kicking, and making paper planes, conquer the enemy base, and score points. 

For him, he notes that the underlying mechanics remain deeply faithful to the traditional rules of the classic street games it was based on. 

And by bringing these mechanics to the digital realm, the developers hope to evoke the same nostalgic thrill and competitive spirit players once felt during their childhood afternoons.

“It can be a MOBA like 5v5, but it doesn’t have the usual mechanic that uses health bars; instead it uses tagging. Once you get caught, you end up in jail and that’s where you wait for your teammates to save you, and that’s where the concept of the whole game runs. It’s the same as how I used to play it when I was young,” Cape noted.

He also agreed with the sentiment that kids must play Filipino street games outside. 

But for him, the game was developed also for the people who can no longer play outside the comfort of their homes or even who already have their day jobs, but still wish to relive their childhood memories.

As a solo developer, Cape revealed that when he posted the first trailer of the Pinoy Street Rumble last October 11, the waitlist for the game reached 1,500 on the day itself. 

A week later, it reached 10,000 people who signed up for the game’s launch, describing it as a good problem as it showed the surge of support pouring into the game.

Despite the limited setup and with no financial backing to properly expand and upgrade digital infrastructures and servers for the game, the studio founder admitted that the team will only be able to accommodate 600 to 1,000 players in the Closed Beta Testing in November to test the game’s server traffic and load.

According to Catudio, the team plans to expand their game across Southeast Asia, citing engagement and interest from international audiences after they dropped the first trailer in their Facebook page.

“When I saw the first post by Kuya Oliver got viral and the engagement boomed, especially the followers, I thought to myself—all of my talents that I’ve learned in marketing and creatives, I should pour it all here in Halo Halo Games,” Raymart shared.

“Now it’s actually like I need a strategy in marketing the game, and at the same time, it’s a pressure because there’s a lot of potential in the game,” he added.

Oliver also discussed that they are currently partnering with content creators to be able to test out their games, and some of them have offered collaborations that they are interested in trying out the game.

“Since we’re a small team, we’re really focused on development. But we’re not looking down on the possibility of a full launch. But as other developers have said, development isn’t the hardest part of the game. But it is about how you will market your game in general,” Cape added.

Once they get proper funding, the team plans to hire additional personnel in the future to further support the development and studio operations.

Players can expect different game modes and special features, with Classic Game Mode featuring objectives such as Tumbang Preso (can-hitting) and Sumbong Mama (crybaby). 

Once the special skill is activated, the player spawns the player’s mother and allows them to go to the enemy base to earn points. 

For the Closed Beta, Ranked Games will not yet be available for testing; however, they disclosed that once the game is launched, the ranked system will also go live as well, on a seasonal basis, similar to most MOBAs.

The Versus AI game mode will also be included in the Closed Beta, where players can try an offline version of the game and can serve as a training ground for those who want to try some skills and explore the mechanics and gameplay.

Additionally, the developers also announced that the game will have a custom lobby mode featuring proximity chat where all 10 players can use voice chat in a single lobby, eliminating the need to use third-party apps like Discord and other video conferencing apps.

Furthermore, the game has featured its first map named Lower Azucena Street, with plans to add a second map similar to a rural environment in the works.

The game will undergo Closed Beta Testing, with selected players who have signed up for early access getting priority invites, and the game is set for official release on the Google Play Store for Android and Apple’s App Store.