Dinga Bakaba is the game director of Deathloop, Arkane’s brilliant, breakthrough FPS. He’s a veteran of the Dishonored series, going back 11 years. But most importantly for our purposes, he’s a martial arts teacher on the side. Specifically, Bakaba teaches capoeira.
“People sometimes wonder, is it a dance, is it a fight,” he says. “But we say, ‘a game of capoeira,’ and the act is playing.” The boundaries of capoeira are intentionally blurred – it was first invented by African slaves in Brazil, as a way to practice fight moves under the cover of dancing and music. You might know it by the distinctive moveset of Tekken’s Eddy Gordo, the human rotor whose unpredictable leg spins end with a foot to the face.
It’s often less combative than that, though: in the courses Bakaba runs, capoeira partners tend to look more like lovers than fighters. Moves are mirrored, legs soar over heads, and despite the proximity, the hits never quite connect. It’s mesmerising.
“When I arrived at my first capoeira class, they said it’s a game,” Bakaba says. “I asked them, ‘What are the rules?’ And they looked at me like, ‘That’s for you to figure out.’”
Capoeira can be combat; it can be strategy; it can be exhibition. But brilliantly, the nature of the game isn’t determined beforehand. Instead it’s communicated wordlessly between the players.
This story is from the Christmas 2021 edition of PC Gamer.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Christmas 2021 edition of PC Gamer.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
A New Dawn - The rise, fall and rise again of PC Gaming in Japan
The so-called 'Paso Kon' market (ie katakana's transliteration of 'Pasonaru Computa') in Japan was originally spearheaded in the 1980s by NEC's PC-8800 and, later, its PC-9800.
MARVEL: ULTIMATE ALLIANCE
Enter the multiverse of modness.
SLIDES RULE
Redeeming a hated puzzle mechanic with SLIDER
GODS AND MONSTERS
AGE OF MYTHOLOGY: RETOLD modernises a classic RTS with care
PHANTOM BLADE ZERO
Less Sekiro, more Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty
STARR-MAKING ROLE
Final Fantasy XVI's BEN STARR talks becoming a meme and dating summons
THIEF GOLD
Learning to forgive myself for knocking out every single guard.
HANDHELD GAMING PCs
In lieu of more powerful processors, handhelds are getting weirder
FAR FAR AWAY
STAR WARS OUTLAWS succeeds at the little things, but not much else shines
FINDING IMMORTALITY
Twenty-five years on, PLANESCAPE: TORMENT is still one of the most talked-about RPGs of all time. This is the story of how it was created as a ‘stay-busy’ project by a small team at Black Isle Studios