Martial Arts Tycoon is a simulation game where players will step into the world of Lucas, a young trainer who inherits a jiu-jitsu gym in the favelas of Río de Janeiro, Brazil. Players will not only learn how to run their own gym through classic tycoon elements and train future champions with customizable workouts and classes, but they'll also be immersed in the diverse culture of Río de Janeiro.

Chance Glasco, the CEO and creative director of Good Dog Studios—the indie studio behind Martial Arts Tycoon—previously worked on Medal of Honor: Allied Assault and later co-founded Infinity Ward, which went on to create the Call of Duty franchise. Glasco had just turned 20 years old when he entered the gaming industry, and after working on first-person-shooter games for about 13 years, he told Game ZXC that he wanted "to do something different." Eventually, he landed in Brazil, where he visited many times as a guest speaker, and founded Good Dog Studios, whose core team is also people recovering from working in the AAA field. At Gamescom LATAM, Glasco told Game ZXC that he's past making "the biggest game ever" and instead wants to do something with more impact.

Every NPC's Life Path Tells A Story

Players will start off in Martial Arts Tycoon on an empty rooftop of the favelas. Aspiring fighters will eventually find their way to the gym where players will meet different NPCs with varying backgrounds and different traits. In the teaser trailer, Jair Camara is shown with the traits "Early Reader," "Loner," and "Farmer." Players will also be able to see an NPC's skill level, like Jair's, who's level 4 in jiu-jitsu and level 13 in defense, submission, passing, sweeping, and takedown. Players will train their students in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, self-defense, and physical fitness, which will ultimately affect their personal traits.

Every NPC is procedurally generated and has their own life path. Glasco explained that, in the simulation game, if someone has a life path where they grew up with drug-addicted parents, there's a higher chance that they're going to have a drug-related character trait, which will affect them negatively. But training them in jiu-jitsu can help improve character traits and get rid of the negative ones. However, negative traits aren't completely avoidable, because if players make "bad choices," it could also give their fighter a negative trait. An example of a negative trait is a bully, which could be utilized for strength and athleticism, but there's a higher chance that that fighter injures another NPC while training with them. Then, players would have to decide if they want that student in their gym.

Glasco also moved to Brazil and that helped his ability to depict the people of Rio. Of course, he notes that it's not just his experience going into the game:

If I'm going to portray Brazil, I'm going to portray it a lot better if I've actually lived here.

Even with me, who's lived in Brazil for over three years in total, I'm still not going to have the whole picture. All of my friends are Brazilian, and in Rio, I have a couple of best friends. One works for the city and the other lives in the same developed community that is depicted in the game, so I get to see different perspectives from different people, different walks of life.

Martial Arts Tycoon Will Shed Light On Real Brazilian Communities

Glasco also explained that a lot of media, including films like 2002's City of God or 2007's Elite Squad often depict Brazilian people as drug dealers, traffickers, and just overall bad people. He also openly acknowledged that perhaps he has added to this stereotype; back in 2009, Modern Warfare 2 took players to Brazil's favelas to fight a militia composed of criminals and worse. Despite these media stereotypes, Glascoe emphasized that the people living in those areas are more than this one-dimensional criminal stereotype. Good Dog Studios is "trying to address some of those stereotypes through the game."

I think, like when you're touching on the favela-related stuff, when you're talking about more of what happens within those communities, we're going to show the difficulties that those people face living there...We're not going to dive into politics, it's just going to create division and everything, but we want people to understand what are some of the struggles that those communities deal with.

Despite the global love for mixed martial arts, there hasn't been a tycoon game for it. 2016's Punch Club was close, as Glasco mentioned, but players would manage a boxer rather than the full gym. It'll be interesting to see how Good Dog Studios implements the different tycoon elements, addresses Brazilian stereotypes, and shows the impact of climate change all through Martial Arts Tycoon.

Martial Arts Tycoon: Brazil is in development.