Origins & Sustainability Concept
You Are Trash! originated as one of the projects in Project Gamerama 2009, organized by PUC-Rio Arts and Design Department's professor and Donsoft Entertainment's Art Director Guilherme Xavier. Teams selected three gameplay concepts under the umbrella theme of Sustainability: Platform, Puzzle, and Shooting.
Rather than creating a dry, didactic game about recycling, we adopted an edutainment proposal fostering self-education via tangential learning. Concepts and environmental facts are integrated into narrative cutscenes and organic puzzle mechanics rather than rote school quiz mechanics.
Dual-Phase Gameplay
The gameplay is divided into two alternating, interconnected phases:
- The Puzzle Phase: Recyclable trash blocks descend from the top of the screen; the player rotates blocks to align matching materials into corresponding recycling bins.
- The Platform & Action Phase: The level layout directly mirrors the player's performance in the puzzle phase. Successful sorting spawns helpful power-ups and clean pathways, whereas sorting mistakes spawn obstacles blocking progress toward the stage exit.
Gameplay Video
You Are Trash! Official Trailer
Post-Mortems & Press Mentions
Detailed technical and design post-mortems were published following release:
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Design & Production Post-mortem: Arthur Protasio's breakdown of team management and design at his personal blog.
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Programming & Engine Post-mortem: Bruno Baère's technical deep-dive at the Gamerama Collective blog.
Interviews & Coverage
