Buzz Blog

It's no secret that Donald Trump is having an effect on everyone, no matter what country you're living in. People are either laughing their asses off at us, or they're scared as shit that he could actually be leading the U.S. next year. A look into our Aug. 11 issue from this year will give you a clear look at how people in Mexico feel about it. In fact, app developer APTO Comunicacion Digital out of Guadalajara created their own racing app called Trumpada that you can play on your Android right now, showing Trump racing to the White House and avoiding all the perils along the way. Today, we chat we the game's creator,  Andres Preciado, about this app.


Gavin: How did you get into building apps and games?

Andres: I have been in the creative industry (advertising) for more than six years. I have a good friend who owns an app developing company called APTO, and he is my partner in this Trumpada project. He builds apps for big clients such as Carl's Jr., Mazda and many other big brands. For the second part of the game, we made a partnership with a big gaming company with a lot of expertise in Minecraft.

What stuff had you worked on before this game?

Trumpada is our first approach in the gaming industry. I am the creative mind of the game; I wrote an email to my friend telling him that I was really tired of this guy and the way he has been talking about Mexico. I came up with the idea of making something where we can make fun of this clown, where he always loses against our people.

What were your thoughts on Trump and the election in general at the time?

When the idea came up, it was really soon in terms of the election race, but the main reason behind the game is to make fun of every time he speaks. Actually, every time he speaks is a possibility to include something new in the game. My personal opinion about him is that Trump is one of the worst guys who has ever existed, an opportunist, and I think he is someone else's clown.

What gave you the idea to make the game?

I was at San Diego, and all the news and headlines included Trump's words about Mexicans, so I came up with the idea of creating something where we can laugh at him every time he appears [and says]  something absurd, [or something] funny and stupid happens. That's why I thought that making a game about him was an excellent idea, because we will have great content whenever he appears.

Who are all of the people Trump interact within the game, and what made you choose them?

Every character in the game has to do with a Trump action or declaration: You can see a "Narco" who throws tacos, a rapist who throws lollipops, a gang man, a Miss Universe. I don't know if you remember, but his actions were a terrible hit to Miss Universe brand, and all Latinos supported Mexico against him. Miss Universe represents the Latin American union. Also in the game, you can see a couple of Oreo cookies chasing him. He said once that he will never eat an Oreo cookie again in his life because there was an Oreo manufacturing plant in Mexico.


Also you can see Jorge Ramos throwing microphones to him. Ramos is the Mexican journalist who this guy threw out of a press conference, and also an important Mexican-American activist. Ben Carson was chasing him at that time in the Republican race. Finally, you can see Jimmy Fallon, that part has a strategy to get into Fallon's hands.

How long did it take you to complete it and test it out?

The first stage happened in only four weeks. We put a great specialists team together: an illustrator, programming experts and a director. The second part took like two months, because we included new features like enemies, and also a "Trumpada Store" where the player is able to buy costumes to dress Trump up like Santa Claus, a panda, a mariachi, a donkey and Miss Universe.


What made you go with Android as the platform to launch on?

We launched the game on Android because we received a letter from iOS where they told us that the game included violence, direct attacks and racial issues. The game didn't succeed [at being added] for iOS devices.

What's the response been like so far?

Great! In Mexico, we had more than 30,000 downloads, and we appeared in the main news platforms in our country like López Dóriga, Carmen Aristegui, Grupo Reforma and Imagen just to mention a few. It really became a trending topic.


What do you hope people get out of the game?

The main reason is to raise a Mexican hand and try to stop this guy. I think that this guy's actions are very noxious for society and he is generating a lot of hate in the world. The game is for people to enjoy making fun of him but also a way to try to raise the voice against him.

What other games and apps are you working on?

We are working in the final part of the game, we have many surprises like new enemies. But we are trying to make an impact in the U.S.