Carlos Leonardo is a developer from Brazil.
I like things that take time to get right: a chord progression, a boss pattern, a single 16x16 tile. I have, notably, never applied this patience to anything involving a deadline (except for professional reasons, obviously).
Why
Answer a question with just “because” and watch my eyes twitch. I don’t need the answer, I need the why.
Play
I really love video games. I’ve been playing since I was seven, with my very first console, the awesome Nintendo Wii. I like a lot of different genres from indies, AAA, online. Here are my favorites:
Favorite games
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom 
Red Dead Redemption 2 
ARK: Survival Evolved 
Forza Horizon 3 
Life is Strange 
Pokémon Alpha Sapphire
Dark Souls, Monster Hunter, Zelda, Forza Horizon, ARK, Hades: if it hands me a corridor and calls it a game, it’s not my type.
Zelda taught me the obstacle usually isn’t the obstacle, it’s the angle. Turn it enough times and “ugh, I have to go to college” becomes “wait, I get to go to the place I used to dream about.”
Sound
Music’s been part of my life a lot longer than I’ve had the tools for it. As a kid, lessons were never really in the cards, so I just listened, over and over and over… and waited. My first paycheck from the internship went straight to an Arturia KeyLab, closing out a plan that had been open for about fifteen years.
These days I chase atmospheres somewhere between C418 and EDEN, though “finished song” is still more of an aspiration than something real. The muse and I have a standing meeting; attendance is inconsistent on both sides. But long before I ever touched a key, I was a listener first, and I still am one: lyrics (or meaning) before melody, always(except if it has no singer.)
Songs of My Life
rock + roll — EDEN
This song makes me want to live my life to the fullest, because it’s not about how long we live, but how much we enjoy it. I want people to remember me as someone who really enjoyed their life. At the same time, I don’t know if I’ll ever “sing like Sinatra”, or, in my case, “think like Turing”. But I want to give it everything I have. I really do.
“And if there is no god, I know the day I die, I lived through heaven / And that I gave it hell / And if it hurt, oh well, at least, that’s living”
In this part I feel like EDEN sums up the whole song. It’s just CINEMA. I don’t even want to have to explain it, but I will: I do everything I can, and when I die, I’ll know I’m proud of every choice I made. If it hurts, that’s part of life anyway.
“So I got ten minutes to be all or nothing to whoever wants to hear”
Sometimes I feel exactly like this. In an interview that really matters for my future, it’s just that: “I have ten minutes to be all or nothing.” And that is a very, very strange feeling.
End Credits — EDEN
To me, this song feels like working or fighting for something as hard as I can, and if it doesn’t work out, that’s ok: for a little while, I was happy. And it has Leah Kelly on it. She is the GOAT, her voice is just awesome.
I feel like this on a lot of days: not knowing the future, but still doing my best. I hate feeling anxious (I think everyone does), but that’s life anyway.
“You could wish away forever, but you’ll never find a thing like today”
“Rather burn out young than grow up fast / And we could be forever future-bound / ’Cause all I need is time”
circles — EDEN
This is the one that opened the door for me. Before it, I just listened to music. After it, I started paying attention to how music is made: what gets left out, and how much empty space a producer can leave and still fill the whole song.
It’s still my reference for the sound I want to make. Every time I sit at my KeyLab with no idea what I’m doing, this is the feeling I’m trying to find.
love; not wrong (brave) — EDEN
This one feels more vulnerable than the other EDEN songs here, and I think that’s what gets me. It sounds like someone admitting they care, without trying to look cool about it. The title says it all: love is not wrong, and letting yourself feel it is brave.
After all the songs about giving everything and not knowing the future, this is the one that reminds me why I do it: the people I love. It’s the same thing I say at the end of this page, just with a much better voice than mine.
Obstacles — Syd Matters
This one is tied to Life is Strange for me. I can’t hear it without being back in Arcadia Bay, and that’s not a bad place to be. It’s also the song on my GitHub profile, and the “always listening to” there is not an exaggeration.
It’s also the best argument for something Zelda taught me: the obstacle usually isn’t the obstacle, it’s the angle. The album title said it back in 2005, and I only understood it much later.
Art
I care about design in pretty much everything: this portfolio, the terminal glow on Grimoire, the small choices most people don’t consciously notice but would definitely notice the absence of. Notable exception: my YouTube thumbnails (don’t ask me why, I don’t know either).
Nature
Give me a trail, a tent, and a few good friends and I’m happy for days. I’d love to study biology properly one day. For now I just try to learn what I can about it on the side.
Bonsai
One year into growing a gardenia bonsai, which mostly means losing a slow, wordless argument about who’s actually in charge. It doesn’t respond to enthusiasm or deadlines. I suspect it’s teaching me something. I just don’t know what yet.
Collect
I collect physical Nintendo media. “Collect” is a strong word: collector’s prices and intern money don’t really get along, so it’s more of a slow, expensive courtship.
Closing
The music, the games, the pixel art — (yes, an em dash. I was here first.) none of it is really the point. Most of what matters happens off the page, with the people I love.
(The gardenia bonsai listens too. It has strong, silent opinions.)
As you can see, I love to talk, but I’ll spare you the rest before this turns into a novel. If you’d like to keep talking, send me a message.
And whatever page of life you’re on right now: I hope it’s a good one. And if it’s not, I hope the next chapter turns the corner soon.
