On Thursday (28), AE visited the Samsung Institute of Development for Information Technology in the Amazon (Sidia), located in Manaus. This development center of the South Korean tech giant focuses on technology, education, and game design projects.

“We’re bringing together professionals and expertise from all over Brazil at our research center,” says Mr. Julio Kim, Sidia’s superintendent in the country. Applications, classroom systems, and games on the Play Store are intended to be just the beginning of the institute’s output. Álvaro Gonçalves, technical manager, is confident that “productions of this level can bring pride to the people of the Amazon.”

“When we thought about creating something like Sidia, we decided it would be a reference institute in high technology, both nationally and globally,” Kim adds. Apps like Education Hub, educational projects such as Smart School, and the game "Galaxy 11: Invasion" are examples of Sidia’s early results in the country, which started operating in November 2013.

Inaugurated in January this year and recently patented, the Black River Studio was a highlight of the center’s visit. As the superintendent states, “the world of games is our priority here at Sidia.” The first product, "Galaxy 11: Invasion," a mobile game inspired by the World Cup, was released in July and has already garnered over four thousand downloads on the Android Play Store.

Black River Studios and Galaxy 11: Invasion

“We have employees from all over the country here at our studio. We are a team of 22 people, and today—unfortunately—only four are from Manaus. We always prefer to hire locally, but finding expertise in the Amazon is challenging, so we end up looking in other states and even abroad,” says Álvaro. Originally intended as a mobile game development center, the Black River team seeks references from around the world. For Antônio Teoli, who has composed soundtracks for over 450 games, “working at Sidia has been a very good experience,” and for Thais Weiller, a game designer at the center, “this is the most interesting job of her career so far.”