Twin Eagles Group
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| Abbreviation | TEG |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Lai Pen Computer Group, EagleSoft |
| Formation | 1989 |
| Dissolved | 2003 |
| Headquarters | Lima, Peru |
| Products | Video games |
| Leader | Lobsang “Mr. Byte” Alvites |
| Website | https://www.tegperu.org/ |
Twin Eagles Group (TEG) was a Peruvian demoscene/software piracy group founded in 1989.[1] It originally produced hacked games for the Commodore 64,[2] and would eventually modify games for video game consoles such as the Super NES and Nintendo 64. The group was commissioned to produce their ROM hacks. In part due to the threat of legal action, they would eventually become a legitimate video game developer using the skills they learned from piracy. Due to loss of money, TEG was dissolved in 2003.[3] It has been credited with starting the Peruvian video games market.
History
[edit]Twin Eagles Group was founded by Lobsang Alvites, better known by the pseudonym Mr. Byte, and Overmind.[4] Mr. Byte founded TEG at 16 years old. The reason was because he had seen piracy/demoscene groups in other parts of the world through his travels, and wanted to found a similar organization in Peru.[5] It was famous as a cracking group, adding a cracktro at the beginning before distributing a game.[6] Eventually, it became a major supplier of video games in Peru, and was famous throughout Lima. The games were mostly supplied to TEG from Europe.[5]
With its newfound popularity, TEG would grow in size, recruiting many new members of various ages. The members were not paid by Mr. Byte, working with the group because of their passion for computers. TEG was mainly operated at Mr. Byte's house.[5]
TEG also had a separate group of members that made ROM hacks, such as Sonic The Hedgehog 4 for Super NES, a hack of Speedy Gonzales: Los Gatos Bandidos.[7] It was known for making hacks of soccer games like International Superstar Soccer, adding current South American teams to them, which gained popularity.[8][1] Their commissioned hacks were distributed by different sellers all over the world.[9] However, they needed to stop this practice when copyright law in Peru became more regulated.
During 2001, former Peru president Alberto Fujimori was succeeded by Alejandro Toledo. TEG decided to use this as a premise for a political video game. The game was titled La Tercera Vuelta, or The Third Round, as inspired by Peru's two-round election system. TEG later created The King of Peru, a fighting game featuring Alejandro Toledo and Alan García, who were the presidential candidates of the time. A sequel was also created, featuring more characters. However, the computer company distributing the game began to distribute pirated copies, which caused TEG to become bankrupt.[5]
Mr. Byte changed to working on producing indie games after the dissolution of TEG.
Original games
[edit]| Game | Notes | System | Published Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gunbee F-99 | A shooting game inspired by the Super NES game Pop'n TwinBee. The first commercial video game developed in Peru. | Amiga 1200 | 1998 |
| The King of Peru 2 | A political satire fighting game featuring battles between presidential candidates Alberto Fujimori, Alejandro Toledo, Alan García, and Fujimori's secretary of intelligence, Vladimiro Montesinos. | ||
| The King of Peru 2001 | A King of Peru game for PC. |
Hacked games
[edit]| Game | Notes | System | Published Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caballeros Del Zodiaco | Super NES | 1996 | |
| Sonic the Hedgehog 4 | A hack of Speedy Gonzales: Los Gatos Bandidos. Replaces Speedy Gonzales' sprites with Sonic. | Super NES | 1996 |
| Caballeros Del Zodiaco 2 | Super NES | 1997 | |
| Sextris | A version of Tetris with pornographic images added. | Super NES | 1997 |
| Futbol Argentino '97 | A hack of International Superstar Soccer with Argentinian teams. Versions with Brazilian, Colombian and Peruvian teams also were made. | Sega Genesis | 1997 |
| Caballeros Del Zodiaco | A port of the Super NES game. | Game Boy | 1997 |
| Ronaldinho Soccer 64 | A hack of International Superstar Soccer 64 by Konami that added in South American teams. The title screen intro animation was a popular rickroll-like Internet meme for some time. | Nintendo 64 | 1998 |
| Sonic the Hedgehog 2 | A hack of Sparkster that replaces the main character's sprites with Sonic. | Super NES | 1998 |
References
[edit]- ^ a b Azevedo, Rafael Luis (2018-11-12). "O cara que produziu os games piratas de 'International Superstar Soccer'". Vice (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-05-30.
- ^ "Twin Eagles Group [TEG]". www.tegperu.org. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
- ^ Marisca, Eduardo (2013-08-06). "The Networks Are Out There: Building Cultural and Economic Resilience Through Informal Communities of Practice". arXiv:1308.1284 [cs.SI].
- ^ "The story of TWIN EAGLES GROUP, a cracking group from Peru". Digital Rebellion.
- ^ a b c d Wong, Luis (2014-02-10). "Mr Byte: the 'gang' leader of gaming in Peru". Polygon. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
- ^ Goldgel-Carballo, Víctor; Poblete, Juan (2020-03-03). Piracy and Intellectual Property in Latin America: Rethinking Creativity and the Common Good. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-000-03875-0.
- ^ "Sonic the Hedgehog (SNES)". Sonic Retro. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
- ^ "Games by Twin Eagles Group | Backloggd". www.backloggd.com. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
- ^ "TEG - Contacts 1989". www.tegperu.org. Retrieved 2024-05-30.