Developer Jeremías Babini passed away “unexpectedly” over the weekend, according to collaborator Daniel Benmergui.
The Argentinian developer worked with Benmergui on 2023’s Storyteller as an artist and co-designer. They first teamed with musician Hernán Rozenwasser on 2017’s Fidel Dungeon Rescue.
“[Jeremías] he poured his humor into every character, every animation, every detail,” wrote Benmergui. “He gave life to everything we did.”
Babini first got into games in 2010 as an animator at social game developer Atommica. In 2012, he worked at Heavy Boat (as an artist) and Ludomancy (art director). Come 2015, he co-found Wonbats in Buenos Aires.
At Wonbats, he worked as an art director on a number of Cartoon Network titles. Those games, some of which are still playable, include Steven Universe: Sword Dancers and Regular Show: Demonic Naptime.
Prior to his passing, Babini was working on Piopow for the NES and Famicom, and whose status currently remains up in the air. Like with the Atari 2600, developers have taken to creating new game catridges for the retro console.
Benmergui went on to call Babini an “unmatched illustrator. […] He was our Da Vinci. I can’t replace him. I will never be the same.”
“I feel very lucky…that [Jeremías] lived and left on his own terms,” he concluded. “I believe if he could say one last thing he would say, ‘I am fine with this’. Now it’s up to us to figure out the rest.”