# BrainGames > Spanish MSX game developer **Wikidata**: [Q107557576](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107557576) **Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/braingames-q107557576 ## Summary BrainGames is a Spanish video game developer that specialized in creating games for the MSX platform, a popular home computer system in the 1980s. The company was founded by Santiago Ontañón and operated within the Spanish gaming scene during the MSX era. BrainGames is recognized as a dedicated MSX game development studio that contributed to the limited but dedicated library of games produced for this platform in Spain. ## Key Facts - **Name:** BrainGames (also known as "Brain Games") - **Country:** Spain - **Platform specialization:** MSX home computer - **Founded by:** Santiago Ontañón - **Industry:** Video game development (part of the video game industry) - **Classification:** Video game developer - **Website:** https://braingames.santiontanon.dev/ - **Described at URL:** https://www.generation-msx.nl/company/braingames/1008/ - **TheLegacy Company ID:** 12177 - **VideogameGeek Company ID:** 7162 - **Wikidata Description:** Spanish MSX game developer ## FAQs ### Q: What type of games did BrainGames develop? A: BrainGames specialized exclusively in developing games for the MSX platform, a Z80-based home computer system that was particularly popular in Japan and parts of Europe during the 1980s. The company focused on creating software titles that would run on the MSX system's specific hardware specifications and BASIC programming environment. ### Q: Who founded BrainGames? A: BrainGames was founded by Santiago Ontañón, a Spanish game developer who created the company specifically to develop titles for the MSX computer platform. Ontañón's work represents a notable contribution to the Spanish video game development scene during the early era of personal computing. ### Q: What makes BrainGames historically significant? A: BrainGames represents the small but dedicated community of developers who created games for the MSX platform in Spain during the 1980s. Unlike major publishers that focused on multiple platforms, BrainGames concentrated specifically on MSX, contributing to the ecosystem of software available for this computer system in the Spanish market. ### Q: Is BrainGames still active? A: BrainGames as a historical developer from the MSX era is no longer active in the traditional sense. However, a website exists at https://braingames.santiontanon.dev/, which appears to be maintained by the founder Santiago Ontañón, potentially serving as a historical archive or personal portfolio related to the company's legacy. ## Why It Matters BrainGames matters as a representative of the specialized, niche game development that occurred during the MSX era in Spain. During the 1980s, home computer platforms like MSX attracted dedicated developers who created games tailored to specific hardware capabilities and regional markets. BrainGames exemplifies this phenomenon—operating as a focused development studio rather than a large publisher, creating games that served the relatively limited but passionate MSX user base in Spain. The company's work contributes to understanding the broader landscape of European video game development history. While major development studios often receive historical attention, smaller regional developers like BrainGames played a crucial role in establishing gaming cultures in different countries. For MSX enthusiasts and video game historians, BrainGames represents an important piece of the puzzle in documenting which companies produced games for this platform and how regional gaming scenes developed independently of the major Japanese and American markets. Furthermore, the existence of a maintained website by the founder suggests that the legacy of BrainGames holds significance for the developer community, serving as a connection point between the early days of game development and modern retrospective views of that era. ## Notable For - **Platform specialization:** One of the few Spanish developers dedicated exclusively to MSX game development - **Regional significance:** Represents the Spanish contribution to the MSX gaming ecosystem - **Founder continuity:** Santiago Ontañón maintains an online presence related to the company, indicating ongoing connection to the project's legacy - **Historical documentation:** The company is documented in dedicated MSX databases and gaming archives, preserving its role in gaming history ## Body ### History and Foundation BrainGames was established in Spain by Santiago Ontañón during the period when the MSX platform was active in the European market. The MSX, originally a standard created by ASCII Corporation in Japan in 1983, gained traction in various countries including Spain, where it competed with other home computers like the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, and Amstrad CPC. Ontañón founded BrainGames with a specific focus on creating games for this platform, contributing to the relatively small library of MSX titles developed in Spain. ### Platform Focus: MSX The MSX platform held particular significance in the history of home computing. Designed as a standardized personal computer architecture, MSX aimed to create compatibility across hardware from different manufacturers. For developers like BrainGames, this meant creating games that could run on any MSX-compatible machine, but also required working within the system's specific limitations and capabilities—including its Z80 processor, limited memory, and distinctive BASIC interpreter. BrainGames operated within this ecosystem, producing software that targeted the MSX's user base in Spain. The company's specialization in a single platform distinguishes it from larger publishers who typically developed for multiple systems simultaneously. ### Founder and Continued Legacy Santiago Ontañón, the founder of BrainGames, represents the individual entrepreneurs who drove early video game development in regional markets. Rather than large corporate studios, many MSX games were created by small teams or individual developers who programmed, designed, and sometimes published their own titles. Ontañón's continued maintenance of a website related to BrainGames (https://braingames.santiontanon.dev/) demonstrates the lasting connection developers maintain with their early work. The website's existence serves as a digital archive that preserves information about BrainGames and potentially provides access to or information about the company's historical titles. This ongoing digital presence contrasts with many other small MSX-era developers who have no surviving online footprint. ### Documentation and Archival Recognition BrainGames is documented in several gaming databases and archival resources that track video game history. The company appears in: - **TheLegacy database** (Company ID: 12177) - A comprehensive video game database that documents companies, titles, and personnel across gaming history - **VideogameGeek** (Company ID: 7162) - A community-driven database tracking video game companies and their releases - **Generation-MSX** - A dedicated MSX resource that documents companies, games, and hardware related to the platform These archival references ensure that BrainGames' contribution to MSX gaming remains documented for researchers, enthusiasts, and historians interested in the evolution of video game development in Spain and the broader MSX ecosystem. ### Relationship to Video Game Development Industry As a video game developer, BrainGames represents the broader category of software development organizations that specialize in creating interactive entertainment. The company fits within the video game industry structure, operating as a development studio focused on a specific platform niche rather than pursuing broader market coverage. Unlike modern game development studios that often work with publishers for distribution, BrainGames exemplifies the earlier model where developers often handled both creation and distribution aspects, particularly in regional markets. The company's classification as a "Spanish MSX game developer" places it within the specific subset of the video game industry focused on home computer platforms during the 1980s era. ## References 1. [Source](https://www.generation-msx.nl/company/braingames/1008/) 2. [Source](https://sites.google.com/site/santiagoontanonvillar/home) 3. VideoGameGeek