El Paso game developer finds home, inspiration in the Sun City

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- El Paso video game developer Xalavier Nelson Jr. has released a video game for PC and XBOX players titled "El Paso, Elsewhere."

The game takes place in a dystopia, where a man is fighting off monsters, demons, and eventually his lover Draculae, Lord of the Vampires, before she ends the world.

That description may not exactly sound like a normal day in the Sun City, But Nelson Jr. told ABC-7's Sam Harasimowicz that El Paso is at the heart of his work in many different ways.

"One of the major things that El Paso inherently encourages is this idea of the combination of fusion, these fusion of cultures and identities and pictures to create something entirely new," he said.

Xalavier Nelson Jr. first moved to El Paso as a member of a military family, with his father being stationed at Ft. Bliss.

His passion for video games and the gaming industry started when he was a young boy, and then it led him to review games.

"I realized that video game journalists get games for free. And I said, that's the perfect job. Objectively, that is the only job that a person should have. It's the best one," he explained.

Fast forward years later, and Nelson Jr. has his own game development company called "Strange Scaffold," where he and his team build games from the ground up.

In "El Paso, Elsewhere," Nelson no only led its creation, but also write, voice act and even help create the music playing throughout the levels.

The game was released on September 26th, 2023, and on the game site Steam, the synopsis reads, "Somewhere in El Paso, Texas, a three-story motel gained another 46 stories... all below ground."

Xalavier telling ABC-7 that special references to the real El Paso are all across the game.

"For people who are  familiar with the geography of the city and how much of a prominence even the Franklin Mountains plays in that."

At 25 years old, he has been nominated for a BAFTA awards and even been a part of major gaming projects.

"I just want to thank El Paso. There is no place like it on earth, and I don't think I would be sane or here without it," said Nelson Jr.

"El Paso, Elsewhere" is rated M for Mature, which means it is meant for those 17 and older.