Bringing Southeast Asian Games to Vietnam with Hobby Horizon: Beyond
December 30, 2023 | Vince Yalung
On November 4th 2023, Virtual SEA worked with Hobby Horizon: Beyond to bring Southeast Asian indie game developers and their games to the bombastic two-day convention at Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
THE VIRTUAL SEA INDIE KAMPUNG
Banchou Tactics is a turn-based role-playing game that follows a strategic gameplay format. The game is set in a Japanese gangster high school (also known as Banchou) and is inspired by popular Japanese Manga series such as Crows, River City Ransom and Final Fantasy Tactics. The game was developed by Thai studios Secret Character and ITSARAAMATA and published by Flyhigh Works in August 2023 on Steam. It has received positive user reviews, highlighting the game’s unique gameplay style and storyline.
Fallen Tear: The Ascension is an adventure game set in a magical world with hand-drawn animations. In the game, players assume the role of a young boy named Hira, who embarks on a quest to discover the truth about his forgotten past. Along the way, Hira must battle dangerous beasts, defy corrupt gods, and face numerous challenges to bring balance back to his world. As players progress through the game, they will unlock new skills and abilities to aid them in battle. The developers promise that the game’s environments will constantly change and react to the player’s choices. Fallen Tear: The Ascension is developed by CMD Studios and Winter Crew, based in the Philippines, and will be released on Steam.
Weyrdlets is a desktop pet game designed to create a friendly, relaxed community. Players can communicate with each other by sending social messages and trading cute items and stickers. They can also bring a virtual pet onto their desktop or join a shared multiplayer space. Weyrdworks, a game company based in Malaysia, is developing Weyrdlets. This company is known for creating games such as Unicorns on Unicycles, WarPods, Super SteamPuff, and Velocibox. Weyrdlets will be available on Steam upon release.
Tikus Tales is a 3D action platform with a 2-player split-screen couch co-op. The game follows the story of a mouse and a squirrel who are unwittingly tasked with recovering a stolen relic. The gameplay mixes platforming, combat, and puzzle-solving with boss fights and collectables to keep players engaged. WilKGames, a one-person development studio based in Brunei, developed the game. If you’re interested, you can wishlist Tikus Tales on Steam.
Ghostlore is an ‘Eastpunk’ action RPG where you fight monsters from Southeast-Asian folklore. Inspired by classic ARPGs such as Diablo 2 and Titan Quest, Ghostlore features a detailed item and character customisation system, procedurally generated maps, and an authentically retro ’90s aesthetic. Produced in Singapore by AT-AT Games, Ghostlore has been available on Steam since May 2023.
Galà is a game designed by kendikorp and published by the Cultural Center of the Philippines. It allows players to explore 17 famous landmarks in the Philippines, each representing one of the 17 regions of the country. As they play, they will discover cultural treasures, unlock jeepneys, earn pearls, and even go on field trips with Galà – the milk-tea-powered jeepney. If you want to play the game, download it from the Google Play Store.
Overhours is a single-player action tower defence game set in a fictional agency that is under attack by monstrous beings. The game follows the story of Mai, a new hire entrusted with protecting the company and its employees from being attacked by these creatures. Though it seems impossible, Mai is equipped with various traps and unique abilities and is paid well for her efforts. The game is developed by CtrlD Studio from Sarawak, Malaysia, known for creating the award-winning mobile game Ano: Journeys Through Tattoos. Overhours will be available on the Steam platform.
The Chef’s Shift is a fun and chaotic typing game set in a restaurant where players need to cook and serve food to hungry customers by typing. The game features a typing mechanic woven into the gameplay, narrative, and user interface. Players will encounter a variety of dishes from different cultures with special preparation methods. Developed by a small indie game development team from Indonesia, The Chef*s Shift will be released on PC in the second quarter of 2024.
Kooeh: A Timeless Delight is a restaurant management game that tells a heartwarming story about a person who moves from a village to the city for better opportunities. However, they are called back to their hometown to help save their family’s dessert restaurant from shutting down. The game is available for single-players and features a narrative-driven gameplay where players recollect lost family recipes and revive the restaurant. If you’re interested, you can try the game’s demo, which is available on itch.io.
Past the lively art markets, fascinating table-top game exhibitions, and colorful crowds of cosplayers, one could find the Virtual SEA Indie Kampung playing host to 16 indie game titles from all over Southeast Asia – let’s take a look at the booths and some of the proud developers who came to showcase their games!
Lovebirb is a rhythm-based dating game where players search for love one date at a time. All the characters in this game are birds. Similar to real-life dating apps like Tinder or Bumble, players must swipe left or right to meet other birds in their area. They must impress them by showing their best moves to the beat of the music. The game was made in the Philippines by Anonymous Penguin Studio and can be played for free on Steam.
Sigil of the Magi is a game that combines roguelike deck-building with turn-based tactics combat. Developed by Singaporean studios Yongjustyong and The Iterative Collective, this game offers a tactical experience with various possible builds and strategies. In this game, players control a party of three champions who navigate through procedurally generated maps and encounter battles and events along the way. Every encounter presents an opportunity to strengthen their deck of cards, representing unique skills for each champion. You can find Sigil of the Magi on Steam.
The Scourge is a first-person horror adventure game that plunges players into the heart of Saigon, Vietnam, through urban legends from the 1990s. The game revolves around the tragic fate of a family and the main character, who made past mistakes and is now haunted by a sinister supernatural force. Set in a rundown apartment during an unnamed epidemic, the game is full of mysteries and paranormal phenomena. Players must use their intellect to solve intricate puzzles, explore new areas, and prepare for the ultimate showdown. The Scourge is being developed by Vietnamese studios, Rare Reversee and Beaztek, and it has a playable demo available on Steam.
Phantom Stars is a visual novel from Thailand which tells the story of an idol band that has been overshadowed by a tragic incident. One of their members has a car accident, leaving the rest of the band members in shock. Players take on the role of a detective in the game, attempting to solve the mysterious case. A demo of Phantom Stars can be found on itch.io.
Pixel of Memory is a delightful puzzle game developed in Vietnam. The game follows the story of an amnesiac painter who tries to recollect his lost memories by piecing together his childhood mementoes. The game is known for its intricate puzzles and stunning pixel art. It is currently available on Steam.
Keyboard Warrior is an upcoming game from the Filipino studio that created the challenging bullet hell game Good Knight. It will test players’ typing skills during fast-paced action sequences. Keyboard Warrior is currently in development without a specified release date.
OF FUN AND THE FORTHCOMING: WHAT’S NEXT?
Because it was situated between more prominent video game-related attractions, the indie game area at Hobby Horizon: Beyond might have seemed too small to be celebrated at first glance. However, its presence was still a tremendously important factor in the growth of awareness and appreciation for game creators not only in Vietnam but also in Southeast Asia as a whole.
In this era of instantaneous digital information, aspiring independent game developers struggling to cultivate an audience for their games face the great challenge of staying relevant. The swift pace of trends and activity online has the potential to submerge a small studio’s promotional efforts, with dev logs, feature spotlights, and general online activity at risk of quickly fading amidst the relentless influx of content on social media.
Events and conventions like Hobby Horizon: Beyond that feature spaces for independent games help game developers form more meaningful interactions with people within and outside their target audience. Direct communication between people interested in indie games and their developers allows them to share the story behind their creations, building deeper connections with potential players and raising awareness about their game.
For those who attended Hobby Horizon: Beyond, this could mean not only learning about cool, new, and upcoming game development studios in Southeast Asia but also about the culture and real-life experiences that inspired and are celebrated in the games they create. In the present, many Southeast Asian developers might worry about the potential hit to their game’s reach and sustainability due to an underappreciated theme or aesthetic based on their local cultures or histories, which emphasizes the importance of this exposure to culture and personal experience through real, memorable interactions, as it could help pave the way to a future where these creators are more free to express and include elements of their own culture in games.
However, to reach an audience isn’t the only struggle our Southeast Asian indie devs have to endure. In the face of the continually transforming landscape of the game development industry, indie game developers must dare to innovate and challenge established norms in their games to stand out among their peers more easily.
Though one would expect indie games to be more designer-driven as a result, many, if not all, of the indie game devs who came to Hobby Horizon: Beyond still had to learn to compromise the fun in creating a game they love and the sustainability and reach they could find in considering current trends that make successful games popular among their target audience, however different that may be from what they had planned on the drawing board.
Despite this, the state of indie game development in Southeast Asia is marked by a surge of growth in activity and interest. Countries like Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, The Philippines, and Vietnam have become game development hubs. With continued support and more accessible information on modern game development, marketing techniques, and processes, more and more developers from these and other Southeast Asian countries will make themselves and their games known in the game development space.
Hobby Horizon is but one of many events where Southeast Asian games are given enough time in the spotlight to leave meaningful impressions on both enthusiastic supporters and curious bystanders alike. These events serve not only as a space to enjoy these games in the present but also as a celebration of the hard work of the individuals behind them and as a launch pad from which they can reach greater heights.
Vince Yalung
Vince is a lazy artist, writer, and aspiring game designer from the Philippines. His favorite ways of escaping from reality include playing shooters with friends and long, immersive single-player games. Having a particular affinity for horror, he joined VirtualSEA to discover and build up discussion on the latest and greatest games in the genre in the SEA region. Currently, he's really hooked on Lobotomy Corporation and Slay the Spire.
