Games and Gaming from Southeast Asia
In Stagehands! we take on the tasks of a backstage crew in the film or theater business. Our job is to prepare the stage for the production. This works best with teamwork and so Stagehands! Will be a co-op game for 2 to 4 players in local and online mode. Together we create backdrops, put the scenes in the right light, and move stage elements to their correct place – always with a wicked timer ticking down!
Especially in recent years, the German video expo Gamescom has developed into an important meeting point for game developers from all over the world to present their works to a larger audience. Southeast Asia was also strongly represented last year. Now, the trade fair had to switch to a purely digital concept due to the pandemic. Unlike in the past, the developers were now able to at least save the high travel costs – but does that mean in return that more games from Southeast Asia could be seen and played? We must admit: Compared to last year, there were fewer surprises this time, but a lot of new things from games which were already announced. In this article we will discuss these games and the possible reasons for the cautious participation in general.
Stronger together – this applies not only to many social movements around the world, but also to projects in indie game development. Not only effectiveness but also creativity are boosted when creative people from different countries and cultures come together to develop games together. Southeast Asia is a very diverse region with many cultures, languages, religions and of course also different possibilities and approaches to game development. While individual countries already have a very distinctive development scene, there are also regions in Southeast Asia in which game development plays a subordinate role, if at all.
Due to the current corona pandemic, UOW Malaysia KDU has decided to have this year’s summer showcase of its student projects take place digitally. It is an ideal opportunity for us to introduce you to the games made by students of the Bachelor of Game Development at the School of Computing & Creative Media. It is impressive what Malaysia’s future game designers have achieved already: from a culturally inspired point & click adventure, to a musical brawler or even a Souls-like, everything is there to delight a gaming enthusiast’s heart and what’s the best: all games can be downloaded free of charge, the links can be found below. We have picked five highlights for you, but the other projects are also definitely worth a look.
Gamescom 2019 has just closed its doors and it is time for Virtual SEA to look back at the best games from Southeast Asia showcased at the world’s biggest consumer […]
As part of the Berlin gamesweek, this year’s A MAZE festival opened its doors from April 10 to 13 to present talks, workshops and exhibitions from the field of art and culture and playful media. Being the Gamescom’s little artsy-fartsy sister, inclined visitors had the chance to experience mind-blowing VR installations, crazy indie games and other media that go way beyond mainstream gaming. Main topics were inclusion, politics, playfulness, and experimental visuals – all of it with a great and wide international focus
Languages and creoles die when they fall out of use and relevance from current contexts. Moved by Kodrah Kristang’s mission to revitalise Kristang, I also wanted to use this local creole in my new game that is based on Southeast Asian culture and folklore. But this comes with challenges due to Kristang’s limited and/or dated vocabulary.
