Games and Gaming from Southeast Asia
As part of devcom 2020, the official developer conference of Gamescom, the Indonesian development studio Anantarupa presented its MOBA Lokapala to a wider audience. Lokapala combines classic MOBA gameplay with the cultural and mythological influences of Indonesia and Southeast Asia. Players can throw themselves into the 5vs5 battles with characters based on heroes from a wide range of Southeast Asian myths.
Waking up and leaving the house is just the beginning of the nightmare the player goes through in A Day Without Me, the debut of Gamecom Team. You get out of bed and must find out about your existence in an empty, chaotic neighborhood. Following a vibrating noise through the doors of your house and after finally switching it off, you’ll find yourself in front of a demonic ritual circle. The other doors are locked, protected by devils’ faces on the door plate. What the heck is going on…?
At this year’s devcom Developer Conference, a side event of the video game convention Gamescom, which is taking place digitally due to the pandemic, we had the opportunity to talk to some game developers from Indonesia who presented their latest projects to us. The highlight here was Tirta from developer Agate Games. In a detailed conversation with Cipto Adiguno, Vice President of the Consumer Games Division, we learned more about the content and the current state of development of the game.
Did you think this was one of those games that would be stuck forever in the Early Access nimbus and then be silently released at some point? Well, you were dead wrong! Instead, developer Toge Productions and publisher Modern Wolf have followed a stringent plan and now officially released their game Necronator: Dead Wrong after only 5 months of Early Access. Is this version any good now and is the project really finished? Let’s find out!
Due to this year’s pandemic, many gaming events had to be canceled or replaced by online presentations. Therefore, probably more game developers than ever decided to contribute playable versions of their PC games to The Steam Game Festival – Summer Edition 2020. In addition to live streams and Q&As with the developers, the hands-on experience is the main focus of this event. Fortunately, there are also many titles from Southeast Asia, for example from Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines and Vietnam. So that you don’t lose track of all those games, we have this list of 15+1 game demos from Southeast Asia that you can try out from home and for free between June 16, 2020 (10 AM PDT) and June 22, 2020 (10 AM PDT).
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.
Rocky Rampage: Wreck ’em Up is an arcade game for mobile devices (Android and iOS) in which we try to launch our “hero” Mr. Boulder boulder through a level at the most dizzying speed possible. He doesn’t run himself, but is rather catapulted through the air like a wrecking ball. He constantly loses speed and ultimately just comes to a stop like a rock. However, the goal is to get particularly far, or to defeat the final boss of each level by bumping into it.
Ciel Fledge, the latest game by the Indonesian developer Studio Namaapa, offers the unique opportunity to raise a daughter without having to ruin a real person’s life. As a cross between visual novel, match-3 mini-games and simulation, the game allows you to extensively manage your new kid’s activities and influence the career path she will take. Let’s take a deeper dive into the game and see how this mix plays out.
The pandemic triggered by the Corona Virus keeps the world in terror and of course also affects game development around the world. On itch.io, we found three short and free games from Southeast Asia that each deal with the Covid19 threat and the associated restrictions. We hope you enjoy reading and playing – take care, stay at home and above all, stay healthy!
Southeast Asia is famous for its impressively beautiful coral reefs – but unfortunately many of these reefs have already died or are in extremely poor condition due to global pollution and the resulting global warming. To avoid further destruction of these fragile ecosystems, we need to protect the reefs and treat our environment with respect. The issue of environmentalism has so far been underrepresented in video games, but the Indonesian studio Stairway Games has now announced their game Coral Island to change just that.
We’ve probably all been there. Sometimes, you’re just itching to play a new game, but work and life left you tired and stressed out enough – picking up another 30h epic may seem too big a task. Fortunately, there are lots of great, shorter games out there and plenty of them can be found on Itch.io. Browsing through the site’s extensive library can be a task in itself, however, but we’re here to help. We’ve selected 4 games from our collection of indie games from Southeast Asia you should give a try the next time you’ve got that itch.
What are we afraid of? This is a question every game developer has to ask himself if he wants to make a horror game. For everyone, fear and creep means something different. Popular horror games usually include the elements of terror, psychological horror, and the body horror of blood and intestines. DreadOut2 from Indonesian studio Digital Happiness serves us a splendid horror cocktail that contains all of these elements. However, one thing is decidedly different: it is a thoroughly Indonesian horror game.
The big challenge with most management games is the difficulty that comes with the act of making busywork, fulfilling orders, and organizing tasks engaging gameplay. Some games push your micromanagement skills to the limit, placing you on crazy strict timers. Others allow for some wacky setups, using the comedic power of a roller coaster that launches people into space to keep its players invested.
The year 2020 has already started so it is about time to look at the upcoming game releases. And what a year it will be for fans of the Indonesian gaming scene! Indonesia has by far announced the longest list of games for 2020. In recent years, it has been shown that Indonesia can produce quantity as well as quality. Will this trend continue in the new year?
Lately, our wordsmith Andreas has been commuting by subway frequently and therefore has more time to play on his mobile phones.This short mobile game mash-up features three gems from Southeast Asia that entertain him every day on the way to work!
It’s clear that inspiration for this game was the popular platform adventure Limbo. But unlike its role model, Incubo fails to achieve its brilliance. Too immature are the mechanics, too dirty the programming and too simple the style. Nevertheless, Incubo is perfect for those who are not afraid of any challenge and are interested in scary stories outside the mainstream.
