The Southeast Asian game industry has been growing at a rapid rate but we only have a few international gaming events in the region. Aside from Casual Connect in Singapore and Level-Up in Malaysia. With Casual Connect 2016 only a few weeks away we’d like to look back at some of the best of Indie Prize in 2015 and what they’re doing now.
Planet Alpha 31 by Adrian Lazar
Winner of Best In Show – Critic’s Choice, Most Promising Game in Development and Best Game Art
Planet Alpha 31 has definitely earned the title of Most Promising Game. Back in 2015 when I first saw the game I was suitably impressed with the level of quality and gorgeous visual style, but I went on to be completely shocked to learn that it was only developed by one person, Adrian Lazar. Oh yes did we mention he was an artist and had pretty much no programming skills *mic drop*.
It was the first time he had brought the game for a public playtest and it was just an indie-side project that he was working on at the time. Now he has an investor, a team and a couple more awards to hang around his brand new office.
Planet Alpha 31 is scheduled for release in 2017 on PC, PS4 and Xbox One.
Tiny Guardians by Kurechii
Winner of Best In Show – Audience Choice
In the local scene Kurechii is someone that needs no introduction. The artwork is iconic to the company and their gameplay is unique and addictive. At the time of Casual Connect 2015 the game had been launched on iOS and Android, and we actually covered them here around December last year when their game was Greenlit on Steam.
We met up with Kurechii at Level Up in KL last year and got to try out their latest test game, a 2D action adventure where you’re a mailman delivering letters. ‘Totes adorbs. We’re looking forward to what they have in store for us this year.
Tiny Guardians launched on Steam on March 24th for USD $9.99.
Screencheat by Samurai Punk
Winner of Most Innovative Game and Best Multiplayer
I loved playing Screencheat and by the end of the three days I had racked up some marginal skill in it. The game is a fantastic couch multiplayer and is meant to be played with friends IRL (shocking). It was an intensely random, chaotic multicolored experience where everyone is invisible and you can get smacked in the face by a rainbow piñata at any time, I loved every minute of it.
Screencheat is out on Steam, the Humble Store, GoG and has recently moved forward publishing on the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One this year.
An Octave Higher by Kidalang
Winner of Best Game Narrative
Kidalang means puppet master in Indonesian, hence the company’s focus on storytelling games. I’m a sucker for a good visual novel and you can tell that the team knows how to tell a good story from the writing, the depth and complexity of the world and the characters, which coupled with the art and the music pieces it together to be a great experience. An Octave Higher is out on Steam with 9/10 ratings.
Kidalang is currently at work on their latest project; One Small Fire at a Time which has just been Greenlit on Steam. The story will take place as prequel to An Octave Higher.
Veggie Dog Story by LunarCraft Games
Winner of Best Kids and Family Game
LunarCraft from Thailand describes this game as “Metal Gear Solid Lite”, I wouldn’t go so far as to call it that but you do play a sneaky veggie eating dog. It’s a cute stealth-puzzle-action game that takes the normal game mechanics of avoiding the sight of the farmers patrolling their field and adds in some interesting elements such as eating carrots and veggies to give your little doggie super veggie powers.
No word out of LunarCraft as to what their next step might be but if you’d like to check out Veggie Dog Story it’s on iOS and Google Play for USD $4.19.
Walkr by fourdesire
Winner of Best Game Audio
Just a month after the Apple Watch was shipped out there was a lot of apps and games developed for the platform, mostly involving absurdly trying to tap onto the face of the watch or obsessively tracking all your physical activity (Hello Fitbit). Walkr gamified the mechanic by utilizing the pedometer as fuel for your daily exploration and maintenance for a series of planets.
The company fourdesire has yet to release anything new in the last year but they have been refining Walkr. There are a lot of things to manage on the app, feeding the creatures on the planets, exploring different space systems and making adorable space dogs.
We’re looking forward to Casual Connect 2016 hit us up if you’re going to be there!