A screenshot from the game A Space For The Unbound by Indonesian developer Mojiken Studios. - PHOTO: MOJIKEN STUDIOS via The Straits Times/ANN
JAKARTA, Feb 25 (The Straits Times/ANN): The last place Indonesian Warji Utama expected to see a stall selling mie bakso, or meatball noodles, was in a video game.
And the more Mr Warji played adventure game A Space For The Unbound, the more he was reminded of home, with its local references such as Indomie, the instant noodles brand, and the fruit-and-vegetable salad rujak.
“These are all things that I see everywhere at home. The game is so well-made and fun that I could not put it down till I finished it,” said Mr Warji.
He is not alone in praising the game, which is made by Surabaya-based Mojiken Studios, costs $18.50 and is playable on gaming consoles and PCs. After being released in January, it grabbed global headlines, with critics lauding its heartfelt story and nostalgic pixel-art graphics.
A Space For The Unbound is the latest in a wave of games from Indonesia that are both earning high scores from the gaming community and introducing the archipelago’s culture to the world.
The game, set in a rural Indonesian town in the 1990s, is designed to capture a snapshot of what Surabaya is like, said Mojiken chief executive Eka Pramudita.
Besides food, local gamers and those familiar with Indonesia have also pointed out other references such as iconic locations in Surabaya, the small-town way of life of its characters, and the movies it pays homage to.
“Our first intention was just to make a time capsule of our town, our neighbourhood and its people, along with all of their everyday, mundane routines. We also wanted to make it genuine, relatable and believable. So it is natural for us to depict the culture as authentically as we can,” said Mr Pramudita.
But the focus was also to create a quality product, which critics say Mojiken has delivered on. British daily The Guardian gave the game a perfect score and, late last year, it was given The Future Division award by the Computer Entertainment Association of Japan. The prestigious award recognises excellence in upcoming games.
Another game that has caught attention is 2020’s Coffee Talk, by developer Toge Productions. The game, which retails for $13 on online game marketplace Steam, is playable on gaming consoles as well as on PCs and Apple’s Mac OS.
The cafe simulator, in which players serve drinks and participate in conversations, has more than 6,500 positive reviews on Steam and a large following of fans online. Top-tier industry news outlets like Kotaku and IGN have also given it good reviews.
Toge Productions is also the publisher of A Space For The Unbound, and its chief executive Kris Antoni said the success of these titles shows that quality games could come out of Indonesia and from the region.
He is also proud that the games introduce elements of his country to global audiences. For instance, drinks made in Coffee Talk include STMJ, or susu telur madu jahe, a traditional Indonesian drink made with milk, egg, honey and ginger. Mr Antoni said that he has seen videos of netizens from other countries trying to make the drink.
“Our games are targeting international audiences, but they are also bringing in local culture. If you play all of our games, (you’ll see) there are small bits of Indonesian or South-east Asian culture embedded in them,” he said.
When asked about how some might be surprised that award-winning game studios can emerge from Indonesia, Mr Pramudita said that this is understandable, considering how the industry in the region is still growing.
He is confident that things will pick up, given how tools and software to build games are getting more accessible, and that more schools are offering game development as a subject major.
“I think the future is bright for our industry,” he said.
While the developer scene in Indonesia is small, it is growing quickly with strong support. Asosiasi Game Indonesia president Cipto Adiguno, who heads the Indonesian gaming association, said the government has been very supportive, with programmes such as travel grants for business events, early-stage incubation, and mentorship for advanced teams.
“Games are somewhere between tech and art, and Indonesia’s diverse culture is a hotbed for creativity. None of Indonesia’s award-winning games and success stories are technical breakthroughs. Some can even say they are very conventional, not even using modern-day monetisation techniques. Instead, it is their narrative and artistic direction that put them above others,” he said.
Data from the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy in 2021 showed that the gaming industry contributed 24.88 trillion rupiah (S$2.2 billion) to the country’s economy last year, accounting for 2.19 per cent of the total gross domestic product. The gaming industry grew 4.47 per cent in 2020, second only to television and radio, as more people turned to home entertainment amid social restrictions enforced to curb Covid-19.
Developers like Mr Pramudita and Mr Antoni are keen to keep the momentum going, with both having games in development. A sequel to Coffee Talk will be released in April, and Toge Productions is also working on a horror survival game set in a mountain in Indonesia.
“There are so many cultures in the world but people are only focusing on the ones typically seen in the media, like Western mediaeval fantasy, or like the Egyptians, or Norse or the Japanese. There is so much culture and history in South-east Asia that has not been touched,” said Mr Antoni. - The Straits Times/ANN
