Indonesia

Catalogue of Indonesian Games (Courtesy of AGI)

In 2021 Video Game companies from Indonesia reached in a number of 73 instances. It should be noted that this figure does not encompass the total number of indie or incorporated game developers. Furthermore according to a report from Indonesia Game Association, the numbers of published games in 2021 from companies are 112 and considered lower than number of published games in 2019 .

A 2021 reports from Newzoo stated that Indonesia has positioned itself as one of the leading global markets for mobile games at the 8th position, generating an impressive revenue of over US$1,511.2 Million.

## Game Development History

### The Origin (1981-2005)

#### David Setiabudi and DivineKids

In 1992, during his high school years, David Setiabudi created a game called SIEGE using the GWBASIC programming language. Back then, video game development and comics were viewed as hobbies and weren't widely recognized by the general public. After stepping on the university, David pursues in creating comics and published the comics to mainstream.

Around 2003-2004, David takes further study in Faculty of Art and Design Tarumanegara University learning more about programming and design. While taking the current study, David published his own game under the name of DivineKids. The game was released for the first time in CHIP Magazine. In 2005 David was also nominated as "The First Game Developer in Indonesia (Divine Kids)" according to *Museum Rekor Indonesia* (MURI).

### Local Market (2001-2013)

#### Rise of Online Games

The potential of the gaming industry started to be recognized by several local publishers. In 2001, A publisher by the name of BolehGame published an online game called Nexia Online, a game originated from South Korea and developed by Nexon. Nexia Online considered as one of the first online games specifically released for Indonesia market. The lifespan of the game was relatively short as it was canceled in 2004 due to the non-renewal of its license.

#### Nusantara Online and In-Game Advertisement

The Indonesian market was experiencing a trend in online MMORPG games, such notable examples are online games that published by LYTO (Seal Online and Ragnarok Online). In 2008, two game developers named Sangkuriang Studio and Telegraph Studio announced a local MMORPG game called Nusantara Online. This game caught the attention of a local publisher called PT Nusantara Wahana Komunika. Eventually, the game was released in 2010 and gained popularity among the local market. The success of the game attracted investors like Telkom showed interest in marketing the product.

#### DreadOut and The Predecessor

In 2008, Eva Muliawati stated the online gaming market in Indonesia reached around 2.5-3 million players. One reason why local players loved online games because free and fun to play. At that time the gaming market considered over saturated and few game developers starts to creating something out of the trend. In 2011, a game based on local horror theme was released. Jurig Escape, a game created by Vadi Vanadi tells a story of a high school girl who found herself alone in her school at night with no signs of life. However, she soon discovered that she was not truly alone as she encountered Indonesian mythical creatures and had to navigate the school, collecting lost souls and unlocking the cursed door. The game received a positive reception from locals and played a vital role in the development of the Indonesian gaming industry. A year later DreadOut was announced in development by Digital Happiness and generated significant buzz on social media. In 2013, a demo of DreadOut was released and gained attention by popular content creators PewDiePie and Markiplier . The video caused international exposure to Indonesian video games.

### Worldwide Market (2013-)

With the surge of international market, many video games were made after the release of DreadOut. One instance is Infectonator : Survivors by Toge Productions. Infectonator : Survivors is a RTS survival game released in 2014. According to Hybrid.co.id article, Infectonator : Survivors was originally released as demo in December 13 2013 on Armor Games . Furthermore the game received awards and nomination as Best Desktop Game Award from Indie Prize Asia 2014 and Game Dev Competition Winner from ASEAN Youth Creative Industry Fair 2015.

#### Rise of Indonesia Video Game Company

According to Asosiasi Game Indonesia reports on Indonesia Video Game Industry it is estimated that in 2013-2021 there has been significant rise of Video Game company estimatedly 63 companies registered as a video game company . However this does not cover indie schemes as there are multiple indies rising in Indonesia. In 2015, Mojiken Studio, a studio located in Surabaya, initiated an internal game jam named Mojiken Camp. Each team was tasked with developing a game based on their own ideas and combining them into one experimental games . The mentioned games include A Space For The Unbound, Heavens Below, She Who Once Was Lost, DAWGMAGEDDON, Unlimited Blocks, and Ultra Space Battle Brawl, totaling five games in total. Among the five games, A Space For The Unbound stands out the most. According to Game Director Dimas Novan Delfiano, the game revolves around a girl who enjoys sharing profound jokes with someone who understands her deeply. After long time consideration the game jumps to full time development, in 2020 the demo of the game was released on both itch.io and Steam. The game soon released on January 19th 2023 and considered as one of the best storytelling video games in 2023.

#### COVID Lockdown

COVID-19 pandemic began to spread to Indonesia at the middle of 2020. This caused major effects on development of Indonesia Video Game Industry. The Pandemic significantly increase more creators to develop a game and content creator to create content daily at home. Coffee Talk is a prominent video game that gained popularity among content creators. The game development starts in 2019 but due to the pandemic's impact on Indonesia, the team managed to release the game on January 29th, 2020. The combination of Coffee Talk's release coinciding with the lockdown led to a surge in its popularity and an increase in the number of players engaging with the game. Other example can be found with the announcement of Coral Island starts its development in March 18th 2020 . The game is developed using Unreal Engine 4 and released at 14th November 2023.

## DreadOut

### Release date

15 May 2014

DreadOut starts as a spiritual successor to Jurig Escape made by Vadi Vanadi (Vanadot) . In 2012, Digital Happiness showcase several prototype of DreadOut. The game started as Third person RPG Horror, First Person Survival Horror, and Third Person Survival Horror inspired by Fatal Frame Franchise. The game fully released alongside with two acts in 2015. The game considered as start of reaching to international market.

## Coffee Talk

### Platform

PC, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, Xbox One

### Release date

29 January 2020

The development of Coffee Talk began as an internal Game jam project by Toge Productions called Project Green Tea Latte. Project Green Tea Latte was one of the games created by Mohammad Fahmi Hasni and an internal team as part of the internal gamejam project. The game was inspired by a Facebook post about playing a game while sipping hot chocolate or green tea latte in cold weather. Coffee Talk was announced on August 16, 2019, and development began in full swing. A year later, on January 29, 2020, the game was released on PC, consoles, and handheld devices. Coffee Talk received positive responses from both local and international players. The game's release coincided with the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, providing a relaxing and soothing experience for players amidst the challenging times. In 2021, Coffee Talk received the "Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game" award from DICE.

## Coral Island

### Release date

14 November 2023

The development of Coral Island starts in 2020 and the game takes heavy inspiration from Harvest Moon series and Stardew Valley . The game was developed using Unreal Engine 4 however according to Co-Founder of Stairway Games Jeremiah Bramble the team lack of experience in Unreal Engine but also able to overcome the challenge by helping them to learn how to use the game engine . Stairway Games launched kickstarter campaign and reached over the expected fund goal. The studio has also received Epic MegaGrant funding and both are enough to keep the development going . On 14th November 2023, Coral Island released the first 1.0 Update and leaping the Early Access game to fully released game.

## A Space For The Unbound

### Platform

Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, Xbox Series X and Series S

### Release date

19 Jan, 2023

A Space For The Unbound starts as Mojiken internal game jam. On April 5th 2015, A proof of concept was released under the title of "A Space for the Unbound - The Bridge". According to project and art director Dimas Novan D the game takes inspiration from 90s rural setting set in Indonesia . The prototype considered massive success and push further the team to fleshed out the story and the game. On January 2020, a demo of A Space for the Unbound - Prologue released both on itch.io and steam. On January 13 2023 the game fully released and received awards as the best storytelling game in SEA Game Awards 2020 .

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 https://www.agi.or.id/s/Peta-Ekosistem-Industri-Game-Indonesia-2021-e-signed.pdf
2. ↑ https://hybrid.co.id/post/indonesia-jadi-pasar-game-mobile-terbesar
3. ↑ https://web7crawler.wordpress.com/2012/12/30/sekilas-tentang-gamedev-studio-game-di-jakarta/
4. ↑ http://solarmusik.blogspot.com/2011/11/sejarah-divinekids-game-indonesia.html
5. ↑ http://www.divinekids.com/document/about
6. ↑ https://bolehgame.com/
7. ↑ https://fansite.trendku.co.id/nexia/real/
8. ↑ https://paragram.id/tekno/game-lyto-zaman-old-yang-masih-ramai-penikmatnya-8160
9. ↑ https://gedelumbung.com/nusantara-online-game-online-pertama-buatan-indonesia/
10. ↑ http://fantasindo.blogspot.com/2008/11/nusantara-online.html
11. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68qO9rWJPL8
12. ↑ https://www.biskom.web.id/2008/07/14/eva-muliawati-gamer-online-indonesia-capai-5-juta.bwi
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 https://twitter.com/DH\_games/status/1536305475587035136
14. ↑ https://duniaku.idntimes.com/game/konsol-pc/eka-saputra-fauzi/jurig-escape-sensasi-jerit-malam-yang-sebenarnya
15. ↑ https://youtu.be/5qoTI\_Uu-mU
16. ↑ https://hybrid.co.id/post/infectonator-survivors-bergabung-ke-steam-greenlight
17. ↑ https://mojikenstudio.com/post/113683715519/good-evening-how-is-your-weekend-everyone-we
18. ↑ https://mojikenstudio.com/archive
19. ↑ https://www.stairwaygames.com/post/greetings-from-swag
20. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7vgaZcPXxA
21. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHxGU881c64
22. ↑ https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/269790?emclan=103582791435513321&emgid=2897459630207367995
23. ↑ https://twitter.com/coffeetalk\_game/status/1028357346802589696
24. ↑ https://togeproductions.itch.io/project-green-tea-latte
25. ↑ https://twitter.com/fahmitsu/status/1313891114101825536
26. ↑ https://twitter.com/fahmitsu/status/1313889561085308930
27. ↑ https://apptrigger.com/2020/03/15/coffee-talk-perfect-now/
28. ↑ https://www.interactive.org/news/24th\_annual\_dice\_awards\_finalists\_revealed.asp
29. ↑ https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/developer-interviews/coral-island-inside-the-chill-farm-sim-reinventing-the-genre
30. ↑ https://www.stairwaygames.com/post/greetings-from-swag
31. ↑ https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/developer-interviews/coral-island-inside-the-chill-farm-sim-reinventing-the-genre
32. ↑ https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1201280/view/2219658926338346784?l=english
33. ↑ https://news.seagm.com/level-up-kl-sea-game-awards-2020/