Get to know Dev. Popular Indie in Indonesia and its Global Mainstay Game!

Without realizing it, the development of the game industry in the country is currently growing in a more advanced direction than in previous years. In addition to the recognition of the competitive esports game scene and careers as content creators, many local Indie developers over the last few years have also become more serious in composing quality games. Although in terms of “production value” it is not so big, but the appeal of indie games made by local developers lies in their unique concept which also follows market developments and interests.

In addition to being popular in Indonesia, most of Indonesia’s indie games are currently getting more popular and not a few of them have succeeded worldwide. The role of a team of developers who put their full dedication in composing their dream game is something that deserves full appreciation. To give you a clearer picture, in this article we have compiled a list of popular indie developers in Indonesia and their flagship games that are successful worldwide.

Curious who they are? Take a look at the full summary below.

Digital Happiness

The developer, which was officially founded in 2013, is one that must be familiar to gamers in Indonesia. They are the first Indonesian game developers to receive financial support from an international crowdfunding campaign. Before finally achieving great success through the release of the popular horror game series DreadOut which has been downloaded by more than one million players on various platforms.

DreadOut, a horror franchise that was a huge hit in the market and even got adapted into a movie

Following in the footsteps of the success of the first DreadOut series, Digital Happiness has expanded this series through the game DreadOut Keepers of The Dark, DreadEye VR, and also the continuation of its sequel entitled DreadOut 2. The popularity of IP DreadOut has finally attracted the attention of the production house GoodHouse Production in collaboration with CJ Entertainment, Sky. Media, Nimpuna Sinema and Lyto to develop the horror film adaptation.

Toge Productions

Starting its debut in 2009 when the game development industry in Indonesia was still very foreign at that time, Toge Productions is now widely known as one of the best indie game developers in the country. Starting from developing flash games, now Toge Productions has produced and published a variety of interesting indie games on console and PC platforms.

Coffee Talk has become a sensational indie game since its release, including a super positive reception from gamers in the west

One of the most popular games they produce is Coffee Talk, a heart-to-heart simulator game that combines the unique concept of bartender simulation gameplay. Coffee Talk received a very positive reception from many critics and gamers who really liked the concept. This game also won various prestigious awards such as Best Storytelling 2018 from the Level Up Kl event, Indie Prize Nomine from Dengeki Online at the 2019 Tokyo Game Show event, to Finalist Excellence in Narratice at the 2019 Busan Indie Connect event.

Agate International

Another developer founded in 2009 is Agate International. Since its establishment, almost every year they always bring interesting indie game releases for mobile platforms. After successfully getting large funding support from the firm Maloekoe Ventures in 2015, Agate continues to develop into a developer and publisher who is increasingly widely known in Indonesia.

Valthrian Arc: Hero School Story that drives Agate’s move to release the game on the console and PC markets

They also developed a cool RPG game called Valthrian Arc: Hero School Story for console and PC platforms. This is a game that has succeeded in boosting their popularity in the international arena, especially after getting support from the well-known publisher PQube Limited.

Mojiken Studio

Starting its debut as an illustration studio working on outsourced projects, Mojiken Studio for the past few years has shown their skills in creating high-quality indie games. Most of their games always have a very captivating artstyle approach that focuses on offering a memorable gaming experience.

Some of their flagship games that are also successful in the western market are She Who Once Was Lost, Ultra Space Battle Brawl, She and the Light Bearer, When the Past Was Around, and many more. They are currently also preparing for the release of another cool indie game, A Space for the Unbound. Although it has just released its prologue version that can be downloaded for free, this adventure game with beautiful pixel art and a mysterious storyline has won two awards from the Sense of Wonder Night 2020 event at the Tokyo Game Show 2020 Online.

MINTSPHERE

Different from most other indie game developers who like to experiment with games from various genres, MINTSPHERE is a developer who tends to put their focus more on RPG games. Having almost a decade of experience since its formation, they have spawned several popular games such as Trigger Knight, Kings Play, to new projects such as Grim Tales.

They also had time to collaborate with the developer YummyYummyTummy for the Fallen Legion game series, which finally succeeded in raising their name in the western region. This game is also the initial moment for MINTSPHERE to enter the console and PC game market which has proven to be potential.

SEMISOFT

SEMISOFT is probably the first developer to successfully demonstrate the potential of quality indie games from Indonesia that can compete in the market. Through a game project that is a love letter for fans of classic JRPGs such as The Legend of Dragoon, SEMISOFT has succeeded in giving birth to Legrand Legacy: Tales of the Fatebounds. This game, which has entered a long development period and has released several demo versions, has successfully evoked memories of the sensation of playing classic JRPGs.

Legrand Legacy: Tale of the Fatebounds is a game that successfully brings the long-awaited classic JRPG sensation

Legrand Legacy is also built with production values that should be appreciated, especially from how some of the story moments in this game are displayed through cool 3D cutscenes. The rest? You will get a JRPG game with an interesting storyline, classic turn-based gameplay that is evocative, to an art direction approach that deserves thumbs up.

Studio Lantern

Not much different from SEMISOFT, Lentera Studio is another local developer whose name became widely known after releasing their first game IP, Ghost Parade. This platformer game that has successfully attracted support from the publisher Askys Games is indeed very unique, especially from the artstyle with a light horror theme that it carries. The typical atmosphere of The Nightmare Before Christmas series that he is trying to realize also makes the world setting in Ghost Parade feel very memorable.

Ghost Parade is a platformer game that comes with an interesting concept to gameplay approach

The effective marketing of the game has made Ghost Parade quite popular in the western region, especially after Lentera opened a demo session to the public and won awards at several prestigious game events. It’s very interesting, of course, to follow the development of this developer and see what other games he will make.

Well, those are some of the popular indie developers from Indonesia and their successful games worldwide. Hopefully in the future the game industry in Indonesia can continue to develop more advanced and give birth to more potential talents.