Korean indie game companies received a huge boost at the Game Developers Conference 2014 in San Francisco last month as part of a government project to promote Korea’s game industry worldwide.
Beginning in August 2013, the Korea Creative Contents Agency (KOCCA) sponsored a program to help localize, test, and promote 40 of Korea’s best indie titles. The project was conducted in partnership with Latis Global Communications, a game localization and service provider. By March, 15 of the games had been fully translated into English, Japanese, and Chinese, and were ready for debut at GDC 2014.
“It’s hard for Korean indie games to get recognition in the current environment of the Korean game market,” said Steve Yoon, CEO at Latis Global Communications. “We wanted to help the industry by giving smaller companies a chance to be seen and heard by a wider audience.”
Among the games ready for GDC were Astro Wings: Six Heros, Dragon Friends, Mandrake Girls, Happy Happy Bread, Bob’s Commandos, Sword Girls S, Song of Hero, My Tower Story, Mogo Star, Dragon Company, Onion Knights, O2 Jam Pop, and Cat Town.
Daniel Seo from Latis Global Communications pitches KOCCA games to a game publisher.
Representatives from Latis Global Communications promoted the games at GDC 2014 by connecting them to world-class publishers, ad networks, and participating in events like the Big Indie Pitch, where mobile gaming journalists listened to dozens of 2-minute pitch sessions over the course of an hour.
Though specific contract details are still confidential, several of the Korean titles earned publishing contracts and will be picked up in the United States, China, and Europe.
“For a startup like us, it’s hard for us to attend conferences like GDC, not to mention the difficulty of finding publishers to meet with,” said Bang Jaesuk of Owlogue, developers of Mandrake Girls. “We’ve been very thankful for the connections we’ve made with publishers and we think this project has created a bright future for indies in Korea.”
As part of their continuing promotion, participating developers will also be attending the Game Next Summit in Seoul, co-hosted by Latis Global Communications and Wildcard. Between April 15th and 17th, over 3,000 industry professionals are expected to attend, making it the biggest mobile gaming conference in the country.
For the first time since the project started, these indie developers will have the chance to personally pitch their games to industry heavy hitters such as Google, Gamevil, CJ E&M, and Facebook.
“We’re really happy to have given these indie developers so many great opportunities,” said Yoon. “Giving them more chances to be recognized on a global scale isn’t just good for indies, it promotes the health of the entire Korean gaming industry, and we need that right now.”
by Curtis File