From 18-19 November 2023, THE MAGIC RAIN partnered with LaLaport BBCC to organise the first ever Indie Jam, a Southeast Asian independent games showcase and industry conference celebrating upcoming indie titles and student demos from across the region.
Indie Jam was created to address several issues faced by the local game development industry: a lack of awareness for indie games made within the region, and a lack of platforms to introduce these games to the general public. Thus came the idea to host a dedicated Southeast Asian showcase open to games and demos of all kinds; from student work to upcoming titles from established studios.
A total of 30 indie games from Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, and Thailand were featured over the weekend, gathering a large crowd of casual game enthusiasts and aspiring game developers all hoping to try the games and meet the people who made them. UOW Malaysia were one of our key partners, showcasing several demos created by their game development students.
Besides the main showcase, Indie Jam 2023 offered other attractions to be enjoyed throughout the weekend. The Indie Jam Stamp Rally was a big hit with attendees, allowing them to collect “stamps” for each demo they completed, then exchange them for exclusive goodies from our event partners Mixue, Xbox PC Game Pass, and various indie studios.
There was a small 48-Hour Student Game Jam featuring demos created by UTAR game development students. Based on the theme “Train”, the students were asked to create a simple game demo which was then scored through a combination of industry judges’ votes and public votes over the weekend. Announced at the end of the event, the winners were Team Cocoon followed closely by Team Horocious.
Attendees were also invited to check out the Artist Alley or Doujin Alley, featuring video game fan art and original artwork made by local artists. With most geeky events in Malaysia focusing on anime and cosplay, it was a breath of fresh air to browse artwork dedicated solely to video games.
One of the event’s biggest highlights was the Industry Sharing Sessions, which happened adjacent to the main showcase on both days. Industry veterans and studio owners took to the stage to share their work experience and career advice, with topics ranging from their journey as a game developer, to how to craft a successful game pitch.
We were especially honored to host Jared J. Tan, Community Strategy at Devolver Digital as one of our speakers. He shared his career journey working in accounting, to working on marketing for the viral indie sensation Cult of the Lamb.
We also partnered with Southeast Asian streamer organisation The Cham Drinkers to host a panel about being a full-time content creator in Malaysia, featuring esports host and content creator Tashbunny, Twitch partnered streamer and musician Shykuroboo, and editor and content creator Lott Calliber. The session was hosted by Darren Barker, co-founder of The Cham Drinkers.
Each day of the event ended with performances by local musicians and dancers, featuring some familiar tunes from various indie games across the years. TikTok content creator and musician Pudds graced our stage for a solo concert, as well as rising artists in the ACG scene: Sarah In A Snowstorm, Ian Fewbeats, CTZ, and many more.
We couldn’t have organised Indie Jam 2023 without the support from our event partners LaLaport BBCC, Mixue, and The Cham Drinkers; our official event artists Monokarei and Genkei Tsuki; and our official media partners Kakuchopurei, Gamer Matters, 20m Podcast, and Pokde.net.
And to the gamers, thank you for joining us and see you at Indie Jam 2024!
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