■ Indie game creators reflect on the game production process over the past seven weeks, experience the final game build, and cheer each other on.
■ Experiences that can help you grow as a creator, learning the value of collaboration through teamwork… Mentoring from senior creators provides practical help.
Smilegate Future Lab (CEO Kwon Hyuk-bin) announced on the 22nd that the ‘Indie Game Prototyping Challenge’ graduation ceremony held at Smilegate Campus on the 20th of this month was successfully completed.
The “Indie Game Prototyping Challenge” is an event designed to help indie game creators overcome challenges they may encounter during game development. It ran for seven weeks, from the 9th of last month to the 20th of this month.
This challenge was designed to involve creating a game build based on a game idea, testing it with users, and ultimately completing a prototype. Each week, teams were provided with time to exchange feedback. Expert lectures and Q&A sessions were also held to help participants reduce trial and error and set specific validation goals.
A total of 87 indie game creators from 24 teams participated in the graduation ceremony. The ceremony consisted of sessions such as an “Opening Session” where participants reflected on their projects, a “Team Reflection” where each team reflected on the changes they experienced through their projects, a “Group Demonstration” where participants demonstrated their final games and encouraged each other, and an “Individual Presentation” where participants shared stories of how their projects strengthened their skills. Future Lab also arranged a separate meal after the ceremony to encourage interaction and networking among the creators participating.
Creators who participated in the opening session and team reflections unanimously agreed that this challenge provided them with an opportunity to grow and develop their development capabilities, as well as to learn the value of collaboration. They particularly appreciated the feedback from mentors throughout the challenge, including Lee Yu-won, CEO of Ring Games, and Kim Seo-ha, CEO of Huchu Game Studio.
Eight teams presented in individual presentation sessions. Each team showcased their game development process during the challenge, captured in several images. “This process allowed us to organize our ideas and establish a clearer development direction,” said Honggyu Ryu, a developer at Limu Games. “This challenge provided us with specific guidance on setting goals, writing scenarios and development logs, and defining core fun elements, making it a valuable experience.”
Going forward, FutureLab plans to hold the “Indie Game Prototyping Challenge” regularly four times a year. Furthermore, it plans to distribute the “Indie Game Prototyping Guide” to the online community of global gaming platform Stove, enabling more creators to learn prototyping techniques and apply them to indie game development.
Future Lab Director Oh Sook-hyun said, “I hope this challenge will be a meaningful opportunity for indie game creators to experience the creative process in a systematic way and further develop their creative capabilities.” He added, “Future Lab will continue to strive to enhance our support system and foster a healthy creative ecosystem as a partner that helps creators grow in a practical way.”
