Casual Connect Asia 2017 is gradually increasingly becoming the place where the games industry congregates, just like its larger US parent. The latest edition between 16-18 in the Hard Rock Café on Sentosa Island in Singapore was arguably its biggest Asian event ever; it gave attendees a chance to meet and interact with masters and enthusiasts of the industry alike.
Indian indie game developers have been visiting the island nation in increasing number and Casual Connect Singapore has proved to be a rather significant platform for them. This year too, was no different; a bunch of them showcased their own creations.
We got in touch with some of them to get an understanding of their experiences, from their perspective.
There were five to six teams present from India at this year’s Casual Connect Singapore, some of which were Where is my way by Maxin Games, Mukti by UnderDOGS Gaming Studio, Play God by Weloadin Studio, Globe – in a state of war by Optimum Games and The Bonfire by Xigma Games.
“It was an amazing overall experience. We got to meet so many indie developers and got a chance to check out the games everyone has been working on. We also showcased our game The Bonfire, it was a great learning experience to see people play our game. We were happy to receive positive and constructive feedback on our game from indie devs, publishers, and experts of the industry,” said Xigma Games, founder, Himanshu Manwani.
As mentioned earlier, the event is pretty much B2B and thus provides the developers with insights on how to improve their games as well.. This was what Optimum Games Aditya Natarajan shared: “Events like these really educate indie developers on how to go about the business end of game development as making games is only half the process really. It also opens up way more opportunities and developers are presented with many more options with their game.”
It was the first time Natarajan was attending the event and it seems that it left a deep impact on him. “It was a really great first time experience, being there itself was victory, but getting so much love and positive feedback was incredible. We got to learn so much from the people there, the talks were amazing. To get feedback for our game on that level was unprecedented. We have come back inspired and super charged to release our game GLOBE.”
Dropout Games’ Ankush Madad was at the event too and here’s what he had to say about it, “I was part of the two people team that was organizing Casual Connect’s maiden mentorship session where developers and veterans interacted with each other in one-on-one meeting sessions. It was a no holds barred kind of event where the developers were allowed to go all the way and ask whatever they wanted to. There were no restrictions to their questions and they could have deep discussions with the mentors. It was a successful maiden attempt and Casual Connect plans to add it as a main attraction in the future conferences.”
As the event flourishes through its yearly editions, the platform becomes bigger but it also becomes tougher for the developers as they have to go through much more competition for their games to be selected.
As UnderDOGS Gaming CEO and founder Vaibhav Chavan pointed out, “Casual Connect Asia had a lot more to offer this year than any other I’ve been to and I have visited the past two years as well. The amount of publishers that showed up this year was more than ever and we had an opportunity to connect with almost each and every one of them.” He further stated, “There were only few Indian devs as compared to last year, clearly it was because of some very tough competition to get your game through to the indie prize section. Of course it paid off really well for us.”
UnderDOGS Gaming showcased its upcoming game, Mukti, through a live stream titled “MeetTheDevs”, which apparently received positive response from the audience.
When asked about his takeaway from the event, Chavan asserted, “One of the best things is networking with people from different cultures and understanding the design thinking they follow. The key for any indie developer coming to Casual Connect or any event for that matter is’to get noticed’ and I think these events really help you to be known among others. Probably you’ll meet some publisher who will be interested in your game and wants to publish it, some talents across the country who would want to collaborate with you on your ‘cool’ project or just be there to listen to the talks from veterans of the industry. It helps in every possible way.”
Added Manwani: “The connections we made during the conference with indie devs, publishers, and store managers were our biggest take aways from the event.”
It was not any different for Madad as well. Said he: “There’s a huge presence of major publishers, mostly catering to F2P (Free to play) games as well as store managers and media persons that could benefit your games in several ways depending on what you seek. Overall, I’d have to say that there’s something or the other for everyone and one should definitely consider the conference if they’re working on a mobile game both paid and F2P.”
Overall, the Indian developers seem to have had a great time at Casual Connect Singapore, 2017, as Natarajan concluded: “It was the best learning experience we could get, and the best feedback we could receive.”
Obviously, Casual Connects was a good connection he appears to have made.
Check out the upcoming titles from Indian indies here.