President of the Indonesian Game Association (AGI), Cipto Adiguno, has urged local mobile game developers to create community-based multiplayer games to reach a wider market in Indonesia.
“So, (they will be able to attract players) not only because the game is great, but also because the (players’) friends play the same game, so they can chat or play games together in cafés, hangout spots, schools, or campuses,” he told ANTARA, here on Tuesday.
According to Adiguno, the unique characteristic of a popular game is that it allows users to be a part of a community.
“You do not always have to play together, you can also share excitement such as by chatting together,” he explained.
Local game creators have difficulty attracting new players to their games as there are no gaming communities yet, thus, prospective players are ill at ease or have no friends when playing the game, he argued.
“For a new game, people will think, ‘What the hell is this game? My friends do not play this game.’ That’s why our local game is still difficult to develop,” he said.
However, the challenge can be overcome if local game development companies build skilled teams, supported by sufficient marketing funds to introduce their products to the public, he added. However, limited funding is a problem for local game developers, he informed.
“If the government can help reduce the high risks (of using capital/funding) and allow us to get a large income, yes, of course, that would be great,” Adiguno said.
In Indonesia, human resources for game development are quite numerous and of high quality, especially programmers and visual designers, he pointed out.
“What is still lacking is the game designer. This game designer is in charge of making the game more interactive for users. For example, if a player wins, (they determine) what and how much will be the prize. This kind of experience and expertise only exists in the game field,” he informed.
Source: Antara News