Singapore game gets international kudos
Local game developer's role-playing game getting international kudos even before it's completed
Working on the role-playing game Masquerada: Songs And Shadows was already a lifetime dream come true.
But that dream has levelled up for local game developer Ian Gregory Tan, co-founder and creative director of local game company, Witching Hour Studios.
The still-to-be-completed game has already attracted international attention.
It beat more than 80 others to receive the title of Best Indie Game by Japanese magazine Dengeki PlayStation at the Tokyo Game Show last year.
It has also been featured in various news and gaming sites online, like Forbes, The Daily Dot and Polygon.
Mr Tan, who leads the 14-man team at his studio, told The New Paper: "I never would have dreamed of doing what I'm doing now.
"It's thanks to each and every person here who is helping to make our collective dream come true.
"Of course, it is also thanks to the many people who supported us as well."
The support he refers to includes the more than 2,000 people who contributed to a Kickstarter campaign that his studio launched.
The two-week long campaign, which began on April 21, was started to fund the game's last leg of development.
The company's other co-founder and executive producer, Mr Brian Kwek, said there was no expectation for the campaign.
He said: "To be honest, we were not sure how it would do. The game would still have been made even if the campaign did not go through, but we wanted to try and push, so we could make our game even better."
The campaign closed past its £45,000 (S$88,600) target, raking in more than £60,000 (S$118,000) when it ended on May 5.
More than 30 per cent of those who contributed were from Singapore.
BIG NAME SUPPORT
Said Mr Tan: "To say we are thrilled is an understatement. It's so great to know that people here and those overseas believe in us and the journey we want to take them on."
But the support extended beyond the crowdfunding campaign.
This month, expressions of personal support for Masquerada: Songs And Shadows came in from big names in the video game industry, including Mr Ken Levine, writer of first-person shooter game Bioshock, and Mr Mike Laidlaw, lead designer of the Dragon Age role-playing game.
Said Mr Kwek: "I was shocked. In fact, I am still in shock, it's crazy. You think you're just doing what you can and, boom, people like these take notice."
Witching Hour Studios also generated a lot of buzz for attracting well-known voice talents from the US television and video game industry.
These include Jennifer Hale (Commander Shepard, Mass Effect), Matthew Mercer (Chrom, Fire Emblem: Awakening), Dave Fennoy (Lee, The Walking Dead) and Ashly Burch (Tiny Tina, Borderlands 2 and Chloe, Life Is Strange).
Felicia Day, best known for her performances on TV shows like Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Supernatural, will also help voice a character.
But the talents in the game are not all from overseas. Local singer-songwriter Inch Chua has written and recorded a song, Broken Clay, for the game.
Masquerada: Songs and Shadows is slated for release in the third quarter of this year for Steam and PlayStation 4.
Mr Tan said: "Everyone is really motivated to create the best game we can and I hope that this can set a great precedence for the future of gaming in Singapore."
"I was shocked, in fact, I am still in shock, it's crazy. You think you're just doing what you can and, boom, people like these take notice."
- Witching Hour Studios' co-founder and executive producer Brian Kwek
WHAT IS MASQUERADA: SONGS AND SHADOWS
Masquerada, the third game by Witching Hour Studios won the Best Indie Game award from established Japanese magazine Dengeki PlayStation at last year’s Tokyo Game Show.
The tactical action role-playing game will feature pausable real-time combat and will be offered on Steam for PC/Mac and PlayStation 4.
The studio’s other titles are its mobile-only debut, Ravenmark: Scourge Of Estellion, and its follow-up, Romans In My Carpet! mobile game.
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