Interview of the Winners, 2021 Smilegate Indie Game Contest 2021-06-03

※ The article was written on June 3^rd, 2021

The “2021 Smilegate Indie Game Creation Contest” with the slogan of “Take care of tomorrow’s indie games” ended in March. The ceremony and meet-up day was held on May 21st as the final event. This event marked the success of the Smilegate Foundation Future Lab’s sincere efforts to support creative projects as a part of its Creativity and Creation program.

The contest holds even more meaning because previous beneficiary teams of Smilegate Membership, Future Lab’s indie game creation support program like “Cassel Games” (CEO Hwang Sung-jin) and “Meet and Greet” (CEO Lee Ji-min) made contributions to the prize money. In addition, senior creative team members volunteered for the contest. The grand awards of the contest were named after senior creative teams.

The Cassel Games Award and Meet & Greet Award were won by <Pro Story> of Team OOPArts and <Grid Page> of Yooni Studio, respectively. We interviewed these two grand award-winning teams at the "2021 Smilegate Indie Game Creation Contest."

| <Pro Story> of Team OOPArts with 4 years of development know-how

<Pro Story> started out as a simple game, a short-term project of 3 months. Contrary to initial expectations, it is just now becoming noticed in four years. It had received the ▲BIC 2019 Rookie Game Design Award and won the ▲13th New Gyeonggi Game Audition, but it was Team OOPArts’ efforts to improve on the completeness of <Pro Story> that made a difference. We interviewed Baek Jong-won, CEO of "Team OOPArts", who won the Cassel Games Award in this year’s contest and is preparing for a good year ahead.

Q. Briefly, tell us about <Pro Story>.

<Pro Story> is an action-adventure game about a fairy waking up in a locked room, going onto exploring a unique world. The game’s story and ending changes according to the decisions and actions of the player. <Pro Story> is an exciting game for anyone who enjoys action games with battles.

▲In-game screenshot of <Pro Story>

Q. How did you participate in Smilegate’s Indie Game Creation Contest?

I got to know it through an internet community. I decided to participate in as many indie game contests as possible to introduce <Pro Story> to a larger audience.

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▲CEO Hwang Sung-jin of Cassel Games (left), CEO Baek Jong-won of Team OOPArts (right)

Q. How do you feel about being selected as the winner of the “Cassel Games Award”?

When I participated in BIC 2019, I saw Cassel Games' "Latropolis" receive the Rising Star Award and considered them an amazing team. Therefore, it is more meaningful to receive an award made by Cassel Games in this contest. The award means much more than winning to me. I feel like I've been passed down the responsibility of supporting future developers. Someday, I want to make an award named after our team like Cassel Games did, to support other teams. Thank you again to Smilegate Foundation for organizing this contest and Cassel Games for donating the prize money.

▲Smilegate Indie Game Contest Ceremony & Meet-up at SGM Sinchon Lab on May 21st

Q. How was the lecture and feedback at the meet-up?

Our team didn’t get the chance to hear feedback due to the shortage of time, but lectures from other teams were very interesting and informative. We sympathized with many teams that faced obstacles along the stages of game development, just as we did with <Pro Story>. We also had the chance to listen to the experience of a team that had completed funding and launch. This was very useful and of great help to introduce <Pro Story> to a larger audience in the future.

| <Grid Page> of Yooni Studio with charming pixel art graphics

Yooni Studio is a development team that fits the purpose of Smilegate’s Indie Game Contest. It is a one-person developer company with no prior experience in the field that has managed to change the previous concept of manipulating characters into manipulating space, winning the Meet and Greet award in the category of mobile games with <Grid Page>. We interviewed Lee Tae-yoon, CEO of Yooni Studio, who expressed that he gained inspiration from the contest as a young indie game creator.

Q. Briefly, tell us about <Grid Page>.

<Grid Page> is a puzzle game with the concept of space manipulation which is a little twist to manipulating the character itself. If you place your hand on the paintings and move them around, you can move that space which changes the location of objects in the game. The goal of the game is to get the character to the finish location by space manipulation. The sense of accomplishment you get when you figure out the answer, the ability to freely manipulate space, and teeny pixel art graphics are all attractive characteristics of <Grid Page>.

▲Video of <Grid Page> gameplay

Q. How did you participate in Smilegate’s Indie Game Creation Contest?

I came across Smilegate’s Indie Game Creation Contest while searching for a contest to receive intermediate reviews for the game. The contest’s purpose of “discovering young indie game creators” and recruitment guidelines coincided well with my situation. I was able to focus on preparations because the application form was simpler than other contests. Another reason was that even nonwinning teams could participate in the meet-up. I applied without hesitating because the contest would propel me forward in developing games even if I didn’t win an award.

▲CEO Lee Ji-min of Meet and Greet (left), CEO Lee Tae-yoon of Yooni Studio (right) 

Q. How do you feel about being selected as the winner of the “Meet and Greet Award”?

I didn’t think I would win a grand award because other teams had great games as well. On the other hand, I was glad to confirm the possibility of my game being fun to someone. I am mostly happy that I was recognized in the contest for doing what I love. It made me realize that achievements like these makes me happy. I will take the award as motivation to work harder and present my supporters with a great game.

▲CEO Lee Tae-yoon of Yooni Studio on meet-up day

Q. How was the lecture and feedback at the meet-up?

I am a very shy person. However, this event was a place for people with similar concerns in the same industry to discuss their issues with one another. It was a time to share stories and sympathize upon the difficulties, risks, and worries when creating games. Through this event, I was able to relieve some psychological burden from my shoulders and rethink on what I was missing while making the game. Everyone gave positive evaluations and played the game seriously. There was even a person who memorized a stage and submitted the solution to it later. I decided to work hard on making the game even if it’s just for that one person.