The G-EIGHT gaming convention — the largest event of its kind to be independently funded and organized by Taiwanese players — opened its doors at the Taipei Expo Dome amid fanfare on Friday.
The convention, which runs through today, is showcasing 93 indie games from 82 Taiwanese developers, including several that have won praise from gamers and critics around the world, the organizers said.
Red Candle Games (赤燭遊戲), which developed Detention, is promoting the studio’s latest platformer, Nine Sols, while Sigono Inc representatives showcased OPUS: Echo of Starsong, fresh from this year’s Webby Awards.
Photo: Wu Po-hsuan, Taipei Times
The long lines at the venue validated the organizers’ emphasis on using gamers to organize the event, convention cofounder Wang Kuan-lei (汪光磊) said.
Developers around the world are realizing that they no longer need publishers to get key equipment, software or marketing, which has leveled the playing field for small but creative studios, said Wang, who is a celebrity livestreamer known as 9tan.
Taiwan has an opportunity to see beyond the domestic market and reach a larger global audience, he added.
“Taiwan is relatively enlightened, so the country’s adult games have become a secret glory,” he said.
Numerous successful English-language adult games were made in Taiwan before being translated for retail abroad, said convention cofounder Chang Ting-tse (張定澤), who also cofounded popular YouTube channel NSFW Studio.
The general public is not aware that Taiwan is a leader in the adult game market, and games made by Taiwanese developers frequent the top charts for the genre on gaming platform Steam, Chang said.
His personal agenda for the convention is to bridge the disconnect between gamers and developers that has become prevalent in the industry, he said.
While the G-EIGHT spotlights Taiwanese games this year, the event founders said their plans for the event are not limited to promoting indigenous games.
Options to invite Japanese and South Korean independent developers to the convention, and to hold an international exchange program for game designers, are in the works, they said.
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