Malaysia had always made a noticeable presence at the Tokyo Game Show whenever its digital agency — the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) — participates; for 2023, it lived up to the expectations as 16 Malaysian digital content and production companies tagged along.
While most attending are not new to this event, there are welcomed new-comers as well. This includes Ten Ten Studio (Ten Ten), a fast-growing videogame outsourcing service provider that worked on multiple AAA games, movie tie-in assets, and sculptured collectibles. While the post it dropped about being at TGs2023 had been short and to-the-point — “We’re excited to announce that we’ll be attending this year’s Tokyo Game Show from September 21st to 24th!”, Ten Ten came out in full-force with its Co-Founder and CEO, Jarold Sng, taking lead.
“It’s our first time to TGS2023 and we’re excited to be here as we plan to meet up with long-time collaborators that we have worked with for years and connect with industry partners in Japan and across Asia as well as from around the world. We’re also looking forward to connecting with interested parties who are keen to find out more about Ten Ten,” Sng said.
The accolades that Ten Ten collected over the years are extensive, with the latest being a collaborator for Baldur’s Gate 3 and Divinity Original Sin – The Board Game. Other works include marketing assets for Diablo Immortal, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, and Marvel Studios Black Widow; concept art for Valorant and Annex; and the reveal campaign of Unreal Engine V.
Other studios that attracted industry players, gaming enthusiasts, and members of the press, include:
- Acxyn
- Ammobox Studios
- Dreamfact
- Fly Studio
- Glow Production
- Hide & Seeds Production
- Illusionist Animation Studio
- IXI Creatives
- Kaigan Games
- Magnus Games Studio
- Metal Brain Studio
- Quurk
- Syncraft
- The Illusion Picture
- Weyrdworks
Among these 15 are award-winning gamedevs and production houses that have worked on animated and visual assets as well as contributed to the development pipeline for various AAA and mobile games. Notable ones include Ammobox Studios — the developer and publisher of Eximius: Seize the Frontline, a strategy mixed action shooter game; Fly Studio — the animation and VFX production house that worked on films, animation, and cinematics for AAA games; and Weyrdworks — a gamedev that put out wacky yet fun mobile games that have a strong fan-following.
The latter, in fact, showed off its still-in-development digital pet for desktops — Weyrdlets.
As per the video above, this new concept from Weyrdworks is a “wholsome virtual pet that exists right on (the) desktop.” This casual game has its own platform where the pet can reside, play, and grow — this is where players can also play mini-games with the Weyrdlet, explore the surroundings of its home, and build a cozy home as well.
The most interesting bit is how the digital pet can also roam around the desktop to provide the occasional distraction — for better mental health, act as a pro-active alarm for critical tasks, and even provide timely reminders to take breaks.
All these, and even more, have been shared, demonstrated, and shown to gamedevs from all around the world; interested and curious industry players; and the general public that have turned up in droves to check out and play the games that are available at the TGS2023 show-floor.
As this Malaysia Pavilion is jointly-managed under MDEC and the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE), a delegation from both agencies had been present to meet with the 16 digital content service providers and officiate Malaysia’s efforts at TGS2023.
This included MDEC CEO, Mahadhir Aziz, along with Anwar Udzir, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Malaysia in Tokyo; Zuaziezie Zulkefli, Trade Commissioner, Embassy of Malaysia in Tokyo; and Mohd Hafizi Yusoff, Assistant Trade Commissioner, Embassy of Malaysia in Tokyo.
“For the longest time, MDEC gave its all to help those within the digital content production space and empower them with proper tools, expansive funding support, and life-long words of encouragement. These 16 digital content service providers are just a small selection of what Malaysia has to truly offer and I’m confident that what is being shown at TGS2023 will serve as a repeating statement to reinforce the notion that it is ready for even more investments for this market segment,” said Mahadhir.
For Zuaziezie, what MDEC and MATRADE put together at TGS2023 is a testament to the digital economy and creative content development sector of Malaysia. “What is being showcased here is the growing powerhouse that is the digital content sector of Malaysia. Trade and export are the bread-and-butter of MATRADE and to see how our digital ecosystem service providers are exporting their services to the market leaders here in Tokyo — that rings true to our mission statement: “Made in Malaysia, for the world”. It is amazing how Malaysian gamedevs have come so far!” he added.
The Malaysia Pavilion that MDEC and MATRADE put together as the showcase of Malaysia’s game development capabilities opened during both business and public access days of TGS2023.
