Games Bagus

GAMES BAGUS

A program that empowers Malaysian game creators to produce socially conscious games by honing their game design and narrative skills through training and mentorship, providing valuable networking opportunities, and exploring issues of social importance and civic engagement.

Brought to you by:

In collaboration with:

WHAT HAS HAPPENED

March - April

Phase 1

Ignite & Inspire

Learn and get inspired by thought leaders from Malaysia and United States on the global movement to create games for social good. Meet innovative creators who are impacting the world one video game at a time. This series of virtual webinars is open to the public and especially aimed at professionals in the games development field and students studying game design.

Watch Webinars
May

Phase 2

Explore & Envision

Join an in-person four-day program in Kuala Lumpur consisting of a workshop, game jam and pitching competition alongside up to 60 participants. Dive deep into the technical and narrative aspects of game development as well as social cause campaigns in game design, conducted by experts with excellent field experience in creating games for social change. Come together to meet like-minded individuals and pitch your best ideas.

Applications Open Now
Deadline: 22 April 2022

Learn More
June - August

Phase 3

Create & Impact

Three winning teams will receive seed funding and undergo a three-month mentorship program to accelerate the development of their games to completion. Stand a chance to showcase your creation at a national game conference, meet industry leaders, and bring your games to new audiences and greater heights.

WORKSHOP & GAMEJAM
IN KUALA LUMPUR

May 26 to 29, 2022
26th - 27th May

WORKSHOP

Attend workshops on a diverse range of topics conducted by experts with excellent field experience in creating games for social change:

  • Creating Games with Design Thinking
  • Exploring Causes of Social Importance
  • Deep Diving into Game Storytelling
  • Game Design 101
  • Constructing An Engaging Game Narrative
  • Marketing & Promoting
28th - 29th May

GAME JAM

Team up, compete and network with fellow peers in:

  • Two-day Game Jam & Prototyping
  • Pitching Session
  • Announcement & Award
  • Networking Evening

AWARD

Top three teams will be awarded seed-funding to complete their games:

  • 1st place: USD 2,500
  • 2nd place: USD 2,000
  • 3rd place: USD 1,500
    • Additional funding opportunities:
  • Most Creative Game Design: USD 1,000
  • Most Impactful Game Design: USD 1,000
Lindsay Grace (US)

Lindsay Grace is Knight Chair in Interactive Media and an associate professor at the University of Miami School of Communication. He is Vice President for the Higher Education Video Game Alliance and the 2019 recipient of the Games for Change Vanguard award. Lindsay's book, Doing Things with Games, Social Impact through Design, is a well-received guide to game design.

In 2020, he edited and authored Love and Electronic Affection: a Design Primer on designing love and affection in games. He has given talks at the Game Developers Conference, SXSW, Games for Change Festival, the Online News Association, the Society for News Design, and many other industry events.He served as Vice President and on the board of directors for the Global Game Jam™ non-profit between 2014-2019.

Margaret Moser (US)

Margaret Moser is an associate professor at USC Games and an experienced developer/designer. She has twenty years of professional experience, with projects ranging from d3js data visualization to shipped iOS apps. Her work has been shown at Come Out & Play, Games4Change, and the Babycastles guerrilla game gallery in Brooklyn.

She has spoken at GDC, AlterConf, and IndieCade East and served as a curator for IndieCade, and led workshops on game development in Tokyo, Medellin and Kuala Lumpur. Her research interests include alternative reality experiences and persuasive games related to health and environmental issues. She holds an MFA in Design and Technology from Parsons.

US Embassy Lends a helping hand in empowering Malaysian Game Creators

KUALA LUMPUR, May 26 (Bernama) -- The United States Embassy in Kuala Lumpur is lending a helping hand in empowering Malaysian game creators to produce socially conscious games.

Games Bagus | Memperkasakan penciptaan permainan di Malaysia

Memperkasakan penciptaan permainan di Malaysia dalam kalangan pelbagai lapisan masyarakat dengan mencetuskan kesedaran mengenai isu semasa. Itu keunikan program Games Bagus dianjurkan Kedutaan Amerika Syarikat (AS) di Malaysia dengan kerjasama Biji-biji Initiative dan Synapze.

US Embassy lends a helping hand in empowering Malaysian game creators

The United States Embassy in Kuala Lumpur is lending Malaysian game creators a helping hand in producing socially conscious games, with a focus on current issues like climate change, civic engagement and women empowerment.

‘Games Bagus’ Initiative Encourages the Creation of Socially-Conscious Malaysian Video Games

The U.S. Embassy Kuala Lumpur, in collaboration with Biji-biji Initiative and Synapze, presents Games Bagus, a program to empower Malaysian game creators to produce socially conscious games that addresses issues of importance to Malaysian communities including climate change, civic engagement, and women’s empowerment.

‘Games Bagus’ Initiative Encourages the Creation of Socially-Conscious Malaysian Video Games

The U.S. Embassy Kuala Lumpur, in collaboration with Biji-biji Initiative and Synapze, presents Games Bagus, a program to empower Malaysian game creators to produce socially conscious games that addresses issues of importance to Malaysian communities including climate change, civic engagement, and women’s empowerment.

GAMES BAGUS!

Games Bagus is an initiative by the U.S. Embassy Kuala Lumpur, in collaboration with Biji-biji Initiative and Synapze, which aims to empower Malaysian game creators to produce socially conscious video games by honing their game design and narrative skills through training and mentorship, providing valuable networking opportunities, and exploring issues of social importance and civic engagement.

1st Place
Team Moredoor - People of the River

This project aims to celebrate the vibrant culture of Melanau Tribe and to reconnect the disappearing culture of the Melanau people back to the community; thus, preserving it in a fun and engaging way.

In this game, the player will manage a Melanau village. As there will be things that player can and cannot do based on Melanau beliefs and customs, the player needs to make strategic decisions accordingly to ensure sustainability of the village.

  • Azfar Bin Tomi
  • Mohammad Khairul Iz'aan Bin Zin
  • Ika Sulastri binti Mohammad Dahlan Donald
  • Anders Cheng
  • Puteri Nazatulsima Binti Megat Zulkifle

2nd Place
Team Habitus Games - The Little Tractor That Could

In the name of development, the little tractor mows down trees to build more houses. The dying trees release CO2 into the atmosphere, worsening Climate Change and inadvertently destroys the 'progress' it was seeking to build.

This game aims to bring awareness on the effects of excessive logging towards the environment and share knowledge on how we could be more resourceful in helping to reduce this problem by practising a more sustainable living.

  • Wan Jia Xing
  • Chiang Jing An
  • Cedric Gan Chee Yoong

3rd Place
Team Kindling Interactive - Burnt Out Capital

To project aims to highlight all the various ways we end up with crunch as the toxic default, and to promote game developer rights.

In the game, you play as a project manager and must finish cooking projects before the deadline is up by managing your candles’ well-being and helping them avoid burnout.

  • Justin Oon Chun Xiong
  • Soong Jia Le
  • Teoh Chun Wai
  • Aaron Lim Fei Hoong
  • Cynthia Tan Li Yee

Most Creative
Team Construct - Letters of Migrant Workers

Illuminating the hidden hardships of migrants, the risk of them falling into a vicious "job market" that could cost them their hard-earned money, or even their lives.

Means:
Lead the player into thinking the best way to beat the game is to hire foreign worker and sack them at the last minute before a project is completed.

Obstacle:
Time limit to a project development.

Story:
You play as a CEO that tries to meet the investor’s expectations. Each property project is given a limited budget for labour work. Your job is to spend as little as possible on labour costs on each property.

  • Jaydon Teh Kher Jian
  • Kevin Yeoh Lai Chuan
  • Chin Tsin

Most Impactful
Team Raya - Raya

RAYA is a story-based Role-Playing Game (RPG) that embarks the player on a fun adventure to achieve financial freedom. During the adventure, the player must navigate, utilize RPG mechanics and use gamified financial products such as insurances, credit card and shares to achieve financial freedom while facing threats based on reality such as credit card debts, loan shark harassment and scams alongside many other zany enemies.

  • Muhammad Hafizuddin Hayat bin Abd. Rani
  • Goh Wei Hing
  • Nur Sabrina Binti Abdul Malik
  • Neo Zhi Ming
  • Sarah Edna Bt Mohd Faisol

Other game prototypes

WEBINAR

SCHEDULE

Interested to tune in to game industry thought leaders from Malaysia, the United States and Australia? We have got you covered. Here is the schedule on what’s happening, who’s speaking and when. Register for the webinars below.

6 March 2022 | 1100 | +8 GMT

The Future of Games

Paving the way for socially conscious video games

Dale Linegar (AUS)

Director of Games for Change Asia-Pacific
Dale Linegar is a Solution Architect at Obvious Choice with over 15 years experience creating award winning serious games and simulations for education and training. He the Managing Director of Games for Change Asia-Pacific and is currently doing a PhD examining how values can be accounted for in game design.

Daniel Teitelbaum (AUS)

Production Manager at Games for Change Asia-Pacific
Daniel Teitelbaum is the Production Manager at Games for Change Asia-Pacific and the lead facilitator at Playful Thinking. With a background in philosophy, law and theatre studies, in recent years Daniel has focused on play-based professional development for companies, NFPs and local governments – using games, toys and theatre to help others develop important skills and ways of working.

Moderated by Yee I-Van (MY)

Community Manager of Games HQ
Yee I-Van has been in the Game Industry for over 15 years, having worn the hats of a developer, game educator and community manager. Currently running an animation and game content development studio, he recently launched a new self-published tabletop card-game called HR The Toxic Workplace Game.

17 March 2022 | 2000 | +8 GMT

Representation & Empathy in Games

Bringing stories to life through diversity & inclusion

Leeying Foo (MY),

Co-founder of Women in Games (WiGout)
Leeying Foo is a UIUX designer best known for her award-winning designs on an internationally acclaimed found phone horror game series. She's also the proud founder of WiGout, a community hangout based in KL.

Suan Goh (MY)

Co-founder of CtrlD Studio
Suan Goh is a purpose driven, detail-oriented multimedia designer juggling game development, design, and entrepreneurship. She is the co-founder of CtrlD Studio, a creative tech studio focused on impactful storytelling through the power of interactive media; and one of the co-creators of award-winning student AR mobile game “Ano: Journeys Through Tattoos”.

Akira Thompson (US)

Studio Head & Game Director at RainBros
Akira Thompson is a game designer and programmer with a master’s in games and playable media from UC Santa Cruz’s Computer Science Department. He’s the founder of social art creative firm RainBros. His striking work challenges one of the biggest misconceptions about police violence against black people in America, and offers privileged players the chance to experience the truth.

Nicodemus Madehdou (USA)

Founder & CEO of JumpButton Studio
JumpButton Studio, an entertainment studio founded in 2012 that develops computer software such as games, animations and apps. In 2015, Madehdou was honored at the White House as one of 20 young game developers of color. His goal is to provide young tech developers a jumpstart career at the studio.

Moderated by Yee I-Van (MY)

Community Manager of Games HQ
Yee I-Van has been in the Game Industry for over 15 years, having worn the hats of a developer, game educator and community manager. Currently running an animation and game content development studio, he recently launched a new self-published tabletop card-game called HR The Toxic Workplace Game.

26 March 2022 | 1100 | +8 GMT

Games That Change Us

Exploring the intersection of game design and behavior change

Saqina Latif (MY)

Managing Director of Persona Theory Games
Saqina Latif is the co-founder of Persona Theory Games, an indie games studio based in Malaysia with a focus on telling Southeast Asian stories. Their studio released "Fires at Midnight" and the upcoming, "Kabaret". She was formerly a producer at Leo Burnett producing work for McDonald's, AIA, and more.

Michelle Olson (USA)

Game Designer & Developer, Lightspeed LA
Michelle Olson is a game developer who likes to design games with positive values but maintain a strong sense of fun and adventure. Her primary skills are level & game design, Unity, and design leadership. Olson was the lead designer of a 30-student team from USC Games program and USC Environmental Studies department called Plasticity, a game about plastic pollution, which was successfully showcased at E3 and IndieCade.

Moderated by Sophie Azlan (MY)

Game Developer
Sophie Azlan’s admiration for game development has been cultivated since her teens. This admiration turned into burning enthusiasm and motivation, where she graduated university as an award-winning game designer. Currently, she participates in the industry as a project coordinator at Passion Republic, and is active in select indie projects.

2 April 2022 | 1100 | +8 GMT

Cultivating Games for the Greater Good

Empowering indie game creators & social impact games

Kesh Ganesparan (MY)

Director of Hidden Chest Studio
Formerly a member of the project management team on Malaysia's largest infrastructure project - the Klang Valley MRT Project, Kesh returned to game development with more experience points in 2019 and co-founded Hidden Chest Studios, a PC centric indie studio. He is most passionate about exploring and creating game mechanics that have a deep emotional impact on players.

Wan Hazmer (MY)

Co-founder, CEO & Game Director at Metronomik
Wan Hazmer is a game designer known for his role as lead designer on Final Fantasy XV at Square Enix. In 2017, he co-founded local indie game company Metronomik that went on to release their first game No Straight Roads. Hazmer is also a content creator on Twitch where he talks about game design, UX, game careers and life as a game developer.

Lindsay Grace (USA)

Associate Professor at the University of Miami School of Communication
Lindsay is Knight Chair in Interactive Media and an associate professor at the University of Miami School of Communication. His book, Doing Things with Games, Social Impact through Design, is a well-received guide to game design. In 2020, he edited and authored Love and Electronic Affection: a Design Primer on designing love and affection in games.

Moderated by Sophie Azlan (MY)

Game Developer
Sophie Azlan’s admiration for game development has been cultivated since her teens. This admiration turned into burning enthusiasm and motivation, where she graduated university as an award-winning game designer. Currently, she participates in the industry as a project coordinator at Passion Republic, and is active in select indie projects.

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