17 famous games you didn’t know were made (or partially made) in Singapore (UPDATED!)
Singapore is a small country and it certainly has a talent pool proportionate to its population. Yet there is quality in this small quantity, and the little red dot has produced her fair share of hot gaming hits. Here are some games you may not have known were made (or partially made) in Singapore.
Autumn Dynasty
This touch-based RTS game for the iPad made waves back in 2012 when it was picked up by media across the world. It’s a historical Chinese painting come to life, and when combined with smart RTS features that make full use of the touch screen, it’s easy to see how Autumn Dynasty has been such a success. Autumn Dynasty was developed by Touch Dimensions. Try it out on iOS and Android.
(See: Autumn Dynasty co-creator nearly chose dentistry over game development)
Pixel People
Pixel People was an addictive mobile hit that put you in charge of a town, which you expanded and populated with—you guessed it, pixel people. The best part of it was collecting ‘em all. There were so many different jobs and vocations, and so many accompanying pixel folk, that people just couldn’t stop playing. Pixel People was developed by Lambdamu Games. Try it out on iOS.
Battle Stations
Singapore’s first and still most famous Facebook game, Battle Stations is about doing battle with other ships…in mid-air! Today, it is in its third iteration and has over 3.8 million registered users. Battle Stations may be a little old in gaming terms, and it may be a little dated, but it was the first Singapore-made Facebook game to get put on the map. Battle Stations was developed by Tyler Projects. Try it out here.
Monster Blade
This popular Monster Hunter-Infinity Blade mashup had about 70 percent of its development work done in Singapore, with the rest finished up in developer Nubee’s Taiwanese and Tokyo offices. While Monster Blade didn’t do as well as it was expected to, it is still a solid game much beloved around the world. Try it out on Android and iOS, albeit a version that hasn’t been updated since last year.
Brave Frontier (English)
Although Brave Frontier once won an award for being the best made-in-Singapore game, it was originally developed in Japan. It’s the international edition of the mobile RPG that has had development and localization work done in Singapore. According to Gumi Asia CEO David Ng, additional development and exclusive content for the international version of the game was done by Gumi’s Singapore studio. The same studio continues to work on the international edition of Brave Frontier, which can be downloaded for Android and iOS.
Lurking
This game is pretty insane. It’s a first-person survival horror game that makes unique use of sound. Lurking is played with an audio-recording device, and reacts to the sounds that you make. It has been played by video game streamer Pewdiepie and was a finalist at Tokyo Game Show 2014’s Sense of Wonder Night contest. Lurking was created by Digipen Singapore students and its IP rights will remain with the school. However, its development team at GattaiGames is working on a spiritual successor. Try it out here.
Street Fighter x Mega Man
Street Fighter x Mega Man made absolutely no money since it was a free game, but it has been downloaded over 1.5 million times. It’s a platforming Mega Man and Street Fighter crossover, as its name suggests, and was released in celebration of the Street Fighter and Mega Man 25th anniversaries back in 2012. Street Fighter x Mega Man was a fan-developed game mostly worked on by Singapore’s Seow Zong Hui and his US-based composer, Luke Esquivel. Try it out here.
Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken
The first Rocketbirds game saw light of day as a browser game. The cinematic platformer, which involved a Rambo-esque chicken beating up penguin villains, eventually made its way to the Playstation Vita, and its sequel Rocketbirds 2: Evolution is going to hit the Playstation 4. The Rocketbirds series is developed by Ratloop Asia. Try the first one here.
One Upon Light
Did you know this indie Playstation 4 title featuring a light-phobic scientist was originally called Dying Light? One Upon Light had to change its name when Techland announced its zombie-parkour-survival-horror-action game Dying Light. This top-down puzzler puts you in the shoes of a scientist who must avoid the light, and is set for release in October. One Upon Light is developed by Ice Cream Truck Games, under the SUTD Game Lab.
Dusty Revenge
Dubbed Southeast Asia’s bad-ass bunny in our prior review, Dusty of Dusty Revenge fame isn’t a high-earner, nor is it a mainstream game beloved by all. But boy, does it pack a literal punch. This old-school beat-em-up is reminiscent of games like Streets of Rage and Street Fighter, and what it lacks in storyline, it makes up for in gameplay. Fans of fighting games, Dusty Revenge from PD Design Studio is a must try!
Assassin’s Creed franchise
Ubisoft Singapore has been heavily involved in Assassin’s Creed development—that we all know. But what exactly has it worked on? It has been responsible for the Assassin’s tombs levels in Assassin’s Creed II, the Romulus Lair levels and two Desmond free-running missions in Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, the Masyaf key levels and Cappadocia underground city plus its mission sequence in Assassin’s Creed Revelations, and all naval battle development, four missions in the main story arc, six further missions following a templar on the seas, and 15 privateer contracts in Assassin’s Creed III. The six-mission peg leg quest chain culminating in Captain Kidd’s treasure was also developed in Singapore.
More recently, in Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag, Ubisoft Singapore populated the game’s open world with all pirate activities, ranging from underwater antics to harpooning and smugglers’ caves.
(See: What goes on behind closed doors at Ubisoft Singapore)
Of course, it has also got a hand in the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Rogue. Ubisoft Singapore is responsible for the game’s new ship with a full new set of weapons, new ice-centric naval gameplay, and the brand new naval combat feature, reverse boarding. It also completely recreated the open North Atlantic world in the game, including seven years worth of war on the open seas—the complete details of which you’ll be able to check out when the game releases.
Ghost Recon Phantoms
The Assassin’s Creed roundup was a mouthful, that’s for sure, but let’s not forget Ghost Recon Phantoms, Ubisoft’s first AAA free-to-play game. This third-person shooter launched on Steam this past April, and has since hit the top three of Steam’s free-to-play games, and garnered 6.5 million registered users.
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
While we’re still on the topic of Ubisoft Singapore, more than one-third of the 2010 Prince of Persia game was developed by it! Granted, The Forgotten Sands wasn’t the most amazing game, but it was still a triple-A global release.
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge Special Edition
This HD iPhone port of Monkey Island 2 was done completely in Lucasarts Singapore. While you may dismiss it as a lowly mobile port, the Singapore-based development team did a great job! And yes, there were local devs working on it. Monkey Island 2 for iOS is, naturally, available on the App Store.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II
Co-developed between Lucasarts’ San Francisco and Singapore studios, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II is a multi-platform action-adventure game. According to a source who worked on this game, The Force Unleashed II was also the first AAA co-development project between the studios! This sequel to 2008’s Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is centred around a clone of Darth Vader’s secret apprentice, Starkiller, who journeys to find his identity. It also had a full DLC add-on, called Endor. It’s a relatively old game, so you may find it difficult to pick a copy up.
Star Wars 1313 & Star Wars: First Assault (canceled)
Both these games were canned when Disney shut down Lucasarts last year, and it’s a great pity because they looked like they would be awesome. Centred around bounty hunter Boba Fett, 1313 was meant to be Star Wars done Uncharted style, while First Assault would have been a download-only, online-multiplayer-only Call of Duty…in the Star Wars universe! Both 1313 and First Assault were also co-developed in Singapore and San Francisco by Lucasarts.
Bonus! Aftershock PC
What are games without gaming PCs to support them? A good number of games on this list are for the PC platform, and we can’t finish without mentioning Aftershock PC. This Singapore born-and-bred custom laptop brand gives the best bang-for-buck for laptops on the island, and is already hard at work expanding its empire into Southeast Asia. Aftershock PC was set up by brothers Marcus and Joe Wee in 2012, and has grown from a three-man outfit into a burgeoning business that shows no signs of slowing down.
There you have it, 16 famous games you may or may not have known were developed or partially developed in little old Singapore! Are there any other games that come to mind?
UPDATE 01-10-2014: The article has been updated to include Dusty Revenge…we are sorry for leaving it out initially!
This could be why Singapore’s got talent:
SUTD’s Game Innovation Programme pairs students with industry experts
This is how SUTD gives back to the industry: with the Game Innovation Programme. We checked out its industry day 2014.
The post 17 famous games you didn’t know were made (or partially made) in Singapore (UPDATED!) appeared first on Games in Asia.
The post 17 famous games you didn’t know were made (or partially made) in Singapore (UPDATED!) appeared first on Games in Asia.
