ACROFAN

Linux Foundation’s O3DE Project, Kythera AI Gives Independent Developers Free Instant Access To New Open-Source Games Engine

Escape Studios partners with Epic Games and leading European animation schools to deliver world’s largest training programme in Unreal Engine

Replica Studios Announces Early Access to AI Voice Actors for Unreal Engine's MetaHuman Creator

DropKey, World's First Inflatable Green Screen Studio, Now Available on DropKey.com

AI-powered avatars should be embraced in gaming

WeQ Launches WeQ STUDIOS to Offer Global Games Publishing and Premium Player Acquisition

ALAX Gaming Platform Completes Token Migration to DECENT’s DCore, Paves the Way for Token Swap Services

Virtualitics Announces New Software Release That Unlocks Key Insights Through AI and Immersive Visualization

NCSOFT Continues to Invest in the Future Driven by its Core Value in Game R&D

G-Audio Launches Loudness SDK to Provide a Consistent Streaming Media Listening Experience

“Quality and interoperability will be key for VR’s future,” says VR Industry Forum

Creating a buoyant marketplace for Virtual Reality (VR) in the future will depend on high-quality and interoperable services, the President of VR Industry Forum (VRIF) has said. Speaking during an IBC2018 Masterclass on VR Technology and Industry, Rob Koenen highlighted the healthy and realistic expectations that now surround VR – but warned that the industry will need to come together to ensure its full potential is realised. “Forecasts for VR are good – IDC, for example, expects spending on AR and VR products and services to reach $27 billion in 2018 – but there is still work to be done,” said Koenen. “To ensure these projections are delivered, the industry needs to come together to focus on creating interoperable, high-quality services which are accessible and bring true value to end users.” Koenen emphasised how far VR has already come with the example of the first wave of headsets being geared only for early adopters, citing that they were expensive, required expensive computers, and were clumsy to set up. He noted that now, we see stand-alone headsets appearing that are below $200 USD, have no wires, require no computer, and offer better quality. He then moved on to underline the progress that is visible in demonstrations being shown at the VRIF booth in IBC’s Future Zone. These demonstrations, said Koenen, are all based on the VRIF’s Guidelines and showcase standards-based implementations becoming available, including for high-quality live VR360 streaming, tools for the production and playback of streaming VR360 based on the MPEG Omnidirectional Media Format (“OMAF”) and MPEG‑H spatial audio. “Consumers and businesses alike are interested in VR and a healthy ecosystem is developing, but for it to be truly successful it needs to reach enough people, deliver a cinematic-type experience and be affordable to distribute,” continued Koenen. “Live services will be key to the success of VR; they take the VR experience to the next level. They are a now key focus for VRIF and we will document recommendations for live VR in the upcoming version of our Guidelines, which is scheduled for publication in January 2019.” Koenen also welcomed the new wave of VR applications that are emerging beyond entertainment, such as training and in healthcare. He concluded his masterclass by emphasising the importance of interoperability in bringing the different elements of VR together: “For consumers, interoperability means less hassle and less expense, and for content creators and distributors, it means easier and more cost-effective production and distribution. This also means that there are more opportunities for ads and promotion – it truly is a win-win-win.” The VRIF membership includes XR influencers, leaders and innovators such as Akamai, Dolby, Ericsson, Fraunhofer, Harmonic, Huawei, Intel, Nokia, Qualcomm, Sky, Sony, Verizon and many more. Focusing on cinematic VR, the VRIF advocates for consensus around technical standards, encourages interoperability and develops guidelines for best-practices, aiming to bridge the adoption chasm and reduce costs of development and production.

WeQ Launches Innovative App Ranking Solution to Boost Apps to the Top of the App Store Charts

WeQ, a global mobile ad tech organisation, has announced the launch of WeQ BOOST — an innovative app ranking solution that utilizes proprietary technology for campaign management and optimization. Additionally, it combines over 100 boost traffic sources with a deep knowledge and understanding of app store algorithms to create bespoke burst campaigns that are specifically designed to catapult apps to the rank that yields the highest ROI. With 5.8 million apps in Google Play and Apple App Stores to date, visibility is key. Changes to both platforms have made it challenging for advertisers to use app store optimization (ASO) and user acquisition (UA) through burst campaigns effectively. New features in the iOS11 release included a new “homepage” design, new character limitations and the split categorisation of apps into “Games” and “Apps” with their own navigation tabs and pages, giving non-games the chance to be discovered more easily. Additionally, both platforms adjusted their ranking algorithms, putting more weight on the quality of the app measured by reviews and ratings. Google even added engagement as an extra variable for its algorithm to reward good quality apps that bring more added value to the users. These changes present both a challenge and an opportunity for marketers wishing to find the best ways to boost their discoverability and increase their chances to be found by high quality users. WeQ identified four main use cases for doing burst campaigns, on which the newly launched WeQ BOOST solution is based: Fast Track User Base Growth: burst campaigns are a cost efficient way to jump-start user base growth, helping advertisers to achieve critical mass. Take Monetization to the Next Level: the more eyes on the app, the more chances for stronger monetization — be it through selling advertising space or increasing revenue from in-app purchases. Establish Presence in a New Market: bursts can prove a catalyst to open borders. Outrank Competitors: bursts are a great tool for reaching the top of the charts, getting the app noticed and outranking competitors, resulting in strong organic growth. Stanislava Todorova, VP of New Media Solutions at WeQ, said: “WeQ BOOST is designed to empower advertisers to cut through the noise in the ever-changing ecosystem of the app stores. Launching this new solution adds another powerful element to our portfolio that enables us to create the perfect mobile marketing mix for our clients. At WeQ, we believe that the ultimate marketing strategy should be a combination of bursts and sustainable user acquisition campaigns to address different needs throughout the lifecycle of an app.” WeQ’s proprietary technology, combined with its team of over 100 seasoned professionals with global mobile marketing expertise, is what makes our app ranking solution unique. The WeQ team develops a personalized strategy for each client based on industry intel, local knowledge and experience from more than 2000 successful burst campaigns. The carefully curated global network of publishers means a truly global reach and access to a specific geographic for the advertiser. This is further supported by the hands-on approach that the team practices, ensuring that the campaign is constantly analyzed and optimized for better ROI. Furthermore, WeQ’s dedicated team carry out traffic checks to prevent fraudulent activity using in-house anti-fraud technology. With launching WeQ BOOST, the adtech company is hitting another milestone of their global growth and expansion plans of its solutions and services. Today's launch falls on the heels of WeQ's announcement in late April that it had secured more than $50 million USD in internal funds and debt capital to accelerate an ambitious global growth path. The ad tech brand plans to use the funds as it undertakes an aggressive M&A strategy. Over the next 12-24 months, WeQ plans to acquire cutting-edge technologies from innovative ventures to expand its technological footprint and services, attract international talent, and enter new international markets.

WeQ Launches to Transform Mobile Ad Tech with Human Intelligence and Inclusivity

WeQ, a mobile ad tech brand providing user acquisition and engagement services at a global scale, announced today its official launch. WeQ is driven by a forward-thinking, socio-economic movement striving to shift from an exclusive ‘I’ culture to a collaborative ‘We’ culture. Setting its sights on becoming a trusted leader in the mobile ad tech industry, WeQ combines innovative data-driven technology with the collective human intelligence of its accomplished team of mobile ad tech experts to empower companies to reach their goals. WeQ comes out of the gate armed with a strategic investment, having secured more than $50 million USD in internal funds and debt capital to accelerate an ambitious global growth path. The ad tech brand plans to use the funds as it undertakes an aggressive M&A strategy. Over the next 12-24 months, WeQ plans to acquire cutting-edge technologies from innovative ventures to expand its technological footprint and services, attract international talent, and enter new international markets. Markus Malti, CEO of WeQ: “With our unique approach that balances data with human intelligence, this strategic investment in place, and a highly knowledgeable team heading the organization, we are well-equipped to achieve our ambitious goal of becoming a key player in the ad tech industry. We look forward to growing our team, further expanding our reach in the U.S. through our office in San Francisco, and working with key advertisers to help them scale globally.” With the duopoly of Facebook and Google – combined, they will account for 60.9% of US net mobile ad revenues in 2018 (eMarketer) – players within the mobile industry are affected by the unregulated and highly competitive market. WeQ offers alternative, bespoke solutions and high-quality user acquisition beyond the walled gardens. The company has ambitious goals and expects to deliver several million installs a month for clients. The company’s mobile advertising solutions are powered by its proprietary technology, which is designed by an in-house team led by Dr. Steffen Wachenfeld, CPO of WeQ. Describing the underlying technology, he noted, “Advertising needs scalable and globally replicable infrastructure and services. This is why our proprietary technology is built by a team of machine learning experts, developers, and data scientists — in order to deliver the most targeted, optimized and scalable mobile advertising solutions. This allows our clients to focus on what they do best: building great apps and growing successful brands.” WeQ is spearheaded by a multi-disciplinary management team of recognized ad tech industry veterans and market experts, including: Markus Malti, CEO, former Director Digital Strategy Wanadoo Hendrik Volp, CBDO, former CRO at Adjust Dr. Steffen Wachenfeld, CPO, former HitFox Group & founder of ad tech company sold to AppLift Bastian Quilitz, CTO, former VP of Technology at Glispa Kerstin Feix, CPeO, former Global Head of People Management at Meta Design Riccardo dal Pozzolo, CFO, former Business Analyst at Walt Disney John Schlüter, CMO, former CBO at Thomas Sabo Tim Nilsson, Member of the Advisory Board, former MD at Glispa

Pearl Abyss Developers Give First Global Lectures at Game Developers Conference 2018

For the first time since the launch of their successful MMORPG Black Desert Online in 2015, Pearl Abyss is bringing their development team to the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco to share their experiences about working on the game. Black Desert Online is known for its stunning graphics, seamless open world, intuitive combat system and a soundtrack to complete the immersive world. This is the first time Pearl Abyss has come forward globally to discuss their proprietary game engine that the company uses to develop all their games and introduce the music genius behind the soundtrack. On March 23, Pearl Abyss will hold two sessions in room 2009 in the West Hall at GDC. The first lecturer will be Black Desert’s audio director, Hwiman Ryu. Mr. Ryu has been with the Pearl Abyss team since the start of the Black Desert project where he is in charge of the music and game audio. He is regarded as one of the most popular audio directors in the Korean game industry. Better known to his fans as “Croove”, his previous work on rhythm game classics DJMax and EZ2DJ was what put him on the map in the industry. He is now working on remastering the original Black Desert MIDI soundtrack with orchestrated music conducted and performed by famed European orchestras. In his lecture, he will discuss some of the successes and failures he faced during the span of the project with focus on composition, arrangement and application of the Black Desert soundtrack. He will explain how the music was applied to an open-world game and the steps, including score selection, planning and production, that led up to the finished product. Finally, he will talk about his experiences recording with an orchestra for the Black Desert audio remastering project as well as ways to use costly orchestral recordings efficiently without wasting resources. Lecture schedule and location Friday, March 23 | 10:00am - 11:00am Room 2009, West Hall The second lecture will be given by two members of the game engine team. Dongwook Ha is one of the lead programmers currently at Pearl Abyss. Mr. Ha has been working with the Pearl Abyss team for 7 years and is interested in developing a multi-platform game engine. His work on the Black Desert project has contributed greatly to the success of the game. Gwanghyeon Go is a software engineer that is part of the engine team at Pearl Abyss working on real-time rendering and engine architecture. Before joining the company, he worked at NHN Games and Webzen. The two lecturers will share the secrets of their success and their expertise in the game engine development process. This includes the various techniques that have been implemented to overcome the challenges that they faced along the way. They will discuss the efforts that have been made to mass produce the various resources such as terrain, characters, etc., with limited manpower. They will also cover what it is like to deal with optimizing a massive living world that has an infinite number of characters, how that memory is organized, the rendering techniques used in the process and ultimately why they chose these methods for Black Desert Online. Lecture schedule and location: Friday, March 23 | 1:30pm - 2:30pm Room 2009, West Hall

Cashbet And Storm Gaming Technology Expand Partnership with Exclusive Real-money Games for US and AGCC Customers

CashBet (www.cashbet.com) today announced the expansion of its partnership with Storm Gaming Technology (SGT) that includes an exclusive agreement to offer online versions of its land-based casino and branded games to CashBet’s US and Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC) customers. Through this agreement, CashBet will become the primary online distribution partner for premium SGT content to websites and apps operated both by CashBet’s iGaming partners and by other companies who wish to access a growing portfolio of unique content, including both real-money and social casino operators. SGT games will be the first to be distributed to operators via CashBet’s next generation Remote Game Server (RGS). Richard Sheldon, Managing Director of Storm Gaming Technology, said: “Through an extension of our exciting partnership with CashBet, we’ll be able to offer a portfolio of our premium land-based and branded gaming content to online and mobile casino operators seamlessly. These new titles will spotlight our commitment to high-quality responsive design, enabling the absolute best experience for mobile players. We plan to make a number of feature-rich titles, including Mandarin Orchid and other successful SGT games, immediately available via our agreement with CashBet.” Dr. Mike Reaves, CEO and founder of CashBet, said: “We’ve continued to grow and innovate as an iGaming technology platform developer. This latest partnership with SGT is an example of how we are evolving our technology to benefit our customers. Our partnerships and our strong commitment to technological innovation, in this case our feature-rich RGS, allow us to fulfill our vision of becoming the world’s most advanced iGaming platform. Renewing our relationship with SGT through this content distribution expansion is particularly exciting for us and offers iGaming operators access to valuable content not available anywhere else. We’re proud of our partnership with SGT and our ability to offer this exclusive content. We invite new operators to reach out and work with us to access our growing portfolio of premium iGaming content.” Learn more at www.cashbet.com

GAMEVICE PUTS GADGETEERS IN FULL CONTROL OF THE HOLIDAY’S HOTTEST TECH

Gamevice, the makers of the zero latency and direct connected controller, announced today that it will provide full support to Spark, an easy-to-use, fun-to-fly mini camera drone from DJI, the leading drone and flying camera creators. The Gamevice controller gives Spark users the added benefit of improved precision, control, and ergonomics when flying the drone using their smartphone. Gamevice is an approved Apple MFi partner with direct Lightning support. Download the new video and assets HERE: spaces.hightail.com/receive/XcdEtcgkAu/bWF0dEByZXZlcmJpbmMuY29t Watch the new video HERE: youtube.com/watch?v=a8Afl7SNPHY “DJI’s latest innovative drone pairs well with our high-performance controllers,” said Phillip Hyun, CEO, Gamevice, Inc. “We are pleased to be working with them and other leading consumer electronics creators on future products that will leverage our platform.” “We designed Spark to be the easiest DJI drone to fly, whether using simple hand gestures, a smartphone or the dedicated remote control,” said said Paul Pan, Senior Product Manager at DJI. “Gamevice gives Spark pilots another simple, highly intuitive way to control their drone, letting them fly, capture and share life’s moments while on the go.” Gamevice and DJI's Spark Drone - Perfect Holiday Gifts The functionality of Gamevice doesn’t stop with the benefits it offers to users of drones like DJI’s. The device serves as an entertainment hub, with ever growing capabilities as new games, apps and hardware that support the controller launch regularly. Gamevice also supports the SPRK+ robot from Sphero, adding a new layer of connectivity between consumers and their robots. With precision controls, improved ease of use, and comfortable design, Gamevice ensures that when SPRK+ users are struck with creativity, it’s easier than ever to bring their ideas to life. Take Control Your SPRK+ With Gamevice This Holiday As part of their Works With Gamevice initiative, the Gamevice team is working closely with consumer electronics manufacturers to bring controller support to a variety of mobile controlled gadgets. Interested companies and creators should email partners@gamevice.com for more information. The preferred controller of gamers everywhere, Gamevice creates a console experience on mobile devices to more than 1,000 video games including Street Fighter IV, Minecraft and NBA 2K18. The controller has extended its critically-acclaimed functionality to users of smartphone-controlled devices including robots and drones like DJI’s Spark and Sphero’s SPRK+ robot. By providing precision control and an ergonomic design, Gamevice allows users to achieve a new level of usability and comfort over a mobile device’s touchpad interface, and offers the lowest latency of any mobile controller available. With prices starting at $59.95, Gamevice provides lightning-fast control to video games and mobile controlled gadgets for popular iOS and Android smartphones or tablets on the market. For more information on Gamevice, please visit gamevice.com.

Unreal Summit 2017 PD Katsuhiro Harada Keynote Speech

Epic Games Korea held 'Unreal Summit 2017', a technology related event, at COEX Grand Ballroom located in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the April 22nd. For the first order of 'Unreal Summit 2017,' Keynote speeches were given by Tim Sweeney of Epic Games and Katsuhiro Harada, a leader and lead producer of Bandai Namco Games' Tekken project. ▲ Katsuhiro Harada came on the stage as a second keynote speaker. Producer Harada, who went on the stage as a second speaker, had a presentation about 'Philosophy in the development of Tekken Project game'. As the most important factors when progressing Tekken project, he mentioned that the viewpoint of hypothesis and statistical data has to be considered significant, and each opinion which does not appear on data has to be accepted. What's more, he stated that brilliant creativity and luck are also needed. Especially, in the case of Tekken, since the aspect of character game is strong, the values and evaluation standards are different according to the wide community culture of the country and region, and the diversity of preference is big. Here, the difference by age group and gender is added, so there are many difficulties. However, as the series continues, many case studies on the world market are conducted. Harada said, "You can think about people, games, popularity, character goods, popularity lifetime, etc. about the 'definition of a good character,' which is asked while creating a character, but such definition is actually hard to apply." And, "We aim to be loved by millions of products for more than a decade in the world market, but first we need to narrow down the goal and choose our customer who likes the character and buy a product. But as customers are not 100% aware of their tastes, it is also necessary to try to read hidden needs." On top of that, when creating characters, one needs to set the hypothesis that such character would make a hit with the target. Without the hypothesis, it is hard to determine whether it hit or not through verification, so he emphasized that one has to set it regardless of the outcome even for the accumulation of know-how. Citing the cases of Steve Fox in Tekken and Hikari Miyamoto in Summer Lesson, he introduced that, "These characters are intended for completely different users, so they contain completely different settings and stories, and the way to make a character concept changes as well." ▲ We had time to introduce philosophy in the game development of Tekken project. ▲ As each character has different preferences, the more case studies the more advantageous. ▲ When containing completely different settings and stories for each character, the way to make a character concept changes as well. Meanwhile, they need to get a feedback after the content is produced. If external disclosure is not allowed during development, they use feedbacks from overseas offices or qualitative investigation on the sample. After the release, they can use a variety of methods such as usage rate, popularity vote, user postcard and questionnaire, Internet sample survey, active research by research company, group interview, etc. As an important point in securing feedback data, having to secure as much feedback data as possible is mentioned. When hypotheses, statistical data, and feedback come to hand, it is necessary to combine this data to validate the results, so the process of quantifying all the data and documenting as much as possible which part of the developer’s idea goes against regardless whether positive or negative. This does not mean that good and bad of popularity lead to good and bad of the result. It only carries out a process of calmly verifying the 'difference from the hypothesis'. In the case of producer Harada, he hypothesizes about popularity order as well as usage order and then proceeds development. It means to start development after deciding popularity order of characters. In that case, he would get a question of "Should not all the characters be popular?". However, he stated that it is only idealism, and in reality, everyone can not make the first place. There could be some cases that are deviated from hypothesis and expectations. For instance, in the case of Lili and Dragunov, Dragunov was planned to be created as a less popular character in order to double the popularity of Lili by aiming for the effects of 'Yin and Tang'. But, it became increasingly popular than expected and affected the next work. In addition, in the case of Ganryu, its popularity and usage rate are low, but it has been used for a long time as it has worth in its own way due to having a solid position in the segment. However, the popularity and usage rate are not necessarily proportional. If the character has outstanding performance, its usage rate will be high, but related products are unaffected. Therefore, he said that the hypothesis for it has to be set. Besides, Harada emphasized that in the case of simply giving character design contract without establishing concept to a designer who has a great skill, the concept needed for the game could be lost, or the target could be wrong. In order to minimize this, he suggested to hypothesize about a character concept and target needed for the game, and share it with statistical data after documenting, so that a designer could successfully work. ▲ It is necessary to collect various feedback data as much as possible. ▲ There are also cases that are deviated from hypothesis and expectations. ▲ Quantifying and documenting the result as much as possible through verifying with statistical data. ▲ It is suggested to hypothesize about character concept and target, and document them.

Unreal Summit 2017 Tim Sweeney Keynote Speech

Epic Games Korea 'Robo Recall' Major Development Team Joint Interview

On the afternoon of the April 21st, Epic Games Korea office located in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, held an interview with a major development team of VR action game 'Robo Recall,' developed by Epic Games and released for 'Oculus Lift'. The interview was prepared before Unreal Summit 2017 to introduce the features of Epic Games' VR game 'Robo Recall' and discuss the future technology development. Nick Whiting Technical Director, Nick Donaldson Lead Designer, and Jerome Platteaux Art Director attended the event. ▲ The interview with 'Robo Recall' major development team was held. First, about VR's attractions felt while developing 'Robo Recall' with VR platform, Nick Donaldson pointed out that giving the feeling that the virtual environment is unfolded before the eyes, unlike 2D as the biggest attraction of VR. He also introduced the case that it becomes difficult to return to the previous 2D monitor environment after his friend, who did modeling, first checked the result in one to one size through a VR headset during development. In addition, Nick Whiting answered to the question about what advantage Unreal Engine 4 has in developing VR games that, "In development, without enough understanding, the progress will become slow. However, rather than simply applying VR function, it could be possible to present an improvement by applying know-how gained from developing games to the engine. What's more, through a visual script blueprint allows as many people as possible to quickly share and try ideas." Next, to the question about differences between the game and movie, Jerome Platteaux answered that the movie tries to put all possible scenes in one scene while the game has a completely different working method as the camera freely moves. Also, in the case of VR games, careful attention should be paid to lighting and others in terms of programming. Nick Donaldson answered to the question about the plan to use a sequencer function of Unreal Engine 4 to create a movie-like VR game that, "We do not have a plan to create it right now, but we have seen a lot of things created by other companies such as Oculus VR. It was possible to get a feeling different from the usual cinematic when performing an experimental work in the intro scene of Robo Recall." And, Nick Whiting expressed his opinion that "It could be a true VR cinematic by adding interactions about users' reaction to increase the immersion." Meanwhile, in regard to 'Robo Recall', the company have gotten a number of feedbacks related to controllability such as "there is a difficulty in controlling rotation" and the feedbacks related to details such as "the city in the game is too much cleaner than the actual San Francisco". It is introduced that the company is applying the updates like skipping the cutscene and 360-degree tracking and planning a partnership with a partner related to MOD function. In addition to the question about the future of VR, Nick Whiting said, "Although many people have skeptical views on VR equipment, VR has not been long since its emergence and think that there will be masterpiece contents that will make you feel the necessity to purchase after 2-3 years. Personally, I do not think that AR and VR will be combined into one, but as I believe both of them have the same problem, if we first dominate VR market, it will be easier to adapt to AR." ▲ Nick Whiting Technical Director ▲ Nick Donaldson Lead Designer ▲ Jerome Platteaux Art Director

Mobile Games Global Direct Entry Strategy Seminar: Japan

On the afternoon of the 6th, 'Mobile Games Global Direct Entry Strategy Seminar: Japan' was held at the Google Seoul campus in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The event was prepared to share relevant know-how that could help mobile game developers when entering the Japanese market directly, and representatives from three companies including Latis Global Communications, Ambition and Ventom attended as presenters. ▲ 'Mobile Games Global Direct Entry Strategy Seminar: Japan' was held. For the first order, Lee Ga-ram, a team manager of Latis Global Communications, presented with the theme of 'Cases to See Localization of Korea and Japan'. He said that it is important to 'grasp the characteristics of the game' when deciding to expand into Japan and making preparations for the localization project. This is because it is necessary to use a different style of language in the same genre to express the language of the game. For example, when comparing a role-playing game in a general fantasy world with an elf or dwarf race and a martial-base role-playing game, both games can be grouped into the same genre as 'role-playing' in aspect of the game's atmosphere or playing style. However, the language styles used in the games are entirely different. He then recommended to write 'glossary' and 'style guide'. 'Glossary' is a simple and effective way to provide a consistent experience for users through the unification of the game's terminology and improve the quality of localization. 'Style guide' is a document that summarizes the basic rules to apply to localization. It is a great help for the worker to understand the game, and also prevents the unnecessary shifts when two or more workers are put in at the same time. In addition, he said, "As there will be many difficulties in localization work if translation of a specific part is difficult to understand or is not intuitively communicated, writing a 'checklist' might help when having a problem with expressions translated into foreign languages due to cultural differences and improving text quality, which is essential for deployment." ▲ Choosing the language that matches the game atmosphere is necessary. ▲ You can work more easily with set data. ▲ When you request a translation, you must take care of the necessary data. For the second order, Jo Ki-won, a director of Ambition, gave a presentation on 'About Trends and Operation Methods of Japanese Game Market'. In the beginning of the lecture, he introduced that Japanese smartphone game market is steadily growing as much as Japanese game market ranked the 2nd in worldwide sales after the US. Moreover, the size of the market for Google Play and AppStore is maintained in a similar way without any big difference. As features of the market, he mentioned that the downloads of casual and RPG games account for more than 75% among the top 200 games, while RPG games are occupying sales rankings as they occupy more than half of the profits. Next, for differences between Korea and Japan, he introduced cases largely in product, billing, market and event. In the case of product, which is game, Korea is centered on 3D real graphics and hardcore action RPGs and PvP, auto function are essential. But Japan prefers a cooperative play that 2D cute characters appear, and auto function is not considered important. In the billing system, profit creation of Korea is mainly focused on time-saving items and advertising, while that of Japan is focused on ‘Gacha(Random box: Gashapon-style item distribution)’ instead of low advertising. In the case of market where games are downloaded, in Korea, the role of Google Play Store is big, while One Store and Kakao Market play some role. But in Japan, Google Play Store and App Store are similar, but local markets are less. For the way of events, Korea is mainly using CPI boosting and centralization of users through community establishment. Instead, it is having difficulty in developing offline media. In Japan, it is actively utilizing pre-viral and offline media, and collaborations with famous IP also frequently happen. In addition, he chose 'Continuous Marketing and Operation' as the key to success for successful entry into Japan. In the case of the Japanese market, the customer transaction of obtaining genuine users is 4 to 10 times higher than that of Korea, so it is important to keep the users who once have flown in. For this, it is emphasized that marketing will be necessary after launch as well as pre-publicity through various media. Moreover, when selecting a local partner, several things to be checked; 'if the partner has an abundant marketing experience,' 'if the index of the content currently being serviced is high', and 'if there is no problem in communication'. ▲ Korean market and Japanese market have many different parts. ▲ Continuous marketing and operations are essential. ▲ When selecting a local partner, a lot of thought is needed. At the end of the event, a member of Ventom, Lee Dan-woo gave a lecture on 'The first step of Japanese market marketing.' He said, in terms of app download size, Japanese market is in the ninth place, but the ARPU per user is the highest in the world, so it is worth challenging. It is introduced that viral promotions, Twitter and game broadcasting are the trends of digital marketing promotion trends in Japanese mobile game market. First, in the case of viral promotion, Gravure Idol or You Tuber is used at the pre-booking stage, and it is used to attract attention to the timing of large updaters. Next, Twitter is actively pursuing an anonymity that matches the tendency of Japanese people, and game-related live broadcasts are also being used for the purpose of increasing game retention. Promotional budgets are expected to be around 500 million ~ 3 billion won for large-scale, 200 ~ 400 million won for small and medium-sized businesses, and about 100 million won for small-scale businesses. Companies that want to maximize efficiency with minimum investment can also advertise their games with effort as they can conduct marketing through reservation sites, PR distribution, Twitter official account, etc. ▲ Japan's ARPU is the highest in the world. ▲ Viral promotion, Twitter, video, etc. are mainly used. ▲ There are various marketing methods for small budgets.

Global Game Jam @ Busan 2017 Field Sketch

The Global Game Jam (GGJ) is internationally recognized as the world's largest game development competition. The global game jam was held at the same time all over the world for three days from January 20th to 22nd. This year's global game jam theme was 'WAVE'. In addition, 23 diversified missions were given, giving the opportunity to compete with the team members in various types of attempts to save the big theme. This year's diversified missions are Comic Book Color, LEGO Assembly Manual, Story of the Minstrel, Local Game, Where Are You Now?, Crowdsourcing, No Retreat at a Battlefield, Bluetooth Interlock, Custom Controller, Ostrich Belief, Gandhi Game, Put One Hand at the Back, Multi-Jam, Story Mode, Forever, Loudmouth, What Was That Just Now?, Work While Playing, Like a Child, Multi-Screen, Unanimity, Twitch Plays (Twitch sponsorship), Do You Even Care? (iThrive Games sponsorship), etc. A total of twelve teams took the challenge to the world from Busan Metropolitan City, considering the topic 'WAVE' and various diversification missions. Under the title of 'Global Game Jam @ Busan 2017', the games that were conceptualized in the theme during the two-night and three-day event at the Korea Contents Lab in Busan Cultural Contents Complex operated by the Busan Information Industry Promotion Agency were produced and exhibited. In addition to Busan Metropolitan City, Incheon Metropolitan City, Seoul Metropolitan City, and Uijeongbu City have also produced and exhibited games in Korea in accordance with the Global Game Jam Program. ▲ The Global Game Jam Busan event was held at Busan Cultural Contents Complex sponsored by Busan Information Industry Promotion Agency. ▲ The contests were held with the world developers by using the work space and convenience facilities located in the 5th floor of Contents Korea Lab. ▲ Participants were often seen sleeping all over the venue as it was a long stay of two nights and three days. ▲ They organize teams on the spot and gather improvised skills, but their concentration is great. ▲ Since the teams are organized on the spot and the themes and missions are taken into account, meetings and discussions frequently took place. ▲ Busan Information Industry Promotion Agency is providing unstinting support for indie and community level events.

[BGC] Representative of World Mobile Games, So Byeong-gyun, “World Mobile Games Will Show Mobile Game Broadcasting That Presents Pleasure"

From November 17 to 20, an International Game Exhibition 'G-STAR' was successfully held in BEXCO, Busan Metropolitan City, with much attention from game industry officials around the world. Held in every November, 'G-STAR' has been a festival place for many people related to games by arranging a year, expressing gratitude to fans, and introducing new games and technologies that will be presented later. The host city of 'G-STAR,' Busan is trying to show the appearance reflecting its name 'the city of game' on the basis of know-hows accumulated by hosting 'G-STAR' for many years after 2009. At the center of its movement, a lot of game businesses that are trying to realize dream at Busan are also joining. Busan is continuing many activities with Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency for supporting the game businesses showing those active movements, and 'Busan Global Game Center (BGC),' opened in September 2015, became a facility for game industries in Busan. BGC is established for fostering game industry specialized to Busan and Gyeongnam area and supporting its inroads into global markets. With BGC as a launch pad, Busan City and Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency are creating new ecosystem for specialization, development and independence of region game industry through integrating game companies, attracting offshore companies, fostering startups, and training developers. Hence, Acrofan met game industries entered in 'Busan Global Game Center (BGC)' and listened to stories of what dreams they are trying to realize in Busan. ▲ World Mobile Games is providing an application for mobile game broadcasting called WMG TV. World Mobile Games is a company that services mobile game-oriented broadcasting platform, and is developing mobile game broadcasting application and next-generation game broadcasting platform as main businesses. World Mobile Games, which is centered on So Byeong-gyun, who was responsible for developing new businesses in WCG and WeCG, focuses on realizing the idea of e-sports and broadcast transmission of the mobile games so far. World Mobile Games has been helping with office and infrastructure support and development support projects since moving into BGC, and it was able to pave the way for foundations without much difficulty. Now, it is in the stage of presenting the results of its efforts one by one. "Based on our accumulated ideas and know-how, we launched WMG TV, a specific mobile game broadcasting application, in August 2016. We are now promoting applications and enhancing service quality through partnerships in Southeast Asia and South America." WMG TV is an application that can broadcast while playing a mobile game. It can broadcast anytime and anywhere with only a smartphone without a PC or a separate camera. So Byeong-gyun, a CEO of World Mobile Games, introduced that he is currently working on contributing to the promotion of mobile game broadcasting through WMG TV as well as the activation of mobile e-sports. "Through the experience obtained from participating in WCG, we have accumulated knowledge and operational know-how on game competitions and broadcasting. Through them, we have been planning and developing the most suitable and efficient game broadcasting platform. I am confident that broadcasting of various mobile games and e-sports through WMG TV will soon be possible." World Mobile Games is currently preparing a game broadcasting service platform that utilizes virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) platforms as well as mobile game broadcasting applications. Streaming large files are becoming a barrier of VR and AR broadcasts, but he said that the company would soon be able to solve them. "VR and AR platform markets have not grown yet, but I expect to grow significantly within the next two to three years, and I want to be a trend leader in this area. Particularly, in solving the existing problems, we want to spread technology more easily by utilizing current technology." He plans to not only sell the platform, but also play an important role in broadcasting and e-sports of mobile games. Moreover, he wants to gain trust from the world's stakeholders. He also expressed his desire to become a space where users can enjoy various tastes and have fun together. "As we are aiming for the next generation mobile game broadcasting platform, I think the future is far ahead. However, based on the know-how we have accumulated so far, we will strive to show a better broadcasting platform to you." So Byeong-gyun, who introduced the future plan, said that he would show a broadcasting platform to share the fun with mobile game users and asked for much interest and encouragement in the future. Meanwhile, under the support from Ministry of Culture and Busan City, Busan Global Game Center (BGC) fosters game industry specialized to Busan and Gyeongnam area and supports its inroads into global markets. At BGC in Busan Cultural Contents Complex (BCC), under the close cooperation, Busan City and Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency are creating new industry ecosystem for specialization, development and independence of region game industry through integrating game companies, attracting offshore companies, fostering startups, and training developers. For more information, refer to Naver Blog (blog.naver.com/busangamecenter) and Facebook (facebook.com/busanglobalgamecenter).

[BGC] Representative of Tyfon, Jung Yong-beom, “Tyfon Will Be a Game Company That Develops with Users and Partners”

From November 17 to 20, an International Game Exhibition 'G-STAR' was successfully held in BEXCO, Busan Metropolitan City, with much attention from game industry officials around the world. Held in every November, 'G-STAR' has been a festival place for many people related to games by arranging a year, expressing gratitude to fans, and introducing new games and technologies that will be presented later. The host city of 'G-STAR,' Busan is trying to show the appearance reflecting its name 'the city of game' on the basis of know-hows accumulated by hosting 'G-STAR' for many years after 2009. At the center of its movement, a lot of game businesses that are trying to realize dream at Busan are also joining. Busan is continuing many activities with Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency for supporting the game businesses showing those active movements, and 'Busan Global Game Center (BGC),' opened in September 2015, became a facility for game industries in Busan. BGC is established for fostering game industry specialized to Busan and Gyeongnam area and supporting its inroads into global markets. With BGC as a launch pad, Busan City and Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency are creating new ecosystem for specialization, development and independence of region game industry through integrating game companies, attracting offshore companies, fostering startups, and training developers. Hence, Acrofan met game industries entered in 'Busan Global Game Center (BGC)' and listened to stories of what dreams they are trying to realize in Busan. ▲ Tyfon has been presenting various games based on the self-developed engine so far. Tyfon, a game company founded in the first half of 2015, has developed mobile games professionally and has released a number of RPG games. It is also developing games with various genres and is currently releasing to domestic and overseas markets. Since moving into 'BGC', the company has been helped through various education systems and support policies. Moreover, both direct and indirect support for offices and equipment, software purchases, etc., has given them power to focus more on development. "Since the establishment in 2015, we released the game 'Everlasting Moon 2', a martial arts game, after introducing 'Immortal God' using self-developed engine. Since then, we released 'Skyrim' based on Greek mythology. It combines our own engine with the unity 3D engine to satisfy both stories and graphics." Jung Yong-beom, a director of Tyfon, introduced the way Tyfon has walked, action, story, and the company's self-developed game engine. He also emphasized that the community with domestic and overseas game companies is one of its strengths. "We have networked with game companies around the world including Korea, China and Japan. In addition to being able to immediately understand the trend of the game, it could also be an opportunity to make it easier to promote Tyfon's development skills. We also have experience in user management as well as development, so having know-how on how to satisfy users is one of our strengths." Likewise, progressing various tasks such as user management and development at the same time, Tyfon will continue to think about how to develop in the future. "There are games with mystery action adventure genres for the games that we would like to develop in the future. As considering that users' interest in history is getting higher, we plan to firstly develop a game based on modern and contemporary history." In addition to game development, based on game development know-how and sales and user management know-how, he had a clear plan for helping growth of indie game developers and one-man game developer in Busan. Jung Yong-beom said that he also plans to establish a comprehensive consulting center and a game investment company that can mentor from development stages to sales. At the end of the interview, he expressed his gratitude to users and partners that it was possible to make progress with their help. "Without forgetting the help so far, we will strive to grow into a company that grows and shares joy with users. Tyfon will also be a developer that does not disappoint partners. Thank you." Meanwhile, under the support from Ministry of Culture and Busan City, Busan Global Game Center (BGC) fosters game industry specialized to Busan and Gyeongnam area and supports its inroads into global markets. At BGC in Busan Cultural Contents Complex (BCC), under the close cooperation, Busan City and Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency are creating new industry ecosystem for specialization, development and independence of region game industry through integrating game companies, attracting offshore companies, fostering startups, and training developers. For more information, refer to Naver Blog (blog.naver.com/busangamecenter) and Facebook (facebook.com/busanglobalgamecenter).

[BGC] Representative of Oblique Line, Kim Pu-reun, "Oblique Line Will Be a Developer That Endeavors to Develop Continuously"

From November 17 to 20, an International Game Exhibition 'G-STAR' was successfully held in BEXCO, Busan Metropolitan City, with much attention from game industry officials around the world. Held in every November, 'G-STAR' has been a festival place for many people related to games by arranging a year, expressing gratitude to fans, and introducing new games and technologies that will be presented later. The host city of 'G-STAR,' Busan is trying to show the appearance reflecting its name 'the city of game' on the basis of know-hows accumulated by hosting 'G-STAR' for many years after 2009. At the center of its movement, a lot of game businesses that are trying to realize dream at Busan are also joining. Busan is continuing many activities with Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency for supporting the game businesses showing those active movements, and 'Busan Global Game Center (BGC),' opened in September 2015, became a facility for game industries in Busan. BGC is established for fostering game industry specialized to Busan and Gyeongnam area and supporting its inroads into global markets. With BGC as a launch pad, Busan City and Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency are creating new ecosystem for specialization, development and independence of region game industry through integrating game companies, attracting offshore companies, fostering startups, and training developers. Hence, Acrofan met game industries entered in 'Busan Global Game Center (BGC)' and listened to stories of what dreams they are trying to realize in Busan. ▲ Acrofan heard about story of the goals in the future from Kim Pu-reun, a representative of Oblique Line. Oblique Line is a developer that specializes in mobile games. It had been worked as a one-person development team, but it has developed into a three-person group since 2016. The company has been releasing games that can be enjoyed lightly, and is gaining popularity based on gag elements. "The first game I showed was the game called 'Ultimate Grandpa (kkeutpan halbae)', which combines RPG and defense genre with a comic story. The second game is a game called ‘Ultimate Event King (kkeutpan haengsawang)’, a kind of raising games that are going around lately." Kim Pu-reun, a representative of Oblique Line, introduced two games that have been released so far, and they all feature unique fun and comic elements. In this part, it is introduced that a characteristic of Oblique Line is that it makes you feel the fun that you cannot feel in large-scale mobile game with serious atmosphere. "Our games do not have anything special about graphics or system, and there are not many developers in the company. However, there is definitely a lack of competitiveness to compete with large-scale mobile games for games with pretty graphics. Instead, we think that a unique humor code tailored to young users' tastes is our own advantage, so we tried to present fun with the humor code as a center." However, Kim Pu-reun pointed out that as the development team increased in size, it was also the goal of the company to introduce games with improved quality. It is his desire to show users that he has developed as a developer. In addition, he introduced that 'BGC' helped the development process a lot. It was able to get quick feedback on development projects through other game companies and testing support programs. He also mentioned its advantages that it provided a good place to increase work efficiency, and it was possible to communicate information with other companies and to compete in good faith. "The game under preparation now is a casual arcade game based on animals, and I also want to make a game that has greatly improved graphic quality in defense game style that was presented at 'Ultimate Grandpa (kkeutpan halbae)’.” ▲ 'Ultimate Grandpa (kkeutpan halbae)' and 'Ultimate Event King (kkeutpan haengsawang)’ are the games characterized by their own gag senses. He revealed that, currently, various efforts are being made to raise the design capacity for developed Oblique Line, and if it is judged that the preparations are finished, the game will be started its development in earnest. "Many things can change in the future, but there will be no change in the value of development that I had in the beginning. I will continue to work hard to maintain the original colors of the Oblique Line and look forward to more advanced developments." Mr. Kim has expressed his gratitude for the support he showed so far and expressed his gratitude for his interest and expectation for the new game to be shown in the future. Meanwhile, under the support from Ministry of Culture and Busan City, Busan Global Game Center (BGC) fosters game industry specialized to Busan and Gyeongnam area and supports its inroads into global markets. At BGC in Busan Cultural Contents Complex (BCC), under the close cooperation, Busan City and Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency are creating new industry ecosystem for specialization, development and independence of region game industry through integrating game companies, attracting offshore companies, fostering startups, and training developers. For more information, refer to Naver Blog (blog.naver.com/busangamecenter) and Facebook (facebook.com/busanglobalgamecenter). ▲ He said that he will make steady efforts to show results of enhanced outcome as a developer.

[BGC] Representative of Appnori, Lee Sang-wook, "Appnori Will Be Remembered As a Sports VR Development Company"

From November 17 to 20, an International Game Exhibition 'G-STAR' was successfully held in BEXCO, Busan Metropolitan City, with much attention from game industry officials around the world. Held in every November, 'G-STAR' has been a festival place for many people related to games by arranging a year, expressing gratitude to fans, and introducing new games and technologies that will be presented later. The host city of 'G-STAR,' Busan is trying to show the appearance reflecting its name 'the city of game' on the basis of know-hows accumulated by hosting 'G-STAR' for many years after 2009. At the center of its movement, a lot of game businesses that are trying to realize dream at Busan are also joining. Busan is continuing many activities with Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency for supporting the game businesses showing those active movements, and 'Busan Global Game Center (BGC),' opened in September 2015, became a facility for game industries in Busan. BGC is established for fostering game industry specialized to Busan and Gyeongnam area and supporting its inroads into global markets. With BGC as a launch pad, Busan City and Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency are creating new ecosystem for specialization, development and independence of region game industry through integrating game companies, attracting offshore companies, fostering startups, and training developers. Hence, Acrofan met game industries entered in 'Busan Global Game Center (BGC)' and listened to stories of what dreams they are trying to realize in Busan. ▲ Acrofan heard story about service game and future plan from Lee Sang-wook, a director of Appnori. Appnori, a virtual reality (VR) content-specialized company that was established in 2011, decided to focus on VR from 2015 and moved the company to Busan. Since then, it entered BGC in Busan and has been getting supports of various information such as new information, technology consulting, networking, introducing overseas markets, etc. Currently, it is producing various kinds of sports VR games. "In the past, we have been developing mobile games mainly, and among them, ‘Baseball Kings’ has gained popularity in the US, Japan, Taiwan, South America, etc. We will show this game with VR base and also other games into VR games." Lee Sang-wook, a director of Appnori, did not forget to introduce about the company’s major work, ‘Baseball Kings,’ when talking about the history of the company. This is because one of the main contents presented after changing development content to VR is a VR version of ‘Baseball Kings’. "When developing a mobile game, we have developed a lot of sports games. Sports games have many advantages. First, sports use rules that everyone knows, so everyone can enjoy it without informing the rules, while other games may need tutorials for explanation. And, in terms of negative views on the game, sports games’ another advantage is that they are relatively less objectionable due to the viewpoint of physical activity." In addition, while concerning about the genre that could compete as a small-scale developer to large companies that develop major games such as FPS, racing, and action, they noted that there are not so many companies specializing in sports VR. So, they have developed a sports VR game with the idea of preoccupying sports fields that they are good at. Currently, Appnori has released 'Baseball Kings VR' on the theme of baseball and 'Ping Pong Kings VR' on the theme of table tennis. Both of these works have attracted much attention from visitors and industry representatives in G-Star 2016. Moreover, since then, it plans to develop various sports such as archery, bowling, and soccer into VR contents. ▲ Appnori has released 'Baseball Kings VR' on the theme of baseball and 'Ping Pong Kings VR' on the theme of table tennis. "Ball games that use balls can provide realistic VR experience only if the movement of the ball is realistic. It is our competitiveness that we can develop the engine for ball physics application and provide more realistic experience. In the case of 'Ping Pong Kings VR', complex movements such as spin, back spin and push are accurately applied and we plan to implement these realistic movements in other events as well." At the same time, Lee Sang-wook has expressed his intention to develop table game contents such as VR Casino. The weak point of VR game is dizziness, but as the position of table game does not move so much, there will be sense of presence with little incongruity. So, it received attentions from buyers of Southeast Asia when produced prototype as a sample. At the end of the interview, he expressed gratitude for the love that the users from all over the world have given since the days of mobile games. He also said that he would like to be remembered as a specialized production company specializing in sports VR games. Meanwhile, under the support from Ministry of Culture and Busan City, Busan Global Game Center (BGC) fosters game industry specialized to Busan and Gyeongnam area and supports its inroads into global markets. At BGC in Busan Cultural Contents Complex (BCC), under the close cooperation, Busan City and Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency are creating new industry ecosystem for specialization, development and independence of region game industry through integrating game companies, attracting offshore companies, fostering startups, and training developers. For more information, refer to Naver Blog (blog.naver.com/busangamecenter) and Facebook (facebook.com/busanglobalgamecenter). ▲ He wants the company to be remembered as a specialized production company specializing in sports VR games.

[BGC] Representative of Next Stage, Kang Hyun-woo, "Next Stage Wants to Be Remembered as a Company That Makes Action Games Well"

From November 17 to 20, an International Game Exhibition 'G-STAR' was successfully held in BEXCO, Busan Metropolitan City, with much attention from game industry officials around the world. Held in every November, 'G-STAR' has been a festival place for many people related to games by arranging a year, expressing gratitude to fans, and introducing new games and technologies that will be presented later. The host city of 'G-STAR,' Busan is trying to show the appearance reflecting its name 'the city of game' on the basis of know-hows accumulated by hosting 'G-STAR' for many years after 2009. At the center of its movement, a lot of game businesses that are trying to realize dream at Busan are also joining. Busan is continuing many activities with Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency for supporting the game businesses showing those active movements, and 'Busan Global Game Center (BGC),' opened in September 2015, became a facility for game industries in Busan. BGC is established for fostering game industry specialized to Busan and Gyeongnam area and supporting its inroads into global markets. With BGC as a launch pad, Busan City and Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency are creating new ecosystem for specialization, development and independence of region game industry through integrating game companies, attracting offshore companies, fostering startups, and training developers. Hence, Acrofan met game industries entered in 'Busan Global Game Center (BGC)' and listened to stories of what dreams they are trying to realize in Busan. ▲ Acrofan heard the story about the games and goals from Kang Hyun-woo, a representative of Next Stage. Next Stage is a game company established in the first half of 2015 and aims to develop a unique mobile game. Kang Hyun-woo, a representative of Next Stage, introduced the start of the company that he confirmed the commercial potential through the outsourcing of KakaoTalk game and winning the global game contest and decided to start the business in earnest. "We've been thinking a lot about making games that are different from the existing games, and as a result, we launched a game called 'The Dice Is Cast' in May 2016. Now, we are developing a game called 'Ark,' a sequel. The direction that we pursue is a control-oriented action game that users can experience rather than automatic battle." According to Kang Hyun-woo, 'The Dice Is Cast' is a game combining action genre and puzzle genre, and its feature is that users can enjoy board game that rolls a dice to move and combo action that requires control. Currently under development, 'Ark' is based on hunting action, and users can enjoy the fun of participating in hunting with their colleagues on mobile. Next Stage is developing a game that provides fun not only through automatic hunting but also through manual hunting through enhanced action. Through 'a system that counterplots the sweep system,' in which users will get more rewards if they go into a dungeon and use acting power at one time, the game's biggest advantage is a system that users can receive satisfactory rewards even if they play once. ▲ Next Stage aims at control-oriented games. For the future direction, he revealed that he would do his best to realize the goal of 'making a game similar to video game' after establishing the base of hunting action with 'Ark'. His idea is that he would like to develop a stylish action game and enter the video game market in the long run. "We have been doing a lot of research since the beginning to realize a game similar to video games into a mobile game, and the games we have released are the outcomes of that research. In addition, I believe that the know-how we have accumulated would play a significant role in the way to our ultimate goal, the video game market." However, Kang Hyun-woo selected the direction to develop gradually from the small things rather than showing great things from the beginning, and the team members are composed of development teams specialized in action games. So, he thinks it will be able to achieve the goal if the company continues development continuously. He said that he received much help from 'BGC' in the development of Next Stage, and suggested to beginner developers who develop games in Busan that there will be no better environment than 'BGC'. "Since we did not know the method although we were motivated, it would not have been easy to start a business, if we did not know ‘BGC’. In fact, starting with help for the office, we have gotten new information so far, and we could obtain more advanced development know-how through network with other developers.” Finally, Kang Hyun-woo expressed his gratitude to users because he was able to support the development of Next Stage with the support from users. He said, "Next Stage wants to be remembered by users as a company that makes action games very well, and a company that works on various platforms, from mobile to video games. We’ll appreciate your future support.” Meanwhile, under the support from Ministry of Culture and Busan City, Busan Global Game Center (BGC) fosters game industry specialized to Busan and Gyeongnam area and supports its inroads into global markets. At BGC in Busan Cultural Contents Complex (BCC), under the close cooperation, Busan City and Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency are creating new industry ecosystem for specialization, development and independence of region game industry through integrating game companies, attracting offshore companies, fostering startups, and training developers. For more information, refer to Naver Blog (blog.naver.com/busangamecenter) and Facebook (facebook.com/busanglobalgamecenter). ▲ He revealed his plan to develop stylish action games and enter the video game market.

[BGC] Representative of YouCanStar, Choi Dae-gil, "YouCanStar Will Create a 'Miracle' with a Great VR Content"

From November 17 to 20, an International Game Exhibition 'G-STAR' was successfully held in BEXCO, Busan Metropolitan City, with much attention from game industry officials around the world. Held in every November, 'G-STAR' has been a festival place for many people related to games by arranging a year, expressing gratitude to fans, and introducing new games and technologies that will be presented later. The host city of 'G-STAR,' Busan is trying to show the appearance reflecting its name 'the city of game' on the basis of know-hows accumulated by hosting 'G-STAR' for many years after 2009. At the center of its movement, a lot of game businesses that are trying to realize dream at Busan are also joining. Busan is continuing many activities with Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency for supporting the game businesses showing those active movements, and 'Busan Global Game Center (BGC),' opened in September 2015, became a facility for game industries in Busan. BGC is established for fostering game industry specialized to Busan and Gyeongnam area and supporting its inroads into global markets. With BGC as a launch pad, Busan City and Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency are creating new ecosystem for specialization, development and independence of region game industry through integrating game companies, attracting offshore companies, fostering startups, and training developers. Hence, Acrofan met game industries entered in 'Busan Global Game Center (BGC)' and listened to stories of what dreams they are trying to realize in Busan. ▲ Acrofan heard the story about features of the game and development style from Choi Dae-gil, a representative of YouCanStar. A company specializing in virtual reality (VR) content, YouCanStar could get investment and establish a corporation in August 2015. Until then, it had mainly developed mobile games. About 25 developers are making VR content of various genres, and they showed the results through Busan VR Cluster Pavilion of G-Star 2016. "We have been interested in VR content since 2014 and developed a content called 'Virtual Reality Safety Education Simulator,' which got support from government. At that time, there was a social issue about safety, but there was almost no visual experience safety education. So, we developed a content to learn safety education through virtual reality." Choi Dae-gil, a representative of YouCanStar, explained about the meeting with VR content like the above. The company could have shown content that can be simply enjoyed, but it confirmed the possibility of VR industry through hands-on contents, learning through experience. Since then, a 3D rooms escape game 'Cube VR' for PC as well as PlayStation VR has been under development. Unlike the existing VR games that present attraction playing based on time, 'Cube VR' is characterized that it is centered on space. "If events are occurred over time, many cases will be limited by the time. This is why users are pushed for the flow. However, 'Cube VR' lets users recognize space enough, acquire items, progress events and escape the room, so users can enjoy the game with enough time." ▲ YouCanStar is preparing various kinds of VR contents. In addition to 'Cube VR', YouCanStar also introduced 'Blind VR Catalog', an interior VR content. This product is a VR content that you can experience before you buy furniture if it well matches your house interiors such as house lighting, wallpaper material, furniture arrangement, etc. "The reason why people have windows in their house is because not only the sunlight comes in and heats the house, but also they influence the mood of the house. For example, if you have a blind, depending on what kind of product you are installing, the glare effect also changes, so you can check if it matches with furniture or wallpaper in advance. He pointed out that the VR contents of overseas famous furniture vendors show the use and size of furniture, but they are far from consumers' needs as consumers want to see whether the furniture is suitable for home rather than product use. On the other hand, it is introduced that 'Blind VR Catalog' realizes the structure of user's house into VR and shows arrangement in house and harmony with light, so it can give more practical help. As a VR company, Choi Dae-gil mentioned healthcare field for what products YouCanStar would like to introduce in the future. "As the Internet environment has widened, its related industries such as e-mail, portals, cafes, games, shopping malls, and education have also diversified, so it would be difficult to cover VR only with games. The healthcare industry, which is the most closely related to human, will also be established in VR. Recently, healthcare has been dealing with aging and developmental disabilities, and I have been wondering how to combine VR to give benefits to them, and it might be able to find VR's role in assisting the uncomfortable parts." After completing the interview, Choi Dae-gil revealed that the company aims for 'a company that makes miracle with VR content'. This is because it is hoped that the contents produced by YouCanStar will become a life force in life and opportunities to change a life positively. He expressed his gratitude by saying, "We think that producing great VR contents is a contribution to society. So, we will make a miracle by making the contents that each member works together, and we hope you like them. Thank you." Meanwhile, under the support from Ministry of Culture and Busan City, Busan Global Game Center (BGC) fosters game industry specialized to Busan and Gyeongnam area and supports its inroads into global markets. At BGC in Busan Cultural Contents Complex (BCC), under the close cooperation, Busan City and Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency are creating new industry ecosystem for specialization, development and independence of region game industry through integrating game companies, attracting offshore companies, fostering startups, and training developers. For more information, refer to Naver Blog (blog.naver.com/busangamecenter) and Facebook (facebook.com/busanglobalgamecenter). ▲ He pointed out healthcare as a field that the company would like to focus on.

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