New level unlocked: the gaming industry and its presence in creative sector

Written by Rahma Yulita | Read in Indonesian

The gaming industry is growing at a rapid pace. So much so that its presence is no longer a mere entertainment, but can also help develop various professions, such as developers, IT professionals, animators and musicians. The increasing demand since the COVID-19 pandemic also prompted many developers to release their games at that time.

Not only that, the opportunity for development has also reached the mainstream culture, where many games have collaborated with prominent brands. Some examples are the collaboration between Marc Jacobs and Valentino in “Animal Crossing” and Balenciaga with the game “Fortnite” in 2021.

Apart from intersecting with mainstream culture, the development of the gaming industry has also reached the film industry. In Indonesia, there is "Pamali", a film that was adapted from one of the best local games, "Pamali: Indonesian Folklore Horror" made by local game developer StoryTale Studios.

The rapid development of the gaming industry today

Now, how many game players are there that the industry could develop at this breakneck speed? As it turns out, there are more than two billion gamers worldwide, which is equivalent to 26% of the world's population.

Indonesia ranked 16th in the world and is the country with the largest gaming market in Southeast Asia. At the end of 2021, the sales of the Indonesian gaming industry reached $1.92 billion or around Rp28 trillion. The data also stated that the average number of hours/week spent playing video games as of January 2021 in Indonesia reached 8.54 hours, while the global average was 8.45 hours.

Indonesia is said to be not only a game market, but also has the opportunity to become a key player in the gaming industry. Google recorded that Google Play is the “home” for more than 10 thousand game developers from Indonesia, with more than 150 million Indonesians searching for applications and games every month on Google Play.

The presence of gaming content creators and their variety

Indonesia is no stranger to gaming content creators. Reza Arap, Windah Basudara and MiawAug gained popularity as game streamers who present game content in a way that matches their persona.

Their influence is quite strong in the gaming industry. Windah Basudara, for example, is idolised by many children and adults alike. His success as a gaming content creator has landed him a deal as a brand ambassador for the esports team that recently represented Indonesia in the M World Championship, RRQ Hoshi.

Dito Wangsa, founder of Anak Tua, a gaming media in Indonesia, said there are two types of content creators in the gaming industry. “There are gaming content creators specifically for entertainment purposes, bringing content of them playing games for the entertainment of other people. There are also gaming content creators for education. They give reviews, previews, first impressions and recommendations for the audience before buying a game," he explained.

Then, what is their role in the development of the gaming industry for the community? Dito explained that they play different roles. Content that provides entertainment is usually popular among people who want to see a game played by the content creator until it's finished. Therefore, the probability of the audience buying the game is not very high.

On the other hand, content from media that is for education, such as Anak Tua’s YouTube channel, targets people who want to buy the game. He added, “Because the price of the original game is quite high, ranging from Rp400 thousand to millions. This relatively high price makes people have a need to watch the reviews first before deciding to buy the game.”

Dito said both types of gaming content creators provide exposure that can help the gaming industry develop. However, he emphasised that there are differences in the output from the exposure generated by the two types of gaming content creators.

“Maybe a greater exposure is enjoyed by gaming content creators whose purpose is for entertainment, because the audience is very wide, ranging from children to adults. However, if we’re talking about the conversion to sale, exposure from media [which focuses on reviews and previews] will be stronger," he said.

Game adaptations

Not only that, the merge of the gaming industry and the creative industry, especially the film industry, is getting more apparent with the high number of games being adapted into films and series. Some examples are "Sonic The Hedgehog", "Mortal Kombat", "The Witcher", "Uncharted", "Arcane: League of Legends", as well as the one that has always been trending and a hot topic on social media, "The Last of Us”. Indonesia is not lagging behind, producing the film “Pamali” which was mentioned earlier.

Seeing the success of these projects, of course the relationship between the gaming industry and the creative industry is getting stronger. That is because the adaptations are not only beneficial for game developers and publishers, but also have provided many work opportunities for many, such as film directors, musicians who create original soundtracks, scriptwriters, actors, as well as animators.

Citing Parrot Analytics, games are still seen as a special subject for filmmakers, which brings pressure when they want to adapt the stories and characters of a game into a film or series. However, in terms of audience, game adaptations actually attract a lot of interest from generation Z and millennials who are currently in their productive age.

In fact, generation Z and millennials are the primary audience for some of the latest game and live-action adaptations. That’s why Dito believes that the development of the gaming industry is getting “crazy”. He said the gaming industry has become an “umbrella” for other industries, especially the creative industry.

“Today's gaming industry is really crazy. Compared to other entertainment industries, games are now the highest in terms of income and money circulation. Lots of actors/actresses also tap into this industry. For example, "The Witcher", a game from Poland which is very famous. It boomed and a series was made on Netflix, starring the notable Henry Cavill. This shows how the gaming industry can drive other industries. There's music in there, there's a film adaptation too. So if you ask how is the gaming industry faring, it's really crazy,” he concluded.

Projection for gaming industry development in the future

The development of the gaming community is slowly driving the popularity of esports. According to Forbes, competitive scenes such as esports have developed and made games present as products and merchandise, and are starting to compete in the creative content ecosystem, driven by pro-players who enter the entertainment world on YouTube and Twitch as streamers.

This makes esports even more promising along with the development of the gaming industry in the future. Besides being competitive, there is a lot of money involved in an esports tournament, so pro-players can make money while providing entertainment to the audience.

The development of esports means that there will also be an increasing need for players, both male and female players. Even though female players have started to liven up competitive scenes, this still doesn't deny the fact that the role of women in the gaming industry is still minuscule.

For example, there are still many gender stereotypes in video games, not to mention a study that revealed that 84% of executive positions in the gaming industry are still held by men. Therefore, the development of the gaming industry is expected to increase inclusivity for every player and the audience.