The SEA Game Awards 2019 was hosted for the third year running by Level Up KL, to coincide with the annual gaming conference and expo that took place in Kuala Lumpur in November last year. The awards aim to recognise and celebrate the creative artistry and technical ingenuity of games and developers in the region hailing from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and more. The awards received more than 90 game submissions from all across Southeast Asia, out of which 50 were shortlisted as finalists.
GigaBash won four awards at the Level Up SEA Game Awards 2019 – Best Technology, Best Game Design, Audience Choice Award & Grand Jury Award.
The biggest winner of the night – taking home four out of 10 awards – was GigaBash, an arena brawler developed by Passion Republic Games. It won the Best Technology, Best Game Design, Audience Choice Award and the highest achievement, Grand Jury Award. It was recognised as the overall best game unanimously selected by the jury, for its excellence in game technology, gameplay mechanics and playability. The game was showcased at several international conventions including the Tokyo Game Show and PAX East 2020, and has already won multiple accolades despite having not hit the shelves yet.
GigaBash is an arena brawler featuring kaiju-inspired monsters slugging it out at various destructible locations around the world. The game can be played by up to four players at a time, assuming the role of giant monsters and heroes who must defeat each other in combat by using unique moves and the environment to deal the hurt on enemies. GigaBash looks and plays with a prowess that rivals AAA titles. The much-anticipated game is scheduled to be released in the final quarter of 2020 or early 2021 on PS4 and PC, with plans to venture into more platforms.
“GigaBash is our studio’s very first IP (original game). For people who like fantasy games and brawler games, this is the game for you!” said Ng Aik Sern, the founder and president of Passion Republic Games, who is an alumnus of The One Academy.
“Some of our inspirations came from kids, who get excited when destroying toy blocks. We wanted to build a game that can bring out the kid in everyone. As adults, everything is so controlled and mundane, so we wanted to give players an outlet to let loose,” explained Ng.
“Since 6 years ago, we have been contributing to some AAA-title games including the Uncharted franchise and Spider-Man. We have done a lot of art and animation for these triple-A titles. We were very fortunate to have the opportunity to nurture our team towards the current situation,” he further expressed.
The gaming scene in Malaysia is seeing a boost in popularity and interest with many quality game developer studios established. Furthermore, the digital and gaming industry is actively promoted and supported by the Malaysian government, namely the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) with many initiatives to aid in the growth of the game market, strengthening the efforts to position our country as a regional powerhouse for the games industry in Southeast Asia.
The One Academy is committed to providing the best art education programmes and continues to nurture its students passionately through its “Masters Train Masters” coaching philosophy, which has been practised for almost three decades, by providing diploma and degree courses namely Advertising & Graphic Design, Digital Animation, Digital Media Design, Film Visual Effects, Interior Architecture & Design, Illustration, Fine Arts and Paris Fashion Design & Pattern Making. For more information on The One Academy, visit www.toa.edu.my or call +603-7875 5510 or e-mail your enquiries to [email protected].
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Screenshot footage from GigaBash – an arena brawler game featuring giant monsters slugging it out at various destructible locations around the world.
