These 3 Pinoy-made video games are making sensations online

Published September 10, 2019 5:59pm

Creating video games takes a lot to make — from concept designing to game programming, a lot of work, effort, and passion is poured into just a single game.

And according to an AHA! episode Sunday, Filipinos happen to be great at it!

1. Towertale

Created by MiSou Games, "Towertale" is a story-driven action game released last July.

Towertale's co-founder Blas Eduard Dizon said, "Naka-set siya sa isang tower na naggra-grant ng wish kung sinong makaakyat sa tower so ang bawat character may sarili silang desires, sariling wishes na magpu-push sa players na abutin 'yung top."

With the goal to climb the mysterious tower, players will have to battle the "boss" of each tower level.

According to Dizon, "Towertale" was actually the manifestation of his dream to create a game that is filled with boss fights alone.

The team said that after the release, they posted the game on Philippines' Reddit and it garnered a lot of attention online.

Kent Bartolo, a "Towertale" player, said, "Maganda 'yung story niya and the mechanics ng game is pretty simple."

2. Good Knight

"Good Knight" isn't just inspired by old-school computer games. It's also a unique fusion of Filipino mythology and history with tikbalangs and tiyanaks playing roles in the video game.

According to Good Knight's lead creator and game director Alex Alex Valdez Jr., players will control the character "Good Knight" and all you have to do in the game is to avoid the creatures attacking you.

He said, "Ginamit namin 'yung words na 'good knight' kasi lahat ng tao, monsters sa hell hindi nila alam ano tawag sa trespasser na ito so tawag sakanya is 'Good Knight'."

The character, Good Knight, has a red scarf which symbolizes his blood lust and how much he loves to battle, said Zaid Al Shaheed, co-creator of the game.

James Ronald Lo, CEO and Co-founder of Taktyl Studios, said that it's a beautiful growing trend among gaming studios in the Philippines to feature and connect their games with the Filipino culture.

Additionally, Valdez said, "'Yung mga current generation video games ngayon meron tayong sobrang daming buttons na pipindutin like it's so hard. Ang 'Good Knight' one tap lang siya, isa lang pipindutin."

Player Irish Mae Domingo said that the game is actually easy to control through the use of the single button but at the same time it's very challenging.

3. Ang Ospital

Unlike the other games, the horror video game "Ang Ospital" is actually a thesis project created by a group of students from the University of Caloocan.

Lead programmer Roland Pilar said, "Third year palang naisip ko na na gumawa ng horror game kasi same same nalang 'yung nakikita."

"Tapos ayun bumuo kami ng team, nag-research kami naglalaro kami na kailangan i-reference dun," he added.

Players of "Ang Ospital" will become the lead character, Kate, who gets trapped in a mental institution in Baguio City and tries to get out of it and at the same time figure out what happened to her other friends despite having nyctophobia, an extreme fear of darkness.

According to audio engineer Carlo Maristela, players won't have any weapons with them other than being able to run and having a flashlight. The strategy is to simply move to your objective once the enemy is gone, he said.

Although the fully furnished edition isn't out yet, video animator John Roque Albaniel said, "Sobrang nakaka-overwhelm 'yung pagtanggap ng mga tao sa ginawa namin kahit special version palang siya na hindi pa siya fully na malinis na game."

Even the Computer Studies-University of Caloocan City department head Dr. Ted Macaraeg couldn't be any more proud.

"Pinagmamalaki ko 'yung game kasi hindi mo mafe-feel na ginawa lang to ng mga bata o grupo ng mga estudyante palang," he said.

Parts of the game are still under revision but the team plans to launch "Ang Ospital" by November already. — Kaela Malig/LA, GMA News

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