Video games have been around since the 1950s (the first video game ever made was called Pong) and they’ve grown to sort of a blockbuster level of entertainment that could possibly rival movies in terms of story and design.
Uncharted 4
Modern video game development titans such as Naughty Dog, FromSoftware, Capcom, and Rocksteady Studios, to name a few, are just some of the studio pioneers who are climbing the industry ladder in producing some of the most epic games we have ever played.
Looking at the design of these games, we can see that there is an enormous amount of effort and talent that goes into them.
Imagine our pride when we found out that the designers behind these game titles are Malaysians!
Let’s look at some of the titles and the local game studios behind them:
1. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
Perhaps one of the biggest portfolios ever undertaken in gaming by a Malaysian studio, Passion Republic was approached by American video game company Naughty Dog to create a hundred in-game assets for the game.
The studio was responsible for creating and designing the:
- Relics
- Artefacts
- Treasures
All of which are set from the deep jungles of Madagascar to urban jungles and snow-capped mountain peaks.
Uncharted is an action-adventure game series developed by Naughty Dog that follows the adventures of Nathan Drake, a treasure hunter who travels across the world to uncover historical mysteries. On his adventures, he faces dangerous enemies such as war criminals and other treasure hunters.
2. Street Fighter V
What 90s kid would not remember such an iconic title? Street Fighter has been a staple of side-scrolling brawler video games since before home consoles were invented.
Street Fighter V was released in 2016 on the Playstation 4 and Microsoft Windows and its large pool of characters and stages were brought to life by the contribution of more than 100 Malaysian talents from Streamline Studios, a Dutch game development company with an HQ in Malaysia.
Fun fact: Street Fighter games have always set their stages based on real geographical locations and there is a stage in the game set on a beach in Malaysia. The screenshot below shows the match loading screen and you can clearly see the Malaysian flag.
The stage based in Malaysia is called Kanzuki Beach. Here’s what it looks like:
3. Dark Souls 3
For most gamers, the title Dark Souls will bring about some feeling of dread, as it is allegedly the most difficult modern video game series ever to be made. This action RPG is developed by Japanese development company From Software and has some of the best in-game designs for levels, characters and music.
Once again, Passion Republic takes the stage for being responsible for some of the game’s design, namely the:
- Players’ outfits
- Boss characters
- Monsters
Look at these incredible character designs and tell us you’re not impressed!
The game is well known for being ridiculously unforgiving towards the player’s mistakes. One wrong move and all your hard work journeying through the level for hours will be met with the iconic ‘You Died’ splash screen, and you will have to start all over again.
4. Batman: Arkham Knight
The caped crusader’s story has been made into countless video games in the past but it broke its own record when Rocksteady Games and Warner Bros released the Arkham series, which presented a super dark and gritty Gotham, brutal fighting sequences, open-world exploration, and a deep continuous storyline every Batman fan will remember.
Yet another title where Passion Republic made contributions to, they were responsible for modelling its:
- Non-player characters (NPCs)
- Environment statues (Gotham has an unhealthy amount of creepy gargoyles on the sides of its buildings)
Check out their work!
5. Gears Of War
The Gears Of War franchise debuted on the Xbox 360 and has received over 30 Game Of The Year awards. It remains one of the best-selling Xbox 360 games out there and has been adapted into comic books and a movie is said to be in the works (but there have been no recent updates on the movie’s development).
Passion Republic worked on the cinematic animations for both Gears Of War 4 & 5. Most gamers would agree with us that the game has some of the best action cutscenes with a crazy amount of detail put into it, down to the skin texture and dents on the armour.
Gears Of War follows the story of Marcus Fenix, a soldier tasked to lead a last-ditch effort to destroy an invading alien race called the Locust Horde and save humanity from extinction.
Check out Passion Republic’s epic animation showreel. Malaysians animated this okay, don’t play play.
6. Final Fantasy XV
Final Fantasy doesn’t need much introduction. It’s a visually gorgeous game with deep stories since the critically-acclaimed Final Fantasy VII.
Developed by video game giant Square Enix, the Final Fantasy series is an epic Japanese Role-Playing Game (JRPG) with a rich storyline and character development as well as mind-blowing visual designs.
Streamline Studios and its pool of Malaysian talents contributed to:
- User Interface/User Experience (UI/UX) designs and implementation
- Creature creation
- Extensive content support based on photogrammetry (accurate design based on photos and recordings).
Thanks to the contributions by our very talented Malaysian developers, our local food culture was seamlessly injected into the game too. When the player visits the (fictional) city of Lestallum, they find a mamak stall serving roti canai, teh tarik, and satay. Even the hotel nearby was inspired by Perak’s colonial architecture!
7. Mortal Kombat X & 11
Mortal Kombat is a nostalgic name for gamers everywhere. The MK games, originally developed by Midway Games in 1992, is a side-scrolling brawler which featured their gory R-rated signature moves called a Fatality.
This is the game your parents have always warned you about because the visuals are so gruesome, it makes us wonder if the game’s creators are okay psychologically. Nevertheless, it’s still a favourite game amongst many.
Passion Republic pitched in with the:
- Environment concept design
- NPC character modelling (for Mortal Kombat X)
- Character & armour set modelling (for Mortal Kombat 11)
Check out more video game work by Passion Republic and Streamline Studios on their websites and social media.
So there you have it, seven internationally-famous games that Malaysians had a hand in developing. Which of these games is your favourite? Tell us in the comments!
Also read: Malaysians Ecstatic To Experience Mamak Stall Culture In Final Fantasy XV
