First Singapore Games Week highlighted the market's successes and challenges
Giancarlo Valdes
Wednesday 2nd February 2022
The inaugural Singapore Games Week wasn't what its organizers originally envisioned it to be.
Held in October 2021 as a series of events that celebrated Singaporean developers, SGW occurred under strict COVID-19 safety measures and limited attendance for its few in-person activities. Like many other events in the past two years, it had to settle for a mostly online presence, which included live workshops and the first Asia Game Awards.
Despite the pandemic-related obstacles, the Singapore Games Association (SGGA) considered its event a success, and a big step forward for the country's talented creators. SGGA chairperson Gwen Guo told GamesIndustry.biz she also hoped that Singapore Games Week showed their local community that the industry can be a welcoming place, and that games can encompass a wide variety of experiences.
"I want people to not be so intimidated by the games industry, [and show that's it not] just about crunch, bad pay and bad working hours, [or] all about violent video games and addiction," said Guo, who's also the creative director at Imba Interactive. "We really want people to see that we have a very friendly, supportive community here."
SGGA chairperson Gwen Guo (middle right) with incubator The Iterative Collective
When SGGA first started planning Singapore Games Week, the group looked at similar events around the world for inspiration. One model it was eager to replicate was Melbourne International Games Week, which is one of the biggest gaming events in Australia. It's known for having a jam-packed schedule of conventions and conferences every year.
SGGA wanted to follow in Melbourne's footsteps so that it could increase awareness of Singapore-made games and
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