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Fans unite at Popcon Asia
On display: A woman looks at figurines on offer at Popcon Asia
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On display: A woman looks at figurines on offer at Popcon Asia.
When representatives of France-based game developer Ankama Studio started their session in 'Popcon Hall' at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) in South Jakarta last weekend, dozens of local game developers, comic artists and fans listened attentively.
As the company's graphic designer, Simon Eyraud, explained how they made the online game Dofus, members of the audience took notes, trying to grasp the recipe for making a successful game.
Eyraud said that the process of making Dofus, which is played by around 2.8 million gamers per month, was quite complicated, as it involved many elements.
He said it needed an art team that included graphic artists, animators and level designers whose functions were to draw characters and backgrounds, to make the characters move and to create the imaginary world for the game.
In addition, Eyraud said that the firm needed a special technical team that would make, among other things, a game's rules and tools and would manage bugs.
'When there's a bug that disrupts the game, we have prepared an automatic online error reporting system to respond to it,' Eyraud said.
The session from Ankama was one of six classes held in the Pop Culture Convention (Popcon) Asia 2013.
Popcon Asia's founder, Grace Kusnadi, said she expected the event to also become a place for local talents to learn from those who were successful in their respective fields.
'Besides showcasing their work, I want them to be able to learn, too. That's why we invited several foreign professionals to share their experience with us,' Grace told The Jakarta Post.
Besides Ankama; Imaginary Friends Studio, an international concept art, comics and digital illustration studio based in Singapore; Korean artist Kin Jung-gi; Singaporean graffiti artist ClogTwo and animation director Richard Danto were among the foreign artists invited to share their experiences.
Local stars; including local comic developer Vivian 'Dr. Vee' Wijaya, Eric 'Thunder Panda' Wirjanata, and urban toy maker and designer Castella Natalia; also joined the list of artists who shared their tricks and tips to develop their talent in the world of pop culture.
Grace said that Popcon Asia this year attracted 120 participants, up from only around 40 last year, and featured several cross platforms collaborations created after the event.
'For example, some comic makers have joined forces with local animators to make an animation after they met here. And that's one of our mission by establishing Popcon ' to open connections that will help develop talents,' Grace said.
Monson Creative Indonesia, a local company that produces animated films and commercials, was one of Popcon's participants who looked forward to expanding their networks through the event.
'It's still hard for us to find investors who want to finance our animated film project. And with this event, we can promote our works so that investors can start to look at us; looking at our works,' said Adhi Nugroho, one of the company's founders.
'The movie is about street soccer. We're planning to release it in mid-August and it will be available to watch on the internet,' Adhi said.
He said currently, they were trying to raise the money to fund the project by providing services making animated television commercials and visual effects.
Popcon was also the right place or fans to meet local indie comic makers whose works are usually available on social media platforms.
Fans were lining up in front of their desks to buy the merchandise of the comics and take photographs with the cartoonists.
'All of my merchandise has been sold out. I never thought it would sell this fast,' local comic maker Sweta Kartika said.
The event also featured screenings of several short films produced by local young filmmakers.
Some of the movies won awards in several awards, like Red Umbrella, which won the Best Asian Short Film at Screen Singapore in 2011.
The movie tells about the experience of a taxi driver, played by Rio Dewanto, when he drives his passenger, played by Atiqah Hasiholan, home on one night in Jakarta.
Simple but contained of meaningful message about the life in the capital, the film was received with loud applause from the audience.
Another movie, Wan An (a Chinese word for good night), also pleased the audience as a romantic comedy telling the story of an old Chinese-descent couple living in the country.
At the end of the day, visitors to Popcon Asia were indulged.
'It's exciting here. I can find lots of figurines, watch films, and meet animators and comic makers. I think this what makes me want to keep making animation even just for a hobby or just for a small business among my friends,' Shia, a visitor, dressed as a Japanese schoolgirl, said.
' Photos by JP/Nurhayati
