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Gaming: An opportunity for Indonesia’s creative economy
Indonesia has vast cultural and historical wealth that could be translated into video games, the fastest growing sector in the global creative economy.
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A woman stands next to a promotional poster for Polish developer CD Projekt's 'Cyberpunk 2077' on Dec. 4, 2020 in Warsaw, Poland, ahead of the highly anticipated global release of the game on Dec. 10. (AFP/Wojtek Radwanski)
D
ecember 2020 brings an important highlight for gaming fans: Cyberpunk 2077, arguably the hottest game of the year, is hitting the small screen. The latest release, like many other successful games of this genre, was developed by Polish developer CD Projekt.
The global gaming industry has grown to a gargantuan US$160 billion. It is therefore much larger than the film and the music industries combined. The growing interest in gaming has been fueled by cloud computing, mobile phone adoption and the emergence of 5G technology.
The growth in demand has been reinforced further by the popularity of e-sports, which was included for the first time at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta as a demonstration sport.
As a result of this global interest, CD Projekt, the game developer in Poland that also developed The Witcher 3, has achieved a market value of $8 billion.
Gaming is therefore the biggest sector of the global creative economy. It is also the fastest growing sector, not least thanks to the pandemic-induced stay at home policy. Indonesia started eyeing the creative economy in 2015, when President Joko Widodo recognized its growing role in boosting domestic consumption and exports. The President went on to found the Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf) with a goal to establish the country as a global creative economy player by 2030. If that goal is to be achieved, Indonesia should not overlook the gaming industry.
Indonesia’s rich culture and history offer perfect themes for not one, but many games that could gain global popularity. In a similar vein, the acclaimed Polish game The Witcher was based on a fantasy book series by a Polish author. Another upcoming game, The Invincible, is based on a Polish sci-fi novel by Stanisław Lem.
Of course, besides an interesting theme, a game requires substantial technological and creative know-how to be successful. Developing a game is a concerted effort involving designers, writers, software developers and animators. The Indonesian game industry can and should gain the necessary know-how from their international peers. Poland is ready to step up to the task.
Polish universities, including the Warsaw Film School, offer courses in game development. Polish game developers are open to mutually fruitful cross-border collaborations.
Video games serve not only to entertain, but also to educate one. Gamers easily take up foreign languages. They also join online gaming communities that offer a sense of global togetherness in a fragmented world.
Well-crafted Indonesian video games of the future will not only be universally popular, but also capitalize on the educational and community values of gaming. It is therefore time for Indonesia to put its stakes in game development. Poland is already all in.
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The writer is Polish ambassador to Indonesia.
