#chinese devs

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Later Daters is a dating sim that takes place in a retirement home! Customize your appearance, name, gender, and romance history as you seek love amongst the silver foxes of Ye OLDE. Explore LGBTQ inclusive romances, polyamorous relationships, and more!

For Nintendo Switch, Mac, and Windows.

Developed by Bloom Digital Media, a studio based in Toronto, Canada. They aim to represent livelihoods that are often overlooked, and partially based their game on real life seniors that they interviewed. 

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[I.D.: A gifset containing four gifs of the first person detective thriller game Keyword: A Spider’s Thread.

Gif 1 shows two scenes. One scene is of the player lifting the blinds on a window, showing a night time view of a neon-lit cyberpunk city. Another scene focuses on a silhouette of a large figure sitting against a darkned sky while a red ring sits behind it like a halo.

Gif 2 shows a close-up of the player filling out information in an order window. The window is labeled “SHIPPING INFO” and the Street Number is entered in as 3336, the Street Name is entered in as Queen, and the Unit Number is entered in as 703. The player then clicks on the “order” button in the window, causing the screen to zoom out to reveal a sushi website. A new window pops up saying “ORDER RECIEVED!” as its title, with the additional message, “Your order has been processed, please watch your window for delivery!”

Gif 3 shows the player standing at a computer desk. The player picks up a photo frame, which moves closer to the screen to be examined in detail. As the photo is rotated, the player has the option to Take Notes or put the photo away.

Gif 4 shows a text message conversation between a stranger and Sala, the player’s daughter. The stranger’s text bubbles read “I finally found you. You looked very really pretty last night :)” to which Sala’s text bubbles reply with “WTF. Who the fuck are you.”

end I.D.]

Keyword: A Spider’s Thread is an interactive fiction game about being an investiagtor! Play as Guo, a Private Investigator whose daughter is missing in the 2048 sci-fi city inspired by Toronto with traditional Chinese aesthetics. With your binoculars, logical skills, deduction, hacking, and social engineering, travel through time loops to change your view on reality and evaluate if forgiveness is possible!

For Windows and Mac. Free demo is also out.

Developed by City From Naught Inc., a Toronto-based indie studio. Keyword is the company’s first full indie title, and was inspired by the tech devs’ experience in hacking the Instagram account of a real life stalker to was harassing a friend of the company. 

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[I.D.: A photoset containing four screenshots from the interactive fiction game Airwaves.

Image 1 shows a setting inside a small military tent. A typewriter sits on the left side of the screen. It’s printed message reads, “I. Use the transciever to receive incoming transmission. II. Use the standardized Morse code to interpret and translate any and all messages.” On the right side of the screen is a guide that translates morse code.

Image 2 shows a close up of an object in the game: a pack of cigarettes. The object’s description has a header saying “Da Qian Men.” Its text description says, “Da Qian Men translates to Great Front Door. The ‘Daqianmen’ cigarette label Qian Men is a famous brand in China. The front door or gate is referrnig to the front gate of Beijing, and it has been a miraculous journey for the brand for more than 100 years.”

Image 3 shows a setting inside a type of military building. The typewriter is on the left side of the screen. Its message dates the day as “06/02/1970 0530HRS.” The title of the typewriter’s message says “Today is Lunar New Year” with following text reading, “Spring in Zhenbao Island is just as cold as the winter. I hope my brothers are taking good care of our parents, life has been hard on them.”

Image 4 shows a setting inside a home. Red decorations hang in the room and the typewriter is on the right side of the screen. Its message reads, “1. The right of the working class must be protected and supported by all. 2. All personal must keep and guard their post and cannot change post on their own.”

end I.D.]

Airwaves is a visual novel about deciphering codes as a radio operator. Set in a fictional contempoary China, translate morse code and cryptic messages to witness 4 short stories about generational trauma. With each story spanning across the different political generations of time, witness the perseverance experienced by marginalized people living in rural China.

For free on Windows and Mac.

Developed by Michael Luo, a Chinese developer who makes short games about his culture and identity. His works are inspired by diaspora experiences, hallucinations, vulgarity, crudeness, roughness, and anything else that undermines the status quo.

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[I.D.: A gifset containing four gifs of the puzzle game Ever Forward.

Gif 1 shows the player character, Maya, as she travels through different level environments. She runs through a grassy field through flowers, she glides ave water on a sailing raft, she runs through grass towards a mossy stone structure, and she runs to a rising platform in an area with other floating platforms. 

Gif 2 shows Maya as a translucent white figure. She looks out a window and into the night as snow falls. She says, “Wow! I can’t believe it’s snowing here” before stepping back from the window when a bird falls out of the sky and hits the ground.

Gif 3 shows Maya running through different levels with floating platforms and reddish black roots branching out from the platforms. The camera angle shifts as Maya falls, seeming to float in the air and fall backwards before landing on another platform.

Gif 4 shows a Maya and her mother standing in a grass patch  and surrounded by floating houses. Their forms are translucent and white. Maya’s mother walks up to her and kneels down, saying, “Maya... I’m sorry. Mom has to go... But I know you’ll be okay without me.”

end I.D.]

Ever Forward is a puzzle game about helping a girl find her way home! Trapped somewhere between imagination and reality, play as Maya as she is alone to confront her despair. Unlock her memories so she can face her fears to unravel the secrets of the world and see what dark secrets she has buried!

For Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox Series X and Series S, Windows, Xbox One, and PS5.

Developed by Pathea, an indie studio based in Chongqing, China. They aim to create unique games based on new technology, new ideas, and user generated content. 

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[ID.: A photoset containing four images of the sidescrolling visual novel A Taste of the Pass which has an anime artstyle.

Image 1 shows the protagonist Mei. She is a thin light-skinned Chinese girl with dark eyes and long dark hair sitting on a train. She holds an open book in her lap, with a thought bubble above her saying, “(The pages are weathered and torn, proof of generations of recipes passed down.)”

Image 2 shows a minigame. The player must select ingredients from an open fridge. On the righthand of the screen is a list asking for noodles, mushrooms, scallions, and sesame oil. Their names are listed in both English and Mandarin.

Image 3 shows Mei standing on the same train as before, this time with her grandparents. Her grandpa is saying, “The truth is, you will never stop grieving her, but you will learn to celebrate her life by cherishing these memories.”

Image 4 shows a minigame. On the right of the screen the player must assemble a puzzle of the sun and the moon in the sky. Assembling the six puzzle pieces affects the left side of the screen, where a skillet is cooking food ingredients over a hot plate.

Image 5 shows Mei on the train with two of her ancestors who are dressed in old, traditional Chinese clothing. Mei is saying, “I wish i knew how to celebrate my identity like how she did: knowing the right amount of sesame oil to ad to wontons.”

end ID.]

A Taste of the Pass is a game about self-love, grief, healing, and holding those you love close. Play as Mei, a Chinese-American high school student who has suddenly loss both her mother and her mother’s recipes. Uncover a recipe for traditional noodles as Mei rides a train with her ancestors in a story about love, discovery, and reconnecting with your heritage. 

For free on Mac, Windows, and as a Browser game. 

Developed by Sondering Studio, a group of creators whose studio name derives from the word “sonder” which means “the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries, and inherited craziness.”

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[I.D.: A gifset containing four gifs of the cooking game Lost Recipes.

Gif 1 cycles through images of the cultural dishes that can be prepared in the game. 

Gif 2 shows two scenes. The first scene has the player pouring water from a teapot into a tea cup. The next scene shows the player lifting the door off of a clay oven. 

Gif 3 shows the player chopping an onion on a wooden table. Other food ingredients sit nearby.

Gif 4 shows two scenes of the player cooking. In one scene, the player turns over skewered meat over a fire. In the next scene, the player sprinkles cacao  to roast them.  

end I.D.]

Lost Recipes is a relaxing VR game about cooking cultural dishes! Play as a Ghost Chef in training as you prepare traditional meals from ancient Greek, Chinese, and Maya civilizations. With authentic recipes and narration, travel through three authentic kitchens in Athens, the Song Dynasty, and the Yucatan Peninsula to learn about ingredients and cultures surrounding food!

For Meta Quest.

Developed by Schell Games, a company set out to create educational encounters. They partnered with Subject Matter Consultants to ensure each culture, kitchen, and voice was represented accurately, respectfully, and appropriately. 

A free recipe book for the game also details its dishes: mulled wine, barley pita bread, marinated olives, loukoumades, souvlaki, tanghulu, oolong tea, steamed fish, dongpo pork, mushrooms and bok choy, xec jicama and citrus salad, xocolatl, mukbil pollo, and corn tortillas. 

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[ID.: A gifset containing four gifs of the upcoming puzzle game The Lilliput Workshop.

Gif 1 shows a close-up of two trains following a set of railroad tracks that change as they draw near. The level they are in is made up of blocks resembling wooden blocks for children.

Gif 2 shows a top overview of the level creator. The player is laying down train tracks in two separate ovular shapes. The map is being built in a snowy environment, with snow softly falling over the map.

Gif 3 shows a close-up scene of two trains going through gates as they pull pyramid-shaped blocks behind them.

Gif 4 shows a top overview of the level creator. The player selects different tiles on the map and a small toolbar with a color menu pops up for the player to select from.

end ID.]

The Lilliput Workshop is a logical puzzle game about designing automata! Assemble a track system in a sandbox world to guide trains as they transport blocks to their destination. Create unique levels, share your creations with other players, and experience the nostalgia of building in a childlike artstyle!

Set to release in 2023 for Windows and Mac. Free Demo is out now.

Developed by Cotton Game, an indie studio located in Shanghai, China. They seek to create happiness through games.

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“Nainai’s Recipe” is a cozy cooking game about familial connections! Set during the lockdown, learn Chinese recipes from your beloved grandma that are brought to life with a rich art style and physics-based gameplay. 

The free demo is out now for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Developed by Fann Fang and Mai Hou as their thesis game. They summarize the gameplay experience as "a family story about how we lived together in a special way during 2020.”