Conversation with Daria La Velle on the Gaming Industry and Gamescom Asia 2024 | Interview

With Gamescom Asia 2024 right around the corner, we had the opportunity to sit down with the Project Director of Koelnmesse – Daria La Velle – and ask some questions about the upcoming event that’s going to be opened to the public with so many amazing games-making its appearance and so much more. Read on to find out more about it in our Gamescom Asia 2024 Interview.

Conversation with Daria La Velle – Gamescom Asia 2024 Interview

• Jaya: What’s the direction for gamescom asia this year and what would be the highlight focused on as a whole?

Daria: Since our debut in Singapore in October 2021, we’ve remained dedicated to making gamescom asia THE event to be in the region for the entire community, from industry to fans. That is our North Star: bringing cohesion in a fragmented space and being recognised as the place to be for industry and fans in this region.

Last year, we expanded the event to include more B2C elements, and, this year, we’re excited to welcome an exciting roster of brands such as PlayStation, CAPCOM, 4Divinity, SHARP and more.

gamescom Asia is also a platform for Southeast Asian game developers to explore partnerships globally and for international publishers to find the next big thing in games.

• Jaya: We have noticed bigger studios partaking and seeing more B2C experiences for the public since last year and we noticed that this year, we had got even more of those, how has this new direction for gamescom asia been and what’s the response like?

Daria: We’re thrilled that we get to bring titles and studios game enthusiasts love in one place. Our brand owner, game – The German Games Industry Association, the owner of the gamescom brand globally, has opened doors for us internationally. The gamescom brand is well loved and easily recognisable worldwide, especially by members of the industry.

We’ve always recognised that a huge part of the industry is support from fans and gamers in general. The decision to include them through even more B2C experience has allowed us to not just elevate gamescom asia, but create a more inclusive environment for all.

• Jaya: Coming back to Singapore for the 4^th time must mean a lot, how has it helped Gamescom so far? How has the gaming scene in Southeast Asia made an impact on Gamescom Asia and vice versa?

Daria: When people think of Southeast Asia, they sometimes think of a homogeneous block. It’s actually a very diverse region with many countries, and vastly different cultures and languages.

As for Singapore, English is the first language and it’s kind of a hub for the region with several AAA publishers having their Southeast Asia HQs here with excellent infrastructure. That’s why we picked it as our base. We wanted to bring the industry and fans together on a kind of neutral playfield.

What we realised though, was that we were overlooking the vast majority of Southeast Asia’s gamers and fans for whom English is not their first language. That’s why we decided to localise our online show PRIMETIME (a collection of video trailers from the most anticipated games that’ll be available for play at gamescom asia. 2023’s PRIMETIME here.), which caters to our B2C audience of gamers and fans, into several Southeast Asian languages.

• Jaya: Aside from the big studios like PlayStation, and Capcom – How have indie studios been impacted by making appearances at Gamescom Asia? Are any success stories worth sharing or perhaps we should take a look at them?

Daria: Southeast Asia is chock full of creative talent, and many indie developers come from the region. What it lacked was a tier-one event that could bring the industry together and attract overseas publishers and investors to our shores to meet the indies here. That’s something that was always on our mind, which made us come up with several formats together with trusted partners. With them, we’ve developed concepts like our Pitch Competition, Invest Circle (our developers/publishers/investors Speed Networking session) or the live-streamed indie stage.

You should check out the winners of last year’s Pitch Competition – Best Pitch by Kaigan Games Entertainment from Malaysia, Best Game Design by FairPlay Studios from Thailand, and Most Anticipated Game by Vermila Studios from Spain. Excited to see who’s going to win this year!

• Jaya: One of the biggest things that has happened so far, is Indie studios making amazing games – we have Black Myth Wukong, and the upcoming Psychological Horror game Luto to name a few. It shows that Indie developers are making the kind of impact we have never seen before. Personally, what are you excited about the most?

Daria: I’m quite excited about the Monster Hunter Wilds demo as well as a few more released and unreleased titles that are still under wraps, you’ll hear more about them a week or so before the show. Finally, the indie devs and their games, it’s such a beautiful showcase of what Southeast Asia has to offer.

• Jaya: The Gaming industry has been heavily impacted by layoffs, and it’s a headline we can’t seem to escape from – how has this impacted the industry, gamescom and so on? – because we believe there’s some level of domino effect happening.

Daria: Job losses are always tough, but it’s not really our place to comment on the decisions of other companies. However, we have seen layoffs in the past and while there is always pain, some fantastic studios have formed because of past times like this, so I am optimistic people will bounce back. gamescom asia is a fantastic place to network and find new opportunities, so we welcome people impacted by the recent layoffs.

• Jaya: How has gamescom asia (or gamescom as a whole) helped the developers and creators who were once part of a studio to perhaps get back into the game? (Pun intended)

Daria: In many ways, the entire gamescom asia event is a way to help developers who find themselves out of work. There are plenty of networking opportunities at the show which we encourage people to engage with, as well as talks and panels to participate in. Plenty of people have found jobs, or started studios, because of conversations they have had at gamescom events around the world, and we are sure more will continue to come!

• Jaya: Where is the future of gaming and what can we expect from gamescom playing a huge role in the industry – especially now that one of the biggest gaming events (E3) is no longer around anymore?

Daria: While we may not be able to respond on behalf of gamescom, gamescom asia, as mentioned in Q1, aims to be the Tier 1 event in Asia that both business and consumer visitors look forward to every year.

• Jaya: As gamescom asia, what would be the biggest challenge you have faced in this industry and how can it be overcome?

Daria: We launched gamescom asia to help bring the region together, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Language differences are certainly a challenge. The show is mainly in English, but, as mentioned earlier,  to accommodate other languages in the region, we translated our online show PRIMETIME for other markets. Since 2021, we have launched livestreams of PRIMETIME in Bahasa Indonesia, Thai, and since 2024 also Vietnamese – on top of the main English livestream. This also helps gamers from around the region who can’t come to Singapore experience the show from afar.

As for our business audience, we work with several government partners around the region to support their local indie developers to travel and exhibit at gamescom asia every year, through the organisation of country pavilions and delegations.

Let’s talk about gamescom asia 2024:

• Jaya: Compared to 2023, what has changed and improved for 2024?

Daria: Most significantly, our indie area has expanded by 50% YoY. We’re pleased that we are able to extend the opportunity to even more indies to showcase their talent and work at gamescom asia.

• Jaya: Is there anything special we should look forward to at gamescom asia 2024?

Daria: Definitely! Some highlights that I’m excited about:

• CAPCOM Pro Tour 2024 SUPER PREMIER SINGAPORE esports tournament
  • As an old-school Street Fighter player myself, that’s a highlight for me. This year, we will see 2 finalists qualify for finals instead of 1.
  • On the B2B side, Shawn Layden will be part of opening the business conference with a fireside chat.
  • Well-loved personalities in gaming
    • BAFTA winner Andrew Wincott (Raphael from Baldur’s Gate 3 will be doing a Meet & Greet)
    • From team CAPCOM, producer of Monster Hunter Ryozo Tsujimoto, Street Fighter 6 Director Takayuki Nakayama, and Producer Shuhei Matsumoto will also be around to engage with fans on the Main Stage.

Thanks to gamescom asia and Koelnmesse for making this interview happen. We can’t wait to see what’s in store for us at the event. Stay tuned to us for more happenings at gamescom asia 2024 – happening soon and will be sharing more here at The Adventures of Vesper.

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