Singapore’s NonStop Games offers glimpse of future with HTML5 game Dollar Isle

Depending on who you ask, HTML5 is the future of mobile apps. Juha Paananen, founder and CEO of GamesMadeMe (update: it’s now called NonStop Games), a Finland and Singapore-based games studio, certainly believes it.

Having received some seed funding from Lifeline Ventures, they are now betting big on the technology with the launch of their first HTML5 game, Dollar Isle.

It is a CityVille-like game that puts you in charge of creating your own city from the ground up. As you complete more goals, you unlock more buildings and plots of land where you can expand your city. You can even decide if you want to pursue the evil industrialist path or the earth-loving, eco-city one.

You will even get a custom URL for your own city (mine’s here, although it’s not exactly a metropolis). Read more

Singapore computer games company Time Voyager is betting big on China

Developing computer games is risky business. More so, if you’re creating a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Game (MMORPG), which requires a massive investment in capital and time.

But that is the risk Singapore-based Time Voyager‘s founder and CEO Chris Loo is willing to take. By developing their first title — Chaos Gate  – for the fast-growing China market, they could potentially reap big rewards. Last year, a report revealed that sales from the China games market reached US$7B last year, a 32.4 percent year-on-year increase.

Time Voyager’s risk-taking spirit is something Canon’s Think Big campaign aims to promote. Think Big encourages entrepreneurs to not just earn a profit, but also to expand their business horizons by doing what was thought to be impossible. Read more

Singapore-MIT game Dark Dot hits 448k downloads; popular in Asia

Dark Dot, a Singapore-developed top-down shooter that offers a refreshing take on the genre, has achieved success.

Downloaded over 448,000 times, the app became the top action game in 48 countries, including China, US, and Singapore, and also the top free app in Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia, reported TODAY.

All this in just three months after its launch in October.

The game is a product of the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab, a program supported by the National Research Foundation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA).  Read more

China game developer The9 starts Red 5 Singapore

Firefall ChinaJoy 2011 Trailer from Red 5 Studios on Vimeo.

The9, an online game developer and operator in China, has announced on 21st October that they have established Red 5 Singapore, which will conduct online game operations for Firefall and R&D activities.

Firefall is a team-based online action shooter game that’s currently in beta. It is being developed by Red 5 Studios, which is majority-owned by The9. Red 5 Studios is made up of former executives and developers from Blizzard Entertainment, the maker of popular games like the Starcraft and Diablo series.

Red 5 Singapore will focus on Firefall operations in countries outside of North America and Europe. They will develop localized versions of the game for the Asia region. The9 and Red 5 Studios will provide talent recruitment, capital investment, technology and other necessary resources.

“The market share and revenue in Asia has a huge impact on the Firefall global operation. This was one of the reasons why we have decided to set up an Asia headquarters for Firefall,” said Mr Zhu Jun, CEO of Red 5 Singapore.

“The decision to set up the office in Singapore came after much consideration and a comprehensive study of the region. As one of Asia’s most powerful economies, Singapore is strategically-located, demonstrates a thirst for global talent, latest technology and has strong support from the government. The rich resources of talent, friendly government policy and efficiency here have won us over.”

The establishment of Red 5 Singapore would mean more opportunities for Singapore game developers.

Jayson Goh, executive director of the Infocomms & Media Division, Singapore Economic Development Board, said: “Red 5’s Asian operation in Singapore will create an opportunity for local talent to work with some of the most respected veterans in the games industry.”