Step into the world of "Roachman", the 2D action game that drew inspiration from Sonny Liew's iconic graphic novel "The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye". This imaginative work dives into the life of Chan, a trailblazing yet overlooked comic artist from Singapore.
Unveiling Roachman: Learn all about the new Singaporean indie game debuting at Singapore Comic Con 2024
In the game, you play as a young artist and the protagonist of their action-packed series "Roachman". The narrative follows the young artist’s attempts to "reboot Roachman" for a modern Singaporean audience, navigating numerous obstacles along the way.
Set to make a splash at Singapore Comic Con (SGCC) 2024 – Southeast Asia’s top event for gaming, comics and entertainment – "Roachman" shines a spotlight on our burgeoning local game development scene. This showcase, in collaboration with the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), gives indie developers a platform to present their latest cutting-edge games, mingle with fellow creators and reach a wider audience.
Catch spoke with Andrew Kwan, the producer of "Roachman”, about the highs and lows of creating this uniquely localised video game.
Just as the young artist in the game faced hurdles revamping his vigilante comic character, the Andas Productions team faced many challenges bringing “Roachman” to life. When asked what some of these challenges were, Kwan quipped that it might have been easier to list things that were easy.
“When we had the idea for Roachman about four years ago, the truth is that we had never made a game before,” he shared.
“We started as a five-person team where everyone was wearing multiple hats – our director learned how to program just so we could make our first couple of games, and I myself have been an animator, writer, voice actor, producer and just about anything we needed to do to get our games made.”
“We were lucky to get to a point in the past year where we found some really good collaborators who believed in our team and our vision, and we finally decided we were ready to make ‘Roachman’ a reality,” he said.
One of the team’s primary goals when creating “Roachman” was ensuring that the story remained deeply rooted in Singaporean history, rather than simply relying on a conventional superhero adventure plot. According to IMDA, games with strong Singapore narrative & game play are effective mediums to foster a greater sense of local pride – and that’s what the Andas Productions team strived to achieve.
They’ve included many cool historical and cultural details – including musical scores inspired by Singaporean music from the 60s – in hopes that this will entice players to learn more about our good old days. They also made sure to stay true to the original novel's storyline, look and feel, honouring Chan’s legacy.
“Everything has to speak to a real Singaporean sense of history, culture, concerns and social issues,” Kwan explained. “‘Roachman’ is supposed to be a ‘champion of the people’ – so our homework was to go back and learn more about what sort of help people actually needed.”
But adding a local flair wasn’t enough to create a fresh and interesting game. To stand out in the dense gaming landscape, the team faced the challenge of creating a visual identity for “Roachman” that could capture and sustain players' attention.
Kwan shared that the game's design evolved significantly throughout development. He credits the success of the current visual direction to the dedication and hard work of the art team, as well as Liew himself, who shared the same passion for the game concept, driving the team to bring it to fruition.
At the core of “Roachman” is its message about the challenges of becoming a successful artist – how that hopefulness and passion can be tested by the realities of the world.
“Wanting to make something authentic and local, while also being very aware of how daunting it is to make something that can ‘compete’, is a huge part of any person making any kind of art in Singapore,” Kwan expressed.
He added that game development is a field that anyone can embark on, yet in Singapore, there's often the misconception that success only matters if you're part of a large company or a "professional" team.
“The truth is that the only ‘professional teams’ that matter are the ones that make games they believe in, care about their craft, and who treat each other well. That could be a couple of former AAA game developers (referring to the big names like Nintendo, Ubisoft, Sony etc.) – it could also be a couple of students who have time to kill on the weekends,” he said.
“The future we want is one where those local teams are given the resources to thrive, and where developers with experience are helping to pave the way for new talent,” he said. “If we could build up a culture of support like that, it's only a matter of time before the best games in any given year are ones that come from Singapore.”
Image Credits: Andas Productions
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