Smilegate Future Lab said on the 13th that it is recruiting the third cohort for the workshop "Indie game prototyping challenge" for indie game creators.
The "Indie game prototyping challenge" is a program to help indie game creators resolve challenges they face during development and foster growth. It focuses on understanding the entire game prototyping process and verifying the core fun of games in development.
The program runs for four weeks and includes one-on-one, close mentoring with industry seniors, cross-team feedback, and data-driven playtests. Participants learn step-by-step methodologies from setting verification goals to writing checklists and designing interviews, and they examine a game's core fun from multiple angles. Through offline playtests, they can move beyond the abstract "fun" to derive objective metrics and practical improvement directions.
Industry senior creators from the Future Lab indie game support program—Lee Yu-won of Banzigames, Kim Seo-ha of Huchu Game Studio, Moon Ji-hwan of Team Horey, and Lee Do-woon of LIFUEL—will participate as supporters to provide mentoring tailored to each team's situation.
Recruitment runs until on the 2nd of next month. Any indie game creator with an early prototype that has core systems implemented and needs fun verification can apply, and there is no participation fee. Applications are accepted on the Indielog website.
In the two previous indie game prototyping challenges, about 200 creators from 40 teams participated. Participant satisfaction scored 4.84 out of 5, and evaluations noted that mentoring helped them clarify their development direction.
Oh Suk-hyun, Deputy Minister of Smilegate Future Lab, said, "The indie game prototyping challenge will help solve practical concerns in the indie game development process and improve capabilities," adding, "We hope for much interest and applications from creators who want to grow within the creative community, alongside the talent sharing of senior creators from the Future Lab creative support program."