Learn about Japan’s long history of independent game development, dating back to the 1970s, at a special exhibit inside the museum’s ESL Digital Worlds: High Score on the second floor. Try your hand at the innovative MotionRec indie game and discover how these original games have inspired many other products, including novels, manga, anime, and film. Then view unique artifacts and trace the evolution of Japan’s independent game scene through four eras:
- The Era of Homemade Games (1970s-1980s): Using 8-bit home computers and TAKERU vending machines, hobbyists made the industry more accessible, launching the careers of legendary creators such as Yuji Horii.
- The Rise of Doujin Games (1990s-2000s): Leveraging events such as Comic Market, fan-driven doujin games like Touhou Project and Tsukihime grew from experimental indie projects into massive global franchises.
- Free to Play (2000-2010): The availability of tools like RPG Maker and the success of NicoNico Douga, a popular streaming site, turned freeware titles such as Ao Oni and Yume Nikki into multimedia cult phenomena.
- The Indie Game Moment (2010s-present): Game development software such as Unity and platforms like Steam allowed Japan’s indie developers to go global with hits like PICO PARK and The Exit 8.
The Japanese Indie Games exhibit is powered by support from Ritsumeikan Center for Game Studies and the ars●bit project.
