SELECTED INDIE 80 / SOWN2025

Shuhei YOSHIDA

Yoshida joined Sony Corporation in 1986, and joined the current SIE in February 1993.Since then, he has produced a number of software titles for the "PlayStation" platform, and in 2008 he was appointed President of SIE Worldwide Studios, the game production division of SIE.Yoshida has overseen development of franchises such as "God of War" and the "Uncharted" series. He was also involved in the development of the virtual reality system PlayStation^®VR, which was launched in October 2016. In Nov. 2019, Yoshida became the Head of Indies Initiative to promote indie games. In Jan. 2025, Yoshida left SIE.

Yohei YANASE

Since 1995, He has been engaged in game development as a game designer and scenario writer, contributing to titles such as Shadow of the Colossus and Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom. In 2013, they joined Unity Technologies Japan G.K. (now Unity Technologies Japan K.K.), where he have been actively working to bridge the gap between academia and the gaming industry. Their work has been recognized with several awards, including the WISS 2015 Interactive Presentation Award for A Shooting Game Where Anyone Can Perform Like a Pro and the Excellence Award in the Entertainment Division at the 20th Japan Media Arts Festival for Unlimited Corridor. In addition to their work in the industry, he serve as a collaborative researcher at the University of Tokyo's Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology and as a visiting professor at Osaka University of Arts.

Takeshi TAKAHASHI

TAKAHASHI has joined Koei Co., Ltd. in 1998. Engaged in "Shin Sangoku Musou 1-4". In 2008, transferred to Creatures Co., Ltd. and worked as a director of "Pokepark". In 2013, we acquired Oculus Rift DK1 with a kick starter and started the VR software development and VR software presentation OcuFes (now Japan VR Fest). In 2014, became independent as a VR specialist. In the same year, OcuFes became an NPO corporation. Since then, he has been actively working for the spread of VR in Japan and VR developers in the world.

Hidehiko KIMURA

Director of gamebiz, Inc. and Editor-in-Chief of gamebiz. After working for a securities media reporter and a game development company, he founded the web media "gamebiz" in 2010. He has been providing business information related to the entertainment industry, with a focus on the game industry.

Masafumi ONUKI

Active in the doujin game scene since around 2010, he worked as a programmer for a game company before going independent in 2016. In SOWN, he received the Audience Award in 2017 for "Ace of Seafood" and the Best Presentation Award in 2020 for "Fight Crab". He continues to develop new indie games.

Jh Shin

Shin is a game researcher at Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan. She obtained her Ph.D. in 2020 at the same institution. She specializes in serious games and serious gaming approaches from a socio-cultural perspective, focusing on Japan and South Korea. Shin published "Questioning the Social Acceptance of Serious Games" (Fukumura Shuppan) in February 2024. Her work explores how games can make our world a better place. Shin also participates in projects at the Ritsumeikan Center for Game Studies (RCGS).

Koji MURAKAMI

Koji Murakami discovered indie games just before turned 40, and started making games while working as an architect. Major works include "Dark Blood", "Keri-Batto!", and "Game Gori Para Kenkyuroku". In 2020, he established the Asobuild.LLC and has been involved in the development of a wide range of entertainment, from analog games to metaverse. In 2022, I also launched the Fukuoka Indie Game Association, and am supporting indie game creators through exhibition events and study sessions.

Reona TAKAHASHI

Engaged in game development since 1997. Founded Grateek Inc. in Japan, then Xiamen Leona Software in China (2020). Specializes in game development, localization, publishing, and marketing for Japan-China markets. Jury member for Xiamen International Animation Festival, contributor to industry white papers, and mentor at iGi (indie Game incubator).

Kazunori KOMAGATA

In addition to planning products such as games and VTubers, he also cooperates with equipment used in exhibitions such as TOKYO GAME SHOW and BitSummit, and provides support for game contests in various regions.
His favorite game genre is action games, especially Metroidvania.
His latest hobby is collecting retro game consoles. He is especially fond of the NES, Super NES, and PC Engine.

LayerQ

A streamer who creates videos and live streams focused on indie games on YouTube.
After working at Kakehashi Games for five and a half years, he founded Indie Freaks, an organization he represents, and continues to support indie game fans.

Kenji ONO

Lecturer at the Department of Digital Entertainment, Faculty of Engineering, International Professional University of Technology in Tokyo.
Auditor of the Japan Game ScenarioWriters Association (JAGSA).
Major publications include "Serious Games" (Corona-sha, co-author).

Hajime KASAI

Kasai has covered many video games and events that have crossed over into other genres, such as contemporary art and literature, in his "genre-combined writing" style. He also runs "2021 Video Game Ground Zero," a media outlet dealing with "art house games" that aim for new forms of expression.

Yuki KATAYAMA

Joined Kodansha Ltd. in 2018. Currently belong to the Creators' Lab.
After working as an editor for "FRIDAY" and "Monthly Shonen Magazine", he became the Chief of the Game Creator's Lab (GCL).
He checks on the production status of indie games supported by the GCL and manages the progress of the sales schedule.

Saori CHINEN

Saori CHINEN joined Marcelous Inc, in 2011.
After working as the planner of "Browser Sangokushi (ブラウザ三国志)" and as a manager of recruitment, education, and training in the Human Resources Department, she is currently in charge of the iGi indie Game incubator (iGi) project manager.
The project belongs to the Global Business Promotion Department, iGi Management Office.
iGi provides technical and business support to Japanese indie game developers and helps bring them to the world.

Yan JIAO

With learning and research experience at Shandong University (Software), Chung-Ang University (Game and Animation Production), and Ritsumeikan University Graduate School (Play Studies), JIAO is currently a lecturer at a vocational school, practicing playfication of learning activities (learning activities generated through play).
He has devised some low-cost, low-tech learning game systems that allows for easy replacement of game elements according to learning content, and he's making full use of it in educational activities for subjects such as "Bookkeeping" and "Japanese Language" to enhance learners' motivation to learn.
He also paying attention to the trends in game culture and marketing in China.

Juan Gril

For the past 25 years, Juan Gril has worked in Games, Interactive Media, and Augmented Reality. Juan has served different roles: programmer, game designer, producer. He founded his own game studio (Joju Games), and ran it successfully for 12 years.
Over the course of Juan's career, he has been part of teams that launched various AR applications, websites, and he has produced and designed more than 50 games. Among others, he has designed games for the following companies: Dreamworks, Disney, Jam City, Nickelodeon, Universal, 505 Games, Atari, GSN, MTV, and Comedy Central.

Ramon Nafria

In 1992, Ramon realized at the age of 12 when he started playing videogames that it was the best medium to express himself. Since 1999, he has contributed to Spanish media such as Onez, Ociojoven, Anaitgames, Eurogamer, Videoshock and Vandal and produced games since 2003 in companies like Nerlaska, Gameloft, Digital Legends, Abylight, U Play, Blit Software and A Crowd of Monsters. He has been giving lectures about games at multiple universities, organizes Valencia Indie Summit, and the last game he has worked in is Alex Kidd in Miracle World Dx, the remake of the classical game from SEGA.

Takeshi TAKAHASHI

TAKAHASHI has joined Koei Co., Ltd. in 1998. Engaged in "Shin Sangoku Musou 1-4". In 2008, transferred to Creatures Co., Ltd. and worked as a director of "Pokepark". In 2013, we acquired Oculus Rift DK1 with a kick starter and started the VR software development and VR software presentation OcuFes (now Japan VR Fest). In 2014, became independent as a VR specialist. In the same year, OcuFes became an NPO corporation. Since then, he has been actively working for the spread of VR in Japan and VR developers in the world.

Kazunori KOMAGATA

In addition to planning products such as games and VTubers, he also cooperates with equipment used in exhibitions such as TOKYO GAME SHOW and BitSummit, and provides support for game contests in various regions.
His favorite game genre is action games, especially Metroidvania.
His latest hobby is collecting retro game consoles. He is especially fond of the NES, Super NES, and PC Engine.

Shuhei YOSHIDA

Yoshida joined Sony Corporation in 1986, and joined the current SIE in February 1993.Since then, he has produced a number of software titles for the "PlayStation" platform, and in 2008 he was appointed President of SIE Worldwide Studios, the game production division of SIE.Yoshida has overseen development of franchises such as "God of War" and the "Uncharted" series. He was also involved in the development of the virtual reality system PlayStation^®VR, which was launched in October 2016. In Nov. 2019, Yoshida became the Head of Indies Initiative to promote indie games. In Jan. 2025, Yoshida left SIE.

Yuki KATAYAMA

Joined Kodansha Ltd. in 2018. Currently belong to the Creators' Lab.
After working as an editor for "FRIDAY" and "Monthly Shonen Magazine", he became the Chief of the Game Creator's Lab (GCL).
He checks on the production status of indie games supported by the GCL and manages the progress of the sales schedule.

Jh Shin

Shin is a game researcher at Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan. She obtained her Ph.D. in 2020 at the same institution. She specializes in serious games and serious gaming approaches from a socio-cultural perspective, focusing on Japan and South Korea. Shin published "Questioning the Social Acceptance of Serious Games" (Fukumura Shuppan) in February 2024. Her work explores how games can make our world a better place. Shin also participates in projects at the Ritsumeikan Center for Game Studies (RCGS).

Masafumi ONUKI

Active in the doujin game scene since around 2010, he worked as a programmer for a game company before going independent in 2016. In SOWN, he received the Audience Award in 2017 for "Ace of Seafood" and the Best Presentation Award in 2020 for "Fight Crab". He continues to develop new indie games.

Pocky

Pocky bought his first personal computer with his New Year's gift that he had been saving since he was in the second grade, and began posting live video games on YouTube.
He has been running his current YouTube channel since 2013, posting numerous gameplay videos focusing on horror games and indie games from overseas.
His YouTube channel has more than 3.5 million subscribers, and the total number of video hits has exceeded 3.8 billion.