**Opening of Burning Beaver at DDP with a Press Conference… 330 Teams Participated in 3 Editions**
Seoul, Yonhap News – Baek Min-jung, the head of Smilegate’s Future Lab foundation, which oversees the public interest projects of the Korean game company Smilegate, stated, “There are various indie game events both domestically and internationally, but Burning Beaver aims to be a festival for creators beyond just an exhibition.”
Baek made this statement at a press conference held on the 29th at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) to mark the opening of the indie game festival ‘Burning Beaver 2024’.
Burning Beaver, now in its third year, is an indie game and cultural event hosted by Smilegate Future Lab since 2022.
Baek added, “Initially, we contemplated whether to organize the event for creators or for users, but after the first event, our focus shifted to supporting creators. Even though there were spatial constraints during the second event, many teams applied.”
According to Future Lab, by the third edition of Burning Beaver, a total of 330 teams and over 1,500 people participated in the exhibition. This year, a total of 83 indie game development teams are meeting visitors, and Smilegate is covering all the necessary expenses for the participating developers.
Hwang Joo-hoon, the team leader responsible for planning Burning Beaver, commented, “I think indie game developers are like chefs who make delicious ‘dishes’ using their stories as ingredients, and this year’s exhibition was prepared with that philosophy in mind. The focus is not on commercial purposes but on allowing many visitors to meet creators, play games in development, and interact with them.”
Regarding the selection criteria for participating companies, he stated, “The definition of indie games is a matter of much debate, but we lightly define them as games that communicate their own stories and provide enjoyment. We comprehensively consider ideas, originality, graphics, and fun, without taking into account any commercial success that may have already been achieved.”
Baek emphasized the role of Burning Beaver in nurturing the gaming creation ecosystem.
“Smilegate is a company in the gaming business, but our goal is to ensure that the entire gaming industry grows organically and healthily,” Baek remarked. “We see indie games as the starting point, the seed, of such a creative ecosystem. We plan to continue with Burning Beaver going forward.”