Sunday, 9 AM, Tokyo.
Sunlight floods the Tokyo International Exhibition Center, a colossal hall with a slick inverted-triangle roof, towering 200 feet over a lush plaza.
Built in '96 by Sato Design, this beast is a Tokyo icon, hosting epic expos yearly.
Today, it's the heart of the Asian Esports Game Developers Conference, Pan-Asia's biggest gaming throwdown!
The entrance is chaos—players, media, and hypebeasts swarm, making it a total circus.
"Yo, what's good? I'm Tina Tate from Tate's Gaming Scoop, your go-to for gaming heat!"
At the entrance, Tina clutches a mic, waving at a gimbal camera:
"Welcome to our live extravaganza from Hall 1, West Wing, Tokyo International Exhibition Center!"
"The every-four-years Asian Esports Game Developers Conference is popping off right here!"
"We've got devs from over ten countries across five regions, dropping 25 games—15 indies, 5 mid-tier, 5 triple-A bangers."
"Today's show will flex ten mid-to-big games, and one's grabbing the crown!"
"Stick with us as we scope the studios' prep!"
Tina struts to the studio booths, camera trailing.
The livestream chat erupts—
"Holy crap, this place is MASSIVE!"
Fun Fact: Hall 1, aka the Global Summit Hall, holds 1,000 folks, with killer AV, conference tech, and seven-language translation.
"Whoa, the quadrennial dev summit? Straight-up flex!"
"Eh, compared to the esports finale at the SkyDome, this joint's kinda mid."
"LOL, facts (crying emoji)."
"Yup, the league closed at the SkyDome. This can't compete."
"Home turf vibes. Game or league champ, one's gotta stay at the SkyDome."
"Still want a homegrown game to win."
"Maybe! We've got Fury Games and WindyPeak Games repping."
"Fury Games is solid. Old-school studio, dropped $150M on their racing banger. But WindyPeak? Tough call…"
"Yup, WindyPeak's been hot, but they're small fry. Thought they'd hit the indie track, not mid-tier."
"Mid-tier needs $50M minimum. WindyPeak must've sold their souls to get there."
"Big gamble, yo."
"But Boss Harper's second-gen FPS idea is fire. If they drop a crossfire shooter, it might not totally tank."
"Here's hoping, Lil' Yellow. Don't need the SkyDome, just don't crash and burn."
"Lil' Yellow? Harsh, lol."
"Hahaha, too real…"
"I kinda dig WindyPeak's vibe."
"Leave the crown to Fury's big dogs! Lil' Yellow's here to show up, surviving's the win!"
Chat's clear—players love WindyPeak but aren't betting on a championship.
WindyPeak's a small-to-mid studio, better suited for indies. Jumping to mid-tier? Like a featherweight boxer swinging at heavyweights.
Fans scream, "Just don't die!"
Forget the crown—stay alive, don't flop.
Tina weaves through the crowd to the studio booths.
Most reps are set, and Tina grills a few—
Lionheart Games (Southeast Asia) brings Super Brawl, an $80M MOBA, one of five mid-tier games.
Girard Tech (West Asia), a rookie studio, drops $150M on Burning Track, a racing game, eyeing Fury Games as their rival.
Kohl Interactive (Japan), a sports game vet, hits their second conference with Major Blockbuster EX, a $70M comic-based game, aiming for a podium spot.
Finally, Tina hits the U.S. section.
Gus Harper's chatting up Leo Finch, chief director of Fury Games, at their booth.
The two hadn't met before, but at a global conference, fellow Americans stick tight.
Plus, both are IndieVibe Tech partners, so they're practically cousins.
After quick hellos, they dive in—Leo praises Gus's creativity, Gus hypes Fury's bold moves.
They're vibing hard.
Meanwhile, Zoey Parker, the mascot at the booth's edge, is bored out of her skull.
Ugh… what are they yapping about? Boss Harper, play with me! This is endless…
We made a dumb cooking game. Why's Gus chatting up serious competitors?
Zoey fidgets, snapping her fingers, tugging Gus's sleeve, dying inside.
Then—
"Yo, Ms. Parker? I'm Tina Tate from Tate's Gaming Scoop. Got two minutes for a quick chat?"
Zoey spins, spotting Tina with an outstretched hand.
Finally, someone's talking to me!
Zoey nearly tears up, jumping up to shake Tina's hand: "Heck yeah!"
Chat explodes—
"WOO! Ms. Parker!"
"Zoey's hair's chill today."
"LOL, no Chanel suit with twin buns—that'd be wild."
"Not a bad look!"
"Zoey's always a cutie."
Tina grins: "Thanks, Ms. Parker. So, WindyPeak's in the mid-tier track, right? What's the investment ballpark?"
"Sure thing!" Zoey chuckles:
"Y'all know WindyPeak's still a rookie studio. We can't drop hundreds of millions like the big dogs."
"So, we scraped together $50M to barely hit the mid-tier mark."
"Nice!" Tina nods:
"WindyPeak's only been around a hot minute, and making it to the Asian Games is already legendary. Y'all are gonna keep killing it!"
Zoey's smile twitches, a bit forced: "Haha, thanks for the love."
Tina, missing Zoey's vibe, pushes on: "Under you and Boss Harper, WindyPeak's always wowed with creativity, snagging tons of fans."
"So, what game's WindyPeak bringing this time?"
Zoey's eyes spark!
Now I'm awake!
"It's, uh…"
Zoey pauses, picking her words.
She hasn't read Gus's PUBG plan and doesn't know its core.
Can't just say, "It's a goofy cooking game where players play chefs in a cook-off."
So, Zoey pivots, smirking:
"It's an innovative banger that'll hit every player's taste buds! This game's gonna serve a feast to the gaming world!"
Cooking, frying, taste buds—boom! A full-on smorgasbord for gamers!
A real-deal buffet (physics style).
WHOA—!!!
Tina practically shakes!
That sounds insane!
Is WindyPeak cooking up another game-changer?
But before she can dig deeper, the host's voice booms:
"Ladies and gentlemen, studio reps, designers, guests, and media—"
"Take your seats, please!"
"The conference is about to kick off…"
Tina sighs, full of questions:
"Alright, thanks, Ms. Parker. That's it for now. Can't wait for WindyPeak's big reveal later!"
They shake hands, and the interview wraps.
Zoey sits, cackling inside.
Reveal? Oh, I'm waiting too.
Not hyped for the game, though.
It's just a cooking game. No matter how shiny, it's Cooking Master Boy with glowing dishes.
She's stoked for the competitors' faces when this "masterpiece" drops at the Asian Games.
Shock and awe, baby!
The hall's lights dim.
The 6th Asian Esports Game Developers Conference opens with roaring applause!
Jasper Young, organizing committee rep, kicks off with a speech.
Then, last session's Crown Award winners take the stage, returning the golden crown (Asia's Best Esports Game) and scepter (Asia's Best Esports Game Designer) to the committee.
It's tradition—winners hold them for four years, then get 1:1 replicas as keepsakes.
Next up: the game reveal session, the media's favorite part.
Per the rules, ten crown-contending games will hit the stage, with designers or reps spilling the investment, genre, and gameplay.
It's a hype preview!
Then, 200 media outlets and 500 guests vote for the Most Anticipated Game Award at the closing ceremony.
The host lays out the rules—applause erupts!
Studios take turns flexing.
It's an esports conference, so genres are shooters, racers, sports, MOBAs, and card games.
The biggest crowd-pleaser? Descendants of the Sun by Patrick Dunn, lead designer at Kintuo Games (Korea).
A modern-warfare multiplayer brawler, its "Arms Race" mode has 20 players duking it out solo.
Players rack up XP by fragging others, but leveling up downgrades their weapon—from assault rifle to SMG, sniper, pistol, and finally a knife!
Each "upgrade" tests skills harder.
First to score a knife kill snags the crown!
This wild setup sparks a frenzy—players, media, even studio reps whisper in awe!