BitSummit 2016: The future's bright for Japanese indies

[Administrator]

The first BitSummit, in 2013, was an experiment. Let's put a bunch of Japanese indie developers in a room and mix in media and representatives from the wider industry, and see what happens. The second BitSummit refined the model, and the show hit its stride in the third year.
The celebration of all things indie descended upon Kyoto for the fourth time last weekend. The sheer scope of the show, despite occupying roughly the same physical space in Kyoto's Miyako Messe as last year, was an indicator of both the growing stature of the event and the renewed energy of Japan's indie community beginning to manifest itself.
Developers from all walks filled the event hall with the sights and sounds of titles as varied as their creators. There were games that would look right at home in the halls of one of the major publishers, alongside ambitious offerings that had a mix of classic, swashbuckling indie flair. At one booth, a developer named Takahiro Miyazawa made a giant pair of scissors to use as the controller for his game, while those playing Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, did so with the famed Koji Igarashi sitting beside them giving out instructions.
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