'Night Parade of 100 Demons' in Japan - Dr. Costantino Oliva's Recent Research Adventures!

Kyoto, Japan: Dr. Costantino Oliva completed an extensive research visit in Kyoto, Japan. The visit involved a diverse set of activities, including participation in an art exhibition, the debut of a new game during a local game developer meet-up, partaking in a research seminar at Ritsumeikan University, and attending BitSummit (Japan’s premiere indie game convention).

Dr. Oliva's new research game, “Night Parade of 100 Demons”, was exhibited at GALLERY 9.5 in Kyoto, as part of the “ArtBit” exhibition. The event featured original artworks inspired by digital games as well as new, experimental video games. As part of the event, “Night Parade of 100 Demons" was introduced to local game developers during the “Kyoto PlayRoom” meetup, an original and lively format where the Maltese-produced game was showcased alongside indie games from the lively Kyoto scene.

Dr. Oliva presenting “Night Parade of 100 Demons” at the Kyoto Playroom event

Dr. Oliva also participated in a research seminar with other academics, during which he presented new research included in the recently published “Oxford Handbook of Video Game Sound and Music”. The seminar touched on several topics related to Japanese games and their inherent musicality, considered as unique examples of video game musicking.

Finally, Dr. Oliva took part in the “BitSummit” convention, Japan's industry-leading independent game development festival. The event features major Japanese companies, such as Sony and Nintendo, alongside smaller independent developers, universities, and local students. During the event, Dr. Oliva was able to play the latest Japanese indie games, network with several EU agencies interested in the Japanese game market, and experience firsthand how local game education is connected with the game industry.

The visit is part of the ongoing collaboration between the Institute of Digital Games and Ritsumeikan University’s Center for Game Studies, which sees yearly exchanges between staff members. Funds for this project were awarded by the IPAS+ program sponsored by MCST.