Dubai’s first playtest event helps local games 'find what clicks'

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At the inaugural Dubai Playtest Night 10 homegrown titles got a trial run – and a reality check – from the city’s toughest critics: actual players ...

Gaming enthusiasts turned out to try locally designed games and give feedback to developers at the inaugural Dubai Playtest Night. Organised by the Dubai Films and Games Commission (DFGC) on Friday, it brought together local developers, indie studios and gaming enthusiasts for an evening of hands-on testing, honest feedback and community building. Ten locally developed 2D and 3D games – ranging from university projects to festival-bound titles – were on show.

“It was a wonderful turnout in terms of both developers and gamers who were interested,” said Maryam Lootah, Executive, Talent Development at the DFGC. “We saw a large variety of games that previously were still in development and now want to publicise, want to be in the space, network with one another.”

Faisal Kazim, Games Commissioner at the DFGC, called the event a sign of things to come: “The enthusiastic response reinforces our commitment to creating platforms that connect the gaming community, support homegrown studios and contribute to the long-term growth of the industry.”

Maryam compared the event to how movies have test audiences. “The developers get to show their games, see what’s fun and what works, so they can understand and get a better perspective before they publish,” she said.

For developers, that perspective is gold. Just ask Ibrahim Hindawi, who has spent four years building Sange, an action roguelike RPG – complete with a custom game engine – in which players survive waves of enemies, craft different builds and battle through five chapters to reach a final boss.

“Today was really nice because we got a chance to get some feedback,” he said. “People seemed like they liked it and it was fun.”

According to Maryam, the variety of games and the cultural DNA running through it was impressive. Several games drew on Arab culture and folklore, or were set in the UAE; some were created in Arabic, others featured Emirati villages.

“I didn’t expect the variety of games available – the clever puzzles, the…

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