One of the emerging digital industries is games and esports, as one of the pillars of the new economic power. Based on data from the World Economic Forum (WEF), esports has been able to take the game industry to grow strongly to the next level since Covid-19 hit. In fact, the economy can continue to roll with one of the drivers is the gaming industry. Other data states that 90% of the population in Southeast Asia are esports players. Amazingly, 145 million players came from Indonesia. This figure proves that half of Indonesia's population plays games. Anantarupa Studios CEO Ivan Chen explained, looking at these statistics, Indonesia has enormous potential to be able to further develop economic growth through the game and esports industries. "This is where Anantarupa Studios contributes through the Lokapala game, as the first MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) game in Southeast Asia made in Indonesia, which is inspired by stories and historical figures as well as mythology and culture of the archipelago," explained Ivan Chen, in his statement to Beritasatu.com, Saturday (4/6/2022).
The presence of Lokapala (loka = world, pala = protector) is inspired by the reliefs carved on the Balustrade of Borobudur Temple. This relief depicts the protectors of the world from each origin and is placed in a certain cardinal direction. Ivan Chen explained that Anantarupa Studios through the Lokapala game is participating in efforts to advance the culture of the archipelago so that Indonesia is ready to lead the world. "Through Lokapala, Anantarupa Studios introduces the leadership values of the archipelago to the world, which have existed since 1200 years ago, when the archipelago was at the peak of its glory which was quite influential in its time," he explained. According to Ivan, Anantarupa Studios has a desire to make a positive impact through a creative economy approach or cultural diplomacy, which can collaborate with other industrial sectors. "In the future, Indonesia will not only be sovereign and strong on its own feet, but will also be able to embrace other countries to grow and advance together," he added. Answering the question whether Indonesia is ready to lead the world, Ivan emphasized that in fact Indonesia has become a world leader. "Only now, we need to use the creative economy method, which converts cultural values into economic values that have a non-disruptive impact or collaboration between industries to encourage all industries to grow together," he concluded.
Source: https://www.beritasatu.com/amp/economy/935449/contribution-game-dan-esports-push-pergrowth-economy
