Guild Studio's 'NAMMO' took first place in the General Category at the 21st Gyeonggi Game Audition held on October 15. The game became a double winner by also receiving the "Gamers' Pick" awarded by the live audience evaluation panel. In the newly established Student Category, WABLE U's 'UpBRELLA' took the inaugural top spot.
Gyeonggi Province and the Gyeonggi Content Agency (GCA) hosted the final audition on this day at the International Conference Hall of the Pangyo Gyeonggi Center for Creative Economy & Innovation. A record total of 404 games applied, combining 344 in the General Category and 60 in the Student Category. Following document screening and initial auditions, 10 teams from the General Category and 3 teams from the Student Category made it to the final stage.
Starting at 10:10 AM with presentations from the Student Category, the venue featured game demonstrations and presentations. Pitching included a setup framing the presentation as training for new investigators at a Dungeon Management Bureau, while other teams explained game rules while demonstrating actual gameplay. A panel of 20 expert judges evaluated the entries, and the audience evaluation panel voted for one Student Category entry and three General Category entries via an on-site QR code.
The final audition was organized alongside a game investment acquisition demo day to meet investors and publishers, as well as a public-private-academic synergy FGT (Focus Group Test) to review upcoming releases. Delivering congratulatory remarks prior to the award ceremony, Tae-hyung Kim, Chairman of the Future Science and Cooperation Committee of the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly, expressed his commitment to supporting developers, citing the audience and industry scale he witnessed at the Taipei Game Show earlier this year. He also mentioned feedback from judges that the quality and polish of the submitted entries had significantly improved.
The main award development grant total is 200 million won. In the General Category, 50 million won is awarded to 1st place, 30 million won each to the two 2nd-place teams, 15 million won each to the two 3rd-place teams, and 10 million won each to the five runners-up. In the Student Category, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place receive 5 million won, 3 million won, and 2 million won, respectively.
Here is an overview of the story and gameplay of the 13 award-winning titles that reached the final stage, organized by category rank.
'NAMMO' is a 2D Soulslike boss rush game set against the backdrop of Silla. The protagonist, Nammo, who lost both her eyes, obtains 'Spiritual Sight' (Yeongan), allowing her to see the realm of spirits and investigate what happened to her. The development team explained that they reinterpreted historical figures and tragic tales recorded from the Silla era, drawing visual motifs for stages and bosses from real-world locations like Bulguksa Temple and Korean folklore. During the presentation, they showcased bosses with distinct forms, including a figure wearing a golden crown, a giant heart, and enemies inspired by Buddha statues.
Spiritual Sight is used in both exploration and combat. It reveals normally invisible terrain, traps, and the true forms of enemies, while serving as a means to uncover hidden weak points during boss fights. Destroying a weak point permanently damages that body part or seals off specific attack patterns. On top of standard combat consisting of blocking enemy attacks and counterattacking with parries, players must judge when to activate Spiritual Sight.
Each stage features branching paths where choices with characters can earn allies or lead to different confrontations. Souls obtained by defeating bosses can be used in the hub area to craft add-ons and skills, allowing players to customize their combat build. Receiving both 1st place in the General Category and the audience-selected Gamers' Pick, Guild Studio was awarded a development grant of 50 million won.
Taking the stage for the award, Guild Studio's representative shared credit by calling out the names of the vice president and team members in charge of planning, development, sound, effects, and pixel art. They also expressed gratitude to the team members' families who supported indie game development and to the Gyeonggi Content Agency for providing the stage.
'Where Is the Red Ball?' is a point-and-click puzzle game about finding an intact red ball for a crying cat. Other objects that are merely red and round or dirty balls cannot soothe the cat. Inspecting and interacting with objects on hand-drawn screens to find the exact ball the cat wants is the objective of each stage.
Solution methods vary by stage. Players may search for a hidden ball, or in places with no red ball at all, create one themselves or barter with someone who has one. The development team explained during their presentation that rather than continuously ramping up difficulty, they kept it at a consistent level while changing stage settings and puzzle structures so players face fresh challenges every time. Allowing retries without penalty after failure aligns with the game's wholesome, cozy direction.
Diaries obtained while solving puzzles tell a family story of a younger sister and older sister coming to understand each other. The development team stated that by placing the ultimate goal of making the cat happy at the end of the search for the ball, they wanted to give players a heartwarming experience. They also shared that the game is being developed targeting a total of 50 stages and 3 to 4 hours of playtime. Studio Peppermill received a 30 million won development grant for tying for 2nd place in the General Category and also won the STOVE Special Award. The special award includes business consulting, while global publishing and priority platform exposure will be supported following internal review.
'Project Revenant' is a side-scrolling shooting action game introduced by Mayfly as the official sequel to their previously released title 'Revenant'. Players aim directly at enemies with the mouse cursor, enabling them to bypass front-line foes to prioritize more threatening targets first. The protagonist has a health stat of 1, meaning a single hit leads to failure. Designed around this rule, the development team built a game flow centered on fast retries.
Clearing an area requires utilizing the surrounding environment in addition to precise shooting. During the presentation, scenes showed blinding enemies with flashbangs, dropping chandeliers, and detonating gas canisters. Players assess enemy positioning and interactable objects before determining their order of engagement. Boss fights also go beyond simple shooting; the development team explained that subsequent attacks vary depending on whether players break the rocks created by the first stage boss, 'Erica'.
To preserve PC cursor aiming on consoles, the team revealed they are designing motion controls and aim assistance zones. Mayfly receives a development grant of 30 million won for tying for 2nd place in the General Category. At the award ceremony, multiplatform simultaneous launch plans and game polish were cited as reasons for winning the BACKND Special Award, which comes with 5 million won worth of BACKND credits.
'In the Van' is a survival game where players survive a zombie apocalypse using a camper van as a mobile base. According to the presentation, while the protagonist is weekend camping in a forest without cellular service, an AI suddenly emerges and society collapses. Players must then explore various areas to gather food and materials while fighting off zombies. Managing thirst, hunger, and mental status is required, and moving carefully to avoid attracting sound-sensitive zombie hordes is part of survival.
Returning to the camper van from the dangerous outdoors shifts the gameplay rhythm. Players organize brought-back supplies, craft gear, and prepare for the next expedition through fishing, gathering, farming, and cooking. The interior and exterior of the van can be decorated with collected or crafted items. The development team focused on connecting hardcore exploration, cozy base living, and a constantly moving journey into a seamless flow.
Instead of staying at a single settlement, players visit new regions in their camper van and decode ownerless digital devices to discover clues about the apocalypse. The development team explained plans to offer different types of camper vans with varying interior space, durability, and speed. Options to repair or modify vehicles and decorate them inside and out with scavenged items stem from the mobile base concept. Cosmic Tofu receives 15 million won in development grants for tying for 3rd place in the General Category.
'IRONY' is a sci-fi horror action platformer where players investigate a research facility where unauthorized human experimentation took place. Set in a dystopian year 2401, the protagonist loses parts of his body while fighting enemies equipped with powerful prosthetics. To survive, he equips prosthetics taken from enemies, but as he grows stronger, he comes to resemble the very entities he was pursuing—a concept that ties directly into the game's title.
Combat alternates between ranged shooting, melee attacks, and parrying. Targeting specific body parts alters enemy behavior; the development team cited examples where enemies with damaged legs crawl, or enemies hit in the head suffer obscured vision. Enemies emerge from unexpected places like vents, windows, and elevators, and tension is created through staging and audio rather than HUD clutter.
Visuals feature a 2.5D aesthetic combining pixel-art characters with 3D backgrounds, accompanied by fully voiced presentation. The team explained that decisions on whether to replace body parts with prosthetic cybernetics affect the story and ending. Xylophone received 15 million won in development grants for tying for 3rd place in the General Category and also won the G-ROUND Special Award. G-ROUND cited global potential and opportunities for platform support as reasons for the selection. The special award team receives vouchers worth $7,000 applicable toward FGT and marketing.
In 'Rule the Dungeon', players become rookie investigators at the Dungeon Management Bureau resolving citizen complaints. The presenter introduced the game by addressing the audience as rookie investigators examining a report that someone "made eye contact with a traffic cone on the way to work." After investigating traffic cones with eyes and unfamiliar flowerpots, players discover a dungeon and enter the site alongside agency hunters.
Combat revolves around reading enemy lane positions and turn order. When an enemy reaches the front attack point, it performs a standard attack, while the time remaining until a special attack is indicated by numbers over its head. Pushing enemies back with hunter attacks or using traps and decoys to reposition them allows players to win without relying solely on brute force. The demonstration showed a combo where a front-row enemy was knocked back before another hunter attacked multiple rows at once. As each hunter possesses distinct traits and personalities, selecting who to bring is a key choice.
Combining 'Logos' keywords obtained from story dialogue allows players to suggest new skills to hunters. Depending on whom players speak to first and what they investigate, the flow of events changes, and gathering sufficient clues can open paths to resolve situations without combat. Foret Noire Games receives 10 million won in development grants as a General Category runner-up.
'Animal Frontiers' is a mobile line battle RPG where players form squads of animal characters to push and pull frontlines. The development team introduced six classes: Knight, Warrior, Archer, Rogue, Mage, and Priest. They explained that roughly 60 character types had been prepared, including dogs, cats, rabbits, and rhinoceroses. Placing heroes with different roles into a single team and adjusting formations and focus-fire targets during combat requires tactical decision-making beyond simply raising combat power stats.
Outside of combat, players explore a hexagonal grid map within limited turns to locate the boss. Players must plan routes, choosing which tiles to engage in combat, recover health, or claim treasure. Since squad health does not fully recover after battles, making decisions to head toward recovery points or retreat is necessary. The development team explained that even if players retreat mid-boss fight, damage dealt to the boss's health is retained.
Pushing the frontline to force opponents into danger zones at the edge of the screen inflicts greater damage, whereas being pushed back increases incoming damage to allies. Consequently, even with the same set of heroes, outcomes vary depending on when frontlines are shifted. The development team announced that two bosses were prepared for each of the seven themes. Infinity Mind receives 10 million won in development grants as a General Category runner-up.
'Soulers' is a shooting action game where players navigate bullet-hell patterns filling the screen using time manipulation. The development team explained that they sought to lower the barrier to entry typical of bullet-hell games that rely purely on reflexes while preserving tactical depth. Utilizing the core ability 'Time Acceleration' speeds up the protagonist's time, enabling her to dodge through attacks or concentrate firepower in brief bursts. Counterattacks like kicking back incoming projectiles are also possible.
Prior to deployment, players select weapons, companions, and traits to define their combat playstyle. Companions function like active skills used during battle, allowing synergies such as pairing a sword-wielding companion with one that buffs weapons. Each companion features a module tree, altering playstyle depending on chosen nodes. The development team stated they aimed to offer multiple ways to overcome bullet hell rather than enforcing a single correct solution.
The game features a narrative where an amnesiac protagonist searches for her past alongside her companions. The development team embedded character relationships directly into gameplay systems, such as scenes requiring players to convince an accountant companion to purchase weapons, in addition to cutscenes. At the time of presentation, they revealed plans for roughly 10 hours of story mode alongside Arena, Ranked, and Roguelike modes. Drabbit Studio receives 10 million won in development grants as a General Category runner-up.
'Cold Cases' is a deduction game centered on restoring fire-damaged case records. The story begins when a prosecutor dies in a house fire, leaving eight case files he kept severely damaged. Players must examine remaining sentences and photos to infer what the erased records originally contained.
Instead of picking answers from set multiple-choice options, players type in keywords directly. Entering correct words restores missing sentence fragments, recovering up to three text fragments at a time. Relevant information is also extracted from charred photos to uncover new clues. Applying words that players deduce directly to records forms the core of the investigation.
Memo and drawing features are provided so players can organize needed information themselves. As cases are solved one by one, objects in the investigation space—such as telephones and recording devices—appear anew or change. Even without restoring every single piece of data, players can submit their answer once they deduce the truth. Submitting the correct answer reveals remaining materials and epilogues, leading players through eight cases to uncover why the prosecutor kept these records. Banjiha Games receives 10 million won in development grants as a General Category runner-up.
'Mystical Demon Farm' combines farm management, monster collecting, and dungeon exploration. Dispatched to a remote borderland to investigate mana anomalies, the protagonist tends to a farm while venturing into dungeons to gather required materials. The development team explained that instead of traditional farming tools like pickaxes and axes, players use magic for farming and gathering.
Connecting farm life with adventure are 'Demons.' Players revive these artificial life forms—created by ancient archmages—using materials and devices to live alongside them. Which Demons players obtain and raise shapes their farming lifestyle and dungeon exploration. Materials obtained from dungeons feed back into farming and Demon nurturing, creating a cyclical gameplay loop.
Exploring new areas also builds relationships with villagers. The development team revealed that befriending characters—who each carry their own emotional scars—allows them to move onto the farm. As player level and magic skills grow and the farm expands, accessible regions increase. Stories heard in those areas tie into mysteries surrounding past wars, Demons, and mana anomalies. Jarikki Studio receives 10 million won in development grants as a General Category runner-up.
'UpBRELLA' is a puzzle platformer where a fallen witch overcomes obstacles using a single umbrella. WABLE U, taking the inaugural 1st place in the Student Category, packed multiple mechanics into this familiar object. Players open the umbrella to glide or ride updrafts, and position an inverted umbrella as a foothold. Dropping onto the umbrella from heights creates a bounce proportional to the fall distance.
Puzzles also feature spinning the umbrella to break bricks or reflecting lasers off its surface. Rather than expanding abilities by unlocking separate power-ups, the game focuses on players discovering mechanics through the interaction between the umbrella already in hand and the environment. The presenting team introduced their puzzle design principle as creating instantaneous "aha!" moments while minimizing repetitive inputs using fewer elements.
Within a Metroidvania-style exploration structure, previously blocked paths can be resolved anew after experiencing other locations. Knowledge of applying familiar tools in novel ways serves as the primary means of progression. WABLE U receives 5 million won in development grants for winning 1st place in the Student Category. The award recipient expressed gratitude to team members and promised to continue making fun games moving forward.
'War in the Dark' is a turn-based wiretapping strategy game set during a fictional 1950s war. Presented in monochrome visuals, the story unfolds through flashbacks as Remarque, a retired commander hospitalized in a medical facility, recounts the past to his grandson. Rather than displaying the full battlefield at a glance, the core mechanic centers on listening to enemy radio communications to deduce unseen troop movements.
A single turn consists of wiretap preparation, enemy communication decoding, and allied command transmission. Players input time and frequency into a clock and radio to prepare reception, reading long and short signals of incoming Morse code. If enemies employ secondary encryption, cipher tables must be cross-referenced. Based on gathered intelligence, players transmit commands to allied forces in Morse code by tapping or holding the spacebar.
The presenting team showcased four unit types—Scout, Infantry, Sniper, and Medic—across two chapters and seven stages. The title emphasizes deciphering communications and determining subsequent actions over directly viewing unit locations. Sprout Studio receives 3 million won in development grants for 2nd place in the Student Category.
'Ignotus' is a game combining real-time action, deck-building, and domain expansion mechanics. In standard combat, players control character movement directly to battle enemies; expanding a domain freezes time. Within the domain, players place skill locations and directions drawn from their deck onto tiles, executing attacks once time resumes. The preliminary candidate introduction noted inspiration from the Domain Expansion mechanics in 'Jujutsu Kaisen', adding that monsters can also activate domains.
Card selection and combinations evolve through combat. The student team demonstrated a system where fusing identical skills creates active skills usable without opening a domain. Clearing sections allows players to leave a 'Stigma' that saves their current deck. Players must judge when to expand domains during real-time exchanges and decide where to place skills during frozen time.
Choices are not always purely beneficial to the player. The team explained that 'Curse' options apply effects to both players and enemies, altering combat conditions. Nerophone stated the title was under development for Windows and Android at the time. The team receives 2 million won in development grants for 3rd place in the Student Category.
