Indie Game Award 2023 Winner’s Interview : Best Design – PINIX

Taiwanese game developer Max Chen founded PINIX Games five years ago with a passion for game development and a dream to create the games he wanted. Although his debut work, “Wanna Survive” suffered poor sales and financial difficulties, Chen learned from past experiences and sought external partnerships to improve. Last year, his latest game, “Alina of the Arena,” challenged the market again and achieved great success. It received a 91%  positive reviews on Steam and won the Best Design award at Indie Game Award 2023. Chen said that this award was extraordinarily significant to him.

Sun Park, a natural creator since childhood, had no prior experience in the gaming industry before formally entering game development. He previously worked in advertising but found that even with creative ideas, he was still limited by his client’s imagination. It wasn’t until he started developing his own games that he realized creators could become gods of their own creations, sparking a strong interest in him.

Max Chen Overcomes Poor Sales and Wins Best Design Award at Indie Game Award 2023

Max Chen is passionate about game development and has over ten years of experience in the industry. In order to create the games he wanted, Chen dived into independent game development, creating “Wanna Survive” The game was only released on Steam, and, at its lowest point, had only 900 purchases in a single month, making Chen’s livelihood a serious issue. Chen was later able to launch his game on iOS and Android, securing him a very basic income. He never gave up though and learned from his experiences.

Chen shared that launching “Alina of the Arena” for mobile devices was a part of his preliminary objectives. He had hoped to use the wargame setup from his last project, but it had fallen short of their expectations. He introduced a deckbuilding system and changed the game’s concept to an arena to make it more enjoyable for players.

Reflecting on his journey, Chen explained that he turned his experience into assets, applying “agile development” from his past work experience and producing basic content within a month for “Alina of the Arena.”

Pursuing the Spirit of Independent Game Development,

Max Chen Looks Forward to Facing Challenges

As the producer of PINIX Games, Chen oversees most of the game planning, programming and collaborates with part-time artists, translators, and a musician to complete his work. In addition to finding a balance between solo development and collaborative work, Chen is able to focus on programming and planning, while giving his music and art team a lot of creative freedom. Reflecting on this difficult yet fulfilling journey, Chen shares that he believes independent game development is about taking risks and trying new things. 

Max Chen stated that TGS is the most internationally renowned game exhibition in Taiwan, and receiving the IGA 2023 Best Design award for his work was of great significance to him. He is currently developing game controller support and hopes that players who love his work will be excited about his next project as well. The latest updates from PINIX can be found on their official social media. Chen emphasized, “I am already looking forward to facing the next challenge!”

Indie Game Award 2023 Winner Announcement :