The indie and doujin gaming scene is in a state of transformation. Ten years ago, aside from Kyoto-based indie gaming event Bitsummit and beyond limited early success stories like Downwell, Japan’s indie and doujin scene lacked visibility, and was only a small slice of the broader Japanese gaming industry. Indie is a newer phenomenon, but doujin gaming has a decades-long history and is the origin for iconic names like Touhou. But it’s a hobbyist community at heart, and beyond events like Comiket has remained small.

Things are changing, though. Not only has Bitsummit grown from a single-day private event to a 3-day premiere indie game showcase attracting tens of thousands of visitors, we’ve witnessed the founding of new events like Tokyo Game Game Dungeon, platforms like Steam and digital console storefronts providing new distribution platforms, and the growing support of publishers, have helped to increase the visibility of the work from Japanese creators. Even within the hobbyist ease of doujin, it’s easier for games to be recognized beyond the convention floor because of online stores and dedicated publishers that work with doujin circles like PLAY Doujin.

More attention than ever is being given to Japanese indie and doujin gaming, helping them to reach larger audiences than ever before. As 2024 comes to an end, two events showcased two sides of this growing industry: Tokyo Game Show and Digital Games Expo, also known as Digige Expo.

While the former event is known more as the premiere showcase for Japan’s biggest developers and place the country’s gaming industry on a global pedestal, it offers significant space for indies to showcase their work. In the early 2010s, this consisted of a relatively small showcase of just a few dozen developers able to afford the steep price of submission for showcase at the event. Since 2014, after Sony stepped in to cover costs, the event has embraced the indie scene, with subsidized paid booths alongside free exhibition for titles featured in the Selected Indie 80.

Alongside publishers like PLAYISM, Shueisha Games (who attended with a range of titles including Urban Myth Dissolution Center), Toei Animation (who showcased Noroi Kago), room6 and more, over 150 indie titles were on show at TGS 2024 over three halls in a massive showcase of small-scale creativity from Japan and abroad to the world.

One of the most exciting titles at the show was Cassette Boy, an Indie 80 selection following its award-winning presence at Bitsummit earlier this year. Having missed the chance to play the game at the show it was an exciting opportunity to finally sit down and see what all the excitement was about, and it’s shaping up to be something special.

Wonderland Kazukiri is a small company splitting its time between website development and project assignments alongside their own games, with Cassette Boy being their largest to date. A Game Boy-inspired puzzle game where you flip the perspective of the world in order to progress certainly draws inspiration from the likes of FEZ, yet feels distinct and unique. No matter your perspective the game runs in full 3D, and the aim is to switch between multiple perspectives to make progress, as anything not visible to the camera disappears. Despite its obvious comparison it still feels very unique, and satisfies at every step.

On the other end of the spectrum you have a title like Detective Nekko, which is a title I’ve enjoyed seeing develop through appearances at various events over the last two years. This was the first TGS appearance for the so-called ‘mystery game where no one dies’, which sees you playing the titular feline investigator with the power to look into the past to try and solve cases, and is both striking and particularly polished considering this is their first game, and a solo project.

A lot of the demo was spent introducing the controls and talking to other felines about what they know, building a rapport and seeing into them using your powers to uncover the truth, but when the cast is as fun and interesting as this a more limited demo is hardly an issue. In the realm of Japanese indies it also feels like a departure from the work of other devs, and that’s far from a bad thing.

The variety of the whole show is what was most impressive, seeing new ideas wherever you turn. When I first encountered Saeko: Giantess Simulator at Tokyo Indies, the game was a unique tease into a slightly horror-tinged visual novel with striking pixel art. Now under the guidance of publisher Hyperreal, this game where you’re constantly under the watchful ownership of the giantess is unnerving, and keeps you on edge.

What’s cool is that, for titles like Detective Nekko and Cassette Boy anyhow, their appearance at TGS came without publisher backing. While there are some issues with the growing presence of indie publishers squeezing out smaller-name creators as the industry grows, the Selected Indie 80 at least offers space for both published and non-published games to get noticed, with the event’s own seal of approval a leg-up for broader recognition.

Digige Expo is a very different event, even if there exists some minimal overlap in the games being showcased between the events. This overlap mainly existed in the sponsor space, with Hololive’s Holo Indie label making an appearance at both events, as did Inti Creates. Some smaller titles showcased between each of the two events, but this was mostly a different clientele and space, dedicated to hobbyist creators with passion projects and the genre niches and ideas you would expect from creators in the doujin sphere.

You had creators like npckc experimenting with older hardware. They were showcasing the completed version of their Game Boy project Marron’s Day at both TGS and Digige, but used this event as the first opportunity to sell flashed Game Boy carts of the game. It’s a charming adventure where your goal is to save a town festival by running errands for residents, but with the option to print receipts and memories from the game using a Game Boy Printer (provided you have one lying around). And they weren’t the only developer experimenting with old hardware.

For some, old hardware wasn’t enough: why not build your own kit? Otofuda is the sort of game built from passion that would be very hard to showcase or play outside of this sort of event, but it’s precisely this that makes them cool. Inspired by a love of arcade rhythm games like Beatmania, this is a hanafuda-inspired card battle rhythm game played competitively by two players where your score by hitting notes and inflicting damage to your opponent. While keeping up your combo, you can select cards from your hand of three to activate their effect (which can range from obstructing vision to dealing life point damage), with the winner receiving bonus points at the end of the song.

There is a mobile version available, but the hardware exists as part of a greater ambition to potentially get this placed in arcades. As an onlooker, those playing had a lot of fun, so there’s certainly potential.

Shooting games are synonymous with doujin creators, as should be no surprise considering it is this idea that brought Touhou to the world. Having first released a demo of the game at Comiket 104 earlier in the summer, action shooting doujin circle RebRank showcased their trial version of C.C.S.B. at Digige Expo. The ice-cool white-and-blue futuristic visuals fit with the techno-futuristic war aesthetic the game was aiming for, but most importantly, this isn’t their first attempt, and it shows.

Unlike some bullethell shooters with overly-complex designs produced more as a means of standing out in a crowded genre than for player enjoyment, this felt both unique yet simple to pick up and play. The easy-to-follow but devilishly-complicated shooting patterns meant I was punished for my mistakes but never unfairly, even if it did expose my inexperience with the genre. They were selling the demo on a printed postcard for 100yen, however, so I picked it up in the hope of polishing my skills.

Yet the title that perhaps impressed me most, amidst thi sea of shooting games, retro platformers, visual novels with incredible artistry and writing (including many familiar titles I’ve witnessed evolve over time like Animaloid Girl and the already-released and beautiful Ghostpia), was Anti Hero.

Anti Hero drew me in with its bold artwork, a blend of flat yet bold colors that served a departure from much of the anime-inspired aesthetics visible on all sides around me. It’s a title where this warmth lulls you into a false sense of security, playing as a retired superhero in a world of powers helping a young girl named Mao fulfill their dream by training for a hero exam by going through study and athletics training.

Not all is as it seems. For a world that promotes an image of peace through heroes, many use that power or the ideals of it for violence and a fracturing between social groups. The father of this young girl is also not all they seem, a scientist with nefarious purposes who beats Mao and injects her with an unknown substance. There’s far more to uncover, and the game is still early in development, but it’s one I’ll be watching closely.

Indie gaming globally is in a weird spot. Even as gaming grows, it’s harder for smaller indies to be noticed, and larger indie publishers are struggling in a changing market. Japan’s market is far younger, but its more fractured existence is to its advantage. The existence and passion for events like Digige, as well as space for these titles at events like Comiket, give even new hobbyist and solo developers a chance to reach new people, while Steam and the internet opens space to share games further. It creates viability away from the publishing market and an appetite for smaller and passion-driven titles, a space where doujins and small indies can thrive even on minimal budgets and a dream.

Whether a larger indie to reach the widest possible market with publisher backing or a hobbyist, it’s arguably never been better to be a solo developer in the indie or doujin space in Japan. Nor has it been more exciting to jump into this unique space for yourself.