Smilegate Future Lab announced on the 13th that it is recruiting participants for the 3rd 'Indie Game Prototyping Challenge,' a workshop for indie game creators. This program focuses on helping creators overcome difficulties in the indie game development process and verifying the core fun of their games by understanding the entire game prototyping process.

The 3rd 'Indie Game Prototyping Challenge,' which is accepting applications until March 2nd, will run for four weeks. Participation is free, and any indie game creator who possesses an early prototype with core systems implemented and needs to verify its fun factor can apply through the Indielog website. The previous two iterations of the 'Indie Game Prototyping Challenge' have seen participation from 40 teams and over 200 creators.

Participants will experience 1:1 intensive mentoring from industry veterans, peer-to-peer feedback, and data-driven playtesting. They will learn step-by-step methodologies ranging from establishing validation goals to creating checklists and designing interviews, allowing them to verify the core fun of their games from multiple angles. Afterward, through offline playtesting, they can derive objective metrics and practical improvement directions beyond abstract notions of 'fun.'

Mentors for this challenge include creators who have previously participated in Future Lab's indie game support programs. Industry veterans such as Lee Yu-won (Banjigames), Kim Seo-ha (Hoho Game Studio), Moon Ji-hwan (Team Horay), and Lee Do-un (LIFUEL) will provide mentoring tailored to each team's situation.

Oh Sook-hyun, Head of Smilegate Future Lab, stated, "The Indie Game Prototyping Challenge will be helpful in solving practical concerns in indie game development and improving capabilities," adding, "We ask for the interest and support of creators who want to grow within the creative community, including the talent contribution of senior creators who are alumni of Future Lab's support programs."