Have you heard about the mobile MOBA game called Lokapala? It is the one local game title that is featured in the national-scale professional competition for sports, namely PON XX Papua.
Ever since there was a report indicating that Indonesia was actually suffering financially from the local gamer playing and buying contents from the foreign state, one of the brilliant ideas to turn the tide is to actually invent one itself.
The idea to support the restoration of the national economy is potentially coming from the creative industry, especially in the game development field for mobile esports.
Today, Anantarupa Studio, a game developer studio from Indonesia, together with a local game publisher Melon have launched a MOBA game created by the local team. The game is named Lokapala: Saga of Six Realms.
Background of Lokapala: Saga of Six Realms
MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) is one of the most popular video game genres in Indonesia. This can be seen from the number of downloads of its predecessor that are also popular, such as Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Arena of Valor, and Vainglory, where their numbers of download have reached more than 100 million on Play Store alone.
However, although the competition among MOBA games in Indonesia is currently dominated by those that are made by foreign companies, there is a market opportunity identified by the developer.
One of its competitive advantages lies in the local wisdom that only Lokapala can offer to attract the interest of Indonesian gamers. Starting from the theme of puppets show, mythology, to the naming of the creatures in this game, they are all inspired by the rich culture that Indonesia have. These characteristics will be an attraction for the youth.
Lokapala was officially launched on May 20th, 2020 through the Lokapala Grand Launching broadcast on YouTube.
The Universe of Lokapala
Each world is divided into 6 Lokas (6 realms). Those 6 Lokas are: Narakaloka, Pretaloka, Tiraccanaloka, Manusyaloka, Asuraloka, and Svargaloka.
Once upon a time, there was a time when someone succeeded in solving the puzzles of the entire Lokas where the 6 Lokas will merge into one, eliminating the concept of space and time, even the life and consciousness of all beings in all Loka.
Selected knights who are under the auspices of 8 Gods from various Lokas and times, as well as other lives (alternate universe), will be summoned to enter an endless battle.
The opening narrative, which is used as an introduction to the game, features Nusantara (archipelago) atmosphere. Not only that, all the stories attached to the ‘ksatriya‘ (heroes or champions in Lokapala) are also based on Indonesian mythological stories, historical figures, and cultures.
It’s not a MOBA if there is no role classification of the characters. As it still uses the traditional 5 vs 5 battle mode, players can choose various types of ksatriya from the roles of Assassin, Fighter, Support, Marksman, Mage, and Tank.
Lokapala’s Unique Map Design and Features
In general, there are not many variations of the battlefield that can be presented in the MOBA genre. Dota 2, Arena of Valor, and Mobile Legends, all of which have similarities in terms of the map layout.
However, this resemblance is not entirely applied in Lokapala. Based on innovations to provide a more competitive and strategic combat experience, Lokapala provides 2 additional lanes on the top and bottom corners, where these additional lanes can be used to make sneaking and ganking easier.
Mount
Not only lanes, to enrich the dynamics of the game, the Mount feature was also adapted from the MOBA game made by Blizzard, namely Heroes of The Storm, as a mean to speed up the movement of the ksatriya.
Neutral monsters
In the battle map, there are boss monsters at the top and bottom corners. This boss monster’s position is designed so that the focus of the game can be wider, instead of only focusing on the middle lane. Of course, players must have an effective strategy if they want to challenge this boss monster.
Runes
Adapting the Rune feature from Dota 2, the river that connects the lane up and down diagonally will provide runes that can be consumed by the ksatriya.
These runes will give different buff effects according to the type taken by the ksatriya.
In-game purchase
To enrich the playing experience, players can make in-game purchases for your favorite ksatriya skins. One of the currencies used to buy tickets or gacha is Lotus.
As for the premium currency, you can use it to buy everything that is offered in Lokapala, except to strengthen the status of the ksatriya. This premium currency is called Citrine.
Interested to explore more about Lokapala? You can download it here now.
