Pham Duy Phuc (left) and Tran Tuan Hiep are seen in artwork with their game DreamChaser in the background. Photo provided by Apple
Two Vietnamese developers of the pixel art game DreamChaser were featured on Apple’s App Store along with other Southeast Asian talents.
In a recent Spotlight category called “Dare to Dream,” Apple praised the duo Pham Duy Phuc and Tran Tuan Hiep for developing their endless runner game, which received a 4.8 out of 5 rating from over 500 users.
“My journey as a game developer was pretty tough,” said Phuc, a former IT student who left university to pursue game development as a career, as quoted by Apple. “I couldn’t draw, so I had to find an artist. That’s how I met Hiep.”
Hiep drew inspiration from Vietnam’s history and tradition to create the game’s colorful pixel art depicting the Nguyen Dynasty. The game’s protagonist runs from the Imperial Palace in Hue to a tranquil bamboo forest, dodging hopping animals along the way.
The game became popular when Phuc talked about his development experiences in YouTube videos, and he now has more than 30,000 subscribers.
“When I uploaded the video about DreamChaser to YouTube, many users started playing it. At the same time, I also received a large amount of bug reports from users,” he said. “Seeing players enjoy our game and create their own content based on our work is incredibly fulfilling.”
Phuc now wants to open his own game studio with about 10 employees. “I think there is still more room to grow and that drives me to work hard.”
Other developers in this category included Joan Low from Singapore, who developed ThoughtFull Chat, software that helps connect people in need of mental health support.
Indonesian siblings Andika Pradana and Anggia Lestari received praise for their chemistry game Potion Permit.
Tyme Suteesopon and Sirin (Nanny) Thamakaison from Thailand were mentioned for their development of an app called WithU, which compiles motivational quotes and engaging artwork by Thai artists.
