I grew up in Bangkok, Thailand, a bustling, metropolis dotted with Buddhist temples, road meals stalls, and company skyscrapers; a metropolis the place various views are appreciated. Growing up, I had the privilege of attending the International School Bangkok, so talking English was pure for me. I like to play video video games with lots of my Thai buddies, though I bear in mind the frustration of many who had been unable to play the identical video games with me due to a language barrier. I’ve lived in Pakistan, Japan, Australia, Thailand and at present in Seattle, the place Xbox is headquartered. I’m grateful to have had publicity to numerous cultures, beliefs, and tales. My aim is to take what I’ve discovered from every of those experiences to develop gaming and develop native expertise with Xbox in Southeast Asia.
I’m a Senior Xbox Product Marketing Manager. This profession path is my ikigai, a Japanese idea of aligning your way of life with what you’re good at, what the world wants, what you like to do, and what you could be paid to do. There are days the place my work simply doesn’t really feel like work. My function entails studying gaming information as a part of advertising analysis and understanding tendencies within the gaming business, however I’m already listening to podcasts and interesting with information on these subjects in my free time as a result of it brings me pleasure.
I dream of increasing illustration in gaming. Stories informed from Western views typically contain the protagonist leaving dwelling as a part of the hero’s journey. Sometimes, it may be discouraged or thought-about unfavorable if the protagonist, as a younger grownup, nonetheless lives at dwelling. But think about increasing tales from an Asian perspective: tales the place the protagonist can develop as a completely actualized human being whereas remaining linked with their households, the place the house is the save level and after every journey the hero returns to their household. One such story is Children of Morta, an motion co-op rogue-lite RPG the place you play as numerous members of a household who’re defending Mount Morta and defending it from corruption. You enterprise forth as one member of the family, return dwelling to avoid wasting, after which play as one other member of the family. Victory hinges upon the whole household unit.
I’m grateful issues are beginning to change. Titles like Sea of Thieves have added Thai as a language possibility and Minecraft Legends is launching with full audio assist for 16 languages together with Japanese, Korean, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese. I’m additionally grateful that character creation choices have expanded lately. As a baby, I had my actual self — an individual of Thai and Indian descent — after which I had my “video game” self, all the time modeled after the prevalent white motion heroes on the time. Now, I’m ready to decide on characters whose facial options and pores and skin tones are nearer to my very own.
As I proceed my journey right here at Xbox, I hope to have extra alternatives to offer higher illustration for the tradition, media, music, and gaming of Southeast Asia.
Here are a number of ways in which Team Xbox shall be supporting and celebrating Asian and Pacific Islander communities this 12 months:
Give
Gaming and Impact with Microsoft Rewards
Microsoft Rewards members within the United States can earn and donate factors to organizations supporting Asian and Pacific Islander communities with Xbox. The organizations under shall be featured on console all through May:
- Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC – Advancing Justice – AAJC works by means of coverage advocacy, group schooling, and litigation to advance the civil and human rights of Asian Americans and to construct and promote a good and equitable society for all.
- AAPI Equity Alliance – AAPI Equity Alliance (AAPI Equity) is devoted to enhancing the lives of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders by means of civic engagement, capability constructing, and coverage advocacy.
- Stop AAPI Hate – Stop AAPI Hate advances fairness, justice, and energy by dismantling systemic racism and constructing a multiracial motion to finish anti-Asian American and Pacific Islander hate.
Xbox players can earn Microsoft Rewards factors in numerous methods, equivalent to taking part in or buying video games after downloading the Microsoft Rewards app on Xbox. Earn factors and redeem them for actual rewards. Join us immediately and donate by means of Xbox.
Discover
Artist Isip Xin Shares Her Xbox Logo Redesign Inspiration
In celebration of Asian and Pacific Islander Month, Xbox commissioned artist Isip Xin to design the art work for this 12 months’s marketing campaign. Below, Isip shares the inspiration behind the design:
“The Asian and Pacific Islander experience is one full of mutual inspiration. Together, we create spaces that show just how massive, diverse, and deeply interconnected our community is. For this moment, I used water forms to show the flow of inspiration between us. Organic nerve and root-like imagery give the image a unified, but not statically structured body. The piece’s balanced energy is full of motion. Varied experiences weave, burst, and bloom together. As an artist and a gamer, I am centered around creating, cultivating, and existing in spaces (virtually, physically, and mentally) that make us feel like we belong. Games are an amazing way to discover narratives you relate to. You can find the environment to thrive, and you can be whatever you want. Living in these places and connecting to who lives there with you makes our shared identity unique, and beautiful. It was fun to explore the coexistence and self-discovery that comes with being an API gamer and share it in this piece.” – Isip Xin, Artist
Check out Isip’s Instagram and isipxin.com to expertise extra of her artwork.
Play
Microsoft Flight Simulator – Oceania Update
Microsoft Flight Simulator is thrilled so as to add to the fantastic thing about the simulator with fascinating new landscapes. Known as each a continent and a geographic area, and straddling the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Hemispheres, Oceania is comprised of distant coral islands, lengthy stretches of white sand seashores, towering volcanoes, huge inside sweeps of uninhabited rainforest, and populated cities boasting fashionable architectural wonders. Antarctica is a dream vacation spot for aviators with journey, intrigue, and boundless vistas of pristine coastal and inland glaciated terrain.
Microsoft Flight Simulator’s World Update XIII contains 13 international locations (Micronesia, Fiji, Indonesia, Kiribati, The Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu) plus Antarctica and Hawai’i. There are 2 smaller states (The Cook Islands and Niue) and 28 non-sovereign territories (together with Guam, Easter Island, The Galápagos Islands) additionally lined on this replace, many with improved decision that may permit pilots to expertise beautiful new vistas all through these areas. The launch relies on the most recent aerial images, satellite tv for pc imagery, and digital elevation modelling knowledge.
Check out the Microsoft Flight Simulator World Update XIII right here.
Discover Games Curated by Asian and Pacific Islander Communities at Microsoft
Gaming wouldn’t be what it’s immediately with out the contributions, views, and affect from Asian and Pacific Islander communities. Here at Xbox, we need to honor this richly various set of communities by offering participating gaming experiences that symbolize a myriad of histories and heritage.
During May and past, we’re highlighting a wide range of recreation collections that mirror individuals with a various set of backgrounds and lived experiences from East Asian, South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Pacific Islander cultures. These collections showcase Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander creators, lead characters, and video games impressed by Asian and Pacific Islander cultures. Available on the Microsoft Stores on Xbox and Windows, take a look at the collections of East, South, and Southeast Asian Community Games and Pacific Islander and Indigenous Community Games. These collections will exist year-round as a part of our ongoing work to create extra inclusive gaming ecosystems and elevate content material that resonates with communities.
Featured titles inside the collections obtainable with Xbox Game Pass, PC Game Pass, and on the Game Pass cell app embody:
Ghostwire: Tokyo (Available with Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass) – From Japanese developer Tango Gameworks, Ghostwire: Tokyo exhibits gamers a singular imaginative and prescient of Tokyo impressed by the duality of the real-life metropolis, contrasting deep-rooted historic websites and conventional structure with modernized buildings and residential areas. Legends come to life because the protagonist, Akito, takes on vengeful spirits and lethal supernatural forces from Japanese mythology and lore in a quest to avoid wasting his sister and his metropolis. Not solely is that this recreation closely influenced by Japanese society and beliefs, however Japanese audio is the default setting for an immersive expertise.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty (Available with Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass, Rated M) – Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is a darkish fantasy model of the Later Han Dynasty the place demons plague China’s Three Kingdoms. In this motion RPG from Team Ninja, gamers combat off lethal legendary creatures utilizing a fight system based mostly on Chinese martial arts swordplay and battle kinds impressed by the 5 components of Chinese Medicine. Aesthetically the sport is closely influenced by Chinese historical past and legends as effectively, and the music is made with conventional Chinese devices.
Coral Island (Game Preview) (Available with PC Game Pass) – Coral Island (Game Preview) is a family-friendly farming simulator impressed by Southeast Asia, together with native natural world in addition to cultural components equivalent to ruins and Balinese Hindu temples. The Indonesian improvement staff at Stairway Games needed to incorporate subjects of significance to them, so there are themes of conservation in the way in which gamers should keep the island’s ecosystem, including a singular tackle the style. Players even have the possibility to work together with over 50 characters from all walks of life and a wide range of inclusive romance choices.
The Legend of Tianding (Available with Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass) – Based on the legendary Taiwanese folks hero, Liāu Thiam-Ting, play because the vigilante Liao Tianding on this narrative journey set in real-life historic occasions. Rob the wealthy, feed the poor, and combat for justice within the streets of early twentieth century Taipei. All achieved within the model of Traditional Chinese Manga and voiced in Taiwanese Hokkien, this recreation captures the cultural feel and appear of the time in a wonderful means.
Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly (Available with Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass) – This charming sequel to Coffee Talk is developed by the impartial recreation studio, Toge Productions, in Indonesia. Players enter a relaxing ambiance of a espresso store, turning into a barista who helps a wide range of patrons with their issues whereas delivering personalized drinks that may heat their hearts. Pushing much more boundaries of dialog, this recreation applies a fantasy spin to modern-day life whereas reflecting on subjects of range and the way issues like discrimination and stereotypes influence relationships.
New Asian and Pacific Islander Gamerpics, Profile Theme, Wallpaper, and Avatar Items
In partnership with Asian and Pacific Islander communities at Xbox, we’re introducing a brand new gamerpic, profile theme, and avatar objects! The gamerpic and profile theme shall be obtainable on console, the Xbox PC app, and the Xbox cell app. Get your avatar objects right here and your wallpaper right here. Content is topic to availability by nation.
Tune In
Xbox Plays Celebrates Asian and Pacific Islander Communities
The Xbox Plays staff will as soon as once more be spotlighting creators from the AAPI group, inviting streamers to take over the channel at Twitch.television/Xbox – Tune in each Monday to assist your favourite streamers or make some new buddies as they play!
May 1
SnaxBreak taking part in Disney Dreamlight Valley (11am PT)
juwia taking part in Valorant (3pm PT)
May 8
ichibadass taking part in Redfall (11am PT)
Davion505 taking part in Smite (3pm PT)
May 15
Meeeowstv taking part in Dead by Daylight (11am PT)
ParallaxStella taking part in Redfall (3pm PT)
May 22
StarGirl Racing taking part in Forza Horizon 5 (11am PT)
DarkEyebrows taking part in Minecraft (3pm PT)
Microsoft Inclusion is Innovation
Only once we decide to increasing our consciousness, understanding, and recognition of one another, can we construct a brighter future collectively. Hear tales from Microsoft workers on how #InclusionIsInnovation by visiting Inclusion is Innovation.