I grew up in Bangkok, Thailand, a bustling, metropolis dotted with Buddhist temples, avenue 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 varied cultures, beliefs, and tales. My purpose is to take what I’ve realized from every of those experiences to increase 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 life-style with what you’re good at, what the world wants, what you like to do, and what you will be paid to do. There are days the place my work simply doesn’t really feel like work. My position includes studying gaming information as a part of advertising and marketing analysis and understanding tendencies within the gaming trade, however I’m already listening to podcasts and participating 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 instructed from Western views usually 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 save lots of, and then play as one other member of the family. Victory hinges upon your entire household unit.
I’m grateful issues are beginning to change. Titles like Sea of Thieves have added Thai as a language choice and Minecraft Legends is launching with full audio help for 16 languages together with Japanese, Korean, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese. I’m additionally grateful that character creation choices have expanded in recent times. As a baby, I had my actual self — an individual of Thai and Indian descent — and then I had my “video game” self, at all times modeled after the prevalent white motion heroes on the time. Now, I’m in a position 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 supply larger 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 way 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 way 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 avid gamers can earn Microsoft Rewards factors in numerous methods, equivalent to enjoying or buying video games after downloading the Microsoft Rewards app on Xbox. Earn factors and redeem them for actual rewards. Join us at the moment and donate by way 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 paintings 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 great 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 consists of 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 coated on this replace, many with improved decision that can permit pilots to expertise beautiful new vistas all through these areas. The launch is predicated on the most recent aerial pictures, 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 at the moment with out the contributions, views, and affect from Asian and Pacific Islander communities. Here at Xbox, we wish to honor this richly various set of communities by offering participating gaming experiences that signify a myriad of histories and heritage.
During May and past, we’re highlighting a wide range of recreation collections that mirror folks 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 out there 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 reveals gamers a novel 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 save lots of 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 struggle off lethal legendary creatures utilizing a fight system primarily based on Chinese martial arts swordplay and battle kinds impressed by the 5 parts 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 flora and fauna in addition to cultural parts equivalent to ruins and Balinese Hindu temples. The Indonesian improvement staff at Stairway Games wished to incorporate subjects of significance to them, so there are themes of conservation in the best way gamers should keep the island’s ecosystem, including a novel tackle the style. Players even have the prospect 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 struggle for justice within the streets of early twentieth century Taipei. All finished within the type of Traditional Chinese Manga and voiced in Taiwanese Hokkien, this recreation captures the cultural look and really feel of the time in a lovely method.
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 can 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 how issues like discrimination and stereotypes affect 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 out there 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 help your favourite streamers or make some new buddies as they play!
May 1
SnaxBreak enjoying Disney Dreamlight Valley (11am PT)
juwia enjoying Valorant (3pm PT)
May 8
ichibadass enjoying Redfall (11am PT)
Davion505 enjoying Smite (3pm PT)
May 15
Meeeowstv enjoying Dead by Daylight (11am PT)
ParallaxStella enjoying Redfall (3pm PT)
May 22
StarGirl Racing enjoying Forza Horizon 5 (11am PT)
DarkEyebrows enjoying Minecraft (3pm PT)
Microsoft Inclusion is Innovation
Only after we decide to increasing our consciousness, understanding, and recognition of one another, can we construct a brighter future collectively. Hear tales from Microsoft staff on how #InclusionIsInnovation by visiting Inclusion is Innovation.
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