If you ever hung out with someone in LAME Dimension, you’ll eventually hear the word Guam. But why is Guam so important to LAME Dimension? Do the games take place in Guam? Not exactly. After all, Guam is summer all year long, while games like Hazuki Dies takes place during fall. LAME Dimension games takes place in a land loosely based off Guam, but the culture of Guam has a stronger presence in these games.
Our Indie Game Development Origins in Guam
The first thing you have to know is that LAME Dimension was born in Guam. The current lead of LAME Dimension, ChairGTables, was born in the Philippines, but spent a good chunk of his life growing up in Guam, embracing the culture and the attitudes of people he met. All members of the first incarnation of LAME Dimension were all from Guam. This is why there are so many reference to Guam across the games, like how King Truck, which is a popular drink in Guam called King Car, is the most frequently appearing healing item in LAME Dimension titles. But what even is Guam?
What is even in Guam?
Guam is one of the coolest islands on Earth. . . EVER. You might be asking, “If Guam is so cool, then why did Chair move somewhere else?” Sure a place might be cool, but the coolest games are often games that appeal to a specific personal niche, rather than games that try to appeal to everyone. While Guam was not able to provide for Chair career-wise, Guam provided the vibes and memories that can’t be found anywhere else. Are you hungry? Walk up to random people on the beach, play some volleyball, and they’ll happily invite you over to the barbeque they’re having. This is an island where you can approach anyone, say “Hey, par. I’m hungry”, and you can end up with a friend for life.
Guam is also so small that some cities in the United States are bigger than the entire island of Guam. You can circle the whole island between 1 to 2 hours… when the maximum speed limit is ONLY 35 MILES PER HOUR. This means that no matter where you are in Guam, there’s a chance that you’ll meet someone new that your friends or family members are already friendly with. And that means your friend circle continues to grow! You’ll be bound to run into a friend whenever you take a short trip to somewhere like a store. The value of friendships and community is very strong in Guam and the food is always great. And that is why the core message of LAME Dimension games are always about friendships and eating food with your friends. And no, unlike the Guam inspired fictional cities in our games such as Super Ledgehop’s Shinecoast City and Final Flames’s Salt Palm City Sector, Guam is actually quite peaceful. If you wanted an island where explosions happens everyday like in our games, unfortunately doesn’t reflect Guam in real life. That’s why we’d rather say the LAME Dimension games are heavily influenced by Guam, rather than the games actually taking place in Guam fully.
Guam’s Influence on our Indie Games
The influence in Guam spans across so many games. Final Flames: Dark Rage was essentially a walking journey between the main campus of St. Paul to the northern campus of St. Paul, where the idea was initially a big battle between these two schools in Guam. Super Ledgehop features two characters who occassionally blurt out phrases from Guam, such as Hafa Adai. Chizuru from Super Ledgehop also prefers saying “Shoot” rather than “See ya later” as a way to say goodbye, as “Shoot” is a phrase many people in Guam say as they part away from their friends.
Now don’t you wish there’s more Guam references in videogames? Unfortunately, there’s not many references to Guam in media. There is an AKB48 game where they go to Guam on the PSP and Bandoori anime film where the cast goes to Guam, and it’s a fun watch, but there’s not many other media that features Guam. And that’s why I am seeking for more people from Guam to make video games and tell the world how awesome this island is.
The Search for Guam Indie Game Developers
There are a few game developers in Guam for sure. We got this guy who made a Super Mario Bros. clone that takes place in Guam called Super Pario Bros. The developer is currently risiding in Santa Fe, California, but continues to represent Guam in some of his creations. There’s also this IndieGogo project that started years ago called Alone on Earth but the status of the project is unknown. I really wish that this project will resurface one day, as the developer Peter Gervacio is a cool guy that I met personally, but I understand that sometimes, family is always more important. And there’s also this game called The Girl Who Sees made by Cherisse Datu, who is residing in the US with a background in Guam, that features extensive lore about the Philippines. The game features a combat similar to our game Hazuki Dies, which made us go “Whoa! I guess Guam people really connect to the Live-A-Live battle system universally!” I know there are more developers out there, especially with how game development has become more accessible over the years. If you’re someone who loves Guam and also makes games, please contact us. We’d be happy to eat some chicken with finna deni alongside you as we talk.
