Hello, I'm Mob from the Negolove team at SKOOTA GAMES.
This time, I’m bringing you a report on the open-town game event "Kawagoe GAME DIGG 2026" held on April 25. Last year's first event was unfortunately rainy, but this year we were blessed with beautiful clear skies! The warm sunlight in the afternoon made for a perfect outing. We at SKOOTA also participated in the coverage as a formal media partner.
That said, just because last year was rainy doesn’t mean it was a failure. The sound of rain at "Koetoko" and the charming streets of Kawagoe provided a truly special experience. In fact, many of the creators I spoke with at the venue had also participated last year, which shows that the "comfort" of this place transcends weather conditions.
Now, for those wondering, "What is an open-town event?" let me explain a bit. Typical indie game events have booths clustered in a large venue (like the Tokyo Game Dungeon at the Tokyo Metropolitan Industrial Trade Center or BitSummit at Miyako Messe), but Kawagoe GAME DIGG has exhibition venues spread across about three locations in Kawagoe city. It’s similar to the experience of walking around and interacting with various games during the "SHIBUYA GAME WEEK" held in Shibuya.
And the defining feature of this format is the "influx of general users." Instead of a closed exhibition space, it attracts a diverse crowd of people walking through the streets—tourists who may not even know the term indie games, or those who usually only play on home consoles. For developers, this is the perfect opportunity to appeal to a new audience, and for players, it becomes a rich experience of "Kawagoe sightseeing + unknown game experiences."
Gamers who might have initially thought, "Why do I have to go back and forth between venues?" likely found that frustration fading away as they walked through the town. The beautiful scenery of Kawagoe served as a strong attraction, connecting the scattered games and interactions with people.
I hope this article is not just consumed as a "game introduction," but rather becomes a story that resonates with someone who breathed in the atmosphere of Kawagoe that day, or someone who came for the games and fell in love with the scenery, allowing them to nod and say, "Yes, it was such a wonderful place."
Now, let’s quickly introduce some of the standout games we encountered in this town!
The Thrill of "Creating" Games Like Video Editing — 『MOP'N SPARK』
First up is the striking 2D puzzle platformer 『MOP'N SPARK』, featuring intense pixel art in shades of blue and green.
The premise involves a janitor and an electrician teaming up to save a city overrun by dirty monsters. Battling slime-like creatures with a mop and repairing electrical panels to restore power evokes a sense reminiscent of the Ghostbusters series. (That professional vibe of handling supernatural entities as "business" is quite similar.)
While the visuals are impressive, what is essential to discuss about this work is the uniqueness of its "game system resembling the timeline of video and audio editing software."
It’s a bit tricky to explain in words, but... if any of you have ever used video editing software, you should intuitively get it. In short, it feels like programming how characters (the cleaner and the construction worker) move for each frame (timeline) by treating gameplay as "a single video." The action patterns are simply organized into moving left and right, turning, jumping, grabbing (Tsukamu), and mopping and sparking (repairing).
This system may seem complex at first glance, but once you try it, you'll find it surprisingly intuitive. The UI, which allows you to select commands with the mouse wheel and input/delete frames with left and right clicks, is very smart, pursuing efficiency and clarity. (Is it too greedy to wish for shortcut keys here?)
Moreover, what impressed me the most was the "playability" that this system creates.
Since you can always play and rewind like in video editing, even if you slightly miss the timing, you can quickly go back to the previous frame and make adjustments. Compared to traditional puzzle games where it's common to restart from the beginning or a specific save point, the stress of retrying is overwhelmingly less. Additionally, the sense of achievement (reward feeling) when you perfectly time your actions and clear a stage is exceptional. (I imagined that if there were a feature to save play records for each stage, this sense of reward would increase even more.)
However, just because the system is stress-free doesn't mean the game itself is easy. The difficulty of the puzzles is quite high, and I actually had to leave without clearing the final stage.
Even so, it makes you think, "Someday when it's released, I want to clear it with a fluid hand like a veteran video creator using shortcut keys!" It was a highly anticipated title with a perfect balance of system and level design.
Fighting the "Tasks" of Daily Life? The Mysterious Laboratory Life ―― PLEASE KNOCK: The Sloppy Researcher’s Life
I was drawn in just by looking at the key visual.
Next, we introduce an adventure game characterized by retro pixel art that every gamer is drawn to, PLEASE KNOCK: The Sloppy Researcher’s Life.
The protagonist, "Nitro," is a student (probably a graduate student?) belonging to a university laboratory. He is a character who lacks quite a bit of life skills, having been told by his supervising professor, "If you don't submit your thesis, you'll be expelled." Suddenly, another main character, his junior "Kuya," barges into his room. He declares, "By the professor's decision, I will be your caretaker," and together with this tidy and socially skilled character, they rush to complete the thesis that has been somewhat abandoned... This is a work with a very unique setting that is intriguing just to write down.
My impressions after playing this game can be summarized in two main points.
The first is the "uniqueness of the background setting." A laid-back senior and a responsible, caring junior. While the combination of characters is a classic trope seen across various genres, the setting of a "university research lab" adds a perfect spice to it. It's not the peak of youth in high school, nor is it the corporate world of working adults; it occupies a unique space somewhere in between. Considering that similar backgrounds are depicted in other works by the author, polte, it might reflect their personal experiences, but I still think it's a distinctive setting. (Unfortunately, I couldn't ask them about it in person.)
The second is the "uniqueness of the game system and experience." Surprisingly, this adventure game features a "combat system" reminiscent of RPGs. The screen design is inspired by the Mother series (personally, I thought of 'Undertale'), and the battles unfold like a turn-based command battle with macro input elements added. What made me laugh the most was that the "enemies" you fight are everyday 'tasks' like "cleaning up scattered socks."
What’s even more interesting is that the relationship between the protagonist and the junior is deeply intertwined with this combat system. The basic mechanic involves choosing "get started" to tackle tasks and inputting commands to defeat the enemies (tasks) on your own. However, when the junior's gauge fills up during battle, the "leave it to me" command becomes available. Choosing this allows the junior to instantly take care of the task in front of you. At that moment, I, as the player, thought, "Wait, couldn't I just leave everything to the junior from the start?" and oddly enough, I found myself agreeing that "Ah, the protagonist Nitro is probably thinking the exact same thing."
With a suspicious background, a dubious situation, and a questionable protagonist and junior, the questions that arise are brilliantly supported by this "suspicious game system," functioning as a device that enhances the overall immersion of the work. (While it's easy to put into words, I believe balancing this meta aspect is incredibly challenging.)
In this demo version, I could only play for about a day in-game, but I left with a pleasant sense of "What on earth is this game...?" that left me feeling intriguingly puzzled.
By the way, the author, polte, has also released a free visual novel on Steam, and there are works that share the same world view as this one. If you found today’s report intriguing, I highly recommend giving it a try. Alternatively, if you're feeling puzzled and unsure about what's going on, they will also be exhibiting at the "Tokyo Game Dungeon" happening this Sunday (May 3) in Hamamatsucho, Tokyo, so why not check it out?
A brief pause at a street corner in Kawagoe
'MOP'N SPARK,' which captivates with intuitive puzzles like video editing, and 'PLEASE KNOCK,' which elevates everyday tasks into RPG battles. Both works offer a fantastic experience that shines with the developers' unique ideas and "dedication," and I felt that the open atmosphere of Kawagoe further enhanced that immersion.
Well, there are still many more attractive titles I want to introduce, but it seems I've overstayed my welcome. If I were to introduce everything at once, it might be a bit overwhelming, so I will conclude this report here as 【Part 1】 and will deliver the rest in 【Part 2】.
In the upcoming 【Part 2】, I plan to introduce another three unique indie games that captured my heart during my stroll through the city, so I hope you look forward to seeing what titles will appear next. Now, let's take a tea break here. I'll see you again in the report for Part 2!