Hey, Kendrick here!

Kumusta kayo, mga lodi? It’s been a while since we last talked about Langit Lupa, our multiplayer online game project. We kinda got busy with client work (kailangan kumita ng pera, ‘di ba?), so the game took a backseat for a bit. But guess what? Langit Lupa is back on our radar!

Back from the Shelf

We started working on Langit Lupa in April 2024. After just three weeks, we had to put it on hold. Bakit? Because we had bills to pay, and the client work was calling. 

Making our own game is fun and all, but we also needed to survive. So, Langit Lupa stayed on the shelf for a while as my team focused on client services.

Enter the DOST Esports Game Dev Challenge

Fast forward to November: DOST (Department of Science and Technology) announced their Esports Game Development Challenge. Perfect timing! Langit Lupa was in a good enough state—playable internally—and we just needed a few tweaks to get it ready for the public.

The requirements for the challenge:

• Team introduction video
• Trailer
• Gameplay video (with us playing)
• Poster

We aimed to submit all these by November 15, 2024. If chosen, we’d represent Region 12 (General Santos City). Challenge accepted!

Check out our team and game intro video:

With that kind of intro, who wouldn’t pick us, right? All credit goes to my wife for coming up with the idea.

Dedicated Servers, Sana All!

(Technical rant alert, skip if not interested!)

Originally, the game was peer-to-peer, meaning the host had zero ping while everyone else had delay. Worse, if the host quit, everyone got kicked out—so hassle! To fix this, I set up a Dedicated Game Server. Now, everyone connects to a stable middleman server. Result: fair ping for all, and no more sudden disconnections if the host quits. Mas astig, ‘di ba?

(End of technical rant!)

A Winning Moment

We got chosen to represent Region 12! Feeling namin baka kami lang nag-submit (lol), but who cares—kami pa rin ang napili!

The DOST covered flight and accommodation for Russele and Mark. We flew to the event and met a lot of fellow game developers. Seeing so many passionate people in one place boosted my “social battery” to the max. I was introducing myself, making friends, and just enjoying the vibe.

At the competition:

Then came the judging. We were up against only two other teams in the professional category. The students at the event got to vote on which game they enjoyed the most. And guess what—Langit Lupa won 1st place!

We were super lucky! With fewer competitors, our chances were high. But we also think the game was genuinely fun. Students kept coming back to play our demo, laughing and asking where they could download it. That, for me, was already a huge win. Seeing real players enjoy something we created—ibang level, guys. It was a moment that confirmed we were doing something right.

What’s Next?

After the win, we made a bunch of new friends and got that sweet prize money. More importantly, we realized that we’re on the right track.

Now that we’ve saved up enough, we’re putting resources back into Langit Lupa. Our target release is around December 2024 or January 2025. I’m thinking of pricing it at around P50—mura lang because the game’s still a bit rough around the edges. We don’t have a big retention system yet (no permanent progress or leaderboards), but it’s definitely fun, especially with friends.

If you have ideas or want to help shape the game, join our Discord! Let’s make Langit Lupa even better together.

Coming Soon: How to Get Langit Lupa

So, mark your calendars. By the end of this year, Langit Lupa should be available in Steam! Pag hindi, konti pang antay, promise!

Thanks for reading this far. Salamat sa suporta, mga ka-gamer! See you in-game soon.