국내 최초 가상 게임 페스티벌, '2020 인디크래프트' 22일 개막

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many events to go online.
South Korea will host the world's first virtual game festival, where over a five-day period people can create a character and virtually walk around and test new online games all from the comfort of their own home.
Our Jang Tae-hyun has the details.
South Korea is holding its first-ever online game festival.
'Indie Craft' is an event held entirely online where people can, virtually, see new games and interact with others.
The event is being hosted by Seongnam city and organized by Seongnam Industry Promotion Agency and Korea Mobile Game Association.
Attendees can make a character and virtually visit over 50 booths where they can see various new games.
From Wednesday to Thursday, the festival is open for business purposes only... but from Friday to Sunday, it's open to all.
"During the B2B days, game developers and investors can have business meetings. And, during the B2C days, developers can meet the users and promote their games".
'Indie Craft' players can walk around the virtual space and even talk to other visitors.
"There are two ways of communicating. One is by using a mic and earphone to talk and the other is by typing.
Gamers can ask questions and even enjoy mini games like car racing.
The coronavirus pandemic has made people stay home, and this has led to a boom in the online gaming industry.
A survey conducted by Unity Technologies shows that more people have been playing games during the pandemic.
Those playing computer and mobile games went up by 46 and 17 percent respectively.
In the South Korean content industry, over 67-percent of last year's profits came from games.
Many businesses are struggling due to the pandemic, but the gaming industry can help the economy to recover.
Jang Tae-hyun, Arirang News.