Malacca: Shadow of the Straits
The golden age the world forgot.
At its peak, Malacca was the most cosmopolitan port on earth. More languages spoken in one city than anywhere else. Ships from China, Arabia, India, Java, and Siam — all of them coming to you. Not passing through. Coming to you.
This is a historical stealth-action RPG set inside that city, at its zenith and at its fall. You play a Peranakan operative in Malacca’s clandestine services — the hand that Hang Tuah and the Sahabat Lima cannot show. You move through the gold and the shadow of that world. Both are real. Both are yours.
The game is also the beachhead for a transmedia IP built on the Hikayat Hang Tuah — Southeast Asia’s founding mythology. Public domain source material. Zero incumbent franchise. An audience of 700 million people for whom this history is personal.
The Documents
IP Bible — Franchise Vision →
The transmedia IP bible. 21 topic files covering the franchise vision, canon events, world-building, characters, factions, the supernatural, market positioning, and the four-phase roadmap from game to screen. The source of truth for the IP.
Game Design Document — Overview →
The GDD. 14 topic files covering the protagonist, combat systems, Ilmu skill trees, mission design, enemy archetypes, the Mata-mata faction network, narrative structure, and UI. Written in the voice of a principal game designer — precise, intentional, systems-aware.
The Pitches
Concept Pitch →
For publishers and game investors. Experience, pillars, USPs, core loop, weapons and Ilmu, story arc, art direction, comparables, audience, revenue model, development timeline, and team. Confidential.
IP Investment Deck →
For transmedia investors and media funds. The IP capture thesis — public domain source, 700M cultural audience, zero incumbent franchise, comparable IP economics, four-phase franchise roadmap, canon governance. Confidential.
Pre-production · James Chan · Kuala Lumpur · Concept art by Faizal Rahmat