[PRESS RELEASE] Press (A) to Start: Difference Engine Launches Open Call for Multi-Medium Video Games Anthology

25 February 2025, Singapore — Difference Engine is excited to launch the open call for its first multi-medium anthology, Free to Play: A Video Games Anthology, slated for print publication in 2026. From 14 Feb–31 March 2025, writers, artists, and creators can submit pitches for Free to Play across the categories of fiction, creative non-fiction, comics, poetry, and multimedia work.

Recognising the deep resonances that video games have with traditional narrative forms of prose, comics, poetry, and visual art, this anthology open call invites creators to submit pieces that celebrate video games as powerful vehicles for storytelling, critically engage with video games and video game culture, and build narratives through experimentation and play. 

In addition to works received through the open call, Free to Play as a publication will also feature pieces by guest contributors — established writers and creators who have a strong interest in gaming as culture and storytelling. Leading this roster of names is American speculative fiction writer Ken Liu, winner of the Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy awards. On his participation in the anthology, Liu, the author of The Dandelion Dynasty and The Paper Menagerie says, “Games as a medium have been incredibly influential for several generations now, yet the critical discourse around them still feels underdeveloped. I hope Free to Play can help to spark these conversations.” 

Curating this diverse anthology is a four-person Singapore-based editorial team comprising avid gamers and accomplished writers: poet Natalie Wang; translator, and co-creator of the popular Sherlock Sam children’s book series Adan Jimenez; poet, data scientist, and pro-wrestler Joses Ho; and poet, translator, and recipient of Singapore’s Young Artist Award in 2023, Daryl Lim Wei Jie. On behalf of the editorial team, Natalie Wang shares, “As writers who also love video games, we want to see pieces that are inspired by, a love letter to, and a challenge to what video games and gaming culture are and can be. We want this anthology to be a space where creators can indulge in everything we love about video games, whether it’s the idea of play, pushing the boundaries of a narrative experience, or the sheer joy and surprise you get when playing a game for the first time.”

Following Difference Engine’s first two comics anthologies SOUND and DELAY which were open exclusively to Southeast Asian creative teams submitting short comics, Free to Play is the first time the publisher is inviting submissions from international creators beyond the region.  The anthology also marks a next step towards expanding its publications beyond comics and prose since Difference Engine’s 2022 prose-comic hybrid Work-Life Balance. Difference Engine is not new to working in the transmedia space however, having created microsites, interactive browser games, and webcomics to supplement past print publications.

Difference Engine’s Publisher and Co-founder Felicia Low-Jimenez reflects, “At Difference Engine, we’re fans of all kinds of work and make it a point to be open and inspired by other forms of narrative-making. Free to Play is definitely an extension of this ethos. Difference Engine will always remain committed to highlighting our regional creators, but we also want to create spaces where Southeast Asian creators can participate and be seen in conversation with creators from all over the world. We’re proud to be able to invite a truly international community of creators to be part of this anthology.”

Difference Engine is accepting submissions for Free to Play: A Video Games Anthology from 14 February–31 March 2025. For submission guidelines, head to https://differenceengine.sg/ftpopencall/ 

Download the Free to Play press kit here

Follow Difference Engine on:
Website: https://differenceengine.sg
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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/differenceenginesg
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@differenceenginesg

For enquiries, contact:
Olivia Djawoto
Marketing and Communications Manager
Difference Engine
olivia@differenceengine.sg

About the Editors
Adan Jimenez is a writer, editor, and translator. He is the proud son of Mexican immigrant parents and became an immigrant himself when he moved to Singapore. His gaming journey began when his parents bought him a Nintendo Entertainment System for Christmas when he was six, and he has played hundreds of games since then, of every genre and on (almost) every platform, including PC and mobile. You can find him playing all kinds of games on his YouTube channel: youtube.com/@thecomicman.

Daryl Lim Wei Jie is a poet, editor, and translator from Singapore. His poetry collection Anything but Human was a finalist for the 2022 Singapore Literature Prize. He conceptualised two anthologies: Food Republic: A Singapore Literary Banquet, which won a Special Award at the 2023 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, and The Second Link: An Anthology of Malaysian and Singaporean Writing, shortlisted for Best Literary Work at the Singapore Book Awards. He translated Short Tongue, a collection by the Singaporean Chinese poet Wang Mun Kiat. In 2023, he was awarded the Young Artist Award, Singapore’s highest award for young art practitioners. His favourite games include Diablo I & 2, Age of Empires 2, SimCity 2000 & SimCity 4, Emperor, RollerCoaster Tycoon, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Control, Cyberpunk 2077, Papers, Please, and Robert Yang’s queer games. Find Daryl at www.darylwjlim.com.

Joses Ho is a poet, pro-wrestler, and scientist. As tech sorcerer for SingPoWriMo, he archives and visualises the poetry posted. Joses also has interests in creative computing and generative text. His pamphlet Dogma was shortlisted for the inaugural Paper Jam series in 2021, and his manuscript Moving Downwards in a Straight Line was selected for Manuscript Bootcamp (organised by Sing Lit Station) in 2019. He is also a pro-wrestler and ring announcer with GrappleMax. Joses’ gaming niche is puzzle platformers that combine mind-melting mechanics, (almost) wordless worldbuilding, and narratives: INSIDE, Cocoon, Portal 1 & 2. Joses also wants more people to play Sam Barlow’s Immortality, even though he had nightmares for the entire duration whilst playing it.

Natalie Wang is more likely to play video games or write novel-length fanfiction than write poetry, but still calls herself a poet. She has been published in The Fairy Tale Review, Cartridge Lit, and Quarterly Literary Review Singapore, amongst others. Her book The Woman Who Turned Into A Vending Machine is a collection of poems on metamorphosis, myth, and womanhood. She has played and loved Elden Ring, Dark Souls I–III, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Cyberpunk 2077, Baldur’s Gate 3, Hollow Knight, Hades, Oxenfree, and various Pokémon games since Pokémon Yellow. 

About Difference Engine
Difference Engine is an independent comics publisher based in Singapore. We are inspired by stories from Asia, and we are committed to publishing diverse, well-written, and beautifully illustrated comics of all genres and for all ages. We collaborate closely with Southeast Asian creators, both new and experienced, with genuine and thought-provoking ideas to share. Difference Engine was founded in 2018 and is part of the Potato Productions group of companies.