Meet Termrak Chaiyawat | Technical artist, Solo Dev

We had the good fortune of connecting with Termrak Chaiyawat and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Termrak, what inspires you?
I’m drawn to the thrill of pushing the boundaries of possibility through imagination and actually making it happen. By creating new things and transforming the impossible into the possible, life becomes exciting. Whether it’s crafting innovative tools, using cutting-edge technology, or developing novel storytelling techniques, I’m all about exploring narratives worth telling. My passion lies in pushing the limits of what exists, taking it a step further each time.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m originally from Bangkok, but currently, I’m a technical artist developing my own indie game in LA.

I’m working on a game called ‘RIM,’ an exploration game similar to ‘Where’s Waldo?’ but set in Thailand. This project was inspired by the mural wall in the Grand Palace. The mural is almost 2,000 meters long and depicts the story of the Ramayana mythology—a famous Indian myth that has been adapted with a Thai touch to convey some cultural values and traditional Thai essence.

The story is about a princess who gets captured, and King Rama helps her escape from Thossakan, which is very similar to the Mario story. The majority of the wall focuses on the war between two cities, with very little about the princess—how she thinks and how she lives during the kidnapping. I grew to disagree with many of the moral values in the story and wanted to tell it through the princess’s lens.

The game explores the secret story from the princess’s point of view. It questions the nature of her marriage to the king, suggesting it might not be as idyllic as it appears from the outside. Perhaps the patriarchy is too strong, or maybe the 14 years of war were part of her plan all along.

The game starts with searching for the princess on the mural wall, then transitions to a first-person point of view in the painterly style of NEO_THAINESS, welcoming players to an alternate visual possibility.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend were visiting, I’d start our week at Eightfold, a charming coffee shop in the Art District. They serve amazing coffee and the staff is wonderful. The shop is located in a unique building that offers a great atmosphere for reading, working, or just hanging out. You can enjoy your time inside in a comfortable and quiet setting, or catch up with friends outside.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
James Roha

Creative technologist

I work with him as his assistant in Bangkok for his first Bangkok show in 2023. It’s a 4 week long immersive experience with a changing theme weekly according to the audience action from previous week. and then it become a treasure hunts

By working with him, it got a fire lit up into me. From getting me expose to all the great stuff and that the creative work can actually beom real work and in real life, it’s always a dream but I don’t know how. Then, he eqiped me withhiggh level of digital literacy, make me see the path and want to go there.

With that experience I enter a community with talented artist and creative people who always keep pushing and doesn’t’ matter how good they are they still learning new things and keeep pushing the bar higher and a little bit futthure everyday, so that experience is not only lit up the fire inmy heart but also keep me going and want to be better in everyday

so shout out to James Roha and his next show in July

And eagerly happy to announce this year show in July , if interested please go look at https://fablex.digital/

Website: https://termrak.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/termrakc/

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@termrak?si=augNqT_QgP34zcXS

Other: https://www.artstation.com/termrak

Image Credits
Wei Ding
James Roha
BeeBee