BitSummit, the independent game festival annually held in Kyoto, has grown rapidly in the four years since it went from being an idea in founder James Mielke's head to a respected event that developers and fans from around the globe look forward to each summer.

One of the original goals of BitSummit was to help push Japanese indie developers into the spotlight in both their own country and abroad. The event has done this, but it has hardly been a Japanese-only affair.

"Our intention was not just to shine a light on the Japanese indie scene," saysJohn Davis, one of many who helped usher the show into existence in 2013. "We wanted to bridge a gap between the East and the West."