Gaming
gamescom 2021: Meet indie gems by Hamburg-based devs – presented by Gamecity Hamburg
Gamecity Hamburg will present five companies and solo developers from Hamburg at the digital gamescom 2021 from August 25 to 29. The developers will show their new games at the joint Hamburg booth on the online platform Indie Arena Booth. gamescom is one of the most important events of the international games industry. In 2020, more than 2 million visitors attended the digital gamescom. The Indie Arena Booth Online will be accessible from August 25, 10 pm (CEST) at online.indiearenabooth.com and can be visited free of charge.
Hamburg presents itself as a games industry on the playable online platform Indie Arena Booth Online, which again invites visitors to discover numerous indie games at gamescom 2021 – free of charge and directly in their web browser. In addition to the Gamecity Hamburg location initiative, the Hamburg-based games companies Tiny Roar, Mooneye Studios, OneManOnMars, Klickaffen, and Radioactive Dreams will also be presenting their projects. Gamecity Hamburg enables the five studios to participate free of charge through the program “Road to gamescom 2021” to expand their networks, present their game projects to the media, influencers, and gamers, and win over future fans for their games.
Indie Arena Booth Online: A showcase for indies from around the world – innovation made in Hamburg
The Indie Arena Booth Online showcases the diversity of the indie game scene: visitors can explore the platform in their browser as avatars and discover a curated lineup of more than 120 games by independent developers from around the world at virtual booths.
The Indie Arena Booth is planned and produced by the Hamburg-based Super Crowd Entertainment, an event agency specialized in the games industry. In 2020, Super Crowd transformed the concept into a playable online platform within a few weeks – so that indie developers can present themselves to an international audience even in pandemic times. In May, Super Crowd was awarded a special prize for this at the German Computer Game Prize (Deutscher Computerspielpreis), awarded by the German Federal Ministry of Transport. For 2021, the Indie Arena Booth Online offers new features and sports a new look under the narrative theme “Summercamp of Doom”.
The five Hamburg indies at the Gamecity-Booth 2021
Tiny Roar: world-premiere for previously unannounced project „XEL”
Founded in 2015 in Hamburg, Tiny Roar will give the first glimpses of their sci-fi action-adventure XEL at gamescom 2021. XEL is currently being developed with the support of German federal games funding and publisher Assemble Entertainment. The official announcement of the game is planned for August 24, and on August 25 Tiny Roar will be featured with their game in the Gamevasion streaming program at gamescom.
Mooneye Indies present their first publishing project: „Haven Park”
Following the success of its own indie adventure game Lost Ember, Hamburg-based studio Mooneye now uses its marketing know-how to help other developers reach the right audience for their games under Mooneye’s new publishing label “Mooneye Indies”. Their first publishing project Haven Park takes the player to a lovingly animated nature and camping park. It was developed by solo dev Fabien Weibel and was released on August 5.
OneManOnMars shows “Leif’s Adventure: Netherworld Hero”
OneManOnMars is the company of experienced game developer Roman Fuhrer, who is currently developing the hand-drawn 2D adventure “Leif’s Adventure” as a solo dev. He went through Gamecity Hamburg’s Games Lift Incubator program with the project in 2020 and is preparing to release the game in early 2022.
Radioactive Dreams: first playable demo of 2D-Platformer „Turbo Shell”
In 2020, three experienced game developers from Hamburg joined forces under the name Radioactive Dreams to develop a 2D platform game with novel game mechanics. The team received prototype funding through Gamecity Hamburg for their game Turbo Shell 2020. At gamescom 2021, they will show a playable demo of their project for the first time.
Klickaffen Studio: „Unbuild”
For 10 years already, freelance motion & interactive designer Matthias Mach has been producing games under the name Klickaffen for the “most personal gaming device ever”, as he calls his favorite platform – the smartphone. At the gamescom, he presents his work to an international industry event audience for the first time and shows his mobile casual game “Unbuild”.
Gamecity Hamburg: Tailored support for the Hamburg games industry
Gamecity Hamburg is the publicly financed location initiative to support the games industry in the northern-German City State of Hamburg. In addition to programs such as “Road to gamescom 2021” that aims to represent Hamburg and the companies based in Hamburg at international industry events, Gamecity Hamburg supports the regional industry with other tailored support programs:
Through the Games Lift Incubator, up-and-coming game developers and start-up founders from Hamburg receive intensive coaching and mentoring from international industry experts in addition to financial support. Gamecity Hamburg also supports the development of games prototypes in Hamburg through its Prototype Funding program. Each year, 400,000 euros are available for games prototypes from Hamburg, of which up to 80,000 euros can be applied per project. For the first time, there will be a second round of prototype funding in 2021. From August 30, developers, teams, and SMEs based in or relocating to Hamburg can apply for funding.
Gaming
Nolimit City revisits the brutal factory life in Outsourced: Slash Game
Nolimit City takes you back to the grind with its latest release, Outsourced: Slash Game. For those who thought their consumerist cravings were a safe indulgence, think again. Following in the footsteps of Outsourced, this new addition pulls back the curtain on the sweat and sacrifice lurking behind those everyday luxuries—this time with a dash of danger. Outsourced: Slash Game is the studio’s second venture into crash-style gameplay, the first being xCrash™ in Skate or Die – but this time it’s a standalone crash game!
In Slash Game, players have to make some cutthroat decisions as a laser traces the outline of their hand, increasing the multiplier with every pass. Players hit “stop” to cash out, locking in the multiplier when they feel the timing is right. After which, they will be shown the potential winnings if they wouldn’t have stopped. But here’s the catch: if players hesitate a second too long and the laser slips, all the winnings are lost. A live scoreboard displays the Top Win, Top Miss and Last Round, so that players can keep track of their previous rounds.
Outsourced: Slash Game is not a familiar Nolimit City slot to some players but could cause some excitement with an increasing multiplier and a maximum payout of 1,500x the base bet. Outsourced: Slash Game, unlike Nolimit City’s high-volatility slots, is rated as ‘Medium Volatility’ but don’t let that fool you as it still includes the risk of losing your hand.
Per Lindheimer, Head of Product at Nolimit City, said: “Get back to work, will you? We’re bringing players back to the unrelenting factory floor of Outsourced with an all-new twist. Slash Game is a standalone take on our crash-style games, and it’s packed with plenty of heart-stopping moments (and maybe a few hand-stopping ones, too). We’re thrilled with how it turned out and we hope that our fans will be too!“
‘Outsourced: Slash Game’ will be available to all Nolimit City partners on November 5th, 2024.
Gaming
The mobile gaming market is growing and attracting new companies. GAMIVO is the latest example
Usually, consoles and PCs come to mind when discussing the gaming industry. The mobile sector is often treated as a child of a lesser god, even though it generates almost as much revenue as console and PC combined. Some companies can see this potential. For instance, the e-commerce platform GAMIVO has recently entered the mobile market, allowing players to buy in-game items cheaper.
Back on course
The entire video game industry has evolved incredibly, but the most spectacular has been the growth of the mobile sector. It expanded from 36.9 million dollars in 2016 to 93.2 billion in 2021. Unfortunately, the gaming market suffered from a decline that stemmed from the overoptimism of the pandemic era. As a result, the mobile gaming industry revenues dropped to 92.2 billion in 2022 and to 90.5 billion in 2023. Recent information has indicated this was a necessary correction rather than a long-term trend.
The latest Newzoo report, issued in August 2024, shows that the industry is on the right track again. According to analysts, the mobile sector will generate revenues of $92.6 billion, representing +3.0% growth year-on-year. It’s nearly half of the entire gaming industry.
Billions of players
Revenues are crucial, but they only show part of the story. To fully understand the size and potential of mobile gaming, it’s necessary to consider the number of players, which constantly grew even when revenues dropped. Newzoo estimates that it will reach 2.8 billion in 2024. It means that almost twice as many people play on mobile devices than on PCs and consoles combined. Currently, every third person on Earth plays on mobile devices, and there’s still space for further growth.
“There are emerging markets where smartphones and mobile networks can expand, providing new potential players. Furthermore, this type of entertainment has a low entry barrier because most popular games are free and don’t require high-end devices,” explains Mateusz Śmieżewski, the CEO at GAMIVO.
One hobby, different habits
GAMIVO is an example of a company that has recently joined the party to get a piece of the mobile pie. “We examined the mobile market for a very long time, trying to find a suitable place for us. It’s essential to understand that mobile gaming and mobile gamers differ from their PC or console counterparts. You can’t do the same things you do with PC and consoles and hope to replicate your success,” said Mateusz Śmieżewski.
Studies confirm this observation. Average PC and console players spend about 2.1 hours a day in virtual worlds. It’s half an hour more than mobile gamers. However, things get interesting when we take a look at playtime per week, which is the same for mobile and console (5.4 hours) and slightly longer for PC (5.7 hours). Moreover, typical PC and console owners play 2.6 and 2.7 days a week, respectively, while mobile players play 3.4 days per week.
Those statistics prove that PC and console players are more dedicated, spending more time in games’ worlds once they enter them. However, mobile gamers prefer shorter but more frequent sessions. They play while commuting or have a short amount of free time.
“Mobile players are more willing to uninstall games and give another title a chance. Hence, the gameplay has to be captivating and designed to provide quick but intense sessions.
Furthermore, even though the average weekly playtime is identical to PC players, many mobile players don’t think of themselves as gamers,” clarifies Mateusz Śmieżewski.
Another major difference regards the way in which revenue is generated. PC and console games traditionally represent the premium model, where players buy the game. Most popular mobile releases are free and generate revenue with microtransactions. Almost all titles allow players to spend their real money on virtual coins, crystals, and other items that can be used to unlock additional content or reduce cooldowns.
Entering the mobile market
Those contrasts and nuances scare most companies from the mobile market. Let’s see how GAMIVO has coped with this.
“We decided to launch a new product category dedicated to mobile gamers. Our model allows them to top up in-game accounts cheaply. As a result, they can save up to 30% on buying virtual items, upgrades, and other content. The GAMIVO offer includes the most popular mobile titles, such as Genshin Impact and PUBG Mobile, and still extends,” describes Mateusz Śmieżewski.
“We dedicated a lot of time to research and analyses. Also, the development process required a lot of work to provide GAMIVO customers with safe transactions and a user-friendly environment. The first reactions are very positive, confirming our belief that our decision was right and there is still more space in the mobile game market,” concludes the GAMIVO CEO.
Gaming
AI Gives Horses for Courses True Meaning in ‘Owners Club’ Racing Game
Invincible GG, a groundbreaking competitive gaming platform and technology company, has outlined the latest AI developments of its interactive mobile horse racing game, Owners Club, which is set to provide a new injection of interest into the ancient sports of kings.
Following a successful game launch in Q3 2024 and activations at the Doncaster St. Leger and York Ebor festivals, thousands of Owners Club players have started to formulate an expansive game world that gives the masses the true feeling of horse ownership, breeding, and racing experiences.
Being founded on the latest in AI and Web3 technologies allows the game to evolve with more nuance over time, with the former being implemented to enhance users’ strategic horse development and create developing traits and performance benefits that can lead to further self-training opportunities in-game.
Each horse has its own unique, nuanced genetics and racing traits. These can be trained via evolving in-game activity—which will include collaborative intelligence in future releases and passed on to future colts and fillies to create racing dynasties that will stand the test of time while also bringing in lucrative in-game winnings and potential syndicate stud earnings.
Further features include an AI-powered event simulation engine (instead of predetermined RNGs), and sophisticated algorithms that factor in horse health, jockey decisions, and environmental factors that ensure Owners Club races maintain tension and excitement throughout, just as racing fans in the real world would experience from the grandstand.
Jonathan Strause, Invincible GG CEO, said: “Gamers of today want more than static, insular game worlds. They’re looking for immersive experiences in evolving ecosystems, multiplayer competition, and the feeling that they’re fully integrated into the game. Owners Club is offering just that for both current racing enthusiasts and the next generation of racing fans.
“With unrivaled AI integration into the theoretically unlimited stable of in-game horses, combined with back-end Web3 technology that empowers players to easily realize what true thoroughbred ownership and training feels like, Owners Club players can forge their own relationship with horse racing via the gamification of training, racing, and trading in the app, which can only help the future engagement of this ancient pastime.”
Owners Club will be showcased to its biggest live audience yet at the QIPCO British Champions Day on 19th October, 2024, with live races broadcasted as-live to screens around Ascot, with various prizes on offer for the winning owners.
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