International game developers association
Switzerland
Chapter
15.05.2013 Zürich, Kaspar Manz
Kickstarter campaigns are launched, and Facebook pages and Twitter accounts created, questionnaires are waiting to be filled out: Swiss game devs are creating new and exciting things. Be there when they are shown to the public the first time – or be the one presenting it yourself!
In our last chapter edition we have covered Swiss Games being part of the world. And the movement continues: games of students from HEAD Geneva will be shown at the Game Art Festival in Los Angeles.
stillalive studios launched their Kickstarter campaign for Son of Nor. Help them make this game a reality! And why not catch a glimpse of how they’re doing it while you're at it?
With game studios being a large part of the creative industry, having a possibility to influence that industry can be important. As part of his bachelor’s thesis, a student from Chur wants to know what an internet platform would have to look like to be most useful to you. Just fill out the short questionnaire, and you can be a part of shaping the future.
While not a lot of features have been shared yet, there seems to be a new Swiss game in the making: Drownings. Check out their Twitter feed to be in the know!
A bit more is known about Samuel Vonaesch’s game CMYK, which he currently works on as his bachelor’s thesis. Visit CMYK’s Facebook page to keep up to date with its development – and be notified when it will be available to play (very likely at ZHdK’s diploma exhibition, which is around the corner as well).
UPCOMING EVENTS NOT TO BE MISSED
On May 16, you have the chance to get insights into the development of Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams. At the ZHdK Gameforum, the game designers of Black Forest Games show how their Kickstarter campaign was organised and how the the re-imagined Giana Sisters came to be. Get more information at GameLab.
On May 20, drop in at GameSpace’s meet&make, play with index cards and get all the news from the German game dev conferences Quo Vadis, Indie Connect and Berlin MiniGameJam. And maybe, just maybe, you might get a sneak peek at the upcoming bachelor games of the students of ZHdK … Find out where and when right on GameSpace’ website.
On June 26, it might be your time to shine. The IGDA Switzerland chapter organises a Game Demo Night, where you have the chance to present your game to the public. Send in your game to demonight@igda.ch and you might get into one of five available slots. Your game will be presented on that night, and featured on all available channels of the IGDA Switzerland chapter. Get all the information right here, right now – we’re looking forward to seeing you!
07.05.2013 Zürich, Kaspar Manz
Swiss games are nominated and awarded all around the world, some of them even at the GDC! Swiss developers are most definitely part of the global game developers community!
The Swiss delegation just came back from one of the most important game conference on the planet: the Game Developers Conference. The impact of Swiss game design at the venue was big! Both Krautscape and Grooh received the Best in Play Awards from GDC, and have successfully presented their games for the public to play at the GDC. Also at GDC, LiquidSketch, has been nominated for Technical Excellence at the IGF Awards. Congratulations to the winners!
While GDC was running, swissnex San Francisco was showing outstanding games from two Swiss art schools – Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK and HEAD Genève – with contributions from UCLA Game Lab in an exhibition called GameGazer. Games shown were Ned and Ted, OKO and Journey of a Roach amongst many others.
Journalist Jan Graber has accompanied the Swiss game developers delegation in and around the conference and has reported about it in 20 Minuten.
In the meantime releases and broad coverage of games has happened in Switzerland. As always, the Swiss Industry gets awards, media coverage and is busy creating new games!
All eyes were on the results of the 2nd Call for Projects. The jury has convened and decided what games are being supported. While no official announcement has been made to date, you can follow the Twitter list of Swiss game developers and get reactions first hand as soon as the official statement is out. Congratulations to the winners!
Bitforge is already a winner, too, by taking home the bronze award in the Best of Swiss Web competition.
Gbanga had great exposure in the media, as their blogpost chronicles.
Swiss game designers Mario von Rickenbach, Chris Solarski and Tobias Neukom had talks at the FMX in Stuttgart, and at Quo Vadis in Berlin Dragica Kahlina is talking about procedural sound design as an opportunity for small indie teams.
Rosario Azzarello released a serious game for the SUVA, teaching carpenters how to properly use the machinery they’re dealing with on a daily basis. The game has been created in Flash using Stage3D, which allows for 3D content within Flash.
Feinheit released Meet the Street, a serious game about road safety for pedestrians, and managed to get it to the top of the downloads in the iTunes App store in practically no time. Well done!
Last but not least, if you want to watch other people designing beautiful games: The game art master students of EPAC have offered a glimpse of their current project called Emissaire. Done in CryEngine, the game is about exploring a labyrinthine city as a bearer of light. The Facebook page gives some first impressions and follows the future development of the game.
11.02.2013 Zürich, Kaspar Manz
Looking to get your Awesome Game™ funded? Two Swiss developers are exploring different ways of doing so – and both of their ways and games are worth checking out.
Traentworks have started a crowd funding campaign to finance their new iOS puzzle game called StampOut. Go visit their campaign page on indiegogo or catch up with them on their Facebook page.
Train Fever by Urban Games, meanwhile, have completely revamped their website and are going a similar way as Traentworks, but on another site: They, too, have a crowd funding campaign at the start, but on Gambitious, a platform specialised on funding games that might be worth checking out for other companies as well. Train Fever, a train simulation game for Mac and PC, is also on Steam Greenlight, if you want to support them there.
In other news, Rakete by Mario von Rickenbach will be visiting New York and be shown (and played) at the IndieCade East festival.
Both bitforge and digiDingo have been successful at the SwissAppAwards and won the award of their respective categories. Congratulations to you!
Of course, you can follow all those companies and people on Twitter and on Facebook – and if you're not on one of those lists, get in touch! You find all information in the sidebar.
05.02.2013 Zürich, Kaspar Manz
Because, well, it can't rain men all the time, and we wouldn't want them to get hurt. Nominations are much safer.
Swiss Game Design is moving east and being displayed in Bejing, as GameCulture reports. Various works of Swiss game and multimedia designers are being shown, with Florian Faller of Feist fame having a presentation on Swiss game design.
Nothing Interactive, meanwhile, completely revamped their website. Completely adaptive, their site showcases their latest projects. And they're still looking for co-robots! So if you're having your sight on different stars, it might be time for your take-off!
Awards season is coming up, and Swiss games are once again in the running to get prestigious prices.
Several games have been shortlisted for the Swiss App Award 2013: Grooh by digiDingo, s**thead by codebox, MonsterUp Memory by Karios Games and Bitforge's ByeBye Mosquito, done for World Vision. The ceremony will be on February 7th – good luck to all the contestants!
Tobias Neukom, a Swiss maths' student has managed to get his iOS game LiquidSketch into the IGF Finalists List this year. Congratulations – and for you too, good luck!
And in case you are already planning your next LAN party: Why not Farming Simulator 2013 by Giants Software?
14.01.2013 Zürich, Kaspar Manz
Slowly, the avalanche of candy and chocolate leftovers from christmas is receding, and we're back with news from the Swiss game-baking business.
2beats has – just before the christmas break – released a brand new preview of their upcoming music game MokMok, and boy, does it look spectacular! Visit the game's website, and start jamming!
Also still last year, Gbanga has pushed out a huge update to their Gbanga Familia location based game, not just making their client speedier, but updating large parts of their game mechanics as well. Check out the changes and keep on playing.
Most of you will have entered your games for this year's Call For Projects (good luck to all of you, by the way), so I will assume that you have time to unwind for a few days. What could be better than a friendly game jam? Of course, there will be a Swiss version again, happening from Januar 25 to January 27 2013. Stay tuned for more news!
27.11.2012 Saxon, Thomas Crausaz
Study Game Art in Switzerland: All you need to know about the European Game Art Master at EPAC
In September 2011 EPAC opened a Game Art department leading to a European Master. In this article you will get to know all the details of this training programme in Saxon, Switzerland.
The Game Art department at EPAC is functioning just like a real video production workshop, and aim to market one or more games developed by students. At the end of their training, students will have acquired knowledge and experience that they can proudly list on their CV when seeking work in the field of video games.
The training programme lasts 4 semesters (full time) and follows the production flow of a video game. The students will see the main stages in the development of a project, from planning to completion, respecting production deadlines.
The first year, the students learn and practice most aspects of the creation of a video game: concept art, 3d modelling and texturing and export to a game engine. They will create a mod of an existing game to focus solely in recreating the environments, characters and props. They will use the main tools used in video game art creation, such as Photoshop, Maya and Zbrush.
In the second year, the student will develop their own game prototype together, from pre-production concepts and design documents to prototyping and creation off all the visual assets.
The course aim at teaching how the students have to work in team, to collaborate at the creation of one final product. During their formation, they will also meet actors involved in the game industry, from artists to designers and coders. They will also visit different facilities to familiarize themselves with the industry and collaborate on real projects developed by different studios.
Students wishing to attend this training must satisfy the following requirements:
- a European BA or equivalent qualification. (Persons without a BA who have trained in the arts or who submit a substantial portfolio may also apply. However, at the end of the course they will receive a certificate and not a European MA.)
- familiarity with Photoshop
- familiarity with digital tools (99% of the artistic work will be done with digital tools)
- a good knowledge of English
- a basic knowledge of 3D modeling or Maya would be an advantage
- a basic knowledge of video games
- the ability to work in a group
25.11.2012 Zürich, Kaspar Manz
No demons from our side this week! But a lot of new apps with animals (and the occasional angel) in the main role.
After last year's success, bitforge once more delights the customers of Coop with Sternenflug – with updated graphics and reworked gameplay, but still the same fun for the whole family.
Fun for the whole family promises the new game by Skuami Studio, Help Harry. The freshly released game features over 75 physics based puzzle levels and definitely cute graphics. Cleary, with this games, the reputation of pigs on smart phones should improve considerably.
If you prefer wilder animals, then Gbanga's new game Animals: Redd might be something for you. Guide around the cute little fox and play his favourite game with him. The fox is the first of a new cast of characters that will be introduced in new games by Gbanga. Available for iOS.
Mirage, Mario von Rickenbach's weird little tale about a solitary top hat has been nominated for "Best Sound" at the Brazilian International Game Festival in São Paulo. The soundtrack, created by Andi Bissig, adds yet another wonderful dimension to an already peculiar game.
Still Alive Studios' Chris Polus has been interviewed by German game site in-ga.me about their upcoming title Son of Nor. Find the interview here – it's in German, though.
What's next
Apart from the upcoming Mixer on December 18, 2012, at Hotel and Bar Rothaus in Zürich, starting at 18 o'clock, there is also something else of importance.
While the IGDA is here to connect game industry professionals, a new group has been formed under the name of SGDA – Swiss Game Developers Association, which will be concerned with all political aspects of representing Swiss game developers.
In order to understand what's needed to do, the SGDA asks you to fill out a short questionnaire, so the new association can be aligned with the needs of its (future) members. It's short and painless.
And of course, still up: On November 30th 2012, the state and future of Swiss game development will be discussed at Forum Rolex in Lausanne. Get the full timetable of the day as well as the possibility to register over at the GameCulture site.
17.11.2012 Zürich, Kaspar Manz
Feeling like digging up the past? Or do you prefer to see where the way leads to? Either way – dig in.
Do you miss the nineties? You know, The Nineties? The raves, the bright colours, the omnipresent gradients, when techno was just techno and world peace just around the corner? Relive all* of that with Aaron Sommer's Eagle Ride, either on Kongregate or on your iPhone.
* Okay. Maybe not quite all of that. But the colours are definitely there. And that feeling you had on that one trip where you imagined yourself standing on an eagle and flying over the crowd, catching people's jewel-shaped thoughts. Or something like that. Guess the details turned hazy over time.
The new Farming Simulator 2013 got a nice review on rather big gaming website IGN, calling it a "a focused and enjoyable business sim", and giving it a 7.4/10 score.
The french speaking part of Switzerland is active as well. Nadeza Suvorova got the Swisscom App of the Year Award for her beautiful game OKO, which we presented here earlier. If you haven't checked it out yet, you definitely should. It might provide some new perspectives on our planet.
What's next
GameCulture, the programme of the Swiss Arts Council prohelvetia, will soon come to a close. On November 30th 2012, the state and future of Swiss game development will be discussed at Forum Rolex in Lausanne. Get the full timetable of the day as well as the possibility to register over at the GameCulture site.
Also, don't forget to join us for the Winter Mixer in December!
15.10.2012 Zürich, Kaspar Manz
Some games get new names, others new versions, while others are totally new. Take your pick.
SevenOnly Games have re-released their racing game formerly known as Jaggy Race as AeroDrift! Get it in the iTunes App store and enjoy the rush of speed.
digiDingo amped the cuteness factor once again a notch with their release of Colorooh. Get an idea of what they’re up in their video they’ve recently posted – right here and check out their mini site.
Giants Software, too, are showing off new features of their upcoming Farming Simulator 2013 over on YouTube, which will be released this week. Also, the slightly older Farming Simulator 2012 is now available for Windows 8.
If you have a heart for animals, you should check out Games2be's update for Tiny Owls Free for iOS and Android.
Meanwhile, still alive studios received prizes for their project Son of Nor over at Devmania. Check out their experience over on their blog.
23.09.2012 Zürich, Kaspar Manz
This has been weeks of insights: May it be about managing your studio communication, drawing inspiration from art history for your game art or seeing the world in a different light – we have you covered.
Chris Polus has written an insightful blog post on how to manage locally dispersed teams when developing a game – using, of course, Son of Nor (currently in development) as an example.
See the world from a different perspective with the free iPhone puzzle game OKO that uses beautiful NASA imagery. Created by students from HEAD Geneva, it can be found at the App Store.
We’ve been writing about the teeth brushing app before – and now the Tages-Anzeiger did the same, and shows even more of the background and the development of the app.
Chris Solarski’s book Drawing Basics and Video Game Art is now available for purchase. Dive deep into art history and how it relates to game art:
"Video games are not a revolution in art history, but an evolution. Whether the medium is paper or canvas—or a computer screen—the artist’s challenge is to make something without depth seem like a window into a living, breathing world. Video game art is no different. Drawing Basics and Video Game Art is first to examine the connections between classical art and video games, enabling developers to create more expressive and varied emotional experiences in games."
Find out more about the book here – and then get it at your favourite local bookshop (because they need your support, too). And if you want a primer to the book by Chris himself, look no further than his blogpost with the video of the talk he gave at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC.
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