A game about a CIA employee who has to redirect mail tubes in the mail office. You need to grab messages and send this via the right pipe to the right place to get a score.
Since we only had time during the weekend we used Saturday and Sunday to build the game.
Team:
Davor (Programming)
Carlos (Programming)
Tomas (Programming)
Ethan (3D, Animation, Environment)
Tedd (3D, Rigging, Animation, 2D)
Tom (3D, Characters, Models)
Hür (Animation)
Nicole (2D)
Stephan (Organizing, Audio, Supportive Programming)
Since the beginning of this year I have been working in a new team with a different focus. I have now switched from creating missions to creating game systems.
This is a refreshing change that, unlike before, supports the work of designers with tools and systems and is less centred in content creation.
Power Rooting ist unser Beitrag zum Global Game Jam 2023, an dem wir physisch am Standort Dundee GGJ23 teilgenommen haben.
Das Spiel
Ein Spiel, in dem es darum geht, Städte mit Energie zu versorgen, die aus Pflanzen stammt. Jede Nacht gehen Pflanzen kaputt und der Spieler muss suchen, welche nicht an das Stromnetz angeschlossen sind, und sie tagsüber reparieren. Wenn sie zu lange kaputt sind, ist das Spiel verloren.
Beschreibung
Magische Wurzeln verbinden alles und jeden auf der ganzen Welt. Aber auch in der Natur gehen Dinge kaputt. Ein mutiges Mädchen hilft, die kaputten Pflanzen zu heilen. Rolle schnell werden des Tages, bevor die Dunkelheit kommt.
Wenn das Spiel startet, siehst du einen liebenswerten Charakter in seinem schnellen Rollstuhl umgeben von einer seltsamen magischen Welt. Wenn du dich umschaust, siehst du vielleicht Blitze und Batterieanzeigen an einigen Pflanzen. Diese liefern Energie für alles um Sie herum.
Aber Achtung! Plötzlich kommt die Nacht. Du siehst nicht mehr viel, außer das Energienetzwerk zwischen all diesen mystischen Pflanzen.
Wenn du genau hinsiehst, wirst du einige einsame leuchtende Punkte bemerken, die von Dunkelheit umgeben sind. Diese Pflanzen, sind vom Netzwerk abgeschnitten und müssen repariert werden.
Wenn die Sonne zurückkommt, rolle so schnell du kannst zu diesen Pflanzen. Wenn du sie nicht heilst, bevor die Nacht wieder kommt, könnten weitere Pflanzen kaputtgehen.
Das Spiel endet, wenn über eine längere Zeit zu viele Pflanzen kaputt sind.
Verwendung der Unity Engine zur Entwicklung des Spiels. Verwenden von Garage Band für Musik. Adobe Photoshop und After Effects für Visuals. Google Docs für Dokumente. GitHub für die Versionskontrolle.
Help the otter harvest seaweed to create dishes for its customers. In each round, you have 2 minutes to get the highest possible score.
The game works on a keyboard and controller using arrow keys or the left analogue stick. By toggling the ESC / B-Button you can navigate to the menu on the top right.
We are a team of two and split the work in programming and graphics.
The game was created within 72 hours, on a relaxed schedule.
All graphics were drawn by hand with coloured pencils. After the scanning, we animated them with After Effects. So we got a more friendly look.
We used Unity to build our game. Our main goal was to create several modules to stick together. So we are having the freedom to adjust and extend the game in future.
I’m really pleased to see that our hard work paid off. Two years after the original release on PC, El Hijo – A Wild West Tale got honoured with the Apple TV Game of the Year 2022.
Thank you very much!
Quote: “El Hijo, a Wild West tale, is a smartly designed stealth game that looks exceptional on the big screen with Apple TV.”
A new package for GTA Online has been released and players can look forward to varied missions, game improvements and new vehicles.
As a member of the online design / gameplay department at Rockstar and a very successful first package in December of last year, I was given responsibility for more content, most of which included more complex missions.
I’m very happy again about the creative and thorough way of working of those involved. The great team implemented an extensive update of the game, which continues to enjoy high player numbers.
GTA 5 and GTA Online are now available for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. This project was very complex and everyone involved is very pleased with the result.
As a fairly new employee, I was able to contribute supporting work to the release, and I’m happy that players can now have a lot of fun with this game.
Otter & Owl is a wholesome game in which the player takes control of one animal to hunt for food. According to the topic of duality, the other animal, controlled by the computer, uses its specific abilities to help the player.
This game was created within 48 hours as part of the Global Game Jam 2022 in Dundee (Scotland).
Version 1.02:
– Information about Controls – Fix on Otter Fish Hunting Mouse Input
The year 2021 held some successes and big changes in store.
It started at Honig Studios with intensive work on Impossible Bottles. We deepened our knowledge of data-oriented programming with Unity via ECS and DOTS. An exciting and educational experience that should accompany me throughout the year.
In addition to our further training in these areas, the final touches of El Hijo were made – for the big release on the consoles.
El Hijo – A Wild West Tale
On March 25th, the time had finally come – the game that has accompanied me the most in the past four years – was released for the Nintendo Switch, Playstation and XBOX! The first players were able to sneak through the wild west on the PC and Google Stadia three months earlier.
We also use the time since the first release to incorporate the experiences of the players into the console versions. In order to give more players access to our little world, the streaming versions for Amazon Luna and Telekom Magenta Gaming were released in the following weeks.
Inspired by the publications, I started talking to my former university. So at the end of March at the SAE Institute Berlin I had the opportunity to share my knowledge and experiences with the students. A really nice experience.
I can say openly and honestly that there is a lot of heart and soul in the world of El Hijo – so once again a big thank you to the Honig Studios team for this adventure together.
As a programmer and gamer, I am all the more pleased to receive positive feedback in direct exchange. The satisfied smile of a player makes you quickly forget one or the other overtime.
In addition, our work was recognized in media and in German institutions.
We received the highest award at the German Computer Game Award on April 13th, when I was able to receive the award for BEST FAMILY GAME via video live.
On behalf of our team in Erfurt, I was able to win my personal heartfelt prize at the award at the Children’s Media Festival Golder Spatz on June 11th – “Good stories. Digitally told. ”. The kind words of the children’s jury still fill me with pride (not only) today.
In October, this was also followed by the nomination for the TOMMI – the German Children’s Software Prize, and at the beginning of November the award for the educational media prize.
Goldener Spatz 2021 – Award Ceremony
However, life is not only about professional success, but above all about calmness and balance in private life. My partner has been this haven of peace for many years. So it at the beginning of July, in the closest circle of our families, I married my soul mate in Leipzig. A wonderful day that I will always look back with joy.
Our bond has been stronger than ever since that day and the great adventure was still ahead of us. In the spring there was an opportunity opening up that we had to take. In addition to the wedding preparations, there were a few other hurdles to overcome. We applied for VISA, language certificates were passed and a lot of organizational aspects were clarified. Thanks to Brexit and Corona – because yes, exactly, our new chapter was called Great Britain, more precisely Scotland!
Less than four weeks after we married, our plane took off. Before that and after more than five years, I had to say goodbye to my team at Honig Studios. With Scottish music and lots of laughs, we got into the mood for my new life.
After eight years in Berlin, our new home is now called DUNDEE. A cozy student city characterized by design and innovation north of Edinburgh. Also known by locals as the sunniest town in Scotland – something that we can already clearly confirm. The cordiality and the peaceful interaction with each other are seldom found a second time.
All of this was made possible by my new role as GAMEPLAY SCRIPTER at ROCKSTAR Dundee. Everything started with pride at the beginning of August and after a short time I closely connected new colleagues – talented and experienced personalities who show you how much they enjoy their work every day.
With a completely new software environment, new programming language, a huge code base and new area of responsibility, I immersed myself in my new position over the coming months. I learned a lot in a short time, so that the first larger tasks were not long in coming.
Grand Theft Auto Online – The Contract
With great thoroughness and curiosity, I worked as part of the production on a package for GTA 5, which was published by the whole team on December 15th under the title “The Contract”.
I close the past year with great satisfaction from my superiors and myself and I am all the more looking forward to the exciting experiences in the new year 2022.
On December 16, there was a series of small talks and discussions from leading game designers and thinkers from across the industry.
The event was presented by the Biome Collective in collaboration with InGame Dundee and the UNESCO City of Design Dundee.
A total of 10 talks from different areas of interactive art were given on the subject of “small world”. They ranged from personal motivations to technical insights and thoughts on the worlds that we developers create in productions.
It was a very interesting and stimulating event that shed light on the various versions of the topic and introduced some personalities from the local and international scene.
With joy and pride to all the Apparitions on December 15th A major new update for GTA Online called “The Contract”.
In terms of content, new missions, vehicles and tools for players have been added. As a new member of the online design / gameplay department at Rockstar Dundee, I was able to actively help the great team with the implementation of the update.
I’m particularly proud of the creative and thorough way of working of those involved, which leads to a attractive offer of new content for players.
It’s already been two months for me, to work at Rockstar Dundee. I’m really happy that I took the chance to work here and starting the adventure to life and create in Scotland.
The first month was all about getting into the systems, frameworks, workflows and getting to know the different departments and people. In this time I not only learned a new language and new tools, but had the chance to dive into the codebase of a huge undertaking of software engineering. And I’m happy to have the time to dive into and work on it.
In the second month I got my first mission to be in charge of and work closely with the different departments of design, engineering and QA.
I got great freedom in the way of tackling my tasks, and I’m grateful for the many awesome people that I can exchange with to find the best solutions. It’s a different pace of working, that allows for more quality.
My work is a bit different from what my role at Honig Studios before. At Honig, I was taking care, of all the different technical parts in a production from prototyping, to engineering the framework, to gameplay, to tools and so on, and with the latest projects sharing this tasks with my programmer college.
Now, I focus fully on the implementation of gameplay in order to create new pieces of content for the players, together with the work of many people that building the surrounding work needed for these parts to work.
Still I can use many of the experiences of my former jobs again in my job to analyse challenges and find the right spots to solve them.
The feedback on my work so far is really positive and the folks are really happy about how fast I’m adapting and what I can already achieve.
These days I just started my next mission, that let me reflect on what I learned and building up on my knowledge.
I’m looking forward, what comes next. See you soon!
