Starting of the project by approaching industry experts to get an overview of things i contacted Sebastian Zethreaus, project manager at Swedish Game Awards 2014. As it turned out, Sebastian is also a project manager at the up and coming indie developer Gone North Games and could provide both the industry and firm perspectives.
A Story About My Uncle – Screenshot
Gone North Games released its first game ”A Story About my Uncle” in May 2014 so they had almost a year of post launch perspective. The game idea emerged during school work at a game development program with Södertörn Högskola. After receiving some recognition at Swedish Game Awards the game was released on Steam and got featured on the first page for a short time. Reviewers were very positive about this original, non-violent and appealing adventure game. It has a very with nice atmosphere combined with alluring story-telling elements. I recommend for anyone who want to relax with a different and creative adventure game.
The Gone North Studio in Huddinge hospial complex
We talked a lot about the industry and its recent developments, among other things how the increased availability of graphics engines can be interpreted as a sign of the industry maturing (at least for pc and console games). A key issue, especially for small/new firms appears to be the dependency on digital platforms such as Steam. On one hand it provides a channel directly to customers, but it is a challenge not to drown in the noise. A noise that is increasing because of the before mentioned increased availability of tools, making it easier for people to start producing games with smaller means than before. This can be a key issue for understanding how industry conditions lead to diversity and growth.
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