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DevelopmentExclusive InterviewsIndie

Dane Games and the Quirky, Old School Squire Squarefeet

January 25, 2019 — by Catherine Quinton

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The founders of Dane Games, Kasper Fischer Topp and Nanna Fischer Topp, describe their company as a small hobby-based company at present. They both have full-time jobs, as well as a family, so time and resources are limited. But they also have ideas, so they hope eventually to be able to work exclusively at their own studio.

The Pathway To Creating Squire Squarefeet

Kasper and Nanna first heard about Indie Prize in 2017, when they were at Gamescope in Aalborg, Denmark and saw a team win the People’s Choice Award. In 2018, they won the prize themselves, for a short demo of their game Squire Squarefeet and got the chance to compete at Indie Prize during Casual Connect Asia 2018 in Shenzhen. Their hope for Indie Prize is to be able to make connections and establish a network. They would love to meet others who are as passionate as they are about developing quirky, adult humor games. And it would be wonderful if they could also find a way to get funding for completing the Squire Squarefeet project.

Europe 2018Video Coverage

Tom Wijman: Market Intelligence for Games | Casual Connect Video

December 11, 2018 — by Catherine Quinton

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We never say no to a project or task that might seem impossible at first. - Tom WijmanClick To Tweet

Competitive gaming is the latest trend in mobile gaming. It brings the ‘core’ gaming experience from PC and Console to mobile devices. At Casual Connect Europe, the talk entitled The Unstoppable Rise of Competitive Gaming on Mobile, Tom Wijman who is a Market Consultant at Newzoo, described in detail the rise of competitive gaming, the trends that are driving it, and what this means for mobile gaming as a whole. He explored the impact that the growth of competitive gaming is having on mobile esports and how this differs between the East and the West.

DevelopmentExclusive InterviewsIndie

Benoît Freslon: Thinking Outside the EnigmBox

December 5, 2018 — by Catherine Quinton

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We first saw Benoît Freslon’s game EnigmBox at Casual Connect’s Indie Prize in London 2018 where it won the Best Game Design award. Also at Casual Connect Asia 2016 in Singapore, EnigmBox won the Most Innovative Game and Best in Show: Critic’s Choice award. Winning these prizes gave Benoît the motivation to keep working with the experimental game. But as proud as he was of the awards, he was equally happy with the friends he made there.

Benoit believes the prizes he won with EnigmBox gave him credibility with publishers and partners. Specifically, Asian publishers would like to publish the game in China, but he is still in negotiations with them.

A Game With Potential

Now Benoît has a new version of the game, EnigmBox 2.0. He felt that the game, created in 2013, had become outdated in terms of design, user interface, user experience and game feel. As well, he had many new puzzles he would like to experiment with. And a significant number of players and publishers had asked him to create a version for Android. So, with the awards from Indie Prize confirming that the game had potential, Benoît decided to work on a new version of EnigmBox, but this time using Unity 3D.

Benoit began the process of creating the new version by listening to feedback from players and experts. Then he started redesigning and polishing the design, the monetization, the UI, the UX, the tutorial, the puzzles and even the colors.

Europe 2018Video Coverage

Tobias Edl on Expanding the Reach of Social Casino | Casual Connect Video

November 30, 2018 — by Catherine Quinton

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The beauty in our business is the continual change. - Tobias EdlClick To Tweet

When entering the European market in the games industry, one faces many challenges. Each country has differing language, legal, culture and demographics which means all of these variables need to be considered. It’s important to keep in mind that success in one country does not equal success in another. At Casual Connect Europe 2018. Tobias Edl, Head of New Business Relations at Whow Games presented the Complexity of the European Market. See the full lecture below.

Europe 2018Video Coverage

Philippe Dao: Asmodee and the Best of Digital Board Games | Casual Connect Video

November 29, 2018 — by Catherine Quinton

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For any developer who has tried to adapt a board game to a digital game, what are some of the challenges you’ve faced. At Casual Connect Euorpe, we had Philippe Dao, Chief Commercial & Marketing Officer at Asmodee Digital, address the insights and learns learned from Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne and Splendor in his speech called The Challenge of Adapting a Board Game to Digital. This included different angles like publishing, marketing and of course game design.

DevelopmentExclusive InterviewsIndieStudio Spotlight

Demagog Studio and Golf Club: Wasteland

November 20, 2018 — by Catherine Quinton

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Demagog Studio and their game Golf Club: Wasteland was the winner at Horizon Pitchslap Belgrade 2017. After winning this award, they met with several members of the jury, who all were helpful with suggestions for the next steps to take with the game. One of them, Nikola Ĉavić, introduced them to Apple, giving them new impetus to the project. Now they are collaborating with both Apple and Unity and have won two more awards.

At Casual Connect Europe 2018 Indie Prize, Demagog Studio aimed to shine a light on Golf Club: Wasteland . It was released in June 2018 on iOS. They hope to bring Demogog Studio to the attention of a wider geographic audience.

A Multimedia Project

Igor Simić, who leads Demagog Studio, works in contemporary art and film and is represented by Galerie Anita Beckers in Frankfurt, Germany. The results of the sales of installation and video allow Igor to invest in other projects, such as Golf Club: Wasteland. This project is more than simply a game; from Igor’s perspective it is a multimedia project encompassing a video game, an original soundtrack, and music videos.

EventsNews

Say Hello to the 24th Annual Indie Prize Winners at Casual Connect Asia 2018!

November 14, 2018 — by Catherine Quinton

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The games have been seen and played; the judging is now complete, and Casual Connect is happy to announce the winners of Indie Prize at Asia 2018. There is something for every taste and you are certain to find games you will enjoy playing.

The winner of Best Game Audio is Bushy Tail created by Fuero Games Sp. z o.o of Poland. This story-driven game, in which Little Fox searches for his lost parent, is told by three different children, who relate the story from their own perspectives as they process their own experiences, and, as a result, the story differs each time it is told.

Bushy Tail by Fuero Games (Poland) was awarded as the Best Game Audio at the 24th Indie Prize Awards during Casual Connect Asia 2018

EventsGame DesignNews

Indie Prize Asia 2018 Participants from North America, LATAM and Australia

November 12, 2018 — by Catherine Quinton

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Games from around the world will be shown at Indie Prize at Casual Connect Asia 2018. And there is plenty of variety in this group of games from North America, LATAM and Australia. When you play these games you may be the hero your town needs or the hero your kitchen needs. You could visit space as a Martian cockroach or visit distant planets as part of a game of dice. There are intense strategic games and relaxing golf games and even a cooperative battle game.

Game Title: Hamsterdam
Developer: Muse Games
Platform: iOS, Android, Desktop Win, Desktop Mac, Console Nintendo Switch, other consoles
Country: United States

Hamsterdam is an arcade brawler with you, the player, as the Hamster-fu Master trying to save the town. Will you be able to defeat Chinchilla Marlo, the whisker twister in chief? Will you be the hero the town needs?

This game was a finalist at 2017 Big Indie Award and a nominee at 2018 IMGA. In 2017 and 2018 it was a runner up at Big Indie Pitch for E3 and Reversed. In 2018 it was selected for the MIX showcase for E3, EVO and Pax West.

EventsGame DesignNews

Indie Prize Asia 2018 Participants from Western Europe

November 7, 2018 — by Catherine Quinton

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The participants in Indie Prize at Casual Connect Asia always show amazing creativity and diversity, and this certainly true of these entries for Indie Prize Asia 2018 from Western Europe. From creative learning apps to complex puzzles to adventure games, and even some filled with horror, there is something here for every kind of gamer.

Game Title: Looters
Developer: Karizma Studio
Platform: Android
Country: Iran
Video: https://bit.ly/2REDTyf

Once upon a time there was a magical game studio named KARIZMA. They were known across the land for developing games, and one day a glorious castle emerged from the studio. The castle was filled with magic and gold so it attracted every looter in the world. Eventually the castle became known as Looters.

EventsGame DesignNews

Introducing the Indies from China Competing at Indie Prize Part 2

November 6, 2018 — by Catherine Quinton

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An astounding number of games by Indie Developers from China are participatng in Casual Connect‘s Indie Prize in Asia 2018. There are so many that we split the games into two articles. This will be part 2. You can view part 1 here. In these games, you have the chance to journey into the underworld, voyage the oceans, explore a juicy realm, and many others, Do not be fooled by the fact that these games all come from the same country. They are full of adventure and intrigue.  There is something here for everyone to enjoy!

Game Title: Annie
Developer: PixelRice
Platform: Desktop Win, Console PlayStation 4, Console Xbox One
Website:
Country: China
Video: https://bit.ly/2yOKvU2

Annie is a third person shooter game in an eschatological genre. Annie lost her lover to save his lover during a corpse crisis caused by a biochemical disaster. Annie has no survival skills. How will she deal with this disaster that will test the environment and human nature? What is the conspiracy behind it? Follow Annie on her journey to the end of the world.

The game Annie features a unique art style, destructive gameplay, diverse weapons options, exquisite game design and battles full of fun and challenge. And it has the most moving story you will find in a shooting game.

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