Stugan 2015
22nd June - 15th August 2015
Teams at Stugan 2015:
Team 2: Rosvita Works & Rosvita
Team 3: Tanmay Chinchkar & Project Heera
Team 4: Bryan Gale & Induction
Team 5: Amy Dentata & Sunshine
Team 6: Wendelin Reich & A Dog’s Heart
Team 7: Peter Cardwell-Gardner & Cadence
Team 8: Robin Baumgarten & Robot Space Labs
Team 9: Clifton and Ryan & Keyhole
Team 10: Nacho & Cerulean Moon
Team 11: Izzy and Laura & Intergalactic Space Princess
Team 12: That Brain & 20,000 Leagues Above the Clouds
Team 14: Mark Backler & The Last Word
Team 15: Data Realms & Planetoid Pioneers
Clint Siu is an indie game developer and vfx artist. In college, he joined two programmers to make a game called Squirrel Squabble. It went on to win the Student Showcase at the IGF. Later he moved to Hollywood to create visual effects for films, television, and commercials. Now he makes games in his time off.
In Stugan, he worked on _PRISM, a puzzle game for iPad about elemental matter. You explore symbols, patterns, and colors to discover how everything in the universe is formed from the tiniest of pieces.
http://www.clintsiu.com
Clint’s experience in Stugan:
“Stugan was an incredible, game development/summer camp experience that I'll remember for the rest of my life.“
Clint’s spotlight video: https://youtu.be/Hnr96IHfZ3s
Clint’s final presentation at Stugan:
Get _PRISM: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/prism/id1013585593?ls=1&mt=8
Rosvita Works is an independent team with a background in games, animation and screenwriting based in London and Coimbra.
The team at Stugan this summer consisted of Simon Ashbery (art direction and design), João Guerra (code and design) and Mark Storer (character design and animation.) They are also supplemented by their writer Lara Barbier, who worked remotely from London.
They are making a game called Rosvita, a puzzle adventure game which follows the journey of a girl called Rosvita as she traverses through a strange and uncanny land discovering the sad secret of her life and the world around her.
João’s experience in Stugan:
“The best time I've ever had whilst doing some serious work and learning insane amounts from the people around me.”
Rosvita’s spotlight video: https://youtu.be/LahiRTw7MWo
Rosvita’s final presentation at Stugan: https://youtu.be/oxFMZ2xJjtc
Project Heera Last Diamond is an eSport / PvP Heist game for PC and consoles. In a closed arena, teams face-off in multiple rounds to steal the most number of diamonds. In this frantic game of cops and robbers, players must use stealth, tactics and strategic combinations of skills and gadgets to outplay each other. Cops have an aggressive arsenal, whereas robbers thrive on deception and confusion.
Designed by Tanmay Chinchkar, an IndieGameDev from Mumbai. Evolving Heera from a gamejam prototype to E3 showcase and a BAFTA nomination, he wants to develop it further to pursue his passion for eSports.
Projet Heera release date: Q3 2016
Tanmay’s experience in Stugan:
“Stugan was like a cozy indie bootcamp, an ideal slice of a balanced work hard, play hard life :)”
Tanmay’s spotlight video: https://youtu.be/i43ZEX5jqIc
Tanmay’s final presentation at Stugan: https://youtu.be/xLbI7efRo48
Bryan is a game developer based in London, England. He is currently working on his first independent title, Induction, an abstract puzzle game about time travel and paradoxes. In this game you are given the ability to jump through time, and are tasked with exploiting its counter-intuitive consequences. Induction is a game that does not pander, but gives players the satisfaction of mastering an imaginary yet honest set of physical laws. Before going solo in 2013, Bryan made games at EA, King, and Bossa Studios.
Induction release date: Q1 2016
Bryan's experience in Stugan:
"Stugan was one half the most creative and productive environment I've ever been in, and one half the summer camp I never had."
Bryan’s spotlight video (starts at 2:40): https://youtu.be/3uwxpTF84pI?list=PLkWufXi-atTpZF_m985m6jSylXIgWLMcz
Bryan’s final presentation at Stugan: https://youtu.be/_dM5xG_8HoM
Amy Dentata is a multidisciplinary artist from the San Francisco Bay Area who makes first-person games that involve anything but shooting. Her most well-known games include A Night in the Woods, a quiet game about the destruction of history; 10 Seconds in Hell, a game about domestic violence; and Your Swimsuit Jumped Over Its Own Weathercock, You Liar!, a parody dating sim. She is currently working on Sunshine, a futuristic stealth game inspired by the Edward Snowden leaks.
http://patchworkdollgames.com/games/
Amy's experience in Stugan:
"It was a life-changing experience I could not have found anywhere else."
Amy’s spotlight video: https://youtu.be/RoRIIgE0hcQ
Amy’s final presentation at Stugan: https://youtu.be/WVwMMnVhs24
Wendelin Reich used to be a researcher in social psychology and social AI at the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study and Stanford University. He quit his job in 2014 and moved to sunny Montpellier (France) to become a full-time game/AI developer. At Stugan he intended to complete a playable alpha of "A Dog's Heart" where the player encounters Mimi for the first time. Mimi is an adorable but very cautious Dalmatian whose trust the player must earn before they can play and explore a magical world with her. The game is in first-person and runs on touch devices.
A Dog’s Heart release date: 2016
Wendi's experience in Stugan:
"This was the summer when Stugan took my geeky AI gaming project, had it scrutinized, criticized and validated by brilliant developers and world-class mentors for two months, and helped me turn it into an actual business."
Wendi’s spotlight video: https://youtu.be/UdsRw7JXdfE
Wendi’s final presentation at Stugan: https://youtu.be/Z6FUfYsk5wk
Located on the southern tip of Africa, Peter founded Made With Monster Love to make games the world could care about. The studio’s debut title, Cadence, is the result of Peter’s unique perspectives on music and technology. Joining him is award-winning game designer Rodain, whose primary duties include asking annoying questions about music – and helping Cadence to become a fantastic puzzle game.
Cadence release date: January/February 2016 (Steam Early Access)
http://www.madewithmonsterlove.com
Peter's experience in Stugan:
"Lifechanging. ;)"
Peter’s spotlight video: https://youtu.be/ntoXVUBY8nI
Peter’s final presentation at Stugan: https://youtu.be/82Xyk_YM-aY
Robin Baumgarten is a German Indie based in London, UK. He's a serial game jammer that has worked on smaller mobile games and strange experimental hardware controllers before, and also dabbles in artificial intelligence, photography and travelling. Previously successful with the one-dimensional hardware game Line Wobbler, he's now focusing on 'Robot Space Mining' (working title), a deeper PC simulation game based around asteroid exploration and mining with autonomous robots, which he was prototyping at Stugan. The game centers around peaceful base-building, a rich tech-tree and mysterious environment hazards.
http://aipanic.com/robotspacelabs
Robin’s spotlight video: https://youtu.be/BKBwav7gSy4
Robin’s final presentation at Stugan: https://youtu.be/69rfaAnc-go
The designer / programmer team of Clifton & Ryan met at a game convention in Portland, where they were each showing their first completed games, Clobbr and Miniverse. Clifton’s second project, Keyhole, was soon underway, and Ryan joined him as the lead programmer. The duo has been working on the game for the past year, while Clifton works on UX and game design contracts to pay the bills, and Ryan finishes up his degree in computer science.
http://keyholegame.com
Ryan's experience in Stugan:
"In one sentence, Stugan was a very authentically refreshing experience."
Clifton and Ryan’s spotlight video: https://youtu.be/9gJCGKpNvDo
Clifton and Ryan’s final presentation at Stugan: https://youtu.be/gVBZC53Uk4o
Nacho is a programmer turned game designer. Having worked on the fringe of the game industry for a number of years, he's now developing the games he wants to make. Cerulean Moon is the result of that, a touch-only platformer where you move the world rather than the character.
Cerulean Moon release date: 2016
http://cerulean.nachobeard.com
Nacho's experience in Stugan:
"I've had the time of my life at Stugan."
Nacho’s spotlight video (starts at 0:57): https://youtu.be/3uwxpTF84pI
Nacho’s final presentation at Stugan: https://youtu.be/Oloh083gyEY
Izzy and Laura are part of Geeiz Games. Izzy is the code cruncher, whilst Laura is the paper pusher. They are working on Intergalactic Space Princess - a hyperactive adventure game about mistaken identity. You play as Meline, a sassy 14 year old girl, who is confused for the real space princess. What starts off as a quest to find milk (preferably organic soy) turns into a mission to get your family back! It is a comedic adventure game, featuring mini-games. Spoiler – you get to roam through space, get eaten by a giant inter-dimensional worm and have a rap battle.
Laura's experience in Stugan:
"A once in a lifetime experience ! - earn from the best and your peers within the industry."
Izzy and Laura’s spotlight video: https://youtu.be/ByHX2pYn4SU?list=PLkWufXi-atTpZF_m985m6jSylXIgWLMcz
Izzy and Laura’s final presentation at Stugan: https://youtu.be/HLwVLuks1C0
That Brain is a Swedish cluster of neurons with the sole purpose of thinking up amazing ideas and realizing them in the form of interactive entertainment.
In their game 20,000 Leagues Above the Clouds you’re the captain of an airship and its crew, on a steampunk voyage through a wondrous world of flying islands. Whether you choose to outfit your ship with the biggest cannons and a shrink-ray, or fast engines and a hidden cargo hold for smuggling, you’ll be sure to find success by carrying out missions, trading, resource gathering or piracy."
That Brain's experience in Stugan:
"The summer camp you never had as a kid, consisting only of amazingly creative geeks and breathtaking Swedish scenery."
That Brain’s spotlight video: https://youtu.be/msSdqEtDH8M?list=PLkWufXi-atTpZF_m985m6jSylXIgWLMcz
That Brain’s final presentation at Stugan: https://youtu.be/zH7X-qRnuYk
Ditto is an artist trapped in a programmer’s body. An experienced game-jammer, Ditto has developed an ability to make good looking games in a very short time. Ditto avoids wasting time on fancy graphics, making up for it with using all the colors of the rainbow, and the ability to make a few moving pixels "feel" good.
Ditto thinks the answer to any design related question is “more particles, screenshake and wobble”.
Ditto is working on PLANETER, a colorful exploration game where the player creates the universe and meet friends. Ditto is getting help with music by Johann Prell and story writing by Jonathan Björklund from outside of Stugan.
Ditto’s spotlight video: https://youtu.be/yvkhu81OYfM
Ditto’s final presentation at Stugan: https://youtu.be/0QIFkvcxm34
Fourth State is a microstudio developing story focused platformer, The Last Word, which is set inside a diary and sees players solving a variety of puzzles using the words on each page. Game designer Mark Backler spent the summer at Stugan, having previously worked on games such as Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix and Fable 2. Concept artist Ross Burt has over 12 years experience from companies like the BBC, EA and Playfish. Tomas Normand, a programmer at Ground Shatter and previously at Marmalade, is providing code support, and audio designer Joe Brammall has worked with Microsoft, the BBC and audio-only game studio Somethin’ Else.
http://www.lastwordgame.com/press/
Mark's experience in Stugan:
"Stugan was amazing - working side by side with talented game developers, with loads of helpful mentors, having a lake to swim in any time, weekly saunas and the beautiful Swedish countryside!"
Mark’s spotlight video: https://youtu.be/hq7GjccJgb8
Mark’s final presentation at Stugan: https://youtu.be/k9yxvWpYqMs
Data Realms is a completely distributed team spread over nine countries and founded by Dan Tabar. Their previous game was Cortex Command, an indie title that won IGF awards in 2009. A large part of the current team was recruited straight out of the modding and fan community of Cortex Command, after having stood out as exceptionally talented creators in their own right.
Data Realms’ next title is Planetoid Pioneers (www.planetoidpioneers.com), a 2D physics-based action adventure driven by User Generated Content and inspired by the classic action/exploration games Blaster Master (1988) and Exile (1988).
Planetoid Pioneers release date: Fall 2015
http://tradestar.datarealms.com/ppmixpage/
Vlad's experience in Stugan:
"An amazing period of productivity and focus that we used as a diving board to prepare the release of our game Planetoid Pioneers"
Data Realms’ spotlight video: https://youtu.be/YVO0CZ1Nuk4
Data Realms’ final presentation at Stugan: https://youtu.be/7Y04sP9sfWs
