At the recent Button Festival from March 10-11 2023, the 6th edition of the SAGA, the Styrian Game Awards, sponsored by Game Dev Graz and WKO, commenced. See here for more details and the full list of finalists. Also, check out the photos of the entire Button Festival.
Here are this year’s winners! Congrats to all!
EndCycle VS by 12B3 Games
Soul Passage by Emrah Özbay
On 8-9 May 2020, the button Festival will return to Graz for 2 days of gaming culture.
This year with Game Dev Graz will organize many subevents and programme points:
Schedule:
Friday:
Saturday:
Free Entry!
Schedule to be confirmed!!!
Speaker: Silvia Wipfler (tbc)
Speaker: Klemens Franz
“The Same Game” – Thoughts on how analogue games based on digital games work.
Klemens Franz was born in Graz. He studied at the University of Applied Sciences, Graz „Information Management“ and at the University of Tampere, Finland „Digital Games Research and Design“. For six years he worked as an Assistant for New Media at the FH Joanneum. In 2007 he started illustrating and designing analogue games. Since then he has worked on more than 250 games. He’s married, has 5 children and lives in the south-east of Austria.
Speaker: Daniel Pellicer (Mad Gear Games, SAGA Alumni): Developing Kemono Heroes: Journey to mt. Fuji
Daniel Pellicer is composer and programmer for Mad Gear Games. Since he was a kid he has been playing video games and now he enjoys also making them. His favourite console is Super Nintendo as he enjoyed a lot playing games like Terranigma, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana and Megaman X. He likes Sekiro.
tba
SAGA Award :: Fourth Styrian Games Award will be presented at Button Festival!
You can vote for the finalists to get the Audience Choice Award at the Game Dev area. The awards will be announced on Saturday at 20:00.
International Jury:
Get to know the five finalists here:
Title: Galactic Conflict 2 PvP Battle (Bitmen Studios)
The game is primarily a real-time multiplayer PvP experience in a Sci-Fi setting for iOS. It offers two interesting layers, the strategic layer (card management and deck building) and the tactical layer (PvP old-school RTS combat).
Players collect spaceships and create a deck of 8 ships, then test their strategy against other players in a fast-paced multiplayer real-time online experience. During the match, players earn resources (minerals) they can use to build ships from their previously created deck and try to destroy the enemy planet while defending their own.
Games yield rewards that can be used to improve the player’s fleet. They can unlock new ships or improve the ones they have already unlocked.
Title: B.i.t.Lock (Petorio)
B.i.t.Lock is a 2D puzzle game where you move different blocks in a grid-based system. These blocks can be shifted and shaped to create certain patterns, which are required to solve the puzzle. All blocks move at the same time in the same direction and interact with their environment. A puzzle is solved when the movable blocks fill out the required shape with a certain pattern.
You navigate through six different worlds with their own themes and mechanics and free the world bit by bit with each level solved. Each world has its own style of gameplay and requires different ways of thinking to solve the puzzles.
Title: Vintage Story (Anego Studios)
Vintage Story is an uncompromising wilderness survival sandbox game inspired by Lovecraftian horror themes. Find yourself in a ruined world reclaimed by nature and permeated by unnerving temporal disturbances. Relive the advent of human civilization, or take your own path.
Start out empty-handed and learn to survive by foraging, hunting, crafting, and fighting. Enter the stone age by knapping primitive stone tools and sculpting clay for essential pottery. Advance further by smelting copper for more powerful tools, creating bronze alloys, learning to work iron, and ultimately mechanizing common tasks.
Enter a vast open-world populated by a range of cute, strange, dangerous, and outright horrifying creatures. Vintage Story utilizes a great deal of procedural technology to create immensely diverse landscapes, climate conditions, and geological features to always keep exploration fresh and exciting.
Take on the role of a lost being in the body of a tall blue creature and discover the remnants of civilization. There is no linear storytelling; it is up to you to piece together who you are and what has happened from the little evidence that remains. During your journey, you will encounter wayward creatures, find old stories, battle temporal instability, and endure temporal storms.
Title: Weaving Tides (Follow the Feathers)
Weaving Tides is a charming single-player adventure set in a world of magic and textile. Ride on the backs of your carpet dragons and explore the stunning landscape soaring above and diving below the weave.
Call your Weaver and set out on a journey to explore ancient dungeons, solve puzzles, challenge quirky creatures and unravel the great mysteries of a long-forgotten past!
• Dive into an enchanting, woven world and reveal secret pathways.
• Stitch and cut your way through the textile landscape and wrap up your foes using your Weavers unique stitching abilities.
• Solve tricky textile puzzles that are scattered across the world.
• Conquer Zelda-like dungeons but beware of their fearsome guardians!
• Befriend different Weavers, choose the one that fits your playstyle.
• Outfit your Weavers with mystic embroideries to enhance their abilities.
• Uncover hidden mysteries packed in a charming story.
Title: Pixel Soldier (Accidently Awesome)
Pixel Soldier is a fast-paced game about fighting frantic bosses, while quickly dodging their attacks. Disregard gravity while walking on walls and jumping from one side of the room to another. With a minimalist yet dynamic 4-color aesthetic that doesn’t distract from the pure arcade action gameplay.
Get to know the five SAGA finalists of the previous year 2019. here: SAGA 2019
and also the finalists of 2018: SAGA 2018
and also the finalists of 2017: SAGA 2017
On 15-16 March 2019, the button Festival will return to Graz for 2 days of gaming culture.
This year with Game Dev Graz will organize many subevents and programme points:
Schedule:
Friday:
Saturday:
Free Entry!
Speaker: Hector Moran
Hector is a Freelance Character Artist from Mexico living in Austria. He has been working in the graphics and video games industry for more than a decade, much of that time as Lead Artist, later as Head of Art, and later as Freelancer.
Speaker: Klemens Franz
“Storytelling in Analogue Games” What we can learn from new narrative trends in an old medium
Klemens Franz was born in Graz. He studied at the University of Applied Sciences, Graz „Information Management“ and at the University of Tampere, Finland „Digital Games Research and Design“. For six years he worked as an Assistant for New Media at the FH Joanneum. In 2007 he started illustrating and designing analogue games. Since then he has worked on more than 250 games. He’s married, has 5 children and lives in the south-east of Austria.
Speaker: Wolfgang Tschauko (VR Giants):
“How the SAGA Award sparked my Career”
Accidently Awesome presents Pixel Soldier
Have a look at the game here.
Wolfgang Tschauko presents VR Giants
VR Giants is a local coop VR game in which one VR player and on gamepad player work together. The VR player controls a giant and must protect and support the dwarf who is controlled by the gamepad player. To solve the puzzles good communication and teamwork is demanded.
Have a look at the game here.
Follow the Feathers presents Weaving Tides
Weaving Tides is an isometric singleplayer adventure for PC/Mac. Ride dragon-like creatures and use their ribbon tail to stitch up torn areas in a completely woven world. Tie down quirky mobs and pull the right strings to master puzzles while you’re on your quest to unravel the whereabouts of your parents. Currently in alpha, planned release in Q1 2020.
Have a look at the game here.
Rarebyte presents We are screwed!
Have a look at the game here.
Tunadragon Studios present Summonent
A F2P Trading Card Game ARPG. We combine the best of all worlds with an infinite amount of cards and some innovation in gameplay. No waiting around for your opponent to finish his turn.
SAGA Award :: Second Styrian Games Award will be presented at Button Festival!
You can vote for the finalists to get the Audience Choice Award at the Game Dev area. The awards will be announced on Saturday at 20:00.
International Jury:
Ivan Buchta, Bohemia Interactive, Czech Republic
Tara J. Brannigan, 5CA, Netherlands
Saku Lehtinen, Remedy Entertainment, Finland
Sithe Ncube, Ubongo Game Lab, A MAZE Johannesburg, Zambia
Philomena Schwab, Stray Fawn Studio, Switzerland
Get to know the five SAGA finalists here:
Title: Hamlet’s Breed (playpublic)
Hamlet’s Breed is an AR Game where you meet real people which long time ago passed away, depending on your geo-location
“Death divides us, Hamlet’s Breed unites us. AR for the gone.”
Title: WHAT WE LEAVE BEHIND
WHAT WE LEAVE BEHIND is a story-driven roguelike game with point-and-click adventure elements. The game is set in a fictional japanese city where time and space are out of balance. Thus, time only moves when the player moves and the characters and layout of the city change randomly everytime the player dies. To escape this violent place, the player has to either sneak around enemies or fight them by combining items to create chain reactions. Furthermore, all characters have their own branching dialogue and talking to them may result in them joining forces with the player. Characters will remember how the player treats them and interacting with their storylines will have an influence on the final ending of the game.
Title: Fantastic Fetus (Fantastic Humans)
Fantastic Fetus is a pregnancy simulator in a Tamagotchi style, where you are taking care of a pregnant woman and create your own dream fetus with SUPERPOWERS. You as a player will be able to create an enormous number of unique customised fetuses and unlock 6 different endings according to your decisions.
Fantastic Fetus is inspired by the Black Protest movement in Poland which was provoked by the new proposition of reproductions laws created in 2016 – the anti-abortion bill. Polish reproduction laws are next to Malta the strictest anti-abortion laws existing in the European Union. This game will let you experience a female perspective.
Title: Sikanda (Dyadic Games)
Sikanda is a 3D top-down Action-Adventure with RPG elements, inspired by famous Japanese SNES classics of the 90s. The game takes place on a fantasy island called “Galintrea” and tells the story of a young hero who incidentially found an ancient pendant named “Sikanda”. Throughout the adventure, the hero acquires several skills for “Sikanda” to transform it into powerful weapons and tools. All of them are invaluable instruments in order to fight their way through dungeons and encountering fierce enemies. As the very existence of the island gets threatened by a group of sinister strangers, the hero not only will have to accept that “Sikanda” is the only way to stop them but also that there is a connection between their world, the ancient relic and the hero’s own fate.
Title: Kemono Heroes (Mad Gear Games)
Join 3 friends in an arcade-platformer game like those you used to play in the arcade rooms. Every character has different abilities and there are different weapons to unlock and upgrade. You’ll also fight giant monsters at the end of each world, beat them and reach the final boss before the time goes up and the curse becomes permanent!
Get to know the five SAGA finalists of the previous year 2018. here: SAGA 2018
and also the finalists of 2017: SAGA 2017
We’re proud to announce that this year during Button Festival the third SAGA Awards with a total value of EUR 1500 sponsored by UBIT/WKO and Game Dev Graz will be awarded!
This was the SAGA 2018.
Here are the details:
** Grand Prize **
* Audience Choice Award *
* Local Star Award *
There will be five named finalists selected by an international jury for the Grand Prize. Finalists will be given free passes to the Button Festival and space at the festival to present their games. The Audience Choice Award will be voted at the Button Festival by the audience of the festival from the finalists. The Local Star Award will be awarded to the best game from developers from/living in Styria.
Submit your game pitches here: SAGA 2019 Google Form
The winners will be announced at the Button Festival.
Criteria: The competition is also open for entries in the prototyping stage, and finalists will be mainly judged based on their potential. Submissions must include a 2-3 minute pitch-video including gameplay of the game. Games must be in a playable stage for the Button Festival and presenting the game live at the button festival.
Open to all independent game developers worldwide. Award winners from previous years are not eligible for re-submission.
Deadlines:
Feb 24, Submission Deadline
Mar 3, Finalists Announced
March 16, Award Ceremony @ Button Festival (15.-16 in Graz)
International Jury:
Ivan Buchta, Bohemia Interactive, Czech Republic
Tara J. Brannigan, 5CA, Netherlands
Saku Lehtinen, Remedy Entertainment, Finland
Sithe Ncube, Ubongo Game Lab, A MAZE Johannesburg, Zambia
Philomena Schwab, Stray Fawn Studio, Switzerland
Finalists 2019:
SAGA Finalists:: These five games will be exhibited in the Game Dev area as well @ button 2019:
SAGA Award :: Third Styrian Games Award will be presented at Button Festival!
Details Button festival: https://gamedevgraz.at/button2019
Get to know the five finalists here:
Title: Hamlet’s Breed (playpublic)
Hamlet’s Breed is an AR Game where you meet real people which long time ago passed away, depending on your geo-location
“Death divides us, Hamlet’s Breed unites us. AR for the gone.”
Title: WHAT WE LEAVE BEHIND
WHAT WE LEAVE BEHIND is a story-driven roguelike game with point-and-click adventure elements. The game is set in a fictional japanese city where time and space are out of balance. Thus, time only moves when the player moves and the characters and layout of the city change randomly everytime the player dies. To escape this violent place, the player has to either sneak around enemies or fight them by combining items to create chain reactions. Furthermore, all characters have their own branching dialogue and talking to them may result in them joining forces with the player. Characters will remember how the player treats them and interacting with their storylines will have an influence on the final ending of the game.
Title: Fantastic Fetus (Fantastic Humans)
Fantastic Fetus is a pregnancy simulator in a Tamagotchi style, where you are taking care of a pregnant woman and create your own dream fetus with SUPERPOWERS. You as a player will be able to create an enormous number of unique customised fetuses and unlock 6 different endings according to your decisions.
Fantastic Fetus is inspired by the Black Protest movement in Poland which was provoked by the new proposition of reproductions laws created in 2016 – the anti-abortion bill. Polish reproduction laws are next to Malta the strictest anti-abortion laws existing in the European Union. This game will let you experience a female perspective.
Title: Sikanda (Dyadic Games)
Sikanda is a 3D top-down Action-Adventure with RPG elements, inspired by famous Japanese SNES classics of the 90s. The game takes place on a fantasy island called “Galintrea” and tells the story of a young hero who incidentially found an ancient pendant named “Sikanda”. Throughout the adventure, the hero acquires several skills for “Sikanda” to transform it into powerful weapons and tools. All of them are invaluable instruments in order to fight their way through dungeons and encountering fierce enemies. As the very existence of the island gets threatened by a group of sinister strangers, the hero not only will have to accept that “Sikanda” is the only way to stop them but also that there is a connection between their world, the ancient relic and the hero’s own fate.
Title: Kemono Heroes (Mad Gear Games)
Join 3 friends in an arcade-platformer game like those you used to play in the arcade rooms. Every character has different abilities and there are different weapons to unlock and upgrade. You’ll also fight giant monsters at the end of each world, beat them and reach the final boss before the time goes up and the curse becomes permanent!
Get to know the five SAGA finalists of the previous year 2018. here: SAGA 2018
and also the finalists of 2017: SAGA 2017
2018 marked the second time Game Dev Graz awarded the Styrian Game Awards (SAGA). Check out the full list of finalists and more details, and have a look below to see this year’s winners.
There are also photos of the award ceremony and winners, and a local article from Screaming Pixels (german).
From Graz with love: @wobblersound and @Deohvi collect the saga award for Path Out at this year's @button_Festival! pic.twitter.com/3Raq5cWnbS
— Georg Hobmeier (@MercuryLegba) March 17, 2018
Wuhuuu! Asymmetric just won the SAGA Local Star Award from @GameDevGraz at the @button_Festival in Graz! #gamedev #indiegame pic.twitter.com/MfLcsXY41m
— Klemens 🥳 (@klemensstrasser) March 17, 2018
Once Upon a Nightmare has won the „SAGA Audience Choice Award“ from @GameDevGraz at the @button_festival last weekend. Thanks for the great support! #onceuponanightmare #gamedev #indiedev #madewithunity pic.twitter.com/GtONRrWoPy
— Once Upon a Nightmare (@onceuanightmare) March 25, 2018
On 16-17 March 2018, the button Festival will return to Graz for 2 days of gaming culture.
This year with Game Dev Graz will organize many subevents and programme points:
Schedule:
Friday:
Saturday:
Free Entry!
Schedule tba!
Accidently Awesome presents Pixel Soldier
Pixel Soldier is a fast-paced game about fighting frantic bosses, while quickly dodging their attacks. Disregard gravity while walking on walls and jumping from one side of the room to another. With a minimalist yet dynamic 4-color aesthetic that doesn’t distract from the pure arcade action gameplay.
Have a look at the game here.
Giggly Mill Productions presents The Tower of Egbert
The sorcerer Egbert needs a new home. Unfortunately he is too clumsy to build it himself. That’s why he opens a portal to the magic device of his new helper – the player. The Tower of Egbert is a physics-based tower building game with a magic twist. Unlike in most building games, there is almost no limit on how many elements can be used to construct a tower. It’s possible to use thousands of blocks (bricks, arcs, roofs, decoration items, …) to build quite impressive towers and discover interesting areas as the buildings grow towards the endless vastness of space.
Have a look at the game here.
Rarebyte presents Seeds of Sol
Stranded in a long-forgotten corner of space and time – and your best hope for survival is an AI-companion with multiple personalities… so what could go wrong?
Have a look at the game here.
Wolfgang Tschauko presents Goliath VR
Goliath VR is a local multi player game that makes use of one player’s body to extend the level for the other player to explore and to overcoming the obstacles of the game. One player plays the giant Goliath who is immortal the other player plays David who is small and vulnerable. Together Goliath and David must collect coins and keys to escape the lava cave.
Have a look at the game here.
ILIKESCIFI Games presents Space Avenger & Space Cowboy
Space Avenger is super fast paced top down arena shooter that will soon be available on Steam and other platforms. We combined a decent story with fun- action-packed gameplay. Space Cowoboy is a long time ILIKESCIFI project. It combines a top down space exploration game with procedurally generated platformer sequences on planets & space stations. Be the Captain of your own topdown pixel spaceship, discover new galaxies, trade, jump & gun & be like a leaf on the wind… To sum it up: Spaceship in your pocket!
Have a look at the game here.
Tuna Dragon Studios presents Summonent
A truly free to play digital trading card game with an auction house and actual trading in it. You duell with your opponent in a 1v1 match. You each summon hoards of minions, cast powerfull spells or change the board with unique enchantments to kill your opponent.
Have a look at the game here.
Free Monkeys present Monks Island
Monks Island is a VR experience where you help to prevent a little village from nocturnal intruders. Chop down trees, light up fireplaces and build some good defense to keep away the threat.
Have a look at the game here.
SAGA Award :: Second Styrian Games Award will be presented at Button Festival!
You can vote for the finalists to get the Audience Choice Award at the Game Dev area. The awards will be announced on Saturday 20:00.
International Jury:
Tara J. Brannigan, Flaregames, DE
Foaad Khosmoos, Global Game Jam, Cal Poly, US
Sithe Ncube, Ubongo Game Lab, A MAZE Johannesburg, Zambia
Dan Da Rocha, Toxic Games, UK
Philomena Schwab, Stray Fawn Studio, CH
Get to know the five SAGA finalists here:
Title: Kemono Heroes (Mad Gear Games)
Tsukigami, the Moon God is mad at the inhabitants of the forest and has transformed all of them into stone. The 4 Animal Ninja Masters are the only ones that can fight against Tsukigami’s hordes of evil spirit minions to reach Mt Fuji and confront him in time to break his magic Spell.
Join 3 friends in an arcade-platformer game like those you used to play in the arcade rooms. Every character has different abilities and there are different weapons to unlock and upgrade. You’ll also fight giant monsters at the end of each world, beat them and reach the final boss before the time goes up and the curse becomes permanent!
1-4 local coop game
The game is different every single day of the year!
Lots of fun and action!
4 different characters with different abilities
Unlockable weapons & powers
5 worlds with 3 sub-stages each
Title: Asymmetric (Klemens Strasser)
Asymmetric – Enhanced Edition is a heartwarming puzzle game coming to the Nintendo Switch later this year. Groopert and Groopine, two poor creatures, were trapped and torn apart. You have to reunite them by guiding them through labyrinths. Because the characters share a deep connection they can only move at the same time, but always in opposite directions.? In more then 70 levels, Groopert and Groopine must face off many obstacles – from holes to portals over speed pads. This includes obstacles never seen before in a previous version of Asymmetric. Also new is the addition of a local multiplayer mode. Two players are confronted with different levels – whoever can adapt to the different challenges faster wins. ??With an charming art style, challenging puzzles and a beautiful piano soundtrack, Asymmetric – Enhanced Edition will try to find its way into the the heart of many Switch players later this year.
Title: Path Out (Abdullah Karam / Causa Creations)
Title: Once Upon a Nightmare (Manuel Metzger, Florin Metzler, Valentin Winkler, Patrick Zimmermann)
Once Upon a Nightmare is a story driven 2D-platformer with puzzle elements. Join a little girl on her journey through her nightmares. Feel the terror Emily experiences, as she is haunted by her fears, feel Emily’s courage, as she finds the strength to stand up to them and feel her relief, as she finally prevails over them.
Title: Pomg (Stuffed Wombat)
Pomg is a new take on one of the oldest video games.
You are the ball.
Trapped in an endless hell of being pushed around, you finally take matters into your own hands and try to escape.
This will not be an easy journey, but with the help of determination, reflexes and a single button, you at least have a chanche at freedom.
This year, the button: Festival of Gaming Culture took place from May 19 – 20, 2017 at Seifenfabrik Graz. For two days, this event provided the perfect opportunity to discover all aspects of digital and analog gaming culture – visitors could not only try out retro games, board games as well as the newest video and console games but also participate in cosplay competitions and e-sports tournaments and attend expert talks about game development.
As part of this year’s Button Festival, the first Styrian Game Awards (SAGA) sponsored by UBIT/WKO and Game Dev Graz were awarded. An international jury has chosen “Drone Swarm” from stillalive studios to be awarded with the grand prize of 1000 €. Moreover, all visitors of the button festival had the chance to play and vote from five selected finalists, out of which Goliath VR by Wolfgang Tschauko won the Audience Choice Award.
Additionally, Game Dev Graz was proud to host the “Talking Dev” series at the button festival, with invited talks from international experts in game development. On Saturday evening, Tadej Kupcic and Danilo Kapel from Cowardly Creations (AT/SLO) started off with their talk “Uncanny Valley – How not to make a game”, followed by Thomas Reisenegger from ICO Partners (UK) who talked about “Games PR for Small Studios: Little Money, Maximum Impact”. This was concluded by an open discussion panel about “The Future of „Us“ ” with members from Game Development Graz.
All in all, the button festival 2017 once again was a huge success – it offered a lot of valuable experiences in gameplay, insights into game development and definitely showcased the broad variety and engagement of the local community.
We hope to see you next year at button festival 2018!
Header photo by Matthias Rauch, www.mrfoto.at
We’re proud to announce that this year during Button Festival the second SAGA Awards will a total value of EUR 1500 sponsored by UBIT/WKO and Game Dev Graz will be awarded!
See the winners here: SAGA 2018 Winners
Here are the details:
** Grand Prize **
* Audience Choice Award *
* Local Star Award *
There will be five named finalists selected by an international jury for the Grand Prize. Finalists will be given free passes to the Button Festival and space at the festival to present their games. The Audience Choice Award will be voted at the Button Festival by the audience of the festival from the finalists. The Local Star Award will be awarded to the best game from developers from/living in Styria.
Submit your game pitches here: https://goo.gl/forms/LutDN2lgZABHjwHl1
The winners will be announced at the Button Festival.
Criteria: The competition is also open for entries in the prototyping stage, and finalists will be mainly judged based on their potential. Submissions must include a 2-3 minute pitch-video including gameplay of the game. Games must be in a playable stage for the Button Festival and presenting the game live at the button festival.
Open to all independent game developers worldwide. Award winners from previous years are not eligible for-resubmission.
Deadlines:
Feb 14, Submission Deadline
Feb 17, Finalists Announced
March 17, Award Ceremony @ Button Festival (16.-17 in Graz)
International Jury:
Tara J. Brannigan, Flaregames, DE
Foaad Khosmoos, Global Game Jam, Cal Poly, US
Sithe Ncube, Ubongo Game Lab, A MAZE Johannesburg, Zambia
Dan Da Rocha, Toxic Games, UK
Philomena Schwab, Stray Fawn Studio, CH
Finalists 2018:
SAGA Finalists:: These five games will be exhibited in the Game Dev area as well @ button 2018:
SAGA Award :: Second Styrian Games Award will be presented at Button Festival!
Get to know the five SAGA finalists here: https://gamedevgraz.at/de/game-development-graz-button-festival-2018/
Get to know the five finalists here:
Title: Kemono Heroes (Mad Gear Games)
Tsukigami, the Moon God is mad at the inhabitants of the forest and has transformed all of them into stone. The 4 Animal Ninja Masters are the only ones that can fight against Tsukigami’s hordes of evil spirit minions to reach Mt Fuji and confront him in time to break his magic Spell.
Join 3 friends in an arcade-platformer game like those you used to play in the arcade rooms. Every character has different abilities and there are different weapons to unlock and upgrade. You’ll also fight giant monsters at the end of each world, beat them and reach the final boss before the time goes up and the curse becomes permanent!
1-4 local coop game
The game is different every single day of the year!
Lots of fun and action!
4 different characters with different abilities
Unlockable weapons & powers
5 worlds with 3 sub-stages each
Title: Asymmetric (Klemens Strasser)
Asymmetric – Enhanced Edition is a heartwarming puzzle game coming to the Nintendo Switch later this year. Groopert and Groopine, two poor creatures, were trapped and torn apart. You have to reunite them by guiding them through labyrinths. Because the characters share a deep connection they can only move at the same time, but always in opposite directions.? In more then 70 levels, Groopert and Groopine must face off many obstacles – from holes to portals over speed pads. This includes obstacles never seen before in a previous version of Asymmetric. Also new is the addition of a local multiplayer mode. Two players are confronted with different levels – whoever can adapt to the different challenges faster wins. ??With an charming art style, challenging puzzles and a beautiful piano soundtrack, Asymmetric – Enhanced Edition will try to find its way into the the heart of many Switch players later this year.
Title: Path Out (Abdullah Karam / Causa Creations)
Title: Once Upon a Nightmare (Manuel Metzger, Florin Metzler, Valentin Winkler, Patrick Zimmermann)
Once Upon a Nightmare is a story driven 2D-platformer with puzzle elements. Join a little girl on her journey through her nightmares. Feel the terror Emily experiences, as she is haunted by her fears, feel Emily’s courage, as she finds the strength to stand up to them and feel her relief, as she finally prevails over them.
Title: Pomg (Stuffed Wombat)
Pomg is a new take on one of the oldest video games.
You are the ball.
Trapped in an endless hell of being pushed around, you finally take matters into your own hands and try to escape.
This will not be an easy journey, but with the help of determination, reflexes and a single button, you at least have a chanche at freedom.
see also finalists 2017: https://gamedevgraz.at/de/saga17
On 19-20 May 2017, the button Festival will return to Graz for 2 days of gaming culture.
This year with Game Dev Graz will organize many subevents and programme points:
Schedule:
Friday:
Saturday:
You need a button ticket + extra limited ticket for the talking dev event (3€)
Reserve a ticket now: tba
Schedule tba!
Title: Thomas Reisenegger (ICO Partners, Brighton, UK): Games PR for Small Studios: Little Money, Maximum Impact
The number of game releases is skyrocketing. As a result, reaching players and getting media, Youtube and streamer coverage is becoming simultaneously more important and more difficult. This is especially true for small teams with limited resources who must pick their PR battles wisely. This talk will pinpoint the most effective means of communicating with press and players, and will provide tools and tips for small teams and solo developers to apply to their games in order to be heard internationally.
T
homas Reisenegger works at the Brighton-based PR and consulting agency ICO Partners as a PR manager for games such as ‘League of Legends’, ‘Smite’, ‘Paladins’, ‘Endless Space 2’ and various indie games like ‘The Lion’s Song’ ‘Blackwood Crossing’, or ‘A Normal Lost Phone’. He also likes sharing tips of the fine art of PR by giving talks at events such as GDC, IndieCade Europe and Digital Taipei. In his free time, he enjoys going to gigs (a lot) and tries to be Scott Pilgrim (even more).
Title: Tadej Kupcic, Danilo Kapel (Cowardly Creations, AT/SLO): Uncanny Valley – How not to make a game
The developers of Uncanny Valley discuss how the game was a moderate success, even with their inexperienced development process of compromising ideas to release the game and marketing it with a zero budget.
Tadej Kupcic started in the industry by forming an independent company, where he worked as a programmer and game designer on self published independe
nt titles. One of the titles, Uncanny Valley, was received with positive criticism and good sales on Steam and was later ported to Playstation 4, Vita and Xbox One. Currently he is working as a junior Game Designer at an Austrian company Bongfish, where he is developing an unannounced AAA game. In addition he is continuing his indie career by creating a new game called Jim the Dim Reaper.
Danilo Kapel is a Slovenian based composer and sound designer, known for his work on the indie survival horror game Uncanny Valley by Cowardly Creations and Kresnik, an award winning series of short films based on Slavic mythology. He is currently shaping the soundscape and music of Cowardly Creations next project, Jim the Dim Reaper
Team Phoenix presents Phoenix
‘Find each other, stick together, survive it all!’ describes the core principles of Phoenix. Our unique setup enables VR-Players to not only experience a game themselves, but share their experiences with non-VR-Players. Only if the VR-Player does not neglect their duty of helping their fellow PC-Players and only if the PC-Players decide to work together, can they outrun their demise.
Watch the game trailer here.
doorfortyfour presents MarZ Rising
MarZ Rising is a tactical base defense game, in which the fight against the undead decides about life on Mars. Real Time Strategy meets Tower Defense. Build your martian base and defend it from the evil. The player guides his crew through 20 breathtaking missions and slowly tracks down the mystery of the undead. Meanwhile, the gameplay challenges the creativity and responsiveness of the player.
Watch the game trailer here.
Lost in the Garden presents LIGHTFIELD
LIGHTFIELD is a crossover between classical arcade racing and free flying. It’s like wall running with a space ship, like a hyperfuturistic and omnidirectional version of parkour. A racing game with no predefined roads, no invisible walls or guide rails.
Watch the game trailer here.
Long Haired Llamas presents Project L.L.A.M.A.
This game (formerly known as AiRena) is a fast paced local multiplayer party game. 2-4 players can battle each other. The ultimate goal of this instant kill game is to be the first to reach 10 kills through head jumps or items. Gather your friends in front of a screen just like in the good old console times.
Watch the game trailer here.
Rarebyte presents PIN Racer
PIN Racer is a futuristic multiplayer hoverboard racing game for 2-4 players providing fast-paced racing action using REAL hoverboards!
Watch the game trailer here.
Bongfish GmbH presents Smurfs’ Village
The evil wizard Gargamel and his ever present cat companion, Azrael, have finally found the Smurfs’ village and have scattered our lovable blue friends far and wide throughout the enchanted forest. Come along with familiar friends, like Papa Smurf, Smurfette, Brainy, Jokey, Greedy and the rest of the smurf family, as they guide you on a family fun adventure to build a new forest village for the Smurfs to call home.
Watch the game trailer here.
SAGA Award :: First Styrian Games Award will be presented at Button Festival!
You can vote for the finalists to get the Audience Choice Award at the Game Dev area. The awards will be announced on Saturday 20:00. Get to know the five SAGA finalists here:
Title: A Hole New World (Mad Gear Games)
The city is being invaded by monsters from the Upside Down World! You, the Potion Master, must defeat evil all alone, with no tutorials or “Easy Mode” to assist you. You’ll have to rely on the help of Fäy, your companion fairy, and your potions! Jump and shoot like they did in the good ol’ NES days. Fight enemies in your world and in the Upside Down World! Defeat gigantic bosses and acquire their powers!
Title: Subwords (Klemens Strasser)
Subwords is a fun mix between a trivia and a word game for iOS. Words are split into fragments and you have to put them back together. To make it easier, the words always correspond to a specific topic. There are 30 topics available, which range from animals to video game series and even greek history. The game features two different game modes: Classic and challenge. In classic, you simply have to put all words back together until no fragments are left. Challenge mode on the other hand gives you three minutes to find as many words as possible, while new fragments constantly appear on the screen. Subwords also gives you the possibility to challenge your friends online via GameCenter or locally using a single iPad.
Title: Drone Swarm (stillalive studios)
In Drone Swarm you control a swarm of thousands of drones to obliterate your enemies. You are the captain of the only human deep-space vessel tasked to find New Earth. Explore an unknown part of the galaxy filled with different aliens, dangers and opportunities. Establish first contact and use every means you deem necessary to save mankind. It’s your choice! Beware though! The swarm has it’s own will… The game is taking the player on a journey into the dark. His choices have direct impact on the game world and since the universe isn’t black or white, they always have a downside. The easy choice will take the player down a dark spiral to losing his human moral and becoming the most feared warrior of a secret alien mind.
Title: Goliath VR (Wolfgang Tschauko)
Goliath VR is a local multi player game that makes use of one player’s real physical body to extend the level for the other player to explore. The two players are named Goliath and David and the playing experience for each of the players is completely different. Goliath controls a real time created body representation by moving his own body. David is controlled with mouse and keyboard like in any Jump&Run game. The displayed body of Goliath can be used by David as an extension of the level. Goliath can help David to cross abysses or reach higher platforms. David is highly vulnerable to fire and other dangers so Goliath must help to protect David by warding off fireballs or lava streams. Both are locked up in a lava cave, and only by working together and collecting coins and keys they can manage to open the final door to freedom.
Title: Pixel Soldier (Accidently Awesome Studios)
Pixel Soldier is a GameBoy-styled fast-paced Run ‘n’ Gun. Shoot and dash your way through various stages and fight frantic bosses. Pixel Soldier started as a submission for GameBoy Jam 5 in 2016 and has been in development since then. We aim to bring it to mobile as the GameBoy controls lend itself perfectly for mobile devices.
Game Dev Days Graz is a community event for everyone who is interested in game development: connecting industry, indie, academia and research! 🙂
Organized by GameDev Graz this event is taking place for the first time ever in August 2016 in Graz/Austria!
The event is free to attend, but the number of places is limited and advance registration is required.
Game Dev Days Graz 2016
Sat 27 Aug 2016 09:30-18:00
Lecture Theatre i7,
Graz University of Technology,
Inffeldgasse 25d, 1st floor,
8010 Graz
Sun 28 Aug 2016 Social event: Wine tasting tour (details tba)
Details: gddg.gamedevgraz.at
#gddg16