I’ve wanted to start a DevLog for quite a while now. After all, there is so much going on here that from the outside it may not be easy to tell what we are actually up to. And the official project showcases on our website or LinkedIn posts only show one side of the story. The kick-off of our new project about the Hannoverscher Bahnhof finally gave us a good reason to start, because this project will be with us for the next two years.
With our DevLog “Off The Record” we want to offer a regular look behind the scenes. To share half-finished sketches, or ideas that are still in development. And to let you take part in the making of our games, step by step. We’ll see where the journey takes us.
New project about the Hannoverscher Bahnhof in Hamburg
Since July we have been working on our newest project: Different Tracks – a digital game commemorating the victims of the deportations from the Hannoverscher Bahnhof.
From 1940 onwards, thousands of Jews, Sinti and Roma were deported from the former Hannoverscher Bahnhof in Hamburg to Poland; only a few survived. On the grounds of today’s Lohsepark, name plaques commemorate the deportees, but the opening of a planned documentation centre has been delayed for years. In cooperation with the Foundation of Hamburg Memorials and Learning Centres Commemorating the Victims of Nazi Crimes, the game steps into this gap and will open up a new, interactive approach to the complex biographies of the deportees.
Our goal: not an “educational game”, but first and foremost a high-quality entertainment experience. And at the same time an independent digital contribution to the overall culture of remembrance around the Hannoverscher Bahnhof. We are currently right in the middle of the concept phase: we are creating game designs, defining the art style and developing the story.
The idea: in the year 2020, Hanna finds a mysterious device in the attic, the “Visitus” (working title), which allows her to watch scenes from the past. From this unfolds a gameplay for which we draw inspiration from Return of the Obra Dinn and The Case of the Golden Idol.
The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) and implemented by the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future (EVZ) as part of the funding programme Education Agenda NS-Injustice.
Parliament of the Future
The Parliament of the Future (Parlament der Zukunft) brings climate policy and global future scenarios into the classroom in a playful way. Students take over ministries of different world regions and make political decisions up to the year 2100. A scientifically grounded model developed by Earth4All calculates the effects on more than 20 factors, including temperature development, access to food and water, and the Sustainable Development Goals. This sparks discussions about interdependencies, budgets and political priorities.
Technically, there is a special challenge behind it: so that the model can be calculated as quickly as possible during play, we manually ported the global simulation model Earth4All to C++ – including more than 3,000 formulas and our own logic for mathematical integration.
From Kappeln to Broken Tide
Our indie game in development has a new name: Broken Tide! Thanks to a prototype funding by the WTSH which concluded in February, we were able to develop a playable prototype of the game, helping us to validate the game design and story concepts we had developed earlier. This also allowed us to reach a big milestone: announcing the game on Steam, complete with a small teaser trailer!
We also had the chance to show an early demo at Baltic Games Fest and NEW GAME in Neumünster. It was the first time we could put the game into the hands of players outside our team. The feedback was incredibly helpful for us. It showed us which parts of the game already communicate well, where players get curious and where we still have some work to do.
A big thank you to everyone who stopped by, played Broken Tide and shared their thoughts with us! Learn more about Broken Tide here! And wishlist the game on Steam, that would help us tremendously.
A new face for Off The Beaten Track
After almost nine years of company history, it was time for a new face. At the beginning of the year we overhauled our entire corporate identity – more playful, clearer, more professional.
Our old look was not only a bit dated, it also had legibility issues. All too often our logo was read as “FF The Beaten Track”. The process took several years, with the first attempts and thoughts about a redesign going back to 2017. We struggled with it.
Part of the deliberation was also whether we needed a new name. “Off The Beaten Track” is long, and some people find it hard to remember or to spell. But in a workshop with Karoline Maselka the decisive thought emerged: if we really are the ones working on new, creative ideas “off the beaten track”, then we should stand by it. And carry the name with confidence. With this newly awakened self-confidence, it was easy for us to untie the knot and find a new look.
So: we are Off The Beaten Track. Confident. Different. Creative. We develop fresh solutions to make complex topics playable.
See you next time
Our first DevLog shows: there is a lot in motion. After we were able to finish several projects and close some chapters recently, the coming months will be all about the Hannoverscher Bahnhof project.
We are looking forward to sharing more about our game design ideas in the next DevLog. And there will probably be quite a bit to report from gamescom. Until then – follow us on social media to stay up to date!
