For the third year in a row, a delegation of Belgian studios was present at Gamescom, the largest video games event in Europe. Participation went up a gear this year, and is set to continue for years to come.
Belgian Games Stand
When the project began in 2015, it was an initiative driven by the desire of everyone involved in video games in Belgium to showcase our country’s achievements. This year, with the support of Digital Wallonia and Flanders DC, the ambition and dimensions of the Belgian stand at the event in Cologne were quite impressive.
Between 22 and 26 August 2017, no fewer than 17 projects were presented, there was an area dedicated exclusively to VR (Virtual Reality) on the “Belgian Games” stand, and most importantly, an exhibition space that has more than doubled over the course of 3 events, confirming the growing capacity of this delegation.
In terms of the contributions of Walloon studios, it was all about variety. As it did last year, the Haute Ecole Albert Jacquard (with a programme dedicated to developing video games) offered two project promoters the opportunity to be present in Germany: Vidock Studio and Awble & Aigo.
About Walloon studios
Vidock Studio
Vidock Studio offers a number of VR (Virtual Reality) games. One of them is very local, immersing the player in a fight between St George and the Dragon, a nod to the Doudou in Mons. German and international visitors will no doubt have appreciated the encounter, even if they didn’t understand all the cultural references. Vidock also presented Squidyscape, a game involving a scientist trapped in the body of a squid who has to try and escape using his tentacles. These two games, developed on HTC’s Vive platform, mainly serve as a demonstration to win over potential clients in preparation for future collaboration.
Awble & Aigo
The other project promoted by students, Awble & Aigo, is based on collaboration, as players are connected (virtually in the game) by a rope, and have to help each other to make their way through the different levels. This collaborative approach was one of a kind at the event. This game was developed as part of a (4th year) course focusing on video games at HEAJ. Whilst creating this game, the students were following an business course at the same time (in particular thanks to Linkube).
Apocalypse Hunters
In 2016, PokemonGo was a huge hit. Along the same lines and with the same mechanisms (as well as those used by internationally renowned Hearthstone), work has been going on for several years to develop Apocalypse Hunters, a virtual, interactive card game that uses AR (Augmented Reality). One particular feature is that the actual weather has a significant impact on the playing conditions. For example, if it’s hot outside, players will receive more “fire” cards, while if it is raining, they will get more “aquatic” cards. Significantly, Apocalypse Hunters has snapped up a partnership with Chinese Internet giant Ali Baba.
Black Land Studio
Black Land Studio presented a prototype (work to develop the game began just two months ago) of Knightmares. A game inspired by the personal experience of one of the founders, who was explaining night terrors to his son, saying that there were cuddly toys there to protect him. In the game, the player controls a team of cuddly toy animals responsible for fighting the creatures of nightmares who threaten a child’s sleep until dawn. The evolving fighting system and random level generation offer players an experience that is constantly changing.
Fishing Cactus
As they are every year, the “godfathers” of video games in Wallonia, Fishing Cactus, were also there with the Belgian delegation to present their new game: Shift Quantum. After buying the licence for a game launched in the 2000s, the Mons-based company invites players into a world that is constantly moving, switching from a “white” world to a “black” world, where holes become mountains and vice-versa, hence the word “shift” in the name. Fishing Cactus was also in the entertainment zone to promote this game, aiming to get as much feedback as possible from players for this, the first time the game has been introduced to the public.
All of these studios were able to demonstrate their creativity and inventiveness, and above all, the Belgian stand managed to convey the scope of the projects that can be achieved in our country. The use of advanced technologies such as AR and VR are incredibly promising for the future.
There is no doubt that these studios will have been able to benefit from Gamescom to enter into and consolidate partnerships. A number of big broadcasters (mainly from Asia) were regular visitors at the Belgian stand.