Live Pitch of Austrian Games 2019: Game Prototypes

SUBOTRON pro games

Timetable:
16:00-18:00 Playtesting of Game Prototypes
19:00 Start Live Pitches
22:00 Networking Party

To get feedback on a game in development, you would usually ask your (favourable) friends or beta testers rather than impartial industry keyplayers who can make a firm but fair assessment, put their finger on inaccuracies and errors so as to point game developers in the right direction. That’s exactly why SUBOTRON founded the series “Live Pitch of Austrian Games” in 2012.

Nomination with an ensuing Pitching Workshop

Out of a call, the jurors have picked five games whose developers were provided with a Pitching Workshop. The workshop serves not only as a preparation for this night, but also as an ideal communication training for the current and future games projects.

Agenda

Each representative of the nominated games is given ten minutes maximum to convince the three jurors of their project who give immediate feedback. Not only the presentation is being evaluated, but also the game itself. Was the teaser significant? Is the game play conclusive and the target group identified? What is the prospect on the aimed at market? Are the conceptions regarding financing models, marketing strategies and sales promising?
Would the developer be able to tease an AAA publisher in the elevator of a conference hotel so he decides to arrange an appointment? Does the game have a USP that makes investors and business angels prick up their ears?

Moderation: Robert Glashüttner (ORF/FM4)

Jury

Daniel Da Rocha, Founder and Game Director at Ten Hut Games (London)

Dan, an award-winning “Forbes 30 Under 30” 2019 games designer, is the Founder and Game Director at Ten Hut Games. He broke into the games industry straight from University with hit indie game, “Q.U.B.E.”, and was able to pay back its investment within 4 days of the game being on sale. Since then, he has grown a full-time game studio and after 8 years in the industry, has released several critically acclaimed and commercially successful titles such as “Q.U.B.E. 1”, “Q.U.B.E. 2” and “Hue” across 8 gaming platforms. Dan is also a regular attendee of game conferences across the globe, doing public speaking, offering advice and inspiring the next generation of game developers.

Julia Murczek, CEO at Lost in the Garden

Julia Murczek studied MultimediaArt in Salzburg and started her career as an FX artists at ScanlineVFX in Munich, working on films like ‘Iron Man’, ‘Narnia: Prince Caspian’ or ‘Wickie’. After moving back to Vienna she started focussing on realtime productions and got more and more involved in game development. In 2016 she founded Lost in the Garden and released the game LIGHTFIELD (PS4, XBOX One, Steam). Apart from her work at Lost in the Garden, she gives lectures in the master’s program at the University of Applied Sciences Salzburg and at the FH St.Pölten.

Peter Ehardt, CCO at Iron Mountain Interactive

Peter is Co-Founder/COO of Iron Mountain Interactive and Lead Producer of “Steel Circus”. Since 2001, he has worked on numerous games throughout his career such as “GTA3”, “GTA: Vice City”, “Max Payne 1 & 2”, “Manhunt 2”, “Panzer Tactics”, “Cursed Mountain”, “Legacy Quest” and many more. He did sound design / producing audio and SFX for “Ride to Hell”, “Legacy Quest: Rise of Heroes” and “Steel Circus”. Leading various teams in different sizes at Neo Software, Rockstar Vienna, Sproing, Socialspiel, and Iron Mountain Interactive throughout all development cycles while executing individual management methods have helped him to gain an understanding of how individuals and teams influence each other and what it means to create and maintain a competitive product for an everchanging market.

Prizes

The sponsor Austria Wirtschaftsservice funds the winning project with a prize money of

€ 3000.-

Furthermore, apart from the previously taken Pitching Workshop, the winner not only benefits from the straight and blunt professional evaluation, but also has a long-term added value.
The project member(s) get a coaching by jury members after the event. They will clarify questions concerning product development, game design, business models, future markets, financing models as well as marketing and sales in an extensive manner within a confidential setting.

The finalists in alphabetical order:

“Children of Lumera” by Phantom Fox Interactive GmbH
“Clans of Reign” by Reigen Games
“Festival Manager” by Johannes Gäbler
“Hamlet’s Breed” by playpublic
“Space Cowboy” by ILIKESCIFI Games

Mit freundlicher Unterstützung der Austria Wirtschaftsservice GmbH

Unterstützt von der Fachgruppe UBIT Wien

Unterstützt vom Fachverband UBIT

Mit freundlicher Unterstützung vom Zentrum für Angewandte Spieleforschung der Donau Universität Krems