What is a “pubcrawler”? Triflgard take the word literally: In the game, one or more people have to keep a pub running, which itself trudges through the wasteland on massive robot legs. Players host guests and maintain the mobile refuge. It helps to bring company; local and online multiplayer are part of the plan. 

The idea goes far beyond the pun. We must imagine the titular “Pubcrawler” as a safe and cozy place. The world outside has pretty much ended, the weather is bad, but in the pub, the sun is shining. 

Lio Kaplanski can describe the feeling exactly: “Like rain when you're in a car. Outside, it's uncomfortable, but you're inside right now, safe and protected.” This feeling of being sheltered remains a guiding star for “Pubcrawler”. 

Lio is a third of Triflgard, responsible for 3D art and programming. His colleagues are Finn Reimann, who focuses on gameplay programming, sound effects and music, and Fred Alfs, who is dedicated to the multiplayer game’s network code. The game design is shared by all of Triflgard. 

At the same table 

It’s no accident that Triflgard appear like a circle of friends. The three bachelor's students at HAW Hamburg (Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaft/Hamburg University of Applied Science) determined whether they are a good match through playing board games together. And transporting this feeling of “togetherness” into the game seemed only logical, Fred explains. 

On game nights, the three of them kept returning to the board game adaptation of strategy hit “Northgard”, says Lio. And Finn explains that puns are “kind of mandatory” in the company. That's why the studio is called Triflgard and the first project “Billgard” – a multiplayer battle in which billiard balls shove each other into the table's pockets. 

Triflgard can't drop the humor. The puns don't even stop in internal documentation, Finn admits. However, no joke can detract them from steadily pursuing their goal. Lio, in particular, has planned to start a game studio “for several years”. The game nights served as a very real gut check for the three of them. 

And “Billgard” is far more than a silly name. The project was a test case for very concrete questions. Fred explains that it covers key aspects that “we want to put into the production of a game”, including a Steam page and working multiplayer implementation. 

A long way to the pub 

Now, the focus is fully on “Pubcrawler”. The multiplayer game will be developed completely in 3D and the in-game camera will reflect that. “Everyone has their own screen,” Fred explains; local multiplayer will be split screen. Together, players will control and cater for the wandering pub. Some tasks in the daily operation should turn out to be very simple, others “a bit more complex”. But the game will be too challenging, says Fred, because “the focus is always on fun”. 

The project is still very early. The exact tone is not set in stone yet, and that's why Triflgard are happy to be in the incubator, says Finn: “Because we still need a lot of expertise.” He dreams of growing a company that could one day hire new talents in a fair and responsible manner. To achieve that, specialist knowledge is needed. “And that's where the incubator helps.” 

Work on the first playable version of “Pubcrawler” is also underway during the Games Lift Incubator’s first phase. Prototype funding and possible demos are still in the future. Slowly, but inexorably, the pub marches forward. Anyone wanting to keep an eye on the Pubcrawler's journey should follow Triflgard on their website.