More initiatives of the Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft
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More initiatives of the Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft

Three Questions to: Soapbox Interactive, working on "Rocket Science GONE WRONG"

Soapbox Interactive aim high: With support of the Gamecity Hamburg Prototype Funding, they have not only been working on a multiplayer first-person shooter with new game mechanics - they are even developing their very own game engine. Now, the team is celebrating its next funding success: They have been accepted into IFB Hamburg’s "InnoRampUp" program, aimed at particularly innovative start-ups from Hamburg.

Soapbox Interactive's founders Clemens Runge and James Rucks visiting the Tokyo Game Show

A FPS game in which the players can completely destroy the game world, combined with high graphical detail, as well as a competitive multiplayer mode: With this vision for their debut game "Rocket Science GONE WRONG", the Hamburg-based studio Soapbox Interactive was able to convince the awarding committee of the Prototype Funding that a grant of 48,000 euros for the development of a prototype is in good hands with them in 2021. Their goals are ambitious: They are not only working on the game itself, but are also developing their very own game engine, which makes the special game mechanics possible, in which the game world, built of millions of voxels, can be completely taken apart by the players. Ultimately, the game also serves as a showcase for the underlying technology.

The studio’s two founders certainly have the necessary skills for this: Clemens Runge is currently pursuing his master's degree in electrical engineering and has already gained years of experience with hard- and software development as well as image processing, and James Rucks, in addition to pursuing his computer science master's degree, has experience researching the use of Deep Learning in 3D environments and designed levels for a successful open source project.

Their own project is progressing well and the team is growing - now Soapbox Interactive was able to secure further financial support with their convincing concept: The state-owned Hamburger Investitions- und Förderbank (IFB) has accepted them into its "InnoRampUp" program, which supports technologically particularly innovative start-ups in Hamburg. Through this program, the studio will receive additional funding of 144,000 euros to support development over the next 1.5 years. We spoke to co-founder James about this.

What motivates you to develop this game in particular?

James: We are fascinated by games in which the worlds consist of small cubes (voxels). They make it possible to easily create complex worlds, like with Lego bricks, as well as dynamically destroy the game world with tools - or explosions. Rocket Science GONE WRONG will be the first game to bring the benefits of a high-resolution and dynamic voxel world to multiplayer!

A construction crane modeled completely in voxels | rendering from Rocket Science GONE WRONG

You received a grant though Gamecity Hamburg’s Prototype Funding program for your project in 2021. What has happened to you and your project since then?

James: Both of us as founders were able to dedicate ourselves to the project full time thanks to the Prototype Funding. In the first year, we developed a new game engine from scratch, which can display worlds made of over 100 million small cubes with real-time light rendering. Also, all the core game mechanics of Rocket Science GONE WRONG, such as movement, weapon mechanics and multiplayer, are already prototypically implemented on this basis.

And just now, you successfully managed to secure a grant from another public funding program for Hamburg-based companies - InnoRampUp: Can you give some insight into what InnoRampUp is and what steps it will enable you to take?

James: InnoRampUp is a grant for technology-based innovative startups from IFB Hamburg. It will fund us for the next 18 months and has already enabled us to hire two new employees. The additional manpower will allow us to bring both our game engine and our game to market much faster.


Find out more about Soapbox Interactive on their website: https://soapbox-interactive.com/ or their LinkedIn-Profile. You can also read a short portrait of their project Rocket Science GONE WRONG here in our project database. 

And you can find everything about our Gamecity Hamburg Prototype Funding program right here.

News

Pitch Level Up 2023: Boost your pitch with expert feedback!

After the successful premiere last year, the Pitch Level Up is back on April 13, 11 am - 6 pm: Get individual feedback on your pitch deck from seasoned games industry professionals with different perspectives - to optimize your pitch for publishers, media, investors or funding institutions.

Road to gamescom 2023

For this year's gamescom Gamecity Hamburg again runs the Road to gamescom program: We offer 5 places at our joint Gamecity Hamburg booth at the Indie Arena Booth for Hamburg-based studios, teams and devs. Apply now until April 25!

(c) Melina Hehemeyer

Three Questions to: Sandra Friedrichs, Streamer and Mental Health Advocate

Sandra Friedrichs had been working in the games industry for years, before starting a new career as a streamer and using her platform to raise awareness for mental health topics. This year she won the title as Vice Miss Germany, which we took as an opportunity to talk about her mission and goals.

Stellenausschreibung: Wir suchen eine*n PR-/Kommunikationsmanager*in

Wir suchen ab sofort eine*n PR-Kommunikationsmitarbeiter*in für unser Team. Bewirb dich jetzt bis zum 02.04.!

Recap: Hamburg Games Conference 2023

What a ride! The Hamburg Games Conference brought us two days filled with inspiring talks, panels, discussions and workshops with 50 speakers and 500 guests from around the world!

Applications for prototype funding 2023 open March 3

From today, March 3 to April 5, founders, start-ups, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can apply for the prototype funding. Applicants can apply for up to 120,000 euros for the development of prototypes for digital games. Through the funding program, Gamecity Hamburg will provide a total of 400,000 euros for game developers on behalf of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg in 2023.

Recap: Gamecity Forecast: AI in game production

On Feb. 21, we invited people from Hamburg’s games industry and beyond to our online event “Gamecity Forecast: AI in game production”. Our Forecast sessions aim to spark discussion on trends and developments affecting the games industry, identify challenges and opportunities and exchange experiences. Here's what we took away as our key learnings from the evening!

Senator's Roundtable 2023

The games industry is a driving and innovative factor in Hamburg’s economy – this is why Hamburg’s Minister for Culture and Media, Dr. Carsten Brosda, together with Gamecity Hamburg regularly invites representatives from the industry for the Senator’s Roundtable.

Meet the Road to Hamburg Games Conference Indie Teams

With our "Road to program", we will bring five Hamburg-based indie developers and teams to the Hamburg Games Conference 2023 to showcase their games to the participants and meet new people from the industry. You can play their games at the Hamburg Games Conference expo from March 1 to 2 at the Altonaer Museum.

Hamburg Games Conference 2023: 30+ speakers, panels, networking and more

The Hamburg Games Conference is drawing near, with just three weeks to go until March 1 & 2! Right on schedule, the conference line-up is now complete, so let's take a look at the newcomers who bring several fascinating talks and panels for both the main track on "Invest in Games" and the complimentary second track on dev, funding and marketing topics to the table.

Photo Credit: InnoGames

School Internship Games January 2023: It's a wrap!

We can’t believe it’s already over again: For three weeks in January, 16 students from Hamburg schools participated in the School Internship Games at three different studios in Hamburg as well as the HAW University of Applied Sciences.

Three Questions to: Dom Schott, Creator of the Podcast OK COOL

Dom Schott has been a part of the German games journalism scene for some time already, but the last few years brought big changes for him: he joined the team of The Pod on a regular basis, moved to Hamburg and started his own podcast: OK COOL. We took this opportunity to reverse the roles and ask him about his work for a change.

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