Creative
Company
Documents about Creative
What Good Are AI NPCs?: Lessons from a Large-scale Player Study
The study demonstrates that generative AI-driven non-player characters can deliver deeply engaging, emotionally resonant gameplay.
- Generative AI NPCs drive high player engagement, with 97% of participants reporting high immersion and 96% rating their overall enjoyment as high.
- The integration of AI NPCs maintains a balance between agency and guidance, as evidenced by 80% of players achieving top scores for play engrossment and 90% praising the creative freedom of the open-ended design.
- Cognitive load remains manageable during AI-driven interactions, with participants reporting NASA-TLX mental demand scores of 64.7 and performance scores of 52.7.
Ubisoft Appoints New Leaders to Advance Its Creative Houses Operating Model
Ubisoft is advancing its organizational transformation by appointing new leadership to oversee its Creative Houses operating model.
- Ubisoft is restructuring its development teams into five distinct Creative Houses, each granted greater autonomy and accountability for specific brand portfolios.
- The new organizational model aims to streamline production by aligning studios based on shared player experiences and genre-specific expertise.
- Julien Bares, formerly of Tencent Games Global and 2K China, has been appointed General Manager of Creative Houses 3 and 5, overseeing live service titles like The Crew and For Honor, as well as casual and mobile brands like Just Dance.
Play19: Creative Gaming Festival – A Conversation with Valentina Birke
The Play19 Creative Gaming Festival, held in Hamburg in November 2019, served as a platform to explore the intersection of human psychology and interactive media under the thematic banner of "Of Monsters and Games."
- The Play19 Creative Gaming Festival, held in Hamburg in November 2019, focused on the intersection of human psychology and interactive media through the theme 'Of Monsters and Games.'
- The Creative Gaming Award prioritized projects featuring unconventional design, specifically rewarding innovations in control schemes, eye-tracking technology, and narrative experimentation.
- The festival served as a professional development hub, offering specialized industry panels and workshops on emotional monster design and advanced storytelling techniques.
Creative Transfer Games: Hamburg
The Creative Transfer program provides financial assistance to German game developers and studios seeking to expand their professional reach through attendance at national and international industry conventions.
- The Creative Transfer program provides German independent game studios with subsidies covering up to 80% of travel expenses for industry conventions.
- Eligible studios must be headquartered in Germany and maintain a staff of no more than 20 permanent employees.
- Funding caps are set at 1,000 euros for domestic events and 2,000 euros for international gatherings.
Road to gamescom 2020: Offers for Hamburg Game Developers and Companies
The Road to gamescom 2020 initiative, managed by Gamecity Hamburg in collaboration with the Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft, was designed to support local game developers and companies in accessing the European games market.
- Gamecity Hamburg and Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft launched the 'Road to gamescom 2020' initiative to provide local developers with professional exposure and networking access to the European games market.
- The program offered free exhibition space at the Indie Arena Booth for up to six selected developers, alongside a specialized networking program for up to five additional participants.
- Applicants were required to be commercially oriented, maintain a Hamburg-based headquarters or branch, and possess a playable game version to be eligible for selection.
New Event: Game Starter - Hamburg
Gamecity Hamburg introduced a specialized event format titled Game Starter, designed to bridge the gap between established industry professionals and individuals entering the games sector.
- Gamecity Hamburg launched 'Game Starter,' a new event series designed to connect industry newcomers and students with established game development professionals.
- The inaugural session featured a panel of three industry experts: Christin Matt (InnoGames), Martin Wilkes (Daedalic), and Maurice Hagelstein (Tiny Roar).
- Panelists provided actionable insights by detailing their career paths, the daily realities of professional game development, and advice for those entering the industry.
Creative Gaming Awards 2020: Apply Now
The Creative Gaming Awards 2020 serve as a call for submissions for the PLAY – Creative Gaming Festival, an event focused on exploring the boundaries between digital gaming and the real world.
- The PLAY – Creative Gaming Festival, organized by Gamecity Hamburg, is scheduled to take place in an online-only format from November 4–8, 2020.
- The awards program concluded its submission period on July 31, 2020, focusing on recognizing excellence in game design and innovation within the indie community.
- The Most Creative Game category is open to experienced indie developers and accepts both finished projects and beta versions.
Survey: Impact of COVID-19 on the Media and Creative Industries in Hamburg
The Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with a coalition of regional media and creative industry organizations, initiated a survey in September 2020 to assess the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on local businesses.
- In September 2020, the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce launched a survey to measure the economic impact of COVID-19 on local media and creative businesses, including the gaming, design, music, and film sectors.
- The primary goal of the initiative was to collect data on financial stability, operational challenges, and support requirements to inform evidence-based advocacy for political decision-makers.
- The survey utilized a five-minute questionnaire distributed to industry participants with a submission deadline of October 5, 2020.
Exploring Borders: A Successful PLAY20 Game Jam
The PLAY20 Game Jam, hosted by Gamecity Hamburg in November 2020, served as a collaborative creative event held in conjunction with the PLAY20 Creative Gaming Festival.
- The PLAY20 Game Jam, hosted by Gamecity Hamburg in November 2020, resulted in the creation of 26 distinct game titles.
- Over 100 international participants collaborated during a 45-hour time-constrained development period.
- The event theme, 'Exploring Borders,' prompted developers to interpret boundaries through both literal gameplay mechanics and abstract concepts like the human psyche and moral dilemmas.
An Innovative Multiplayer Online Conference: Hamburg Games Conference 2021
The Hamburg Games Conference 2021, held on March 16 and 17, served as a strategic response to the limitations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic on physical industry gatherings.
- The Hamburg Games Conference 2021, held March 16–17, utilized a custom browser-based multiplayer platform to replace physical networking with avatar-based interaction and integrated video matchmaking.
- The conference focused on the industry-wide challenge of 'discoverability,' providing strategies for developers and publishers to position digital products in a crowded global marketplace.
- Hamburg solidified its position as a major European industry hub, currently hosting approximately 200 game companies.
PLAY21: Restart Together
The PLAY21 festival, held in November 2021, served as a hybrid gaming event designed to foster community reconnection under the theme "Restart Together."
- The PLAY21 festival, held in November 2021, utilized a hybrid format combining in-person events in Hamburg with a virtual environment called PLAYvalley to facilitate community reconnection.
- The Creative Gaming Awards recognized industry excellence through two specific categories: Most Creative Game and Most Innovative Newcomer.
- Gamecity Hamburg served as a primary sponsor, leveraging its proprietary Gamecity Online Hub to host nominee games and additional festival activities.
Road to Polaris: Five Hamburg Indies at the Convention
Gamecity Hamburg facilitates the participation of five local indie developer teams at the Polaris Convention, held in Hamburg from October 28 to 30, 2022.
- Gamecity Hamburg supported five local indie studios at the Polaris Convention in Hamburg from October 28–30, 2022, to increase regional talent visibility.
- The Polaris Convention served as a major industry platform, spanning over 20,000 square meters and hosting more than 250 exhibitors, including major publishers and e-sports organizations.
- The five featured studios and their titles were OneManOnMars (Leif's Adventure: Netherworld Hero), Impawsible Games (Jonah Weingarten's Ninja Brigade), Beardshaker Games (Soulitaire), Curvature Games (The Amusement), and Radioactive Dreams (Turbo Shell).