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Gamecity Hamburg
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The developers aim to reduce physical exhaustion and improve immersion in VR gaming. Players interact with characters as if they were physical action figures.
Crumbling is a small VR game in development by Ole Jürgensen and technical artist Leonie Brosz, profiled by Gamecity Hamburg in October 2020 as part of its Games Lift Incubator, a program supporting emerging developers in Hamburg, Germany. The piece argues that the game's central innovation is a more natural, less tiring control scheme for VR: players look down on diorama-style levels and pick up tiny characters, called Crumblings, moving them around like action figures.
Jürgensen, former lead developer of the Deutscher Computerspielpreis-winning multiplayer shooter Tower Tag, frames the design as a response to VR's common shortcomings. Many VR games promise that players become the hero, but he calls the result exhausting, with things flying at the face, constant jumping and waving, and a mismatch between physical effort and on-screen movement. Shifting the perspective to a miniature world lets the game stay action-packed without stressing or tiring players, and evokes childhood play. Other developers also shrink game worlds in VR, but Crumbling takes the further step of direct character movement through motion controls.
The art style supports the concept. Crumblings are cute, chubby, armless and legless characters that Jürgensen has drawn since childhood, and they are easy to personalize with hats and held items. Brosz, an XR-focused tech artist who joined after seeing the designs, quickly sketched more than 20 variations. She advises on rendering and shaders and helps with design decisions such as movement speed and combat precision, though her other full-time development work limits her availability. Action roguelikes such as Hades are a key inspiration, though adapting them to VR is a distinct challenge.
On business prospects, Jürgensen views VR as a niche where good games can stand out, particularly on the Oculus Quest store, and says financial success is rare but possible. The team's next hurdle is the Games Lift milestone pitch, with the concept, style, and content having evolved, and the incubator emphasizing financial planning and marketing strategy.
Gamecity Hamburg · 2026
University of Central Florida · 2026
