Three Questions to: Octofox Games

Octofox Games, a five-person team of former Games Master students from HAW Hamburg, shares its experience with Gamecity Hamburg's Prototype Funding Program in this March 2022 Q&A interview. The piece serves both as a spotlight on a funded team and as promotion for the program's open application round, encouraging prospective applicants in Hamburg's games scene to apply.

Octofox was among the first teams to receive 80,000 euros through the program and used it to develop a prototype of "Wild Woods," a couch co-op game in which up to four players control cats who gather resources by day, keep a fire lit at night, and defend their wooden wagon along a dangerous forest trail. The team credits the easy-to-understand concept, a clearly defined funding goal of making the prototype playable online, and the appeal of its cat characters for convincing the awarding committee.

Before the funding, the studio struggled to secure a publishing deal because publishers found a couch co-op concept without online play insufficiently compelling. The grant let the team work a full year on expanding core concepts, experimenting with features, and learning online technology, which they say substantially raised the game's market potential.

Their advice to applicants is to apply without hesitation. The application process forced them to sharpen their focus on the game's core vision through required documents and questionnaires. They stress that an idea must be understandable and plausible, that a greybox or prototype helps but is not essential if the pitch is vivid, and that applicants should take their time. The first 2022 round closed April 11, with a second round opening August 29.