The best young talent in the gaming industry comes from Eastern Hesse

05 Sep 2024
Three people are sitting next to each other. Each is holding a green award in the shape of a garden gnome. The person in the centre is also holding a golden garden gnome in their second hand.

Delighted with the awards: (from left) Lara Klimm and Nico Pattmann (company founders of Bitfall Studios and graduates of Fulda University of Applied Sciences) and Mathias Plank (Bitfall Studios employee). (Photo: Bitfall Studios)

Petersberg-based Bitfall Studios wins four indie game awards with its debut work

Things could hardly have gone better for the start-up from Eastern Hesse: Bitfall Studios, based in Petersberg, won four categories out of a total of seven at the German Dev Days - Indie Awards. Their debut work TerraScape, which was released in mid-July, was honoured for the best sound, the best look, the best game mechanics and also as the best indie game. The Indie Award has been presented annually since 2020 for the best computer games by up-and-coming developers.

The ambitious young enterprise was launched at Fulda University of Applied Sciences with an EXIST Business Start-up Grant. Three of the original four founders studied at Fulda University of Applied Sciences. Bitfall Studios was founded in Fulda in June 2022, initially with its headquarters in Potsdam for funding reasons. In 2023, the team decided to move the headquarters back to East Hesse. "We are well connected here," says Nico Pattmann, CEO and Creative Director, explaining the decision.

Professor Dr Christian Fischer, who was the contact person for the founders in the department of applied computer science, is delighted with the great success: "Game is teamwork. The whole Bitfall team is behind this wonderful project and has worked extremely hard over the last few months. Congratulations! The prizes are more than deserved!"

Town planning in medieval style

TerraScape is a construction puzzle game in which players settle on floating islands. You take on the role of a medieval-style town planner and create your own settlement with buildings from various sets. The buildings are placed strategically on the island to gain points from surrounding resources and other buildings. With the points collected, players can earn more sets and unlock buildings to further expand their city. "TerraScape offers players a relaxed gaming experience with impressive graphics and a rousing soundtrack," says Nico Pattmann. In addition to three different single-player modes, there is also a competitive and a co-operative multiplayer mode for up to four players.

Internationally recognised

Bitfall Studios has already made a name for itself internationally. The start-up was naturally present at this year's Gamescom, the world's largest university fair for video games. "There was also a lot of interest from the political side," reports Nico Pattmann. No wonder, as German game developers still account for a small proportion of the gaming industry's revenue in this country.

Things are still going well for Bitfall Studios. The team recently announced that over 100,000 units have been sold since the game went on sale.

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