Young talents in the Fulda start-up scene

The regional start-up scene has a new addition: brothers Sven and Bernd Schickentanz have founded the enterprise Foxira. They want to use it to launch their innovative indie game "Lepusona" on the market from Fulda. "Indie" stands for the independent development of games that do not require funding from large publishers.

Sven Schickentanz studied at the Fulda University of Applied Sciences. The same goes for Simon Keller, who was previously a permanent member of the team but did not co-found the company. He has decided to write his doctoral thesis at the doctoral research centre for applied computer science, but will continue to be available to Foxira as a freelance employee.

University President Professor Dr Karim Khakzar and the Vice-President for Research and Transfer, Professor Dr Martina Ritter, congratulated him on founding the company. "As a university, we see it as our responsibility to help shape the region and contribute to local value creation. Supporting founders is one of the ways in which we translate our social responsibility into concrete local action," emphasised President Khakzar. "We wish the two founders a good start and every success."
Vice-president Ritter added: "We support founders on their path to becoming an enterprise, provide space, offer advisory services and help them apply for an Exist start-up grant. We want to support this start-up and innovation culture even more strongly and in a more targeted manner in future."

Financial security, strong network
Sven and Bernd Schickentanz also secured the necessary capital for one year with an Exist start-up grant. The program of the Federal Ministry for Business and Energy and the European Union via the European Social Fund Plus (ESF Plus) specifically supports business start-ups from the academic sector.

"The funding has not only given us financial security, but above all access to a strong start-up network and valuable contacts that would hardly have been possible without the programme," says Sven Schickentanz. The funding year allowed them to concentrate fully on developing their project - with professional support in all matters relating to the start-up.

Music at the heart of
The start-up wants to win over the market with the story of an aristocratic rabbit who follows his profession as a bard, i.e. musician. Together with his little sister, he leaves his aristocratic origins behind and enters a forest world characterised by German myths and mythical creatures. The founders drew on local cultures to create the story. "Typical mythical creatures from different regions of Germany have been incorporated into our story," explains Sven Schickentanz.

What is special, however, is that music is not only experienced as an atmospheric element, but as a central game mechanic. "Rhythm and melody influence opponents, the environment and emotional states. At the same time, the Bard Rabbit's music adapts to the emotions of the players, depending on whether they are acting peacefully or aggressively, fearfully or bravely." This interaction creates a unique dynamic: "Mood and sound change how the world is experienced."

The first parts of the game are set to be available this year, with the publication of the complete version planned for 2027. "This is already the second gaming start-up in two years that has emerged from Fulda University of Applied Sciences and is based in the region," says a delighted Vice-President Ritter.

For a long time, the gaming sector was not in the spotlight in Germany or in the region. Yet it is one of the growth and innovation sectors. The market is huge, but the share of revenue generated by German game developers is still low. Last year, the German government therefore signalled the growing importance of the games industry in Germany with higher funding amounts.