My very personal impressions (note : I did only very few photos) :
Impressions from Games Com 2023
(as written on August, 26, 2023)
This was the least exciting Games Com I’ve ever had. But that’s mostly because of my taste changing again.
Plus, I even more strongly felt as if I’m not the desired target group. No wonder, considering my age.
I clearly missed several of the known names. I don’t really know why. Maybe I was in the „wrong“ halls for a too long time.
The amount of social aspects of gaming has never been higher. I don’t remember having seen so many Cosplayers and Influencers there. Small camera teams, even.
There’s even a new hall dedicated to that, called „Cosplay Village“. It might have been there before, but I never noticed, due to my bias.
I did notice a lot of Cosplayers - and I also noticed that this means that i had become biased myself - because of „my current favourite game“, which attracts a LOT of Cosplayers. I could evenunderstand what figures they tried to represent.
I must say that I have a high respect for people making cosumes by themselves. I clearly wouldn’t have the nerve for that. Plus, it’s ages ago that I’ve learned knitting or so. No wonderthat Cosplay is mostly in the hands of women.
The number of JRPGs and Asian games was also higher. Which attracted more asian visitors to the Games Com, plus also more Cosplayers, as Cosplay is mainly - or so I understood it so far - a thing which ismainly connected to JRPGs and rather to games from Asia in general. I’m not sure whether i understood this right, though.
I felt kind of lost. Most „traditional“ games even didn’t appeal to me anymore. I still do remember a certain moment of me looking at game banners : Fighting, fighting, combat, battle, fighting,conflict ... These were the majority of games I saw ... and they didn’t appeal to me. I just do not want any adrenaline-fuelled games anymore. Hence my personal bias.
The more I liked everything in the Indie area ! It was there, where i really felt „at home“ !
And, since I value creativity higher than everything else, I was happy to be there.
Again, my bias : There were games whic I found trule having an awesome amount of creativity in them, but they didn’t appeal to me graphically that much. For example because of too abstract graphics.I must apologize here that I didn’t take them into my „list“. Really, I do recognize how much effort was put there into games !
But also, here comes the „personal Person“, that’s me : Since I wasn’t able or willing to report on EVERYTHING, I just had to make a cut - and put only those games which appealed tome, personaly. Again, my apologies for that.
As a side-note, I saw a small exhibition of games by Lucasfil Games / LucasArts, and among them, an actual bo of the game „Night Shift“. Which made me think : How my game genres have we lost ? How many game genre have died out ?
One of the most creative games I saw was
Paper Trail.
In it, you literally
fold parts of the landscape so that your figure can proceed !
I’ve never seen anything like that before.
We stay behind - an adventure game - is the story of a reporter reporting of people who live in a natural preservation area, into which a comet will soon fall, and yet, they don’t want to move. The reporter asks people, reseearches about the area, the steam page says that it is a „mystery“ game, too.
Backpack Hero is about inventory management - and deck building. A bit different than what you normally see. Nice for the item hoarders amongst us.
Earth of Oryn is an imho very beautiful looking „city builder“ in the sense of „The Settlers“.
Alchemist The Potion Monger is a game in which you play an Alchemist, in first person perspective, who has to go out, find ingredients - and brew ! And then, afterwards, watch what results this has... Its page claims it’s part RPG, part simulation.
Toads of the Bayou is a game of toads who try to battle Lord Samedi and his minions (actual fights look as if they are done via cards) and build and protect a small village for themselves.
Pioneers of Pagonia is also a „city builder“ game, which looks more cute (more like the older Settlers) than Earth of Oryn, which looks more beautiful. I bet that both games are fun inthemselves.
There exists a game called
„The Settlings“, too. Which looks entirely different.
Naheulbeuk’s Dungeon Master is - well, the Dungeon Master builds his own dungeon. You must attract minions, and make everything comfortable for them, build traps to defend it against adventurers,but you also need to build resources for the tower and the market.. Plus, you don’t play the Master himself, but rather his overseer - who must do everything to plase his master ... My guess is that this is a morehumorous approach to the „dungeon building“ genre.
Airborne Empire looks to me as if someone had seen „Dragon Commanders“ by Larian, but wanted to do a different approach on it ... more the Steampunk way. Plus, you build not just floating foortresses, but rather floating towns this way.
Dungeon Golf is a more crazy game. Playing golf in dungeons. With a variety of crazy characters.
Of pawns and kings is developed by a studio which they call themselves „monkey mac jones adventures“. This game is taking place on a „tropical island“, where a teenager soonneeds to find his way back. The game’s page also says that is is some kind of „coming of age“ sort of game. ( I’d say that „coming of age“ has become a genre in its own right already. )
The Ebbing is the second part of the game
„Totgeschwiegen“, which was the very first game in Bavarian language I ever knew of. Of course, both games are also available in English language,too. This second game takes place in the coastal area of Germany.
I am ok is an even more serious game. It is about dealing with traumatic experiences. It is an adventure game.
The Wandering Village got an „Ocean Update“.
Dwarf Fortress got an update, too.
Critter Cove is a game about a person „which you play“ whi has stranded on an island. It isn’t inhabitated, though, instead, it already has its own small village. Which you’llhave to expand. You also explore several islands. It’s more like a sim game, as far as I understod it. It looks quit
e cute.
Havendock is about building a small town witin an ocean.
First Dwarf is apparingly an „Action-RPG“.
Blue Protocol seems to be a game rather like Genshin Impact to me.
"From vultures to vampires" is a book by Trevor Dickinson and David John Pleasance on the history of the Amiga platform. Subtitle :
„25 years of copyright chaos and technology triumphs“. A book by one of both authors, David John Pleasance, is
"Commodore The Inside Story“.
For both, the flyer gives a web site name : „cbmamiga.com“
And finally, there’s a book called
"Die Geheimnisse von Monkey Island“which is originally a book in French language by Nicholas Deneschau on the history of that game franchise, but thebook I bought is a translation into German language . ISBN 978-3-98249-850-8 , price : 25 Euros.
It is a very deep and very „nerdy“ book without any pictures.
A web page is given, too :
www.lookbehindyou.de/return-to-monkey-island
Gaming ohne Grenzen is an initiative to make gaming more accessible for disabled people.
https://gaming-ohne-grenzen.de
Radio Paralax is a web radio site concentrating on video game music of the 80s and 90s, as fas as I understood it.
www.radio-paralax.de
THE ODD NAMES LIST
There are many , many , many , many company and dev studio names which are simply „odd". Some is a more funny way (most of them), but a few are just ... odd.
I found, owever, that MOST of them were not public during the Games Com.
This simply means that they were EXCLUSIVELY in the business area.
In my list, they are remarked as „not public“.
Note . „UG“ is a new form of company, which is similar to the „LTD“ = „GmbH“ , but smaller.
1000 Orks UG
Active Fungus Studios GmbH
Ant Workshop LTD
Antidote - NOT PUBLIC
BAD Spiele Studio UG
Buntspecght Film und Digitales GmbH [ Note : Buntspecht = woodpecker in English language]
ByteRockers‘ Games GmbH & Kco. KG [Note : Yes, actually with that ‘ sign !]
Cartoon Passion LLC
Chaos Theory Games
Character Localization ApS
Cosmic Planet GmbH & Co. KG
Controlled Chaos
Controller Bandits
Crimson Herring Studios Inc.
Crybaby Studios LTD - NOT PUBLIC
Die Firma ist anders GmbH [Translation : „This firm is different“]
Dino Rocket - NOT PUBLIC
Drop Bear Bytes Pty LTD - NOT PUBLIC
Dubai Police
Edelgard [ Note : this is a kind of social commission against violence against women]
Eintracht Spandau GmbH [Note : sounds like the name of a sports club of Spandau (near Berlin) ]
Eleventh Hour Games
Evil Owl Games Inc. - NOT PUBLIC
Howl - NOT PUBLIC
Owlchemy Labs
Fishing Planet LLC - NOT PUBLIC
Fizzbuzz Inc.
Frost Giant Studios Inc.
Garlic Games UG - NOT PUBLIC
Happy Volcano BV
Herodot Studio [Note : Actually from Tunesia]
Hooded Hoirse Inc.
Irox Games UG
Ishtar Games - NOT PUBLIC
It Moves Studion - NOT PUBLIC
Jackbox Games Inc. - NOT PUBLIC
Joindots GmbH - NOT PUBLIC
Keywords Studios - NOT PUBLIC
Leonardo Interactive srl - NOT PUBLIC
Little Chicken Game Company
Little Red Dog Games LTD - NOT PUBLIC
Local Heroes Worldwide BV - NOT PUBLIC
Localsoft S.L. - NOT PUBLIC
LowMadness
Mac n Cheese Games - NOT PUBLIC
Mimimi Games GmbH
monkey mac jones adventues UG
Moonflow Media GmbH
Mucks! Games GmbH
Mythic Alliance PTE LTD - NOT PUBLIC
Nadelwerk Salzburg [Note : translation : „needlework“]
Nerds-on-Line
Noname Studios S.L.
nothing2install - NOT PUBLIC
Oopsie Daisies Studio - NOT PUBLIC
Orchibald Art
Paladin Studios - NOT PUBLIC
Paper Cactus Games - NOT PUBLIC
Play on Words Studios - NOT PUBLIC
Prideful Sloth Pty Ltd - NOT PUBLIC
Pummeleinhorn GmbH [Note : translation . „chubby unicorn“]
Quantumfrog GmbH
Radical Fish Games GmbH
Rarebyte OG
retrospiel
Rocket Beans Entertainment GmBH
Serious Bros.
Skybound Games
SpielFabrique - NOT PUBLIC
Spring Onion Studio - NOT PUBLIC
Squingle Studios
Starbreeze Publishing AB - NOT PUBLIC
StickyStoneStudio GmbH
Studio Seufz [Note . „translation . „Studio Sigh“]
Sure Why Not? - NOT PUBLIC
Takeoff Beyond Creative - NOT PUBLIC
Techland - NOT PUBLIC
The Pack Wallonia - NOT PUBLIC
Tiny Trinket Games
Toast Interactive - NOT PUBLIC
VoodooDuck GmbH
Wordkeepers S.L. - NOT PUBLIC
Yoyo Games Limited
Door407 RA LLC
Badass Mongoose
Something Random
Raptobot
Blind Squirrel Entertainment Inc. - NOT PUBLIC
Black Smoke Studios - NOT PUBLIC
CinderCat Games - NOT PUBLIC
Yrs Truly - NOT PUBLIC
Those Eyes - NOT PUBLIC
Variable State - NOT PUBLIC
The Gentlebos. - NOT PUBLIC
Space Fox Games
ad.letics GmbH - NOT PUBLIC
AltTester - NOT PUBLIC
Antstream Ltd
Carcajou Games [Note : Canada]
Space Fox Games
Fox Assembly
Kitfox Games
