FFF Bayern: 1.6 million euros for 21 games projects in the 2nd award round 2022

The FFF Bayern has met and funded a total of 21 games projects with 1.6 million euros. This brings the total funding awarded in 2022 to over 2.1 million euros. Around half a million euros will go to two productions, 750.000 euros to six prototypes and 260.000 euros to 13 concepts. We congratulate all the winners and present the games briefly here in the news.

Here you can find the press release of the FFF Bayern and here you can download the list of funded projects as PDF.

Production Games: 595.146 euros

Source: ThreeDee GmbH (2022)

ThreeDee GmbH from Munich receives 350,146 euros for the racing/MOBA game called Charged! which will be released for PC on Steam and in the Epic Games Store. It is a third-person multiplayer action game, with team-based combat in a PvP environment. Players compete with remote-controlled vehicles in a detailed miniature perspective. The battery mechanics give the game its name. Players have to coordinate and recharge their abilities and weapons of the vehicles with energy in order to be able to use them. In addition to the eventful and dynamic gameplay, there is also a tactical component in the combative encounters.

Source: Spaceflower UG (2022)

Spaceflower UG from Nuremberg received 245,000 euros for their multiplayer business simulation called Let Them Trade. The game will be released for PC, Mac and Linux. Players build a network of cities and trade routes on a hexagonal map. This creates a world for merchants, knights and thieves. In a special board game look, based on the atmosphere of a wooden board game, a balance must be found between the supply of goods and demand. The goal of the game is to build the castle for the king. To do this, the players must generate enough capital and also complete missions to obtain the necessary goods. You can already add the game to your wishlist on Steam here.

Prototype development Games: 757.297 euros

Source: Benjamin Lochmann New Media GmbH (2022)

Benjamin Lochmann New Media GmbH from Nuremberg (also known as: Pixel Maniacs) was able to win money for a prototype grant in this round of awards. 200.000 euros will go towards the further development of ChromaGun 2, the successor to ChromaGun, which was already released in 2016. The main focus of the game is on the players, who are to test the ChromaGun color weapon for the ChromaTec company. However, the player feels that these tests are becoming more and more dangerous and crazy, so that he/she wants to drop out of the experiment – but the company does not allow this. In the complex three-dimensional environment, which is now realized for the first time with the Unreal Engine, certain colors must be created and used skillfully and according to the color theory. The conception has already been funded with 20.000€ in November.

Source: Chimera Entertainment GmbH (2022)

Another 200.000 euros in this round of awards will go to Chimera Entertainment GmbH from Munich with its game Nikiri. The action and tower defense game for PC can be played both as a single player and as a co-op game with up to four people. Players must defend their home village against the endless hordes until the Titan regains his powers and can continue his journey. The goal of the game is still to protect the villagers from the attacks of the enemies. To do this, the players take on the role of a shaman and build new towers or tower combinations.

Source: Sleeprunner Studios UG (2022)

Sleeprunner Studios UG from Bayreuth received 100.000 euros for the prototype of their game Downfall Hearts. In the 3D roguelite action RPG, players move through a sealed dungeon in a first-person perspective. The game is played as a character named Joan Highmore, who is a knight of the Order of Downfall Hearts. The prisoner must free herself and others, especially through action-packed sword fights in a medieval-themed setting. The game with procedurally generated dungeons will be released for PC. Updates on the game can also be found on the studio’s devblog.

Source: Funline Media GmbH (2022)

Funline Media GmbH from Munich was able to obtain 90.000 euros for the game Lou- und das Einmaleins. It is an app for iOS devices that has an educational focus. LOU is an AI-supported game character that serves as a digital friend. The players can interact with it so that LOU learns what the person opposite has and what peculiarities he or she possesses. In this way, it should be possible to react specifically to special behavior. The aim of the game is to motivate children to learn and practice the multiplication tables in a humorous and sympathetic way. LOU is designed in such a way that it can be used internationally and regardless of the age of the players.

Source: Bonus Level Entertainment UG (2022)

With the game HeartWarming, Bonus Level Entertainment UG from Munich was able to secure a sum of 67.297 euros. In the game for PC, you find yourself in a winter region affected by the rise in temperature. In the 2D action adventure, a lynx and a penguin join forces to get to the bottom of this phenomenon and save their world. Both have different abilities, such as changing water, steam, ice or snow. This allows them to overcome obstacles and enemies. The entertaining and humorous fable is intended to draw the players’ attention to global warming.

Source: Skyward Assembly GmbH (2022)

Likewise, the company Skyward Assembly GmbH from Lichtenberg was able to reach 100.000 euros for its game Desert City Builder. The city-building simulation will be released on Steam. Players build oases and deserts in order to create a civilization. Water is the vital resource and, due to its scarcity, must be used in such a way that buildings can be constructed for the inhabitants. The buildings range from shelters to production facilities for raw materials and goods, so that trade can also be conducted.

Concept Games: 260.000 euros

The game One more Day by Extraordinerdy GmbH from Regensburg even received 30,000 euros in concept funding. In the story-based adventure game, players are confronted with two choices per round. Through the game’s chat form, players can decide which of the four central game values (health, food, karma, equipment) should be influenced. If one of the values drops to zero, the game is over. The goal is to survive as many rounds as possible.

This is followed by the usual 20.000 euros: Hinz & Caspar Caragames GbR were able to win this with their game Summoner of Unity. The studio from Munich is working on a strategic RPG card game, which combines rogue-like elements. You can expect an ongoing story of the main character and individually selectable heroes with specific character traits. Furthermore, the game also offers a hand-drawn playing field and two different modes.

Studio Moondowner UG from Brunnthal is supported in the continuation of one of their games: Afterthought 2 is a 2D precision platformer, which, like its predecessor, is designed for speed and speedruns. However, the game series is now to be technically developed further. Three more playable characters are to be added. Each of them has a completely unique set of skills. 20.000 euros could also be won for this.

Irox Games UG from Garching are currently working on their game Sandcrawler (working title). For the conception of the realtime strategy game 20.000 euros are presented. Two to twelve players are thereby on a disk-shaped and crumbling map. A player is eliminated when the workshop (the main building) is lost. The caravan can be used to collect crystal sand to strengthen your units. The game runs in real time and is divided into six phases.

The game Eschenwald could also get 20.000 euros for the conception. It is being developed by Nicole Popst – Nanuku Studio from Munich. In the VR mystery game, the story of Little Red Riding Hood is told, giving players a whole new way to experience fairy tales through virtual reality. The setting is a surreal forest with hyperbolic geometry, so it becomes an active and lively part of the story. There are small puzzles to solve and scenes to interact with in order to escape the forest.

Well Done Games UG from Nuremberg also received 20.000 euros for the conception of their game Beyond the Flood. In the survival adventure, a fictional settlement is flooded. Only a few people can be saved at once. Players take on the role of the boat’s leader and have to navigate rapid rapids and whirlpools to rescue people from mortal danger. As the game progresses, the boat is upgraded so that more areas can be explored.

AntMe! GmbH from Schondorf am Ammersee received 20.000 euros for its new game Steampowered AI. It is a real-time strategy game in the age of steampunk. In it, the steam engine is about to conquer the world. New materials called bits make new possibilities of automation come true. However, these are very limited, so that a competition for the best mining sites begins. Players must gather resources and construct buildings, as well as produce vehicles. The processes turn the strategy game into a logic game with a learning character, which takes up concrete logic processes that are also used in software development.

With the conception of the game König der Vordermark (translated: King of the Foremark), Try Hard Interactive GmbH from Grünwald was also awarded 20.000 euros. The players become the king of a fantasy kingdom, which is in conflict with the witch mother Valiki. The king wants to stay on the throne, which is why the people and the princes of his own country have to be convinced of his own qualities. Stereotypical aspects are accompanied by a humorous portrayal.

A cooperative puzzle platformer awaits you in Electrified by 4Hats GbR from Gerbrunn. The multiplayer game, in which two players come together to solve puzzles on the topic of electromagnetism, was funded with 20.000 euros. The characters can switch between different charges (positive, negative, neutral). Electric circuits can be activated but also attractions can be used. Jump-and-run elements unlock increasingly higher paths into the city.

Beyond our Sky is the new title from lyniat.games UG & Co. KG from Amberg, which was also funded with 20.000 euros. In the collection and competition game, tried and tested concepts of the genre are combined with new technologies (e.g. procedural generation). The focus is on turn-based combat between players and wild creatures. The planets are randomly generated. Cross-breeding between creatures is also included, so that the game offers a particularly high level of long-term motivation and replayability.

Nikolai Hilz Kleingewerbe in Munich also gets 20.000 euros for Mafia Infiltration. It is a turn-based strategy game, which shows the main aspects in the narrative. Players are undercover investigators infiltrating a criminal organization in order to destroy it from the inside. Chaos must be created by manipulating computer-controlled mafia members. In the process, the players climb up the hierarchy and can defeat the boss. The story is presented as an emergent narrative, so that it emerges individually through the interactions of the players.

Mediendesign Andreas Münch also won 20,000 euros with the game Lazers! Renegade Squad. This is a tactical rogue-lite vertical shoot-em-up game. Players find themselves in a science fiction scenario and lead their pilot team through an intergalactic adventure. In the 2D sidescrolling shooter, various flying machines must be brought through the levels. Time is rewound after each level run, so tactical planning and asynchronous cooperation are important prerequisites for success.

Finally, 10.000 euros were awarded to Rainer Schicht with the game Schleich Zombie – Tactical Zombieonage. Players find themselves in the role of a working person who is infected with the zombie virus by his boss. This virus is supposed to increase the work performance. The goal is to infect as many other colleagues as possible. The players fulfill various missions from an isometric perspective.

Congratulations to all funded projects and we are looking forward to news from the new and old #GamesInBavaria!

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