April 10. 2018 was a holiday for the approximately 60 creative minds at the Giebelstadt games manufacturer HandyGames. In the afternoon there was the promise of Bavarian subsidies for the strategy and development game “Townsmen VR”. And in the evening they were awarded the German Computer Game Prize.

What matures for a long time, gets better year by year. This is at least is true for “Townsmen” the strategy and development game from the games manufacturer in the Franconian Giebelstadt. “Townsmen” tells the story of bustling settlers: Lumberjacks fell trees, carpenters build houses from them – land reclamation in an entertaining way. The players, as a godlike father figure, (hopefully) keep track of everything. He guides his pioneers this way and that way, so that the village grows and flourishes.

The original version of this classic strategy and building idea dates back to the year 2002 and has, since then, constantly further developed. Most important difference in the current version: The tiny builders are entertainingly animated and bring life to a beautifully coloured world. The invite the player to be in the centre of things instead of just being an onlooker. Under the title “Townsmen VR” HandyGames’ series of games has arrived in the modern world of virtual reality. The viewer wears an VR-Headset on his head and has a controller in his hands. He sees his people from his perspective, with his hands he can actively intervene in the environment, can tear out trees or, using his fingers, flick aggressors away from the map.

On the aforementioned 10. April 2018 cleared up twice. In the afternoon the Free State of Bavaria promised, via its funding institution – the FilmFernsehFonds FFF Bayern -, to support the development of the project with 300,000 Euros. In the evening of the same day this was followed by the award of the German Computer Game Prize 2018 for the “Best game design”. This meant additional subsidies of 40,000 Euros. Congratulations!The complete article can be found on the MedienNetzwerk Bayern’s website.

In Giebelstadt the HandyGames team developed the strategy and development game “Townsmen VR” which, at the German Computer Game Prize 2018, won the category “Best game design”.

Photo: HandyGames