Sam Finston – RIT German Games Industry 2019

Sam’s Send-off

On Saturday I finally got the chance to Really sleep in. My flight wouldn’t board until around 4pm, so I had time to snooze, eat breakfast, and figure out how to get to the airport. I kinda wanted to see one last sight before taking off, but lately my efforts exploring would turn up nothing. Anyway, I had some paperwork to handle on my laptop.

Patrick and I took the train to the airport and arrived with a few hours to spare. I had my final German meal right outside of my gate: a pork knuckle with Mezzo Mix. Tasted just like any other piece of ham I’m sad to say, but it was quite the sight on the plate. I also thought it was funny that all the German-themed stuff in the airport was Bavarian, which is to say from a different part of the country.

There really isn’t all that much to recount. We got in our seats and just took right off. I had my last legal Warsteiner on the plane for free and watched Captain Marvel and Germany faded out of view.

I think I’m quite satisfied with my time there, and I’m especially happy with the range of towns I visited. I’ll hopefully be back soon, but I want to visit all the big places I missed, like Munich and Berlin. For a first trip though, I got a lot more than I expected. I also got a lot fewer souvenirs than I expected. I’m not sad about this by any means, but I think its funny that most of the stuff I brought back was literally rocks.

Until next time, auf wiedersehen!

It’s Friday I’m in… Frankfurt

On Friday we said a lot of farewells. Our friends from Paderborn were scheduled to leave in the early afternoon, and there was nothing else on the schedule until “goodbye ice cream” in the evening. I decided to stroll on down to the Goethe House in the morning on my own.

For those not in the loop, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a pretty famous German author. He’s not talked about nearly enough in American public schools, but you might know him as “The Faust Guy.” Anyway, his childhood home in Frankfurt was converted into a museum, and my host from Cologne recommended I check it out.

Now the unfortunate part here is that the house was actually destroyed by bombs during World War II. Luckily all of its furniture and other accessories were saved in storage though, so at some point it was rebuilt and restored to look how it did in the past. This is the kind of museum where it really just is a house, but there are written guides explaining the significance of every item in every room . Without an actual tour guide, the whole experience was over pretty quick.

One more note on Goethe though: The whole time I was there I never actually saw the exterior of the house. It was surrounded completely by tall modern buildings under construction, and the entrance was through a separate smaller building. Even the courtyard was blocked by temporary wooden walls. Otherwise I’d have pictures.

Next up I strolled on down to SKYLINE PLAZA with Michael. We didn’t really find any shopping of interest, but we got a good workout and some ice cream to cancel it out.

And speaking of ice cream, the whole class of us got even more at night! It was a bittersweet ice cream social if I’ve ever seen one. We exchanged stories of our day before separating for one final time. Of course, we would continue to awkwardly run into each other until taking flight, but I guess that just shows that nothing is ever final.

One more (currywurst) for the roooooooaaaaaad

Do You Like Worms?

Thursday’s studio visit was in Worms! I’m told this is a particularly old and historical city. Dragon slaying and the Protestant reformation are the biggest motifs, as well as some historical Jewish sites. The cold weather on this day through everyone for a loop after so much sun earlier in the week.

Calypso welcomed us after a short walk from the station. They’re the company behind the Tropico series, and this office handles marketing for this neck of Europe. We were given a detailed presentation about the company’s structure, followed by a tour of the office and some Q and A. I learned that they have an office in my native New Jersey. Apparently only three people work there for minor distribution business, but I might check it out some day.

Our hosts at Calypso were very nice and provided us “Presidente” branded sodas and some food. The office seemed pretty cozy, though I knew there was no development going on there.

Our only other planned stop in Worms was a walk through the old Jewish Cemetery. Headstones pointed in different angles among tall, wild grass. Moss lined cracked surfaces and extented from graves to the stones left on top by visitors from the past.

We didn’t have much time left until our train, but I really wanted to explore the old town. I ran in circles for a while and found nothing but newer shops. It’s possible I was in the wrong area, but there wasn’t time to move very far. After taking a few pictures, I joined the rest of the group for ice cream. On the train ride back to Frankfurt, I asked Volker questions about Germany and his travels to Canada.

That night we had our goodbye dinner with our friends from Paderborn. They found a traditional German place with Schnitzel, so I could finally check it off my list. After some good food and conversation, some of us moved back to the Irish Pub and had a final drink before hitting the sack. Goodbyes would have to wait for Friday.

One of the many dragons spotted in Worms

Finally some German food around here! Note the Frankfurt “green sauce”

Stu-Stu-Studios (Whoah Oh)

Wednesday was a pretty big day, but I’m legally obligated to not share Too many details. Our first stop was Nintendo of Europe’s Frankfurt office and we took a tram all the way there. I got a little over-excited just in the lobby of the office building. I knew they didn’t make any games here, but the idea of being in a ~real Nintendo location~ was enough to make me feel special. Our guest tags even had Mario on them!

Our hosts were very kind and bought us some coffee before we started. I got a frozen coffee and was delightfully surprised to find out that it was basically ice cream. Now I can’t say much of what happened in the middle, but we also ate lunch with our hosts in the office cafeteria. They gave us some really cool swag and then brought us up to a really cool recreational room. This room was huge and had a small exhibit of Nintendo memorabilia as well as a bunch of TVs set up with Switches and other consoles. I played some Puyo and geeked out over the display cases.

This room also has a little shop for employees. It was stocked with basically all the Nintendo products that are currently in the market, as well as some fun other stuff. I found a cute Kirby blanket that looks like it was an old prize for European Club Nintendo members. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to buy anything. However, our hosts were, and one of them was so kind as to buy it herself and let me pay her back. I was so happy I could have just floated away right then and there.

Next up was Crytek, which (naturally) is on the exact other side of the city. I was still in a blissful state from my Nintendo experience. Once again I can’t say too much, but I did get a nice look around where they develop CryEngine and all their games. The wild thing here is that they’re actually a location that hires game developers. It was weird to think that the people touring us might interested in hiring us one day.

On the tram ride back we watched the Pokemon Direct that had aired earlier in the day, all crowded around one cellphone. I think we spent around four hours in the trams alone on Wednesday. Later on we took a long walk to a ramen place, which was a nice opportunity to look at the city as the sun went down. Like the other places I’ve seen so far in Germany, there are curious statues, buildings, and fountains to be seen around every corner. Later in the night we had a smash tournament at the hotel, and I won!

You can take a picture just like this from almost every other block

An Excursion to Eltville

So Tuesday might’ve been the highlight of this trip, for me anyway. We started the day exploring the nicer part of the city, in and around the old town. As you might expect, there’s a big cathedral there! We had a look around inside at all its fancy artwork before moving along. Other important stops include a German Five Guys and a cool (but creepy) antique shop. While our friends from Paderborn enjoyed tasting Five Guys for the the first time, I tried out Mezzo Mix. It’s a popular soda here that claims to be no more than coke and fanta in one cup. It was alright. We walked back to the hotel along the river and soaked in the skyline.

Of course the main event wasn’t in Frankfurt, but Eltville. Eltville is a beautiful little town right on the water, and we were somehow all invited to meet the mayor there. I didn’t find any exciting shopping, but I enjoyed some ice cream and some lahmacun in town before heading down to the shore. The shore was very nice.

To be a bit more specific: the shore was amazing. It was lined by trees leading up to gardens leading up to a castle. I excitedly climbed down to the water and collected pebbles and seaglass while enjoying a cool, nautical breeze. Before exploring the gardens, we enjoyed some long wine (a regional specialty) at an outdoor bar overlooking the river.

After posing for lots of pictures among the roses, the mayor appeared and showed us around the castle. In one of the rooms of its tower, there was a small exhibit about Johannes Gutenberg. From the top, you could see the whole town as well as the neighboring that is supposedly owned by one man.

The rest of the time in Eltville was spent sipping champagne in the garden with the mayor. The temperature was just perfect, and the sun set slowly over the evening. We ate pretzels and cream cheese and talked until it was time to head back.

The real best part: a fountain of pose-able ducks

Frankfurt First Impressions

Monday morning took us back to central station. There we took a high-speed train toward our next destination, Frankfurt. I had taken a train like this from Frankfurt’s airport to Cologne when I first arrived in Germany, and I was pleased to return to those comfortable seats and free wifi.

After being rushed off of this first ride, we made a transfer into a train with only a few open seats. I bounced between sitting on the ground and standing by my luggage in a not-too-cramped open area by the bathroom. As I enjoyed the view from the window however, I noticed the temperature steadily increasing. At first I thought I might be coming down with something, but when the train halted just a few minutes before our stop, you could see everyone glancing around in the same panicked sweat.

By the time we checked in to the hotel, we were already decidedly hot and bothered. The pouring rain luckily waited for us to move in first, but our rooms were even hotter than the train was. Apparently this week is uncharacteristically brutal for the area, and air conditioning is not a standard. I immediately got very anxious about being in such a busy city. Cologne was very large, but every area I explored had some amount of peace to it. Our hotel’s location across from Frankfurt’s train station however, is more like your average NYC street corner.

Luckily I was able to cool off and calm down in a nearby Irish pub with some of the rest of our group. Most of the day since arriving, I was really missing Paderborn. I soon realized how much more there was to do here though, and so I found some peaceful sleep, despite the city heat.

Week One Wrap-up

Saturday night at 5 we arose from our jamming and took a brief walk in the now very summery weather. Our destination: barbecue! We found a nice big park and set up shop with burgers and bratwurst. We spend a good few hours enjoying the sunny afternoon before some people started heading back to work in the labs.

Sunday was the last day of the jam, with work officially to cease at 3pm. My task at the moment was to integrate the UI for the game end screen, showing the scores and player names. The coders meanwhile were scrambling to clean up bugs. By the time of the presentation, our game unfortunately did not have it’s core mechanic implemented. It did, however, feature working networked multiplayer between 4 computers.

Post Mortem: Strike Counter was kinda doomed from the start. Not to fail, but to not get very far. I was impressed by how my team was able to get networking up, but the time and energy spent on this one feature left little room to integrate any of the interesting design ideas that inspired the game.

After every team’s presentation and respective critiques, we posed for a big group photo. We were told this photo would go on the fill the last empty spot in the university’s hall of fame, so I guess I’m a little honored. The rest of the day was left to us, and I had one last castle to get to.

Schloß Neuhaus is a really pretty castle surrounded by the same peaceful river that flows through Paderborn. It apparently functions today as a high school. Sunday, however, was right in the midst of Schützenfest, a lively holiday in which certain townspeople are crowned royalty for a year. That night, the kings and queens of the last year had their final celebration in their finest clothing as the whole town gathered for festivities. I helped myself to some ice cream and finally tried out currywurst before heading back through a scenic wooded area right on the water.

We also had one last dinner with some of our good friends who wouldn’t be joining us in Frankfurt. The place we chose sold a 40 euro burger that can apparently get you in another hall of fame, but we decided to save it for next time.

Sam Steps Out Early

Friday was more jam time! I continued the work on our game’s Heads Up Display (or HUD, for the cool kids). Our 3D artist completed the models for all of the weapons, and our designer was hard at work blocking out levels.

Despite all the sugar in my Fritz-Spritz, I was feeling pretty exhausted by mid-afternoon. I checked in once more with my team before checking out for the day. On my winding journey back to the hotel for a nap, I stopped in an odd shop that appeared to sell only three things: cosmetic lotions, wooden figurines, and candles for baptisms and communions. I was mainly interested in grabbing a souvenir (I’ll let you guess what kind), but what I found was a nice conversation with the shop owner. He has apparently been in this little store for fifty years, and he takes pride in the tourists that he has met from all around the globe.

At 9pm I realized that I hadn’t really eaten in a while. It was hard to believe that it had gotten so late, as the sun had barely seemed to go down. A few days earlier, I had been recommended a doner place (doner, or “döner,” is very popular in Germany), so I took a late night stroll to get my kebab fix. Paderborn is very beautiful in the late evening, with seemingly the whole town eating outside at cafes if not sitting in the park by the water.

We Be–and I cannot stress this enough–Jammin’

I think the title really says it all, but I guess I owe a more detailed explanation. Today at 10am we started our game jam in collaboration with the University of Paderborn’s Game Lab. Together, the 55 or so of us will be jamming until Sunday evening. And what a slam it’s been already! While I have done Ludum Dare before, that was always from the comfort of my home with a few friends. Here we have a full lab of talented students from a variety of areas of study.

Lucky for us, they really know how to jam here! With impressive efficiency, everyone was sorted into a team based on their skills and interests. We were first divided into pairs to come up with ideas. Next, groups of six were formed out of three pairs. Each of these teams decided on an idea to pitch to the whole lab. Once all of these ideas were pitched, everyone voted to narrow down the selection. Finally, teams were formed around winning ideas, with care to allocate students who excel at art/design/coding/sound in the right places.

Something I found very refreshing was the sheer number of people who didn’t just code. There was an especially large group of sound people, and even quite a few who designed primarily (I’m used to design on small teams being a shared responsibility). I ended up on a team with a very ambitious idea that doesn’t really fit with the games I usually play or make, hoping to learn something new. It might have been a bit more than I bargained for, but I’m having fun implementing UI, something we almost didn’t realize the importance of at first.

Most of the day was spent inside, so I hope you’ll enjoy a page from my notebook:

To Bielefeld and Back

Wednesday took us on an excursion to nearby Bielefeld. Our main attraction: a castle! A few of us took Switches for the ride, so we easily passed the time with some Smash Bros. Coming in the station, we were met with lovely weather, and we walked through a lively street fair on the way to the castle.

Sparrenburg castle sits on top a high peak, and it’s tower reaches even higher. Needless to say, we got quite the workout. Our tour guide led us around the exterior with details about the fortress’s long history, followed by a dive into the catacombs. Under the castle, we trekked through tunnels and explored several dark stone rooms. After the tour, we climbed the central tower and enjoyed a great view of the surrounding area.

In our few days in Paderborn, I managed to get people excited to try “Spaghetti Ice Cream,” a treat I learned about long ago in my German class. Our local friends helped track down the best ice cream cafe in Bielefeld for us to enjoy it properly. The treat itself is traditionally just vanilla ice cream, pressed into the shape of noodles, with fruit sauce and white chocolate imitating tomato and parmesan. This particular cafe had four whole pages of their menu dedicated to different varieties, and everyone ate well.