Meanwhile, our podcast features Technology and Trade over 100 episodes. During this time, we have received many interesting guests on a wide variety of topics. The game was also not neglected as a topic. But playing is not just playing. In the podcast episodes, for example, we talked about esports and had Vivien Mallant from “Unicorns of Love” and former ESL PR director Christoper Flato with us. We also care about game development, gamification, and most importantly inclusion in games.
Inclusion in the game with Melanie Eilert
Very few players care that we also share our hobby with players who have to overcome much greater obstacles to their passion due to a disability. This starts with small details, such as the problems that colorblind people can have with the coloring of some elements of the game. We had as a guest the blogger Melanie Eilert, who repeatedly finds great barriers in games due to her congenital muscle weakness. To do this, she not only relies on software, but also hardware that makes games more accessible to her. The episode gave us a whole new perspective on gaming and we highly recommend everyone to check it out as well.
How does an underdog family team turn into a professional esports team? With Vivien Mallant from “Unicorns of Love”
The game is family. While others want to say that in a more figurative sense, reality is lived with the “Unicorns of Love”. The e-sports team really started out as a family business and has been able to establish itself in the highly competitive professional field. They are now represented with 7 teams in 6 games and have their own area in the RCADIA game center in Hamburg. We were able to speak with the manager Vivien Mallard. She tells us how they did it and what setbacks there were. But it’s also about how to reconcile family and work and why “playing” as a profession is much more strenuous than is often assumed in public.
RCADIA: Hamburg’s new gaming and esports event space, with Nathalie Haut
A good 8 months after our own visit to RCADIA, we spoke to press spokesperson Nathalie Haut about the current state of the gaming house. Nathalie herself talks a bit about why she occasionally has withdrawal symptoms during a week of events, for example, even though she works the playground all the time. Another recommendation is our little spin-off podcast, where Nathalie and Moritz talk more regularly about esports and gaming. In the first edition it is mainly about the indie game “Omno”.
How does an independent developer work? With Philip Stollenmayer
Huge teams of several hundred people have been working on video games for many years. Despite this, or perhaps because of this, there are also indie games that are worked on by individual developers or at least smaller teams. With Philipp Stollenmayer, we had an indie developer with us who was able to give us interesting insights into indie development. In Tech & Trara he explains how he works and what tools support him. But it’s also about the indie scene itself and how his passion turned into a profession. An episode that is also carried away by the enthusiasm for indie games.
Gamification: More motivation through the game? With Felipe Reinartz
Video games are fun. That is why we spend free time and money to spend time with them. However, game mechanisms can also be used in other areas of life, to make the driest facts more interesting or to create incentives with playful rewards. Philipp Reinartz is the founder of the gamification agency Pfeffermind. In our podcast he tells us what events his agency makes more exciting through game elements and what game concepts are used. It is also about creative processes and brainstorming as such. The episode is not only exciting if you are interested in gamification.
E-sport and what makes it special with Christopher Flato from ESL
Esports has long since ceased to be a small virtual niche of competitive events. Games like Dota, Counterstrike and Fifa have been filling entire stadiums for years. The prize money is also impressive: “The International 2021” was about 40 million US dollars in prize money. Together with Christopher Flato, then ESL PR Director, we got to the bottom of the fascination. Why is esports now attracting such a wide audience? He shows that esports also covers a wide variety of genres, from real-time strategy to esports to shooters. It turns out that many community games have sprung up, while many deliberately developed esports games have failed.
Desperadoes 3 starring Dennis Huszak
With “Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun” Mimimi Games achieved great success in the style of Commando games. We were more than happy to welcome Dennis Huszak, who worked as a narrative director at Mimimi Games, to one of our first episodes. At the time of the podcast, Desperados 3 was about to be released, the long-awaited sequel to a tactical game from 2001/2006. The Tech & Trara episode is not just about Desperados 3, but also about the Real Time Tactics genre and vintage games in general. We also talked to Dennis about the art itself and how you want to make a living as an artist, and where games go overboard digging through your wallet.
Image by MarySan via adobestock
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