Games Ground 2024 – A North Swedish Delegation

Needless to say, it offered an exciting opportunity for local studios to test how their games could perform in an international market, and many from the delegation remarked how prosperous the local scene in Germany was. 

Ferren Bestari from Blamorama Games (Luleå) was especially quick to recommend it to any developers who might be on the fence about showcasing internationally:

Also, on the itinerary were trips to the Computer Spiele Museum & Saftladen, a local indie games collective. Thomas Sunhede from the Embracer Games Archive was especially in his element at the museum, helping to echo the importance of video game preservation. 

The Saftladen visit presented a fantastic look into how coworking spaces can bolster the growth and presence of indie studios. Instead of just being a simple place of business, the collective presented itself as more of a “community centre” for local developers and regularly opens its doors to the public.

For these trips, the delegation was also joined by Olympe Challot from SpielFabrique, a cross-border initiative. Arctic Game support their  European Videogame Accelerator (EVA) as project partners, so there was plenty to catch up on. The visits also presented plenty of chances for the entourage to mingle with local studios and foster great connections.

During their stay, a “Talk & Play” event was also hosted by Berlin Game Scene. This event was open to anyone interested in gaming and acted as a safe place for anyone curious to mingle with industry representatives & trailblazing students from the local university’s game department.   

Harry Heath from Cold Sector (Jörn) had already taken the initiative to reach out to the organisers ahead of the trip and was kindly invited to come up on stage and quickly present his game Pawsta. It was a spontaneous moment, but acted as a great icebreaker, as many visitors to his booth at Games Ground mentioned how they had attended that talk.

The audience was surprised to hear that the game was being produced in a town as small as Jörn, with Jörn’s estimated population of 600-something inhabitants being a far cry from Berlin’s, which stands at nearly 4 million.

Games Ground itself was brimming with activity, especially when it opened to the public on the final day. It was then that the delegation got some of their most authentic playtest feedback.

Axel Åhlund of Gold Town Games (Skellefteå) got some especially cool insights that he’d struggle to find in North Sweden:

“On a personal level, it was seeing kids who had no knowledge of hockey return over and over again to challenge their friends to a game of Pocket Hockey.”

Pontus from Gumlin Games (Skellefteå) shared a similar sentiment, acknowledging how seeing Mechanical Sunset thrive in the hands of new fans acted as the biggest reward following around a year of constant development:

“I believe one of the most gratifying moments for any developer is watching someone play your game for the first time and thoroughly enjoy it — making all the hard work feel completely worth it.”

As well as receiving a positive reception from Games Ground attendees, Mechanical Sunset had the surprise honour of being featured in a live stream hosted by the influencer Pyrocynical.

“Having Pyrocynical play our game was both thrilling and nerve-wracking,” Pontus admitted with a laugh, adding: “Opportunities like this are rare, and the exposure it brought us was beyond anything we could have hoped for.”

The game was just one of a select few to be handpicked for the famous influencer to play.

In a particularly heartwarming moment, one young girl was so taken by Pawsta, that she even made 5 or so repeat visits to Harry’s booth to replay it. It seemed like it was her first time using keyboard and mouse controls. Harry remarked that it could well have been a formative gaming moment for her and it was a special experience to share.

For the two-brother team behind Sparrowland (Boden), the event also marked the debut of showcasing their game, The Tragedy at Deer Creek, to a big public audience; a huge step for them to take.  And by the sounds of it, it also went swimmingly.

Co-founder Andreas Norberg got a plethora of hands-on impressions from the playtesting that he said will greatly benefit the continued development of the game:

“Showcasing our game at Games Ground was a truly valuable experience, as we got to talk to and observe such a broad variety of gamers play our game, and learn what they liked and what they didn’t like in terms of game and puzzle design as well as the art style and overall feel of the game. Things that we bring with us when we continue building the game during 2025.”

All in all, each of the North Swedish representatives seemed to get a wealth of opportunities from their time at the convention, and the buzz of being in Berlin has undoubtedly fostered a long-lasting sense of comradery between them. 

Together, they make a strong case that locally produced games can have a huge universal appeal outside of our Nordic bubble.

To sum it all up, Tim Lukas of Arctic Game offered some fantastic closing words. 

“We are so happy of how everything turned out bringing 5 indie studios from Arctic Game to our delegation booth at Games Ground Berlin: The teams showcased their games, got featured by influencers, and explored exciting new partnerships.”

Of course, none of this would have been possible without the tremendous support of some of the North’s finest. This event was enabled via the project Game Attraction North with the financiers: Co-funded by the European Union, Luleå kommun, Boden Business Park, Skellefteå kommun, Umeå kommun, Region Norrbotten and Region Västerbotten. 

Here’s to Games Ground 2025!

// Written by Harry Heath