In Pocket Hockey, users build their own team of hockey heroes and play matches against other hockey fans worldwide
At the Arctic Games event Indie Game Dev Night, held at Café på Bit in Skellefteå, several games in various stages of development were showcased. One of them was Pocket Hockey, developed by Gold Town Games.
– This is the second time we’re presenting the game to a larger audience, and before Christmas, we’ll release an early beta version of Pocket Hockey, says Jonathan Hood, creative director at Gold Town Games.
When Gold Town Games debuted the game at the Games Ground Berlin festival in mid-November, they received positive feedback, confirming its appeal across all age groups.
– Seeing children and their parents play together and enjoy the game was incredibly rewarding for us, said Hood.
"Seeing children and their parents play together and enjoy the game was incredibly rewarding for us," said Jonathan Hood.
He is one of six game developers who have worked intensively on Pocket Hockey for six months.
– As we approach the launch, we’ve also brought in four students from the game development programs in Skellefteå and Boden, says Jonathan.
In Pocket Hockey, users build their own team of hockey heroes and play matches against other hockey fans worldwide. The players are designed to resemble famous hockey stars, such as Wayne Gretzky and Jaromir Jágr.
– In the future, we might also include an AIK player, perhaps Jimmie Eriksson, says Hultgren.
Many people came to test the games.
He notes that this will be the world’s first mobile hockey game to feature multiplayer functionality, allowing multiple players to compete with or against each other in real time.
The game is entirely different from the sports management games Gold Town Games has worked on previously.
Pär Hultgren and Olle Kaiser who are working on Pocket Hockey.
– Pocket Hockey is much easier to get started with and targets a broader audience, says Hultgren.
– The revenue model is based on players purchasing items within the game to improve their performance
Tim Leiner, Mattias Sandström, and Linn-Marie Edlund were the moderators for the event.
– We are currently fine-tuning the game’s business model, and the game will gradually be launched in more and more markets, with the goal of a global release this spring. It’s hard to predict how big this will become, but the potential looks promising, says Hultgren.
Several other game developers also showcased their projects during the well-attended gaming event, where visitors had the opportunity to try out the games first-hand.
The newly founded company Polysoup Interactive, run by Fredrik Lindahl and Samuel Lundsten, both teachers at Luleå University of Technology in Skellefteå, was present at the event. They showcased their puzzle game "Put the sausage in the bun," where players guide a wobbly sausage into a bun using balloons and bees. The demonstration brought plenty of laughter.
"On the same day we launched the game, we received 30,000 comments on Twitter, which is very encouraging, says Harry Heat of Cold Sector.
– We launched the game on November 11, and it has received a very positive reception, says Lindahl.
Harry Heath, from the game development company Cold Sector in Jörn, provided insights into their newly released game, Pawsta, which was first unveiled at Games Ground Berlin. The game focuses on cooking in various global settings.
– On the same day we launched the game, we received 30,000 views on Twitter, which is very encouraging, says Harry.