jens

Concept development for our next game with codename “Deichpunk”

We’re very fortunate and happy to receive funding for the concept development of our next game through the “Landesprogramm Wirtschaft” by the state of Schleswig-Holstein. Namely, the program is called “Richtlinie des Landes Schleswig-Holstein für die Gewährung von Zuwendungen zur Förderung von digitalen Spielen“, funded by the european EFRE program. The concept development phase allows … Read more

Games and Narration

At the heart of video gaming’s uniqueness lies its interactivity. Unlike traditional media, games invite players to shape the narrative, leading to a dynamic storytelling experience. This interactivity transforms a straightforward story into a complex web of choices and consequences, embodying the idea that a game is, fundamentally, a sequence of compelling decisions. However, granting … Read more

More Than Just Fun: How games move us

Have you ever been completely gripped by a video game? Has a game put you in a difficult situation and you still remember how you struggled to find a way out? Or maybe you’ve built up a friendship with a video game character. Games have a unique ability to evoke emotions in players that can … Read more

Remakes and Remasters

We recently started our streaming cycle and picked remasters & remakes as our next topic. For this blogpost we summarized our key points – What do we love about remakes? What makes a good remake? And do we have too many remakes and remasters nowadays?

Verbs in Game Design

After streaming all of the Adventure Jam 2021 games, we noticed that verbs are an integral part of the design of adventure games, and in game design in general. That’s why we decided to have a little discussion about verbs in games!
This blogpost sums up our talk and gives a few good and not-so-good examples of how games make use of verbs.

Meet the Expedition Team: Jens

As the founder of Off The Beaten Track, Jens combines a lot of positions: From game design and programming to bookkeeping and filing taxes! Find out more about him and why he thought it would be a good idea to found a video game development company.

Three years of Adventure Jam. Part three: The Ransom

Three years of Adventure Jam. Part three: The Ransom

Adventure Jam 2018 presented me with a new set of challenges I had not anticipated. At first reluctant to join due to time constraints, I decided to team up with old friends and create a small game, optimizing our production by planning ahead as much as possible.

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Three years of Adventure Jam. Part two: One Of Us

Three years of Adventure Jam. Part two: One Of Us

I returned to Adventure Jam in 2017 with a new set of challenges. In 2016 we had joined as a team and always knew what to do and who would do it. We were all working together locally. In 2017 I did not have that luxury. At the time, contact with my old team for AWAKE had broken up and I was a solo developer.

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