The DeanBeat recently shared a story about the joys of participating in an international game event such as Reboot Develop Blue, held in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Amongst the beautiful Adriatic Sea, journalist Jeff Grubb wrote about his experience attending the conference.
He shared an image of his feet on a beach chair looking out at the Sheraton Dubrovnik Riviera Hotel’s swimming pool, but Grubb’s journey was not time for relaxation. Devoting over 26 hours of travel with multiple connections, he spent his time listening to talks, meeting those in the game industry, moderating various sessions, and writing about the event.
Notably, Grubb mentioned the organizer of Reboot, Damir Durovic, and the difficulties in creating a successful event—especially in the post-pandemic world. He described his journey with the CEO of Digital Extremes, Richard Browne, to the war-torn buildings of the Croatian independence war. Taking a Game of Thrones tour, undoubtedly his story proves inspiring when addressing the ambitious mission to create a strong gaming domain in the area.
Climaxing in the “fireside chat” between Hendrik Lesser and Jeff Grubb, Lesser discussed the making of Death From Above, a game using drones and explosives to fight Russian soldiers and tanks. Plunging into the reality of the war in Ukraine, Lesser expressed his need to focus on the politics of peace rather than the traditional approach of ignoring political implications in gaming.
Though a topic of great importance, there was still lightheartedness in the Reboot Develop Blue. The CEO of My.Games, Alex Chachava joined remotely as well as Julie Elven and Marie Havemann for an inspiring panel about creating music for games. Even a “brutally honest” Q&A session occurred, too, with Jonas Antonsson of the Raw Fury team. Ultimately, Viewfinder won game of the year in the final contest and the Reboot Develop Blue event was full of joy and excitement for the gaming community.
My.Games is a Russian-based gaming company that has evolved in a way that allowed it to expand beyond Russia’s borders. My.Games is now part of a Russian gaming industry diaspora as a way to allow it to survive in the industry. The company offers mobile, PC and console games among which popular titles such as Warface, ZombsRoyale.io, Warface Breakout or Skyforge have shone.
Hendrik Lesser is the founder of Lesser Evil, a studio with a mission to create the next Angry Birds or Royal Match. Focusing on war-based video games with Death From Above, his studio’s attempts to build awareness and to raise money for nonlethal aid for Ukrainians has gained attention lately – both for the power of his mission and for the controversy generated by focusing on a current war.
