Trüberbrook

Trüberbrook is the 2019 mystery adventure game developed by btf and published by Headup Games.

Publisher's summary
''Imagine yourself on a vacation to Europe in the late sixties. Now, picture yourself as a young American scientist; Hans Tannhauser. Yes, that’s your name in this scenario. While you’re at it, think of Trüberbrook, a remote village in rural, mountain-sloped and densely forested cold-war Germany. Because, that’s where you somehow end up after hitting the continent. But who cares, you won the trip in a lottery! Or at least, that’s how it seems. But don’t fear, instead of getting some rest, you could find yourself having to save the world …''

Gameplay
Trüberbrook draws inspiration from classic point-&-click adventure games but streamlines the game design for a more modern and casual approach. The puzzles and their implementation are intentionally easy compared to older games, in order to create a more relaxed experience with a gentler pace. Depending on playstyle, the average playtime is 6 to 8 hours, with the game’s immersive world catering for both players who enjoy inspecting every last detail, and those who like to rush through to drive the story forward.

Development
To fund development, Trüberbrook initially received support from the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg in 2016, as part of the “programme for the development and production of innovative audio-visual content”. A successful Kickstarter campaign was also carried out in November 2017.

btf used their experience of miniature scale modelling and stop motion animation to create the world of Trüberbrook. They felt that the game needed a unique and magical look that could only be achieved through these techniques and were enthusiastic despite the labour required. While working on the first Trüberbrook models, they tested many different approaches on digitalizing the models, utilizing 3D-scanning and photogrammetry.

For Trüberbrook, scale models were digitized after being set up and photographed in their different lighting scenarios. After scanning the miniatures via photogrammetry, the images were prepared for a real-time engine (retopo etc.), then projected onto a mesh (like matte painting workflows), before finally importing them into Unity. The lighting for the models was then recreated as closely to the original image as possible, to enable characters to move freely in the game while still reacting dynamically to light changes.

Release
Trüberbrook was released for Windows, Mac and Linux on March 12, 2019, followed a month later by PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One on April 17th. A future mobile release is being considered for iOS and Android, with btf intending to address the expected technical challenges immediately after the game’s initial release.

The game was released in English and German, both with full voice acting and subtitles. Additional subtitles are implemented for Spanish, French, Polish, Czech, Russian, Ukrainian, Chinese (Trad.), Chinese (Simpl.), Korean and Japanese.