Here’s what you should know about us
Short facts
- Based in Hamburg, Germany
- Committed to creating impactful narrative games with unique mechanics
- Founded in April 2014 by Melanie Taylor, Daniel Marx, Michael Kluge
- Press and business contact: info@osmoticstudios.com
- Game Releases:
- Orwell: Keeping an Eye on You (October 2016) with publisher Fellow Traveller Games
- Orwell: Ignorance is Strength (February 2018) with publisher Fellow Traveller Games
Description
Osmotic Studios is an award-winning independent game development company based in Hamburg, Germany. Always striving to test out new ways to convey a convincing narrative, the company focusses on story-centric games with socially relevant and meaningful topics at their hearts. Best known is Osmotic Studios’ debut game Orwell, released in 2016, putting players in the shoes of a government agent in the eponymous surveillance program, tasked with spying on suspect persons by going through their online documents and files, listening in on their chats, and phone calls. Orwell has received widespread critical acclaim and recognition from The Game Awards, the Independent Games Festival, and SXSW Gaming.
History
Osmotic Studios was founded in 2014 by Melanie Taylor, Daniel Marx, and Michael Kluge after graduation from HAW Hamburg with the vision to create unique narrative games. Significantly inspired by the “Snowden Leaks” at the time of its foundation, the company released its first game Orwell (now also known as Orwell: Keeping an Eye on You) in October 2016 to significant acclaim. In 2018, the second game Orwell: Ignorance is Strength, a follow-up to Orwell focussing on the seemingly omnipresent topic of misinformation and fake news, was released.
Significant awards and recognition
- The Game Awards 2016 Nomination “Games for Impact” for Orwell: Keeping an Eye on You
- IGF Awards Finalist “Excellence in Narrative” for Orwell: Keeping an Eye on You
- SXSW Gaming Awards Nomination “Cultural Innovation” for Orwell: Keeping an Eye on You
- Deutscher Computerspielpreis (German Video Games Awards) 2017 Winner “Best Serious Game” for Orwell: Keeping an Eye on You
- Deutscher Entwicklerpreis (German Developer Awards) 2017 Winner “Best Story” for Orwell: Keeping an Eye on You
- Deutscher Entwicklerpreis (German Developer Awards) 2017 Winner “Best Innovation” for Orwell: Keeping an Eye on You
Selected publications
- After Cambridge Analytica, this game about government surveillance feels quaint – The Verge, April 16, 2018, English
- How a game is seeking to change the minds of politicians – Polygon, April 6, 2018, English
- You Will Ruin Lives in This Surveillance Game – the Only Question Is Why – Waypoint, April 6, 2018, English
- Orwell, das Videospiel (Video) – ARTE, April 27, 2017, German / French
- You Can Make A Game About Government Surveillance, But You Can’t Make People Care – Kotaku, March 9, 2017, English
- Computerspiel “Orwell”: Der Überwachungsstaat bin ich – Spiegel Online, February 5, 2017, German
- Believing is seeing: Orwell and surveillance sims – Gamasutra, September 15, 2016, English
- A game about freedom of speech – Polygon, August 22, 2016, English
- Orwell will have you play as the surveillance state for once – KillScreen, August 08, 2016, English
- The computer game forcing you to question your views about privacy online – Huck Magazine, August 31, 2016, English
- Orwell – Der Überwachungsstaat ist hier und wir helfen mit – Gamestar, August 21, 2016, German
- Interview: Orwell Developers Osmotic Studios – PopGeeks, August 17, 2016, English
- Orwell is a surveillance thriller about the ethics of data mining – PC Gamer, August 09, 2016, English
- Welle Nerdpol Podcast #8 Orwell – Welle Nerdpol, October 26, 2015, German