In 2020, the Emergo Entertainment team came up with the idea for Fireside during an online Game Jam amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The team’s focus was to evoke positive feelings despite the negative atmosphere during those very challenging times. This led to the creation of Fireside, a game where you can sit alone in the comfort of your home and still experience the feeling of togetherness. The team members have known each other since well before Fireside was created, as they had collaborated in other Game Jams and studied together at the University of Bayreuth. Today, they share their personal experiences with all of you. Paul, the project manager, programmer, and game designer, completed his master’s degree in conducting. This was a valuable experience that led him to create an interactive conducting application called Wagner VR. His mother served as a tester for this project. During his master’s studies, he also began searching for founding partners. Not long after, co-founder Carl-Philipp joined the team. [img]https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/41076287/14829c62f62b71f1f4efd5bfa5933252dda6fb3c.jpg[/img] Carl-Philipp (or CP for short) is also a programmer and game designer of Fireside. While he has participated in many Game Jams, no project was as personally promising as Fireside. The game received positive feedback for its atmosphere. It was inspired by some other cozy games like A Short Hike, Spiritfarer, and Cozy Grove. Matthias is responsible for the music and sound in Fireside. Soundtracks from games like Life is Strange were his main inspirations, but the music in Fireside is distinct. Like Carl-Philipp, Matthias had participated in other Game Jams before, leading to wonderful projects like Press W to Progress, where the only game mechanic was pressing the W key. Linus is the artist, and has created several sketches for Fireside. Some of his inspirations come from titles like Robin Hood: The Legend of Sherwood and Moon Hunters, as well as his dachshund Buddy, who even made it into Fireside as Scout Gilbert’s sidekick! Linus always appreciated when Paul incorporated his talent for jazz during Game Jams. [img]https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/41076287/2653fb98e36249f58c277ea6e2432325f40f6b0d.png[/img] Since 2021, the team has been supported by Ilona, who takes care of the narrative design and writes funny yet informative texts for it. Her creativity seems to have no limit, as her love for playing Pen and Paper is the source of her inspiration. She may at some point lead an evening where the others must survive a night at the campfire, as the team not only shares a passion for Game Jams, but for camping as well. [img]https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/41076287/37538770c6c755fbb42e1b500f6b5347d5264f9f.png[/img] Camping can be quite challenging, as Matthias discovered the time it started raining and he realized the tent was not waterproof, or when Linus woke up with unfortunate back pain after a night in a tent. Paul once even had to navigate through a storm on a sailboat with 19 others to reach the safety of the harbor—not in a tent, but on a boat, like the nameless protagonist in Fireside. However, the five have also experienced wonderful moments like sitting with friends around the warmth of campfire, playing tunes on the guitar, singing songs, or simply savoring the moment without any smartphones while enjoying the tranquility of nature and witnessing spectacles like the Milky Way in the sky. These are the moments Fireside seeks to convey: togetherness at the campfire and the breaks on a journey. No hustle and bustle of everyday life or battle chaos in adventure games. It’s simply about enjoying the coziness of the game and getting to know its diverse characters. And you can do it from the comfort of your sofa with a cup of warm tea or hot chocolate and your favorite Christmas cookies, without feeling the rain dripping through your tent.