In 2014, we piloted the NYU Game Center Incubator, an experimental program to support the work of our graduating MFA students. Five years later, our experiment has exceeded all expectations, funding thirty-eight games by sixty-six developers from NYU and across the country!
We’re proud to continue this program in 2019, with a cohort of four games Bizarre Barber, Crosshatch, despelote, and We should talk. This incredibly impressive cohort of eleven developers joined the Incubator already with IGF nominations, IndieCade selections, Oculus grants and more for their work, and we’re excited to see how these four unique games develop over the next three months and beyond. Below you’ll find info on each of the games and teams in the 2019 Incubator.
The success of the Incubator is made possible by support from many people and organizations, and in many forms. In 2019, we’re grateful to welcome Kowloon Nights as an Incubator sponsor. Kowloon Nights is a fund dedicated to independent video game developers globally. They share our vision of supporting the development and financial success of a wider range of games and game creators.
The Game Center continues to receive substantial support from New York State Empire State Development. New York State is committed to long-term investment in the game development industry in the state. Learn more about how New York state is investing in games here.
Bizarre Barber
by Synesthetic Echo
Bizarre Barber is a fast-paced VR action game for Oculus Rift set in a surreal world where you play as an alien barber providing stylish haircuts for eccentric clientele. Instead of a comfy adjustable chair you’d see in most barber shops, all of your clients move chaotically through the world unable to sit still even for a second. Players will make perfect cuts, dodge dangerous obstacles, catch speed boosts and power-ups, and even earn money to unlock new tools and new worlds. Can you keep up with the bizarre styling trends and hyperactive pace of this surreal metropolis?
Bizarre Barber is a grant winner for Oculus Launchpad 2018 program. Development is supported by Oculus.
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SITE | TRAILER
Crosshatch
by Rustforms
Crosshatch is a serene puzzle game about a garden growing between entangled worlds.
Play as an investigative botanist who stumbles into the Gardens of Zembla, a strange place where two worlds overlap. Cross between the rivaling worlds of Preservation and Growth to solve spatial puzzles, discover strange plants, and chat with Gardenbots while you uncover the mysteries of the gardens.
SITE | TWITTER
despelote
by Julián Cordero & Sebastián Valbuena
despelote is a single player first person game where you explore a park and communicate with people by kicking a soccer ball around.
Throughout the game, you will be exposed to the social ramifications of soccer. The game intends to separate itself from soccer as commonly seen on TV, instead, placing its focus on the sociopolitical context of soccer, where it is played in streets, parks, and bleeds into many other aspects of society.
SITE | TRAILER
We Should Talk
by Kat Aguiar, Nobonita Bhowmik,
Francesca Carletto-Leon, Jordan Jones-Brewster,
Carol Mertz, Jack Schlesinger
It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. We should talk is a short-form narrative game that will make players think carefully about the words they choose.
Using a unique narrative choice mechanic, players craft sentences in response to the in-game characters in We should talk. Through this careful choice of words, players express themselves as they discuss ongoing problems about life and romance with their in-game partner over text messages, while also chatting with friends and strangers at their favorite local bar about what’s on their mind. The combination of words they choose impacts the conversations they have, how genuinely they can connect with their partner, and whether their relationship can survive the night.