Dirk Ringe from award-winning developer studio Envision Entertainment will speak about “Start-ups in the gaming industry” in a keynote speech on May 28.
“Millions in sales in the first week” was the headline in the Allgemeine Zeitung, and “already a hit in Early Access” was the headline in a dpa report: one week after the release of the first version in December 2023, the building strategy game from Ingelheim-based indie studio Envision Entertainment Pioneers of Pagonia has already been downloaded 100,000 times. It is the latest success story from game developer Dirk Ringe and his team, which builds on hit games such as The Settlers, SpellForce and BattleForge.
On Wednesday, May 28, the expert will give an insight into his many years of experience in the gaming industry at the invitation of the LOEWE Center emergenCITY at TU Darmstadt. Under the title “Start-ups in the gaming industry”, the Managing Director of Envision Entertainment will give a keynote speech on the insights he has gained, mistakes made in the first few years and current developments in the industry.
Twelve years ago, he set up his own company in Rheinhessen with his colleague and creative director Volker Wertrich. After initial attempts with games for tablets and smartphones, the focus of the 20-strong company is now back on computer games. Ringe, who studied mathematics in Heidelberg and Mainz, previously worked as Vice President and Executive Producer at EA Phenomic, a subsidiary of Electronic Arts. He has received several awards for his work, including the “Best Studio 2011” award (EA Phenomic), “MMO of the Year” for BattleForge, the German Developer Award 2004 for SpellForce and several VUD Gold Awards for SpellForce and The Settlers 3.
The keynote is part of the emergenCITY Barcamp “From the idea to the market-ready (serious) game”, which will be held on May 28 as part of emergenCITY Week. It will address questions such as: How can an idea become a successful game? What challenges and opportunities arise on the way from development to market maturity? Following the keynote, the two emergenCITY Serious Games that are still in development will be presented: Krisopolis and eHUB cities. In the second part of the event, participants will work out strategies for the marketability of these games in interactive group phases - from target group analysis to business model development.
Title: emergenCITY Keynote & Mini-Barcamp: From the idea to the market-ready (serious) game
Date: 28.05.2025, 09:00 - 13:30
Location: TU Darmstadt, S2|20 Room 09/10
PART I
(09:00 - 10:45)
Keynote by Dirk Ringe (Envision Entertainment): Start-ups in the gaming industry, Q&A with Dirk Ringe and short presentation of the two emergenCITY Serious Games: Krisopolis and eHUB cities
PART II
(10:45 - 13:30)
Input from the business design tools: Target group analysis with Empathy Map & Personas, and Business Model Canvas (BMC), group phase + application of the tools: How does the respective game become marketable? (target group analysis + business models), presentation of the results
The event is aimed at anyone interested in serious games, entrepreneurship and innovation. It is also possible to take part in PART I of the event only. The event will be held in German.
Registration is possible until May 20th here https://www.emergencity.de/s/keynote_ringe
