But I think people understood that it's not a Valve game and they really got the idea then."Īs for Headup's plans for the future, the publisher is gearing up for the Bridge Constructor Portal launch on console and it has two new games signed and announced. "It was fun to see how people react, because everyone was screaming, 'oh no, it's not Portal 3'. Aldrup notes that "beside the first Bridge Constructor, it's by far the most successful title that we've done". "With console versions, there are submission processes which take longer – it was the plan to launch everything in December, but we got into some trouble with submissions."īut the initial launch has gone well so far. We created a mock-up video where all the mechanics and graphics from Portal were in it and from then the discussions went pretty fast. Console versions were planned to release at the same time, including a Switch edition, but were ultimately pushed back into 2018. "The Bridge Constructor engine was already there – they had a stable foundation that they could build on," says Aldrup.īridge Constructor Portal was launched on December 20th for mobile and PC. "We created a mock-up video where all the mechanics and graphics from Portal were in it and from then the discussions went pretty fast," says Aldrup.ĭevelopment on the game started in around February 2017, and it took about nine months before the game was ready to ship. Thankfully, a new starter at Valve, who happened to be based in Berlin, took to the idea and encouraged the team to create a prototype video to show to the studio. "It took two years or so to get the discussion going." "We had this idea that would be a perfect fit, so then we tried to contact Valve to see if this was something they'd be into. "When one Bridge Constructor is done, we're always thinking about what could be done next with the brand," explains Aldrup. Originally announced on December 6th 2017, Bridge Constructor Portal combines the simulation series with Valve's critically acclaimed physics-based puzzle IP, adding in turrets, rogue AI and the titular portals into the typical bridge constructing mix.īut Valve wasn't so easily persuaded to part with its IP. That said, Headup does go to its developers with ideas from time to time – which led to the development of Bridge Constructor Portal. "We're not forcing decisions or forcing changes in the game, we give constructive feedback and basically let the developer do their stuff." "On the creative side, we basically let them do what they do, because we know that they're doing well – we're giving feedback all the time and they're sending us builds once a week or so," he explains. When one Bridge Constructor is done, we're always thinking about what could be done next with the brand. The success of the original game also means that Clockstone is largely left to its own devices, as Headup trusts the team to create the best games it can. Since the original Bridge Constructor, Clockstone has turned out three more sequels that take the series to vastly different places: Bridge Constructor Playground, Bridge Constructor Medieval and Bridge Constructor Stunts. "We don't think it's an evil thing to be free-to-play, that's fine, we just don't have the experience to do that, we're not monetisation experts."īridge Constructor Stunts, the last game in the series prior to Bridge Constructor Portal "We noticed that we can't compete with King or the other big players in terms of marketing and so on, and we personally don't feel that free-to-play is a model that we can really work with. "We're not a free-to-play company – we tried that once or twice, but it didn't really work out," says Headup game engineer Mark Aldrup. Its most famous series by far has been the weird and wonderful Bridge Constructor franchise, developed by Austrian outfit Clockstone and which found a home on mobile despite being a premium game.Įstablished in 2009 with just two developers signed up - one of which was Clockstone - Headup Games initially focused on PC games before shifting to premium mobile games in 2012 when the original Bridge Constructor took off. It's not entirely surprising that you may never have heard of Headup Games - the relatively small German publisher tends to deal with smaller developers and niche titles.
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