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In september 2020 Edition Spielwiese’s Michael Schmitt and the developer trio of Hard Boiled Games have already talked about the development of MicroMacro: Crime City on our Blog. A lot has happened since then – MicroMacro: Crime City was sold around 2,5 million times worldwide and honored with the Game of the Year award of 2021, along with other numerous awards. The second, independent part of the series MicroMacro: Crime City 2 – Full House was published shortly after the first part got a lot of the awards. Finally in fall of 2022 the third part, MicroMacro: Crime City 3 – All In, war released which enlarged the black and white crime city even more and challenged the players with 16 new cases. This is why we invited Johannes Sich, Daniel Goll, Tobias Jochinke und Michael Schmitt for another interview about the developments of the last two years and the future of MicroMacro.
Interview with Studio Hard Boiled Games
Hello everybody, thanks for taking the time to talk to us once more. Tell us, how have the last two years been since our last interview?
“The last two and a half years have somehow flown by, it was a quick rush through the months.“
Did you expect MicroMacro to be such a big success?
“No, we didn’t expect that at all. We did make some decisions in the beginning to reach the international market with our idea but we’d never thought about it really happening. However, with Michael we found a partner with good international connections and with that our prospects of someone liking the game increased. The As d’Or in France was the confirmation, we got to know that the game is popular and we thought for the first time: ‘Hey! Wow, this is not only a game we really like but there are others too who think the same.’”
MicroMacro: Crime City 2 – Full House was released last august, roundabout one month after the first part was awarded the Game of the Year award. Was it your intention to make MicroMacro a series all along?
“In the beginning, the game development wasn’t as strategic. We didn’t look at the market to say: ‘There is a gap! We can do something in that direction!’. We had an idea on which we worked over several years, adjusting the idea, the mechanic and the aesthetic. Only through talking to Michael we considered the idea that the map is only part of the city and whether the game should have connection possibilities. We liked that idea!“
In our last interview you hinted that you had a lot more ideas. Meanwhile, the third part, MicroMacro: Crime City 3 – All In, is already available. What can we expect of this part?
“In All In,you have many tricky cases and puzzles again. If you look at the series up to this point, you might notice how everything is becoming more and more condensed. Some stories continue from part to part and the city is getting crowded with even more evil characters, unlucky people, cunning businessmen and vengeful lovers. What we really like about the series is that some people evolve into more and more independent characters. For example, Jessy & James with their accomplice Billy the Squid …. (The series of bank robbery, which you can get in retail as bonus cases for the second and in the future also for the third part of the game) get more personality with the series progressing and their story turns into a thrilling short story.”
May we look forward to more parts of the MicroMacro-series?
“A nice rectangle made out of four parts put up on the wall seems like a well-rounded goal. 🙂 We’ve also been asked about a version for children multiple times. You can already see our heads steaming. We also have a digital version in our minds. But both Ideas call for a new concept and working on the game dynamics and graphics. This also means that we need to find the time to focus on these new aspects of the game. I (Tobias) see the fourth part of MicroMacro coming in the future and then we will take time to focus on other projects in the world of MicroMacro.”
Besides MicroMacro you developed another game: La Cosa Nostra. Do you work on even more other games or do you concentrate on MicroMacro?
“After dialing our other projects and the agency business down last year, we three put all of our time into MicroMacro now. Also, our team got bigger to continue with the series. Besides Peter, who you might now as an author of our cases, Vero (organization, typesetting and proofreading), Leon (3D vehicle development, proofreading), Naemi (illustration), Matthias (illustration) und Alessa (digital) have supported us in the last months. Additionally, numerous test players support us with critical questions, bug-finding and suggestions. They tested our current game extensively. So, the answer is yes – all of our time is concentrated on MicroMacro and we will continue doing so in the future.”
How is working in the team? Does everyone have specific tasks or is everyone doing everything?
“We actually start our process now with a kickoff meeting in front of a large blank map. There we talk through the ideas we already have in our heads and in our sketch- and notebooks. The process begins with distributing locations, buildings and crime scenes around the city. That’s when the tinkering, sorting, trying, and exploring begins. From then on, we are trapped in the city, only to reappear shortly before Christmas. Then we might have – if everything has gone well – the first prototype with around 8-10 cases in our hands, with this we all go back to our families over Christmas to try it for the first time. Generally, everyone is concerned about their own cases to make them more rounded and coherent and if necessary, we help each other with illustrations of characters and buildings. In MicroMacro: Crime City – All In we developed a case together with all four authors (Jojo, Daniel, Peter und Tobias) for the first time. It was super exciting and the result, the ‘All In’ case, has become wonderfully complex and multilayered, which makes the case live up to its name.”
Do you have somewhat of a routine or is every part a new challenge? And, do you develop the city map piece by piece with every case or do you first have the map and the breath life into it with the cases?
“The development of the city is always a big challenge, which doesn’t make it easy on us. To insert the individual cases in a way that they don’t influence each other negatively or evoke false interpretations is extremely difficult. Also, since everyone has their own ideas, our protagonists argue about places in the city and enter relationships, which they’re not allowed to have. So, we have to review and correct our cases over and over. Everyone works on their own version of the city and thinks of stories.
If one has the feeling that a good new status is achieved, we put it into the prototype map. This new version gets printed (we also wanted to thank the team of ReproStudio Düsseldorf, who always do our printing jobs very quickly and without complications to supply us with new maps) with which we can test, discuss and correct together. We accumulate a lot of prototypes over that time. In April we enter our major test phase where we have countless test rounds digitally and analog.”
We talked a lot about the process of development, now let’s go back to that moment, the Game of the Year awards 2021. How was the moment for you when the judges announced that MicroMacro won?
“For me (Tobias) it was really exciting… after not being there to receive the As d’Or in person because of covid this was the appointment to also meet the teams of Edition Spielwiese and Pegasus Spiele in person for the first time. And the excitement that we might win Game of the Year. So, when the moment of the announcement came, I really couldn’t believe it – it was also amazing to be on stage with everyone! We never thought of developing a Game of the Year. We just wanted to make a game we enjoyed.”
What do you think excites the players about the MicroMacro games?
“I (Tobias) think it’s the easy access to the game which then surprises you with its the complexity. You will always be pulled back into the city and think that you have an idea or know where the next hint is only to realize: ‘Crap, where was that again?!’ … And ‚Hey, this guy who’s hanging around here, what exactly is he doing? This woman here looks also suspicious!‘. That’s how you immerse in the crime world of MicroMacro. The texts and storytelling are important for that because the language and fun make up a decent part of the gameplay. We notice that especially while testing: how the group behaves, how they read it, discuss it and combine – we learn a lot with these reactions. With a lot of game groups, it’s so much fun to watch what is happening and how they solve the puzzles, it’s like a movie.
How did you think of the two subtitles for the successors of the first game: Full House and All In?
“With Full House the idea for a series was born and we had to look into names for the series which could fit. We had several options and decided on terms out of the poker world.”
Could you give further insight on which tasks you (Hard Boiled Games) have to do and which are with the Edition Spielwiese? Do you have constant exchange or even regular meetings?
“We (Hard Boiled Games) develop the game, from idea over mechanic and game materials up until the packaging. We also concern about the digital version and about promos. Over the last year the work Edition Spielwiese’s Kaddy has been increased. She’s helping with planning and testing and keeps our appointments in mind when we don’t have them in mind anymore. For this we have a regular meeting, where we arrange the current to-do’s and talk about our schedule and ideas. That’s how we can get feedback and knowhow fast from Kaddy and Michael.
The communication with the partners and the production is the task of Edition Spielwiese which is a huge relief for us, so that we can fully concentrate on the creative process. The fact that we aren’t involved in certain numbers or coordination is great for our creative work. Michael has a good intuition when to involve us in these matters for our opinions. I (Tobias) am responsible for the print data production and therefore more involved into the production in general. Topics here range from alternative paper to changing the packaging and we still have the right to decide everything. It’s important to us because we don’t want to compromise on the quality of our product. For example, it took some time to find the right printshop for our maps, now we are really satisfied.”
Interview with Michael Schmitt of Edition Spielwiese
Hello Michael, it’s nice to have you again as an interview partner on our blog. Thank you for taking the time! 🙂
Edition Spielwiese was obviously successful in publishing innovative games even before MicroMacro. But with MicroMacro it was your first time to have the red meeple in your hands, how did you feel about that?
“A terrific feeling. In the previous year we had somewhat of a rehearsal because Nova Luna was also nominated für the Game of the Year award. For MicroMacro it also wasn’t the first award but it was the first time trembling down there in front of the stage and then being called out as the winner – I think in our faces you could have seen what kind of tension had fallen off of our shoulders.”
Since MicroMacro isn’t only very successful in Germany, do you know the numbers on how many languages MicroMacro has been translated into and where MicroMacro is played worldwide?
“On our current spoiler flyer, we have listed 32 languages but Spanish and Portuguese only have once even though we have partners in Latin-American. The number is increasing every day and soon there won’t be a place on earth where there is no MicroMacro. Even in Senegal and Patagonia the game was seen in stores.”
Did the supply problems during the pandemic turn out to be a big challenge for you? The demand for MicroMacro: Crime City was and still is huge.
“Definitely, not every paper is the same. It still is hard to find the right paper for the maps with our high expectations. We were only satisfied with one print shop. The paper must not tear, must be kink-resistant and so fine that it does not swallow the thinnest lines during printing. The paper for the small envelopes is rare, which it wasn’t years ago. Now only a few paper mills produce it. Last year we found three manufacturers and took their whole annual production but for a price nobody would have paid before the pandemic. Production is almost 60% more expensive than the first relatively ’small‘ edition, despite ever-increasing production volumes.”
Do you have any recommendations for players who like the MicroMacro series but have already played through all the parts?
“I only say this much: You will be annoyed if you resell your games. Go to your favorite game store and look for the bonus cases and maybe you already noticed scenes on the maps, which are fully fleshed out but don’t belong to a known case. Is that hint enough for our plans? 😉
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