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m Removed from category "Videogames developed in Switzerland". Gbanga is a developer, not a game.
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{{Short description|Swiss mobile social gaming platform}}
{{Infobox company
{{Infobox company
| name = Gbanga
| name = Gbanga
⚫
| owner = Millform AG
| slogan = We create mixed-reality games
⚫
| logo = [[File:Gbanga logo magenta 256.svg|300px|Gbanga company logo]]
⚫
| owner = Millform Inc.
⚫
| type = [[iOS|Apple iOS]] and [[Android (operating system)|Android]] game developer and producer
⚫
| logo = [[File:Gbanga-logo.png|300px|Gbanga company logo]]
⚫
| foundation = {{start date and age|2007|04|02}}
⚫
| type = [[iOS|Apple iOS]] and [[Android (operating system)|Android]] mixed-reality game developer and producer
⚫
| founders = {{plainlist|
⚫
| foundation = {{start date and age|2007|04|02}}
⚫
| founders = {{plainlist|
* Matthias Sala
* Matthias Sala
* Julio Perez}}
* Julio Perez}}
| area_served = Worldwide
| area_served = Worldwide
| location_city = Zurich
| location_city = Zurich
| location_country = [[Switzerland]]
| location_country = [[Switzerland]]
| location = Hardstrasse 301
| location = Militärstrasse 90
| key_people = Robin Bornschein <small>([[chief gaming officer|CGO]])</small>, François Lachausse <small>([[chief technology officer|CTO]])</small>, Werner Sala <small>([[chief financial officer|CFO]])</small>, Yury Schicker <small>([[art director|AD]])</small>, Matthias Sala <small>([[chief executive officer|CEO]])</small>
| key_people = {{unbulleted list|Robin Bornschein|([[chief gaming officer|CGO]])|Werner Sala|([[chief financial officer|CFO]])|Matthias Sala|([[chief executive officer|CEO]])}}
| revenue =
| revenue =
| homepage = {{URL|https://gbanga.com/}}
| homepage = {{URL|https://gbanga.com/}}
| caption =
| caption =
| industry = [[Video game industry|Interactive entertainment]]
| industry = [[Video game industry|Video games]]
| products = [[Mobile applications]]: Advocates of Light, smart urban golf, Gross. Stadt. Jagd., Urban. Hunt., Galaxy Invaders VR, Bumble Bee, Famiglia, Pilotifant, Quiz and Fly
| products = * [[Mobile games]]: Innovetica, Advocates of Light, smart urban golf, Gross. Stadt. Jagd., Urban. Hunt., Galaxy Invaders VR, Bumble Bee, Famiglia, Pilotifant, Quiz and Fly
* [[Video games]]: Voltron: Cubes of Olkarion
| num_employees = 10
| num_employees = 14
}}
}}


'''Gbanga''' is a [[mixed reality]], [[Alternate reality games|social gaming]] platform for [[mobile phones]] developed by [[Zurich]]-based startup, Millform AG. The platform runs on real-time [[locative media]], developed in-house, which means that the gaming environment changes relative to the players real-world location. Players can interact with each other using built-in social and chat functions, which indicate their current real-world locations as well as [[online and offline]] status. Additional features enable social gaming in forms such as [[exploring]], [[collecting]] and [[Trade|trading]].
'''Gbanga''' is a geolocation-based [[Alternate reality games|social gaming]] platform for [[mobile phones]] developed by [[Zurich]]-based startup, Millform AG. The platform runs on real-time [[locative media]], developed in-house, which means that the gaming environment changes relative to the players real-world location. Players can interact with each other using built-in social and chat functions, which indicate their current real-world locations as well as [[online and offline]] status. Additional features enable social gaming in forms such as [[exploring]], [[collecting]] and [[Trade|trading]].


== Games ==
== Games ==


=== Gbanga Zooh (2009) ===
Gbanga Zooh<ref name=lussi2009 /> was the first game to be published on the platform in August 2009, in cooperation with [[Zurich Zoo]]. The game encouraged players to maintain virtual habitats across the [[Canton of Zurich]] in order to attract and collect [[endangered species]] of animals.
''Gbanga Zooh''<ref name="lussi2009" /> was the first game to be published on the platform in August 2009, in cooperation with [[Zurich Zoo]]. The game encouraged players to maintain virtual habitats across the [[Canton of Zurich]] in order to attract and collect [[endangered species]] of animals.


=== Gbanga Santa (2009) ===
The [[advent calendar]] game, Gbanga Santa, was launched in December 2009 in [[Zurich]]. Players solved puzzles to find the real-world locations of virtual gifts scattered around the city. Once found and collected, virtual gifts were then tradable for prizes provided by sponsors.<ref name=IMGA2010 />
The [[advent calendar]] game, ''Gbanga Santa'', was launched in December 2009 in [[Zurich]]. Players solved puzzles to find the real-world locations of virtual gifts scattered around the city. Once found and collected, virtual gifts were then tradable for prizes provided by sponsors.<ref name="IMGA2010" />


=== Gbanga Famiglia (2010) ===
April 2010 saw the launch of [[Gbanga Famiglia]],<ref name=lussi2010 /> a game in which players can join or start their own Mafia Famiglia to take-over virtual establishments they discover whilst walking around the city. Establishments are linked to real-world establishments, so players must physically move between locations to play. A successful take-over depends on the Famiglia's power, determined by the number of Famiglia members and the cash total for special items collected.
April 2010 saw the launch of ''[[Gbanga Famiglia]]'',<ref name="lussi2010" /> a game in which players can join or start their own Mafia Famiglia to take-over virtual establishments they discover whilst walking around the city. Establishments are linked to real-world establishments, so players must physically move between locations to play. A successful take-over depends on the Famiglia's power, determined by the number of Famiglia members and the cash total for special items collected.


=== Famiglia Rise and Fall (crowd-funding; discontinued) ===
In 2014, the sequel game [[Famiglia Rise and Fall]] was announced on crowd-funding platform Indiegogo.<ref name=gogo2014 /> The yet to be developed game technology is described to be an evolution of the previously 2-dimensional games that used flat material only. The new game uses the 3D engine [[Unity (game engine)|Unity]] and renders a 3-dimensional world based on [[open data]] from [[OpenStreetMap]]. Apparently, [[Millform Inc]], the company behind Gbanga decided to use crowd-funding for financing the project to be more independent from traditional publishers.<ref name=graber2014 /><ref name=ruegg2014 />
In 2014, the sequel game ''[[Famiglia Rise and Fall]]'' was announced on crowd-funding platform Indiegogo.<ref name="gogo2014" /> The yet to be developed game technology is described to be an evolution of the previously 2-dimensional games that used flat material only. The new game uses the 3D engine [[Unity (game engine)|Unity]] and renders a 3-dimensional world based on [[open data]] from [[OpenStreetMap]]. Apparently, [[Millform AG]], the company behind Gbanga decided to use crowd-funding for financing the project to be more independent from traditional publishers.<ref name="graber2014" /><ref name="ruegg2014" />


=== Gross. Stadt. Jagd. (2015, 2016) ===
The commissioned mixed-reality game Gross. Stadt. Jagd.<ref name=wired2015 /> was performed in May 2015 in Zurich. In a mixed-real manhunt, several thousand participants equipped with a GPS app were running in the streets of Zurich to avoid the hunter, a sponsored car. The real-time app synchronized the GPS positions of all participants and evaluated the last man standing.
The commissioned mixed-reality game ''Gross. Stadt. Jagd.''<ref name="wired2015" /> (or Urban. Hunt. in English) was performed in May 2015 in Zurich. In a mixed-real manhunt, several thousand participants equipped with a GPS app were running in the streets of Zurich to avoid the hunter, a sponsored car. The real-time app synchronized the GPS positions of all participants and evaluated the last man standing.


=== Voltron: Cubes of Olkarion (2019) ===
⚫
== Technology ==
In 2018, [[NBCUniversal]] announced the video game ''[[Voltron: Cubes of Olkarion]]'', the winner of their developer competition ''Universal GameDev Challenge'' that had offered game developers the opportunity to use some of Universal's IP.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-10-23|title=Voltron dev wins $150,000 in Universal GameDev Challenge|url=https://venturebeat.com/2018/10/23/voltron-dev-wins-150k-in-universal-gamedev-challenge/|access-date=2020-06-17|website=VentureBeat|language=en-US}}</ref> In 2019, ''Voltron: Cubes of Olkarion'' which is based on the [[Voltron: Legendary Defender]] series, was made available on the [[Steam (service)|Steam]] store in Early Access, the platform's experimental game program.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Voltron: Cubes of Olkarion on Steam|url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1078550/Voltron_Cubes_of_Olkarion/|access-date=2020-06-17|website=store.steampowered.com|language=en}}</ref> In the game, players compete in real-time [[player vs player]] (PvP) game battles by placing own and destroying opponent blocks with different features in a game board with a grid.<ref name="FAQ – Voltron: Cubes of Olkarion">{{Cite web|title=FAQ – Voltron: Cubes of Olkarion|url=https://voltron.gbanga.com/faq/|access-date=2020-06-17|language=en-US}}</ref>

⚫
== Technology ==


The [[J2ME]]-based version uses a [[real-time locating system]] referencing a network of [[cell site]]s to determine the players location, whilst the [[iPhone]] version of the platform uses [[GPS]]. The platform is available worldwide as an application download for the [[iPhone]] and [[J2ME]] compatible phones.
The [[J2ME]]-based version uses a [[real-time locating system]] referencing a network of [[cell site]]s to determine the players location, whilst the [[iPhone]] version of the platform uses [[GPS]]. The platform is available worldwide as an application download for the [[iPhone]] and [[J2ME]] compatible phones.


Whilst Gbanga Studio continues to develop games in-house, the playing community itself can also generate interactive content using Gbanga's Puppetmaster API, coded with [[Lua (programming language)]].
Whilst Gbanga studio continues to develop games in-house, the playing community itself can also generate interactive content using Gbanga's ''Puppetmaster API'', coded with [[Lua (programming language)]].

In later productions, such as ''Voltron: Cubes of Olkarion'', game engine [[Unity (game engine)|Unity]] was used.<ref name="FAQ – Voltron: Cubes of Olkarion"/>

⚫
== Awards ==

⚫
Gbanga was nominated for Business Idea 2010 by Internet World Business,<ref name=internetworld2010 /> shortlisted for Best of Swiss Web Award 2010<ref name=bestofswisswebaward2010 /> and shortlisted in the category of Best Real World Game for the International Mobile Gaming Awards.<ref name=IMGA2010 />


In 2011, Gbanga won the AppCircus Spotlight on Blackberry, hosted in Barcelona.<ref name="AppCircus2011" />
⚫
== Awards ==


In 2019, Gbanga's real-time strategy video game ''Voltron: Cubes of Olkarion,'' based on the [[Voltron: Legendary Defender]] TV show, was entered into and won the 2018 ''Universal GameDev Challenge'' where over the course of six weeks, over 500 entries from contestants in over 60 countries were submitted.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Voltron: Cubes of Olkarion|url=https://connect.unity.com/p/voltron-cubes-of-olkarion-1|access-date=2020-06-17|website=Unity Connect}}</ref>
⚫
In 2011 Gbanga won the AppCircus Spotlight on Blackberry, hosted in Barcelona.<ref name=AppCircus2011 /> Gbanga was nominated for Business Idea 2010 by Internet World Business,<ref name=internetworld2010 /> shortlisted for Best of Swiss Web Award 2010<ref name=bestofswisswebaward2010 /> and shortlisted in the category of Best Real World Game for the International Mobile Gaming Awards.<ref name=IMGA2010 />


== See also ==
== See also ==
Line 53: Line 68:
* [[Location-based game]]
* [[Location-based game]]


== References ==
== References ==


{{reflist|refs=
{{reflist|refs=
Line 68: Line 83:
}}
}}


== External links ==
== External links ==
* [http://gbanga.com/ Official Site]
* [http://gbanga.com/ Official Site]
* [http://www.srf.ch/player/tv/einstein/video/mafia-game-erobert-zuerich?id=85c9ea9b-82dd-4ac1-a2f9-140caf6edc1d Gbanga featured on Schweizer Fernsehen's ''Einstein TV'' (German)]
* [https://www.youtube.com/user/gbangathegame#p/u/0/Ub_Tz8yVRuw Mike Kirkup, Director of Developer Relations at BlackBerry, gives Gbanga a mention as to its win at BlackBerry Developer Day at AppCircus]
* [https://www.youtube.com/user/gbangathegame?feature=mhum Gbanga's Official YouTube Channel]
* [http://itunes.apple.com/ch/app/gbanga/id355692882?mt=8 Gbanga on iPhone App Store]
* [http://netzwertig.com/2010/04/26/ortsbezogene-spiele-gbanga-kommt-aka-aki-games-zuvor/ Review of Gbanga Famiglia (German)], [http://netzwertig.com/ netzwertig.com]


[[Category:2009 video games]]
[[Category:Lua (programming language)-scriptable game engines]]
[[Category:2010 video games]]
[[Category:Social casual games]]
⚫
[[Category:2014 video games]]
[[Category:2015 video games]]
⚫
[[Category:Alternate reality games]]
[[Category:Lua-scriptable game engines]]
[[Category:Social casual gaming]]
[[Category:Social networking services]]
[[Category:IOS software]]
[[Category:IOS software]]
[[Category:Mixed reality]]
[[Category:Mixed reality]]
[[Category:Geolocation]]
[[Category:Geosocial networking]]
[[Category:Geosocial networking]]
[[Category:Outdoor locating games]]
[[Category:Outdoor locating games]]
Line 93: Line 96:
[[Category:Mobile games]]
[[Category:Mobile games]]
[[Category:Java platform games]]
[[Category:Java platform games]]
[[Category:Video game companies of Switzerland]]
[[Category:Software companies of Switzerland]]
⚫
[[Category:Android (operating system) games]]
[[Category:Video games developed in Switzerland]]
⚫
[[Category:Augmented reality applications]]
[[Category:Video game companies established in 2007]]
[[Category:Internet properties established in 2007]]
[[Category:2007 establishments in Switzerland]]

Latest revision as of 08:14, 21 May 2024

Gbanga
Company typeApple iOS and Android game developer and producer
IndustryVideo games
FoundedApril 2, 2007; 17 years ago (2007-04-02)
Founders
  • Matthias Sala
  • Julio Perez
HeadquartersMilitärstrasse 90,
Zurich
,
Switzerland
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
  • Robin Bornschein
  • (CGO)
  • Werner Sala
  • (CFO)
  • Matthias Sala
  • (CEO)
Products
  • Mobile games: Innovetica, Advocates of Light, smart urban golf, Gross. Stadt. Jagd., Urban. Hunt., Galaxy Invaders VR, Bumble Bee, Famiglia, Pilotifant, Quiz and Fly
  • Video games: Voltron: Cubes of Olkarion
OwnerMillform AG
Number of employees
14
Websitegbanga.com

Gbanga is a geolocation-based social gaming platform for mobile phones developed by Zurich-based startup, Millform AG. The platform runs on real-time locative media, developed in-house, which means that the gaming environment changes relative to the players real-world location. Players can interact with each other using built-in social and chat functions, which indicate their current real-world locations as well as online and offline status. Additional features enable social gaming in forms such as exploring, collecting and trading.

Games

[edit]

Gbanga Zooh (2009)

[edit]

Gbanga Zooh[1] was the first game to be published on the platform in August 2009, in cooperation with Zurich Zoo. The game encouraged players to maintain virtual habitats across the Canton of Zurich in order to attract and collect endangered species of animals.

Gbanga Santa (2009)

[edit]

The advent calendar game, Gbanga Santa, was launched in December 2009 in Zurich. Players solved puzzles to find the real-world locations of virtual gifts scattered around the city. Once found and collected, virtual gifts were then tradable for prizes provided by sponsors.[2]

Gbanga Famiglia (2010)

[edit]

April 2010 saw the launch of Gbanga Famiglia,[3] a game in which players can join or start their own Mafia Famiglia to take-over virtual establishments they discover whilst walking around the city. Establishments are linked to real-world establishments, so players must physically move between locations to play. A successful take-over depends on the Famiglia's power, determined by the number of Famiglia members and the cash total for special items collected.

Famiglia Rise and Fall (crowd-funding; discontinued)

[edit]

In 2014, the sequel game Famiglia Rise and Fall was announced on crowd-funding platform Indiegogo.[4] The yet to be developed game technology is described to be an evolution of the previously 2-dimensional games that used flat material only. The new game uses the 3D engine Unity and renders a 3-dimensional world based on open data from OpenStreetMap. Apparently, Millform AG, the company behind Gbanga decided to use crowd-funding for financing the project to be more independent from traditional publishers.[5][6]

Gross. Stadt. Jagd. (2015, 2016)

[edit]

The commissioned mixed-reality game Gross. Stadt. Jagd.[7] (or Urban. Hunt. in English) was performed in May 2015 in Zurich. In a mixed-real manhunt, several thousand participants equipped with a GPS app were running in the streets of Zurich to avoid the hunter, a sponsored car. The real-time app synchronized the GPS positions of all participants and evaluated the last man standing.

Voltron: Cubes of Olkarion (2019)

[edit]

In 2018, NBCUniversal announced the video game Voltron: Cubes of Olkarion, the winner of their developer competition Universal GameDev Challenge that had offered game developers the opportunity to use some of Universal's IP.[8] In 2019, Voltron: Cubes of Olkarion which is based on the Voltron: Legendary Defender series, was made available on the Steam store in Early Access, the platform's experimental game program.[9] In the game, players compete in real-time player vs player (PvP) game battles by placing own and destroying opponent blocks with different features in a game board with a grid.[10]

Technology

[edit]

The J2ME-based version uses a real-time locating system referencing a network of cell sites to determine the players location, whilst the iPhone version of the platform uses GPS. The platform is available worldwide as an application download for the iPhone and J2ME compatible phones.

Whilst Gbanga studio continues to develop games in-house, the playing community itself can also generate interactive content using Gbanga's Puppetmaster API, coded with Lua (programming language).

In later productions, such as Voltron: Cubes of Olkarion, game engine Unity was used.[10]

Awards

[edit]

Gbanga was nominated for Business Idea 2010 by Internet World Business,[11] shortlisted for Best of Swiss Web Award 2010[12] and shortlisted in the category of Best Real World Game for the International Mobile Gaming Awards.[2]

In 2011, Gbanga won the AppCircus Spotlight on Blackberry, hosted in Barcelona.[13]

In 2019, Gbanga's real-time strategy video game Voltron: Cubes of Olkarion, based on the Voltron: Legendary Defender TV show, was entered into and won the 2018 Universal GameDev Challenge where over the course of six weeks, over 500 entries from contestants in over 60 countries were submitted.[14]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Lüssi, M: Elefanten und Tiger per Handy retten, 20 Minuten AG, 2009.
  2. ^ a b Nominee in the category of Best Real World Game, IMGA: International Mobile Gaming Awards 2010
  3. ^ Lüssi, M: Mit Game zu Mafioso, 20 Minuten AG, 2010.
  4. ^ Gbanga Famiglia Rise and Fall Game, Indiegogo crowd-funding platform, 2014.
  5. ^ Graber, J: Die Suche nach dem Riesenknueller, 20 Minuten AG, 2014.
  6. ^ Rüegg, P: Haben Sie sich schon einmal gefragt, wie ein Game entsteht? Nicht? Egal, wir zeigen's Ihnen trotzdem, watson.ch beta, 2014.
  7. ^ Moynihan, T: [www.wired.com/2015/07/mixed-reality-game-killer-mercedes-chasing-people-irl Mixed-Reality Game Has a Killer Mercedes Chasing People IRL], WIRED, July 2015.
  8. ^ "Voltron dev wins $150,000 in Universal GameDev Challenge". VentureBeat. 2018-10-23. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
  9. ^ "Voltron: Cubes of Olkarion on Steam". store.steampowered.com. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
  10. ^ a b "FAQ – Voltron: Cubes of Olkarion". Retrieved 2020-06-17.
  11. ^ Gbanga gibt Gas, Internet World Business, 2010
  12. ^ Best of Swiss Web Award 2010 Shortlist, Best of Swiss Web Award, 2010.
  13. ^ Gbanga is the Winner of AppCircus Spotlight on BlackBerry, dotopen 2010, 2011.
  14. ^ "Voltron: Cubes of Olkarion". Unity Connect. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
[edit]
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