It is mid-December, and it is time to reflect on the past year… oh and of course it is time for the last episode (for now) of our Pitch Archives.
We celebrated 25 years of YAGER in 2024, so while we are looking back to the past, we also must look forward to what 2025 will bring to us.
Let us start with our usual explanation of the word “pitch” and then we look at the project that we called “Tinmen”.
What is a pitch?
A game pitch is an excellent way to develop your idea and find the right partners to help you realize it. At YAGER, we take pleasure in experimenting and bringing ideas to reality.
While some of the ideas in this series were abandoned “early,” others signaled the start of partnerships with publishers or studios.
Check the past 4 Pitch Archives episodes when clicking on the respective name:
MACHINE VS. MONSTER
The year was 2015. YAGER was considering what was next and our minds kept circling back to stuff that never goes out of style: Huge monsters and big mechs, Kaiju vs Mecha, Machine vs Monster.
In the world of Tinmen, according to legend, the human population of Earth was nearly wiped out and the planet devastated in some long-forgotten calamity. The scattered remains of humanity hid away in the safety of big fortresses. Meanwhile giant monstrosities roamed the lands. But what was the reason behind it all?
Did the monsters spawn inside Earth? Were scientists too creative and gave these beasts the gift of life? Whatever happened, humanity had to fight back in their quest to solve the mystery and reclaim Earth.
Watch the video to learn more about the project:
In Tinmen you piloted a 200-ton mech to fight against huge monstrosities. You could play alone or as a 4-player squad and would choose your mech according to your playstyle and mission before you got going! One of the focus points for us was customization and upgrades, as we wanted to make the mechs feel really tailored towards everyone’s own style.
It was important to us that the game was easy to pick up yet would have enough depth to play it repeatedly. While fulfilling missions you played through different scenarios that had a multitude of objectives, all while piloting your giant combat mech. And you had to be careful – not all enemies were monstrous, some were human, but that did not make them any less dangerous than the towering beasts.
WHAT DID WE LEARN?
As you might have guessed, the enemy design was a substantial influence on what we created for The Cycle. These beasts really had won us over. Furthermore, we also played around with customization and mission designs, and the former became something that we took with us to The Cycle as well.
Thank you for celebrating 25 years of YAGER with us, it was a pleasure to lift the curtain and lead you behind the scenes. Maybe we can revisit the Pitch Archives at some point, but for the time being, this was our last episode.
Thank you again and stay tuned for what is next for YAGER in 2025 and beyond.
