Truberbrook

We invite you to an adventurous holiday to a parallel world from the 60s of the twentieth century! A Sci-Fi-themed mystery adventure game with handmade scenery.

 

Imagine yourself on holiday in Europe in the late sixties. Now imagine yourself as a young American scientist; Hans Tannhauser. Yes, that’s your name in this scenario. Think of Trüberbrook, a remote village in rural, sloping and densely forested Germany, in a winter setting. Because that’s where you end up once you reach the continent. But who cares, you’ve won a lottery ticket! Or at least that’s what it looks like. But don’t be afraid, instead of resting, you may find yourself in a situation where you have to save the world…

 

 

Uncertainty! Mystery! Thrill! After all, this is a single-player sci-fi adventure game. We want to keep you entertained!

Join American student Tannhauser, a stranger in a strange land

Set action with the Cold War in Germany in the late sixties

Inspired by Twin Peaks, The X-Files, Stranger Things and Star Trek

Indulge in universal themes like love, friendship, loyalty, self-discovery, and dinosaurs

Handmade miniature scenery!

Full voting in English and German!

Atmospheric, atmospheric soundtrack

Up to 10 hours of super exciting gameplay!

 

Trüberbrook was successfully funded on Kickstarter in December 2017 in just 30 hours. The game will be enhanced with several new features thanks to the combined power of our 5078 great players! <3

 

 

 

The year is 1967. World politics is dominated by the Cold War, with Vietnam, Russia, and America racing their way to the moon. At the same time in Europe, students are taking to the streets from Paris to Berlin.

 

On a larger scale, the world is blocked, but most people are unaware of the events taking place in an overlooked, sleepy part of the German countryside. Hans Tannhauser, an American student under the age of twenty, is surprised: “He unexpectedly wins a trip to the small German village of Trüberbrook. Truber-what? No idea! It also doesn’t help that the protagonist doesn’t remember taking part in any lottery… He’s happy to rest  on his PhD in quantum physics, so he heads to Trüberbrook, Germany, bursting with curiosity.

 

But soon after his arrival, inexplicable things begin to happen: a mysterious stranger breaks into his room at the Waldeslust guesthouse and steals a newspaper on physics. But who would do that? And why?

 

Gradually, he gets to know various, more or less peculiar, villagers and spa guests. Only the young anthropologist Greta Lemke, who is in Trüberbrook, seems normal to him. Before she knows it, Greta becomes Tannhauser’s accomplice in the adventures of his life! The budding physicist slowly begins to think that his presence in Tüberbrook is no coincidence – he is here to save the world!

As the story progresses, Tannhauser works with Greta Lemke, a paleoanthropology student, and runs into a mysterious inventor, Lazarus Taft.

 

Hans Tannhauser is an American physics student in his twenties. The cute little guy is well-read, always curious and has a very friendly character.

 

Greta Lemke was always the hottest kid in the sandbox; Adorable, but merciless if anyone dared to interrupt her excavations of twig bones and toy artifacts. A not-so-enthusiastic paleoanthropology student comes to Trüberbrook for an adventure to uncover the mysteries surrounding the village.

 

Like the inventor himself, Lazarus Taft quickly became the talk of the town due to his superior card game. There must be a reason why he bought that expensive old mansion in Trüberbrook and chose it from all the available places… What’s up with Lazarus Taft?

 

Trüberbrook is full of quirky villagers, tourists, and strangers – like the fragile but warm-hearted host Trude or her daughter Leni, the “weird kid” of Trüberbrook Elementary. And there’s the old baron, a veteran of two world wars, or Lessing, the prototype of modern conspirators. And, of course, Trübi, the legendary monster of the lake. And these are just a few of them.

 

 

 

One of the most distinctive features of the game is its unique visual style. The scenery is exclusively handmade. “Handmade” as in: “Made with real hands!” And fingers!

 

It’s not the most efficient way to do things, but it’s certainly the most inefficient. But we love it! Look at what we’re doing here, piece by piece, drizzled with our sweat. Every little detail is handmade.

 

The models are digitized using a technique called photogrammetry and then restored. In this way, we get highly detailed polygon models that blend perfectly with our digital characters.

 

It’s a lot of work, but it’s pretty exciting! You may ask yourself, how can they achieve this level of detail? Are very small people involved? They can’t accomplish all of this with ordinary human hands, can they? Well, yes, we can! Our abundance of professional hands may be the answer. Twenty-four by seven at our disposal in all shapes and colors, everything can be done!

 

Each scene is treated individually and staged with actual physical lighting. This allows us to simulate different hours of the day or weather conditions. Even the change of seasons is only possible thanks to a rebuild of the set with real tiny snowflakes, we’re not kidding.

 

 

 

In this way, we get a unique and magical look that visually reflects the world of Trüberbrook.

 

Trüberbrook is a story-driven adventure game with a strong focus on characters and narrative, but it features many puzzles that need to be solved in order to progress the story. The puzzles are designed to integrate with the narrative.

 

You walk through the Tannhauser through various sceneries seeing them from a third-person perspective, usually in long-distance shots, to enhance the feeling of peering into a small diorama. The story unfolds as you interact with your surroundings, talk to other characters, and solve puzzles. These range from inventory-based puzzles to social challenges (such as persuading other characters) to undergoing disturbing psychological tests.

 

In the console versions, we have developed a very intuitive controller input, allowing you to move the line of sight and walking directions independently. For the PC version, you can choose between classic point-and-click mouse controls, with controller navigation.

 

The Trüberbrook soundtrack is an original composition that matches the mood of the game – something like calm jazz. Inspirations come from the works of Tom Waits, Angelo Badalamenti, Mark Lanegan, Timber Timbre or Bohren & der Club of Gore. The soundtrack was directed by Sebastian Nagel and Albrecht Schrader.