[Exclusive Feature] Contest Reward: International Tour Hosted by Supercell — Creators Go On A Special Trip (Part 2)
— Creators Go On a Special Trip (Part 2)
- This is Part 2 of the [Exclusive Feature] Contest Reward: International Tour Hosted by Supercell (Supercell Tour) series.
▼Read Part 1 here
https://medium.com/@gyaarcon/exclusive-feature-contest-reward-international-tour-hosted-by-supercell-creators-go-on-a-0707e23d0c05
■ Roundtable Participants
Part 2 is about the Supercell office tour and demo session. Supercell is known for their ability to consistently create global hits such as Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, Brawl Stars, and more! I’m sure there are many Supercell fans reading this, and maybe you’ve wondered what kind of people made these games, or what kind of environment they were working in.
The tour participants got to meet the developers they aspired to be, and gained valuable experience by having these developers directly play and give feedback on their games. How did they feel about the experience and what did they learn? Let’s dive into the next chapter of their trip following gamescom!
*The Supercell tour took place on August 22–28, 2024, and the interview for this article was conducted on December, 2024.
Contents
Part 2: Supercell Office Tour and Demo Session
■ Office of Supercell, a company overflowing with creativity 3
■ From a pro’s perspective : New discoveries from the demo session 8
■ Applying the learnings from the demo session: Updates for TGS 12
■ Aside
■ Office of Supercell, a company overflowing with creativity
— Uehara: Let’s talk about the Supercell office tour in Helsinki. It wasn’t only an office visit, but there was also a demo session and presentations. Can you start by talking about your impressions of the office?
🟦Asaba: The second I entered the office, we were greeted with statues of characters from Clash of Clans and Clash Royale, so the entire building felt like “Supercell”. They had characters from their games placed all around the office, and I think that type of work environment really makes it feel like you’re working on a game. It generally felt more open than game companies in Japan.
🟧Hosaka: They had a map displayed in the first floor lobby that lit up to show who was playing their game from where. It’s amazing to see in real life.
🟦Asaba: Each game had their own color, so you had an idea of which games were being played where. It’s an interesting idea.
🟦Asaba: They also had regional App Store rankings on a giant monitor in the cafeteria. Even during lunch, you’re reminded of how well your title is doing where.
— Uehara: That reminds me, the people from Black Tangerine joked that they’d do anything to work in the office, even janitor work.
🟪Seeun: Yeah, the environment was really nice, so we were saying we’d stay and be baristas or something so we can work in the office (laughs).
🟦Asaba: The all-you-can-eat buffet lunch they had was really delicious. We only ate there for two days, but it was all tasty, healthy, and I was incredibly envious of the fact that they were eating proper meals. It’s common for people working in the game industry to have an imbalanced diet, but eating is important for us humans (laughs). Their food was great even for my Japanese palette.
🟧Hosaka: Each meeting room also had their own theme. It was exciting to just enter them.
🟪Seeun: The characters in the Hay Day meeting room were so adorable, I ended up playing the game when I went home.
— Uehara: Thank you, I’ll have to tell the people at Supercell!
■ From a pro’s perspective : New discoveries from the demo session
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— Uehara: Let’s talk about the demo session, one of the main events of the Supercell tour. Ten people from Supercell were split into five teams of two, and each team would then go to one of the five islands (game booths), playing the GYAAR Contest award-winning entries and directly communicate with its developers. An interpreter was assigned to each booth, and each team would spend 20 minutes introducing themselves, playing the game, then giving feedback. On the table was a printout containing notes on what to keep an eye out for when playing. The Supercell members played the games and gave feedback referring to these notes. Can anyone share any memorable stories from the session?
🟪Seeun: The demo session was really helpful. Specialists in all kinds of disciplines played our game, and they were careful to address the points we had written down in our printout. We used the advice to resolve some of the issues we were having during development.
— Uehara: I see you’ve already put it to use.
🟪Seeun: The feedback led us to the answer we were looking for, but a programmer still needs to implement the changes. It was good that we could show them the world we were creating, and we learned from the varied feedback we got from the wide range of disciplines.
— Uehara: Was there any harsh criticism?
🟪Seeun: There was. We got feedback that there was a lot of text which negatively affected immersion. It was harsh, but valuable feedback. We’re thinking of making improvements by reevaluating what we should put into the beginning of the game to increase immersion by achieving a good balance between text-based and visual elements.
— Uehara: It’s only going to get better from here.
🟪Seeun: Yes, we’re going to work hard as a team and make improvements one at a time.
🟦Asaba: It was really helpful that we got feedback from a wide breadth of disciplines and from many perspectives. To give a precise example, “giving player HP and enemy HP different-colored bars will increase readability” or “I couldn’t really tell when the passive activated” was some feedback we got. We plan to address these issues and improve upon them.
🟧Hosaka: Someone would give their opinion on the worldbuilding, and someone else would talk about something specific in the game. A memorable piece of feedback I got was that the game was a “flood of information”. I designed Summer Road to be enjoyed in 10-minute cycles, but I packed a ton of information into the demo version so players could experience everything the game had to offer in a short amount of time. This meant that a ton of information would appear on screen, and many testers said that it was hard to tell what was what. We’re making significant changes based on this feedback.
🟦Asaba: Something a programmer said was especially notable to me. After they played the game, they said that they’ll definitely check the game out when it’s released. That really stuck with me. We got a lot of feedback, and it was important to keep track of what kind of person said what, but it was wonderful that the feedback was given with a proper understanding of what the game is. It strongly motivated me to develop my game to meet this person’s expectations.
■ Applying the learnings from the demo session: Updates for TGS
— Uehara: Tokyo Game Show was right after the visit, so I’m glad that the demo session motivated you to immediately make changes.
🟦Asaba: Yes. It was very valuable that they were able to give specific feedback like what I said about the flood of information, something that was more than just, “It was good!” It was a jumping point for me to improve the game.
🟧Hosaka: When you’re developing a game by yourself, it’s near impossible to exhibit at Tokyo Game Show (TGS) right after gamescom. But the support provided by GYAAR Studio and Supercell enabled us to do this, so I felt that I needed to test the changes I made based on the feedback from gamescom and the Supercell demo session at TGS. I made big changes and although the schedule was tight, I managed to get it ready by TGS.
— Fukazawa: It’s a lot of effort to exhibit at a world-class game show, and it’s even rarer for someone to take on two events happening close to each other. It’s great that you were able to get the most out of the opportunity.
🟦Asaba: Yes, it was a ton of effort to prepare for both events in a short amount of time, but it was an opportunity to show people in Japan what I had made, and I got to collect a wide variety of data.
— Uehara: Did the feedback you got from the Supercell employee demo session differ from what regular players give you when you exhibit?
🟦Asaba: It was, since the Supercell people are professionals who have experienced tons of games. If I get a similar opportunity in the future, I’d like to have an even more complete game so I can wow them even more.
🟧Hosaka: The people at Supercell are top class professionals and their feedback is always thorough and precise. I think it helps us realize new things we didn’t know about in our games.
— Uehara: Actually, the Supercell employees who were at the demo session told me after that they had fun. We even received some positive comments, like “let me know if you’re doing something like this again”. You can’t make a good game if you’re not excited about it! There are a lot more things to worry about when you work in a company, so some people said that seeing everyone make what they want to make was good inspiration for them. As if you were “shining with passion”.
— Fukazawa: I hope that interacting with people who create amazing games, like those at Supercell, will have a positive effect on the mindsets of the tour participants.
■ Aside
Having your imagination tickled while dealing with seasickness in a romantic bar
On the tour’s first day in Helsinki, the members of Black Tangerine were chatting over a few beers on a floating bar near the Supercell office. Although they only spent a short time there as it was getting cold and the swaying boat was making them a little seasick, it was such a romantic setting! They said that the experience was something they could only see in Helsinki, and that it greatly inspired them.
*In Part 3, we’ll be talking about our experience with the Supercell presentations!
![[Exclusive Feature] International Tour Hosted by Supercell (Part 1)](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1358/format:webp/1*Wd-5aaOvjExlwDk6lCCC6w.png)
