VoodooDuck have delivered a cozy game gem with Collector's Cove. But what does it mean to make a sweet escapist experience in a time of overwhelmingly negative news? We spoke to Joel Griebel about the game, Duisburg as a location and making the best possible cozy experiences.
Jacob Brown, Bianca Dörr, Jannick Balsies, Joel Griebel alias VoodooDuck are games industry veterans: Coming together from former games work at Daedalic, Realmforge, Mimimi and Alchemist Interactive, the four have released their second commercial title together yesterday: Collector's Cove.
We spoke to Joel Griebel about the themes the studio works with, living and working in Duisburg, the challenges of developing for the cozy game genre in a world on fire, and much more.
Admittedly, Duisburg might not be anyone’s first choice when thinking about where to start a game development business, with hubs like Düsseldorf and Cologne right around the corner. But there is one major advantage that, especially for startups, cannot be ignored: it’s cheap. - Joel Griebel
GamesMarkt: First, tell us who you are: What is VoodooDuck?
Joel Griebel: VoodooDuck is a small indie studio located in Duisburg, Germany. Founded by Joel and Jannick in 2023, VoodooDuck quickly grew to the four-person team it is today.
Mimimi, Realmforge, Daedalic, Alchemist: Your team has a strong pedigree of strong or formerly big names from the German games industry. What brought you together as VoodooDuck?
