Before we start, I want to tell you a thing or two about great games. What makes a computer game a great game?
State of the art graphics? A great story based on a well-known franchise? Great marketing? A good soundtrack?
Well... No. For me, it's the fact that I enjoy playing it. And the fact that I talk about those games years and decades after first release.
One of these games is Anstoß. I started with Anstoß 2 Gold when I was a child and being a soccer fan, Anstoß did one thing better than FIFA or the EA Football Manager: The makers of Anstoß knew their stuff. These guys were fans. They knew, how a stadium feels, they knew, how people feel, who fanatically love their clubs, even in the most frustrating situations. They knew, how people actually talk about the most recent match between old rivals like Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund.
They knew all this. And the whole game felt like they were not trying to make the game a financial success, but something they would enjoy playing.
Anstoß did not have great graphics. They did not event got a license for the club names - and of course they also did not have the license for the player names.
But this did not really matter. The game had atmosphere. Playing it felt like being in a sports bar with friends.
Despite its humor, Anstoß was a decent manager. It felt fun and never repeating to develop players and invest in your club.
Impressions of Anstoß 3
For me, the successor Anstoß 3 was even better. And I am still playing it, although it became a bit tougher to install on macOS and Apple's ARM chips.
The dream
One day, so I thought, I'm going to create a game like Anstoß. Packed with atmosphere and a good sense of humor. Something that others might enjoy playing, even if I cannot provide all the things you would expect from an AAA+ title.
And now I am doing it. I am building it, together with you.
The setting
International soccer failed.
Corruption, drifting away from the fanbase. World cups in countries that did never loved soccer, world cups in dictatorships ambitious anti-woke countries like Qatar, the United States or Saudi Arabia. A FIFA "Peace Price" for an orange US President, who peacefully threatened partners to invade their countries.
Soccer lost its soul.
Time for a reset. A new start. Time for the clubs that never had enough money to pay someone to mow the lawn. Time for the amateurs.
And this is where the player takes over: As a coach of a club in the middle of nowhere.
