From TV to Games: How btf Became Blue Backpack | Indie Game Success Story

 <p class="teaser"><strong>Video game development often isn’t planned as a core business strategy, but for one German production company, it started as a side project. Today, that experiment has blossomed into a fully independent studio.</strong></p>







 <p>Ten years ago, <a href="http://www.gameroyale.de/#game_royale_1">“Game Royale”</a> was released, a fan-made game based on the popular German show *Neo Magazin Royale* (now *ZDF Magazin Royale*). The game features a pixelated version of host Jan Böhmermann navigating quirky scenarios. This initial project laid the foundation for <a href="https://btf.de/">btf</a> Games, a division within the multimedia firm Bild- und Tonfabrik. Point-and-click adventures proved to be an ideal entry point into game development, being relatively straightforward technically and, crucially, narratively linear – mirroring the storytelling expertise the company already possessed in film and television.</p><div class="image bigpicture"><img src="https://tubestatic.orf.at/static/images/site/tube/20251249/rsz_gameroyale.6036770.jpg" alt="Screenshot aus dem Computerspiel &quot;Game Royale 2&quot;." title="© btf" width="1280" height="720"/><p class="credit">btf</p><p class="caption">A screenshot from the second installment of “Game Royale,” released in late 2016.</p></div><h2>A Retrofuturistic Vision of 1960s Germany</h2><p>A few years later, in Spring 2019, btf released a larger adventure game, <a href="https://fm4.orf.at/stories/2969653/">“Trüberbrook.”</a> Set in 1967, the game boasts a unique setting blending retro-science fiction with the aesthetics of classic German Heimatfilme (homeland films). Every scene in “Trüberbrook” was created using hand-built sets that were then scanned and digitally enhanced.</p><p>Through “Game Royale” and “Trüberbrook,” Bild- und Tonfabrik recognized the common ground between game development and film/television production. Game Director Hans Böhme explained in an interview that many post-production processes – adding visual effects, adjusting lighting, and even entire scenes – are remarkably similar across both mediums.</p><div class="image bigpicture"><img src="https://tubestatic.orf.at/static/images/site/tube/20190311/rsz_truberbrook_forschungsstation_pre_alpha-1.5866430.jpg" alt="Szene aus &quot;Trüberbrook&quot;: Kontrollraum" title="© btf / Headup Games" width="1280" height="720"/><p class="credit">btf / Headup Games</p><p class="caption">“Trüberbrook”</p></div><h2>Branching Out with Original Adventures</h2><p>The games division of btf has since evolved into a separate, independent company: <a href="https://bluebackpackgames.com/">Blue Backpack</a>, based in Berlin. The studio recently released its first two titles. One of them, <a href="https://fm4.orf.at/stories/3051032/">“The Berlin Apartment,”</a> allows players to inhabit the roles of different residents within the same Berlin apartment building across various time periods. Hans Böhme conceived the idea while living in a traditional Berlin Altbau apartment, pondering the lives of those who came before him: “Who lived here before me? What conversations were had? What beautiful, threatening, or astonishing things happened within these walls?”</p><div class="image bigpicture"><img src="https://tubestatic.orf.at/static/images/site/tube/20251148/rsz_berlinapartment1.6036445.jpg" alt="Screenshot aus dem Computerspiel &quot;The Berlin Apartment&quot;" title="© Blue Backpack, Byterockers Games, Parco Games" width="1280" height="720"/><p class="credit">Blue Backpack, Byterockers Games, Parco Games</p><p class="caption">“The Berlin Apartment”</p></div><h2>The Multifunctional Giant Brush</h2><p>Blue Backpack’s second, and equally recent, game marks a departure from purely narrative, linear experiences. <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/2313700/Constance/">“Constance”</a> is a vibrant jump-and-run platformer where players control a female character wielding a large paintbrush as both a weapon and a versatile tool. The game also subtly explores themes related to mental health.</p><p>The concept for “Constance” originated with Blue Backpack employee Sebastian Drews. Originally from the post-production team at btf, Drews had always developed small games in his free time. He honed the necessary skills for his first major project primarily through online tutorials, allowing him to create a working prototype. </p><h2>Taking Bold Steps into New Territory</h2><p>Both “Constance” and “The Berlin Apartment” were ambitious projects, as game development is more complex, extensive, and therefore more expensive than other multimedia endeavors. Both Sebastian and Hans noted that btf Games (and later Blue Backpack) management were receptive to their proposals and demonstrated a high level of trust. This level of support is not always common in industries without a direct history in game development.</p><h2>Rapid Growth for the New Company</h2><p>When the team was still a division of Bild- und Tonfabrik, it consisted of just five people. Now, with the launch of Blue Backpack and its two major productions, the team has grown to over twenty employees. </p><p>The simultaneous release of “The Berlin Apartment” and “Constance” was coincidental, stemming in part from the approval and disbursement of funding crucial to both projects’ financing. The launches were successful, and the team is now taking a well-deserved breather, according to Junior Producer Emilia Urdl. However, a third, currently unannounced game is already in the works. </p><p>The founding of Blue Backpack and the release of its first two games represent a strong start for a young game development studio that is confidently and diversely forging ahead – rooted in, but distinct from, its multimedia origins. The studio’s success highlights a growing trend of cross-industry innovation in the entertainment sector.</p>