About Me - Portfolio Sebastian Nussbaum

Sebastian Nußbaum

Vice President New Games

I am working as Vice President New Games for Berlin based Wooga where i started 2009 as a Product Lead having released genre defining hit games like Pearl’s Peril and June’s Journey. I am responsible for the creative vision of the company deciding when to start which product into which market. I am setting up new teams and guiding them through concepting, prototyping and production with the right mix of creative and business direction. I strive to empower my teams and create an atmosphere where individuals are given a great deal of responsibility.
Please go to my Linkedin profile for a complete overview.

My passion is not limited to the gaming industry though.

Prior to Wooga, i worked as a creative director, designer and producer for various developers of award winning mobile content, starting my career as a level designer for Game Boy Color in 2000.
I have a deep passion for producing music. New albums are realesed every few years with tracks reaching from dub to latin and ska under the alias mabafu depending on my time and life schedule. I am spending more time right now though on creating an indie game called Goldspace.

I studied at the Bauhaus University Weimar (Media Art & Design).

Download CV

Talks & lectures:

Game Developer Conference 2018 San Francisco, USA: Running a Mobile Games Studio for Six Years: A Tale of Four Challenges
Transmedia Storytelling Berlin-Netzwerk 2015: Challenges of episodic storytelling
Quo Vadis 2015 Berlin: Bringing HOG and episodic storytelling to smartphones
Game Developer Conference 2015 San Francisco, USA: How Wooga Boosts Long-Term Retention
- Watch recorded video
HFF München/TU München 2014: Games workshop on storytelling
Casual Connect 2011 Kiev: Secrets to Social Game Success

Awards & Nominations:

2018: Pearl’s Peril nominated at Mobile Games Awards as Finalist (Best Game Management & Live Ops)
2017: June’s Journey won ‘Best Web Game of 2017’ on Facebook
2015: Best ranked talk @ F2P Summit at GDC 2015 SF, USA
2015: Tabby Awards 2015, Agent Alice is “Best iPad game” in category “Adventure”
2014: Pearl’s Peril nominated at Develop Awards 2014 as Finalist
2008: Platin Single (Schnuffel – Kuschel Song)

Supervising tutor & examiner:

Games which left behind a lasting good impression on me:

Top5 games:

BF2142 (PC): The titan mode is one of my favourite multiplayer modes and playing in a squad is so well designed.
Company of Heroes 1+2 (PC): My preferred RTS game of all time because of the sheer amount of tactics you can use.
Pirates! (PSP + Amiga 500): Explore, struggle, become famous in an exotic setting was a huge part of my childhood.
Starflight 1+2 (Amiga 500): The game which inspired me as a child a lot and made me wonder how it would be to roam the stars.
XCOM Series (Amiga 500 + PC): I love the tactical gameplay and setting. Apocalypse was one of my favuorites.

All time favourites:

Advance Wars Series (GBA): I love the complexity and simplicity of these sometimes very difficult games.
Arcanum (PC): A great RPG game by Troika Games who’s team developed Fallout 1+2.
Battle Isle (Amiga 500): My entry to turnbased strategy because of the interesting setting and the good UX and UI.
Battle Stations: Pacific (PC): A very good mix of rts and action arcade shooter.
Crusader no remorse (PC): Cool weapons, riddles and action (with fully destructible environment)
FTL (iOS): Loving the vibe and gameplay.
It came from the desert (Amiga 500): The graphics, setting and game elements are fantastic.
Jagged Alliance 2 (PC): First time i seriously thought about using a specific ammunition.
Killzone:Liberation (PSP): Best example how to port a first shooter onto a handheld.
Metroid Fusion (GBA) + Turrican (Amgia 500): Fantastic jump n run action.
M.U.D.S (Amiga 500): A very good fantasy sport game. Build up and manage your team. Win the games by points or by killing the opponent.
Oil Imperium (Amiga500): First time i understood a production and demand economy.
Red Faction Series (PC): Destructible environment at its best.
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun (PC): Reinvented the classic Commandos series almost perfect.
Silent Storm Series(PC): An x-com type game with fully destructible environment which overs great tactics.
Space Marhshals Series (iOS): Is a very nice and polished twin stick shooter for mobile.
Steamworld Heist (iOS): Very tactical game which combines turnbased movement with skill and a very interesting ricochet mechanic.
Super Cars II (Amiga 500): Epic if played with a friend in front of one computer.
Syndicate (Amiga 500) + Syndicate Wars + Satellite Reign (PC): I love the scenario and the destructible environment.
Wasteland 2 (PC): I enjoyed this “Super oldschool RPG” but i think that the story could have been better.

No brainers i like:

Civilization Series (PC + Amiga 500):
Command & Conquer Series (PC): The reason i bought a PC and started playing multiplayer
Deus Ex Series (PC): Amazing freedom of choice with a super deep game world and story
Dishonored Series (PC): Has a really unique game world and reminded my of the first Deus Ex.
Fallout Series (PC): I love the setting, art work and freedom of choice in these games.
Grand Theft Auto Series (PC + Nintendo DS): Just a great game series.
Halflife Series (PC): Just a great game series.
Wichter 3: Reminded me a lot of “Das Scharze Auge: Schicksalsklinge” but is also just a great game.