Martians at Good Game Zagreb 2022

The Background

It’s been a minute since we attended an offline event. So, when an opportunity to participate in Good Game Global, the biggest B2B gaming event ,showed up, we just couldn’t miss it. While we may not be the most experienced gamers (and we may not have a lot of hours of playing Counter-Strike), we do love a challenge and a good competition.

The whole concept of the event was very new and interesting to us because it brings together the industry experts in a different way: 32 companies competing against each other in Counter-Strike: GO is something you don't see every day.

It was also a great opportunity to introduce ourselves and show that there is life on Mars. Besides gaming, meeting new teams, and socializing, the event had a humanitarian note - each team played for the non-profit organization of their choice which was something that played a big role in our decision to participate.

The Team

So, who made it to our final combat team? Introducing our brave Martian crew:

Our captain Ivan (Voodoo) is in the middle, our PM Kiki (Eyeguard) to his right, and our Product Marketing Manager Iva (Quake) to his left. On the left side, you also can see our founder and designer Marko (Basil), our front-end dev Renato (Atoru), and our P&C Manager Hana Greta (Lashaelyss) proudly standing on the right.

Fun fact - our team was the 1st venture studio to participate at the Good Game Global tournament, as well as the only team in GG history to have 2 girl players. Yep, our girls have shown the will, had the right skill set, and they have taken the preparations very seriously. You can read more about our girls and their experience in this interview for žena.hr.

Preparations for Good Game Global

As with everything we do, we like to be hands-on and proactive, and that's why we started with internal preparations for the tournament. For 2 weeks, we practiced in the Hall of Game playroom, which was a new and really positive experience.

Before the actual main event, we played in the qualifications for the upper and lower bracket of the tournament. We were drafted in group F with a tough competition: Shape, HT, and Superology.

We wanted to get to know our opponents, so we took our time and explored tactics and their gameplay. We looked at how we function as a team in various situations and adapted strategies depending on the result. And most importantly, we had a lot of fun.

Nice peeps from Good Game Global invited us for a podcast interview, so if you want to discover more about our preparations and expectations, and hear some funny gaming stories, check us out on their Alt+Tab podcast.

But yeah, in the end, we lost every qualification match… But we didn’t lose hope!

Good Game Zagreb event

The time has come - 2 days of gaming, fun, and networking.

Our team was ready (as much as we could be). We entered the event with a totally positive attitude, with no expectations, except to give our best. Surrender was out of the question.

All eyes were on the main stage where tech teams would have tested their strengths in CS: GO and fight for the title of best!

And our first match was precisely there, early in the morning, against Q agency. As we climbed on the stage, we could feel our adrenalin rushing and nerves wracking. But we were ready. Maybe not ready to lose, but, oh well. We’ll be better in the next afternoon match. Except we weren't. We lost again against Serengeti. Oh well.

No matter the losses, we were still pumped to win something - and we did! Kiki and Ivan showed their precision and crushed the competition in beer pong. We cheered to that with more beer. And burgers.

The overall relaxed and fun atmosphere suddenly got tense when it was our time to show what we're made out of in the beer pong tournament. Although CS gaming luck was not on our side this year, we kept improving our skills through the beer pong ladder and, in the end - won. - Kristijan

Since we were no longer in the competition, day 2 was a chill day for us. We enjoyed all the amazing activities that GGZG prepared: from the HADO arena, Retro Corner, Food Court, Phageborn… Iva and Hana almost became the Cornhole queens! No doubt that next year, the throne is theirs.

Good Game Zagreb was a great experience for the entire team and for the entire company - everybody was super excited about it. Although it didn’t last long for us, the final event was a blast and are looking forward to next year! - Iva

The matches were pretty intense that day and the atmosphere was surreal! The grand finale was indeed grand, and congrats to the winners - Agency04! But after two days of heavy gaming, it was party time! It was as they promised, a bomb finisher! Krankšvester, killed it and brought the energy level to new heights, followed by the new trap voice Zembo Latifa. And what's a party without a little bit of trash, so DJ Boris Motega took us back to the '80's, '90s, and '00's.

Conclusion

Let’s face it, we were the underdogs in the competition. But underdogs that had a lot of fun, met some great people, experienced something new, and got really hyped for the next year. This event brought us closer together and gave us a chance to connect on another level. That's why we are pumped and already starting to prepare for next year!