Dominik Schönleben

(he/him)

CEO & Lead Narrative Designer

For the last 5 years I’ve been working as a community manager for a large video game and tech company (Niantic). Before that I was a journalist, writing about the future of technology (WIRED). This combination probably inspired many tropes (and jokes) about silicon valley culture that you can recognize in my writing for NEON HOPE. However, I never drift too far to the dystopian side – believing there always will be people standing up to make things better.

I love a good story – especially if it gets told through an interactive medium. Providing the player with hard choices that matter, enabling them to play in their own style, shaping their personal narrative. Among my favorite board games are Arkham Horror: The Card Game, T.I.M.E Stories und Netrunner. These, and many more, were inspiring for how I tell stories in the world of NEON HOPE. A world full of convention breaking characters, unusual places, and difficult choices leaving interpretation for what is right or wrong.

I’ve been embedded in the gaming community for the last 15+ years. I even run my own community convention once a year: the Lure of Middle-earth. Once a year 200+ people meet at a real medieval castle in Germany to play Lord of the Rings themed card games for a weekend.

You can find me on social media as: nerdmeetsyou.

Francesco Grothe

(he/him)

Lead Game Designer & Production Manager

I just recently finished my computer science study program. Now I am working partly as a programmer in robotics and partly as the game designer and production manager for NEON HOPE (finally!). As a programmer – and especially as a gamer – few things excite me more than sophisticated systems and interactions. I love to understand a game’s mechanics at its core and conceptualize the resulting strategies. So it should not be surprising that I have a long history in competitive card games, including Magic: the Gathering, Netrunner, Game of Thrones, Legends of the Five Rings, and recently Star Wars Unlimited.

For NEON HOPE I ensure that the game play is fun, deep, varied, and well balanced. Though this does not mean I’m all numbers: I have the most fun in the design process, when I combine theme and mechanics. It just feels great to find the perfect mechanic that conveys the feeling of an episode, or when I find the perfect ability to convey a character’s particular theme.

For the production side of NEON HOPE, my priority is to make the game as sustainable as possible, while also ensuring that it is stunning to look at and enjoyable for years to come. That means to use eco-friendly materials when possible, and to produce locally in Europe whenever we can.

For me, NEON HOPE represents a warning that the world could take a turn for the worse – but also a promise that everyone of us has a say in what the outcome is.

Torben Ratzlaff

(he/him)

Art Director

I have worn many hats in the last 10+ years of my career, working in the video game and tech industry as a freelance designer, artist and developer. In 2021 I shifted my focus to board games and have released three games so far. My biggest success yet is Beacon Patrol which will receive its first expansion in 2024 as well as a digital adaptation early 2025.

In my spare time I organize events for local game developers. This includes the Indie Treff which is a monthly meet-up for 150+ indie developers, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. I also bring together local board game designers and gaming enthusiasts for playtesting sessions at the Spielwerk. This is also where I met Dominik and Francesco — and played my first game of NEON HOPE.

For the game’s visual design I envision something fresh, which is grounded in today’s technology and design. Taking inspiration from the clarity and boldness but also playfulness of mobile applications and advertisements of contemporary tech companies. Unlike the designs of classical cyberpunk, which are oftentimes overtly dark, grimy and dystopian, the future of NEON HOPE will be more ambiguous; shiny and bright companies with rotten structures on one side and unsightly neighborhoods filled with compassion and community on the other. The struggle between big tech and humanity remains, and it is left to the players to discover who truly stands on which side.

Richi Anna Haarhoff

(they/them)

Guest Designer — A Hopeful Cause Expansion

I’ve been heavily involved in the Hamburg boardgame design community for over ten years now. Aside from designing board games myself, I also organize local events, and network with the wider board gaming community. In 2018, I was awarded the Spieleautoren-Stipendium, an award for upcoming board game designers, backed by the jury of the prestigious Spiel des Jahres award. Two of my games have been published thus far: Memorinth (2020) and Space Dragons (2021).

When I first met Dominik at one of our local board game design meetups, initially I was a little skeptical of NEON HOPE. As a teenager, I had been a big fan of cyberpunk, but since then, the dystopian vision of a world dominated by tech corporations accountable to nobody has become a bit “too real” for me to enjoy. But as I soon found out, NEON HOPE offers a much more engaging narrative, a world filled with not only the potential for a brighter future, but also people willing to fight for it. I quickly became a frequent playtester for NEON HOPE, and I was delighted when the team offered me the chance to design the characters in the Auf hoffnungsvoller Mission expansion.

I hope you will enjoy playing the 4 new playable characters as much as I enjoyed designing them!

Robert Herzig

(he/him)

Illustrator

You can see more of Robert’s art on Artstation or if you follow him on Instagram.