Enter Brain Ment is on the cusp of releasing its first iPhone game, Somersault, a colourful platformer that’s already been a hit on Mac and PC.

But there’s more to the Enter Brain Ment’s story.

Having sprung from the loins of the widely lauded Games Academy institution in Berlin (with a partner institution in London), Enter Brain Ment’s short history provides an interesting insight into games design education and what it’s like to get started as a handheld games developer in Germany, a country famed for its sometimes draconian attitude towards the games industry.

We caught up with company founder Sascha Stammer to find out more. Pocket Gamer: How did Enter Brain Ment start?

Sascha Stammer: The core team got to know each other while studying at the Games Academy in Berlin. After our studies, we originally wanted to make an official release of our university project, which was a point-and-click adventure.

Unfortunately we weren’t able to raise the funds for that project. That’s why we founded a graphics studio and began to work as freelancers for games and advertisements.

After about a year, we got fed up with this and got back to our former plans of realising our own game. So we founded Enter Brain Ment with the aim to develop new and innovative game concepts.

Our first project was the PC and Mac version of Somersault. Somersault was released in 2008 and we won the European Innovative Games Award as well as the Gamesload Newcomer Award.

Pocket Gamer: What was it like studying at the Games Academy?

It was an exciting and above all informative time for us. Just imagine a room full of idealists crazy for games who get the time and space to develop their own ideas.

The results were lots of small and interesting games and a group of experienced and team orientated developers. For us it was a cool time in which we could follow our own ideas without any commercial pressure.

Pocket Gamer: What’s your opinion on the process of teaching games design?

Well, we can’t judge other courses or schools. The fact is that in the past few years, new possibilities for studying game design have arisen. I think it's questionable whether all of them are able to teach the skills one needs for the complex process of games development.

The Games Academy is one of the oldest special schools in Europe and has developed a very good education program over the years. The teachers come directly from the industry and are able to teach practical knowledge.

We think such schools are very good at teaching the basic skills but, at the end of the day, one needs to get a lot of practical project experience to be able to develop a well-balanced game design.

Pocket Gamer: What was the most important thing you learnt at the Games Academy?

The most important for us was to learn about the complex interplay of all aspects of games development. This doesn’t just mean the skills of the team members but also motivation and communication within the team.

Many lone wolves had to learn how to become team players in order to realise their ideas.

Pocket Gamer: How do you find Germany as a country to start a game studio?

Apart from the current media discussion about violence in video games Germany is, from our point of view, an up and coming location for games development.

The acceptance of video games as a cultural product is rising and we have a lot of well educated personnel. Furthermore there are more and more governmental promotion programs for games development and a vast amount of small and big developer studios with great games and innovative technology.

The number of passionate video game players in Germany is immense, which makes it an interesting market as well.

Pocket Gamer: Has Berlin’s vibrant arts and cultural scene shaped Enter Brain Ment’s design philosophy?

Of course! Berlin is a city that not only influences and inspires you, it challenges you every day. You are constantly driven to reinvent yourself as an artist.

Here you can directly feel the constant changes in the field of design and you automatically begin to surf on that wave. This is reflected in our design philosophy – we want to create innovations in gameplay as well as in graphical style.

Pocket Gamer: Enter Brain Ment’s first game, Somersault, was a Mac and PC title. Was an iPhone version always part of the plan?

During the development of the PC/Mac version we had already thought about porting it for the iPhone. Due to its controls it's a perfect game for a touchscreen so it was obvious that sooner or later we would go that way.

Our problem was we didn't have the budget to develop for three platforms at the same time. Then, as today, we were only five people and our resources restricted.

Pocket Gamer: Do you think it’s still possible for new developers to make a name for themselves with their first App Store release?

A high quality game like Somersault appeals to the people even before its release. We've seen lots of positive feedback from online communities and we're really happy about that. We also think iPhone users are always open to innovation.

The App Store saw a huge gold rush at the start and some people made good money. That time is definitely over.

There are, were, and will be, a vast amount of apps of below average quality but the users are getting more stringent. That’s why we believe it’s still possible to make a name for yourself and some money if you provide the right level of quality.

Pocket Gamer: What do you think about App Store pricing and the concept of 99c games?

The flexible pricing model of the App Store is developer friendly and simplifies the adaption to the market. We think 99c games are fine, but we are concerned about the current price decline in the App Store.

In our case, we cannot release our game for 99c as our development costs are too high. Quality has its price and we are sure that most iPhone users understand and accept that.

Pocket Gamer: What’s your opinion on social networking trends?

The current trend is just the beginning. Everything leads to a total media convergence in which your mobile phone - as a multimedia tool - can communicate with everything and everybody. Especially in games, we will see a fusion of consoles, computers, public screens and our real world. Our mobile devices will become the communicator, memory and controller in between these.

The connection between social networks and games is a really interesting feature for players as they are able to exchange their experiences directly via their known web spaces with their friends. That’s why we are planning to integrate Facebook Connect and Twitter in Somersault.

Pocket Gamer: What advice would you give to someone thinking of starting their own games company?

Create games about which you are one hundred percent convinced. In the beginning it’s pretty hard and it only gets harder. Therefore you need a lot of motivation and it’s easier to keep your motivation high if you develop a game that gives the maximum space to use your own creativity.

Pocket Gamer: What are Enter Brain Ment’s plans for 2010?

Right now we are working on a new game concept which will revolutionise the racing genre. We will start the development of the prototype soon and next year we will start the production.

Unfortunately we can’t say anything more about that one yet.
Thanks to Sascha (and Karsten) for their time.

You can keep to date with Enter Brain Ment's activities via its website (German language only).