Creating Value | Illustrated

A History of Kolibri Games in Ten Objects

An Illustrated Blog Post

February 6, 2020

Kolibri mug 

This mug is going places! The adventurous Kolibri mug has probably been to more places around the world than most of us – from the Pyramids to London’s Tower Bridge, to the Eiffel Tower, to the beaches of Hawaii and many more. We don’t really remember who first took their mug on holiday, but when Berlin is grey and cold it’s nice to see the mug in sunnier places. 

 

 

Nerf gun 

Our Nerf Guns are relics from a time when we were much smaller and a little scruffier. Today, they’re mostly hidden away for safety reasons. But, that doesn’t mean that we’ve lost our fighting spirit. While we’ve grown and professionalized, we’re still going all out every day, metaphorical guns blazing, to stay ahead in our genre and deliver value to our players. 

 

Chinese trophy  

This one was our first real trophy! Our Co-Founders Janosch and Tim unexpectedly took home the award from the China Cultural Industries Fair in Ning Bo in 2017. It’s still on our shelves in the lobby today, accompanied by all the other ones we’ve gotten over the years. A great reminder of where we started out and the hard work it took to get where we are today. 

 

Critical Path Crown 

In our packed weekly sprints, timely delivery is key. The crown signifies that whoever is wearing it is a “Critical Path” blocker, and a successful release depends on them finishing their critical task. It tells others to leave the wearer undisturbed and to help them whenever possible. We don’t really wear the crown these days but keep it around to remind ourselves of what it stands for: for ownership, for responsibility and accountability

 

Anniversary Manager Figures

In Idle Miner Tycoon, Super Managers are a real game-changer: experienced players use them to boost their production and make incredibly fast progress. Same works for our company. It’s because of every single Kolibri that we were able to achieve so much in just four years. That’s why part of the anniversary gift for every Kolibri is a little Super Manager figure.  

 

Coffee machine 

This one might be a cliche, like the office printer or the microwave, but our coffee machine deserves its hard-earned spot on the list of Kolibri-defining objects. This workhorse spits out over 13.000 coffees a quarter and hardly ever acts up. In return, we empty its grounds container with care, gently refill the water and milk tanks and make sure it’s always full of fresh beans. 

 

Polaroid camera 

Because time passes incredibly fast we like to document things: cool guests, anniversaries, new hires and much more. Our polaroid camera is like our memory. It helps us to capture little snippets in time that you can find all over the office. Every Kolibri has their picture taken on their first day and it’s fascinating to look back at the team overview and how people change in such a short amount of time. 

 

Event reward badge 

Just because we make our games, doesn’t mean that they are somehow easier for us. Because we like to challenge ourselves, we tried to collectively collect as many IMT and IFT event badges as possible over the course of two months. For every badge earned in-game, we handed out a badge in real life. Together, we earned over 300 badges and managed to earn two out of the three possible rewards. Next season we’ll get all three for sure! 

 

Cheese 

Hummingbirds are called nectarivores, because the majority of their diet consists of nectar from flowers. Calling Kolibris cheesievores would not at all be far fetched because nothing brings Kolibris to the lobby faster than cheese on sticks (not even doughnuts). Cheese alert triggers a state of emergency at the HQ but in a good way. 

 

Pingpong Table 

Table Tennis is big in Berlin – the “Ping Pong table per square meter” density hits record standards here. Similarly, our table was probably one of the most anticipated and is today one of the most used additions to the Kolibri HQ. From casual lunch battles to very serious training for local competitions, the sturdy thing hardly ever gets a break. 

 

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