Joystiq

Kickstarter now an option for UK game developers

Jordan Mallory — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 00:30:00 EST

Indie developers looking for free money from Americans no longer have to rob tourists at knife point in the busy London Underground (not that any lovely Brits would do such a thing), as Kickstarter has now established itself in the United Kingdom.

Rather than being separated into their own website, UK-based Kickstarter projects will be interspersed alongside American fundraisers in the site's main ecosphere. Pledge levels will be listed in pounds sterling and monetary transactions will take place through a different third-party intermediary via Kickstarter itself, rather than Amazon Payments, but otherwise the donation process is identical to Yankee 'starters.

Previously, Kickstarter had been limited to projects originating from the colonies due to the limitations of the Amazon Payments system. Now though, British creatives of all type can reap the benefits inherent to the Kickstarter system, as can Americans looking to exploit the current state of our exchange rate.

Kickstarter now an option for UK game developers originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 01 Nov 2012 00:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scottish games industry doesn't really exist, says government report

Alexander Sliwinski — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 11:00:00 EST

A new report on the Scottish economy claims its video game industry has only 200 workers, no students studying game-related subjects, and that its value is £0 to the country. This would all be laughable - except it could inform policy, since it was created by DC Research and commissioned by governmental organizations Creative Scotland and Scottish Enterprises.

"The problem is that this is an official report created by two Scottish government organizations which oversee the cultural and enterprise elements of the Scottish economy," Scottishgames.net wrote. "Moving forward policy decisions, funding allocations etc. will all be made based on the information in this document."

What likely occurred in the study is that video game companies were misidentified, either by themselves in government filings or in the course of the research. The data is based off information from 2010, when video games didn't have their own Standard Industrial Classification.

The Scottish games industry includes Rockstar North and Ruffian Games, along with developing, recognized talent from University of Abertay Dundee.

[Thanks, Brian.]

[Ruskpp via Shutterstock]

Scottish games industry doesn't really exist, says government report originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 07 Sep 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Minecraft for Kinect is an XBLA title, ported by 4J Studios

Ben Gilbert — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 13:50:00 EST

More details have begun to trickle out on Swedish developer Mojang Studios' first Xbox 360 title, a Kinect-enabled port of indie hit Minecraft. Beyond the fact that it'll be some form of indirect port and that an unnamed developer other than Mojang was at the helm, few other details were known, but as Minecraft creative lead Markus "Notch" Persson revealed on his Twitter feed last night, Scottish devs 4J Studios are apparently in charge of this holiday's world-builder.

If you, like us, are unfamiliar with 4J, a cursory Wikipedia'ing reveals work on a wealth of ports, not to mention a handful of not-so-well-known original games. Hopefully any worry you have in the studio's confidence is abated by the fact that Notch will remain a game designer on the project, presumably retaining creative oversight.

Minecraft for Kinect is an XBLA title, ported by 4J Studios originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 16 Jun 2011 13:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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APB Reloaded developer opening studio in Scotland

Griffin McElroy — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 00:10:00 EST

We know that events in the video gaming industry are cyclical, but we never expected them to cycle quite this fast. Dundee, Scotland-based developer Realtime Worlds developed APB before being shut down last year. The IP was then picked up by developer GamersFirst, who is now opening a new studio in Edinburgh, Scotland under the moniker Reloaded Productions.

The new studio will import the staff that's currently working to rebuild the interrupted online FPS, and will also open up 22 additional positions for folks who live in the area. Perhaps some Realtime Worlds staffers who haven't quite gotten back on their feet yet could land in these new openings! Not only would that add to the cyclical nature of the project, but it would also be a great example of human resource recycling. Go green, Reloaded Productions!

APB Reloaded developer opening studio in Scotland originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 26 Mar 2011 00:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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APB developer Realtime Worlds entering administration

Griffin McElroy — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Things weren't looking great for APB and Crackdown developer Realtime Worlds last week, as the company underwent some layoffs in the "Art, Audio, Coding, Design, Production, and QA departments." According to GamesIndustry, things didn't improve over the weekend: Realtime Worlds is reportedly entering administration, a status somewhat similar to a U.S. company's decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The Scottish developer has named the Begbies Traynor Group as its administrator -- a third-party who attempts to rescue an insolvent company while still acting in the interests of its creditors. Much like with bankruptcy, this move isn't exactly a nail in the developer's coffin, but it could mean some radical reorganization is right around the corner.

APB developer Realtime Worlds entering administration originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 17 Aug 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scotland fighting to keep Realtime Worlds, other native game developers

Griffin McElroy — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:10:00 EST

It seems Scottish government officials aren't going to let the nation's game developers get stolen away without a fight. Last week, we reported on Ireland's attempts to court Scotland's biggest game developers, starting with APB creators Realtime Worlds. Scottish Secretary of State Jim Murphy recently met with Realtime Worlds owner Dave Jones to talk about how Scotland can convince the company to stick around -- specifically discussing the option of tax breaks and other modes of government support.

If you found that last paragraph boring, here are the CliffsNotes: Ireland and Scotland are fighting over Scotland's game developers. As their incentives continue to escalate, we completely expect to see a "free ponies" offer on the table within the next few weeks.

Scotland fighting to keep Realtime Worlds, other native game developers originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ireland trying to court Realtime Worlds, other Scottish devs with tax holiday

Griffin McElroy — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:15:00 EST

In an attempt to kick-start its own video game industry, Ireland has begun to target a number of high-profile Scottish game development studios, attempting to woo them over to the Emerald Isle by offering a five-year tax holiday. Colin Macdonald, manager of Dundee-based APB developer Realtime Worlds, responded by saying "if the package on offer in Ireland was attractive we'd have to give it serious consideration." Other Scottish developers who could be influenced by the tax holiday include Rockstar North, Denki, Ruffian Games and Dynamo Games.

Macdonald went on to say that Scotland's going to need to do more to preserve its burgeoning gaming industry in light of attractive offers from countries such as Ireland and Canada, who Realtime "lost some of [its] key staff to" in the past few years. We can't help but wonder if this might have had less to do with the strength of Canada's gaming industry, and more to do with the deliciousness of their bacon.

[Via Gamasutra]

Ireland trying to court Realtime Worlds, other Scottish devs with tax holiday originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Realtime Worlds celebrates new office opening, ever-expanding staff

Ben Gilbert — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:00:00 EST

Like the Scottish equivalent of George and Weezie, Crackdown developer Realtime Worlds is movin' on up. Rather than a deeeluxe apartment in the sky, the company has just opened an 8,000 sq. ft. office, adding to its already existing 26,000 sq. ft. location. Quite a feat considering the company moved into its current studio less than three years ago and has only ever shipped one game.

"We've had tremendous commercial and critical success, and have done the lion's share of the work towards a successful launch of our online title APB," studio manager Colin MacDonald says in the press release, referring to the company's upcoming PC MMO. Considering the down economy and flood of layoffs we saw earlier in the year, it's always good to see some expansion -- RTW is looking to reach over 300 employees by years end. And you could be one of them, as the company wants to remind everyone that "over 40 vacancies" exist in the careers section at the Realtime Worlds website. You live in Scotland, right?

Realtime Worlds celebrates new office opening, ever-expanding staff originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Abertay University researchers create training game for Scotland cops

Griffin McElroy — Sat, 24 May 2008 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Simulations

Whenever we think of training simulators for the local boys and girls in blue, one arcade classic always comes to mind -- the appropriately titled Police Trainer. We had the occasional desire to protect and serve as we effortlessly moved through the games virtual ranks; it was only later we discovered that cops are rarely called upon to shoot multicolored balls from the sky, nor are they required to play simple matching games using their trusty peacemakers.

A more "realistic" (see: less fun) simulator from researchers out of Abertay University in Scotland recently received some press when the game's creators suggested it for training purposes for Scotland's Finest. The sim's focus on making on-the-fly decisions on whether to shoot a dangerous suspect or hold fire would certainly come in handy for officers (and, consequently, for those not accidentally shot). The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland have been hesitant to adopt the new simulation, however, relying solely on repeated viewings of the Guttenberg classic "Police Academy" for all training purposes.

Abertay University researchers create training game for Scotland cops originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 24 May 2008 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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90% of DS owners are pirates? Not bloody likely!

Eric Caoili — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 11:15:00 EST

Filed under: News, Homebrew

In a recent chat with Scotland's The Sunday Post, John Hillier of the ELSPA (Entertainment & Leisure Software Publishers Association) warns retailers that the R4, a popular DS flashcart capable of running pirated and unauthorized software, could ruin businesses and the gaming industry. In the scaremongering piece, Mr. Hiller throws out an unsourced statistic: "In America it's thought 90 per cent of Nintendo DS users are playing pirated games because of R4s."

90%? Considering the near-ubiquity of the handheld and its expanded casual audience, we highly doubt that even 9% of DS owners in the US have a flashcart of any sort, let alone know of their existence. Though we don't consider ourselves supporters of piracy, stating a false figure like that as fact just to rally people to his cause is unconscionable.

In a way, we kind of wish the R4 was that popular, but not for any illegal reasons -- it would likely result in more homebrew projects and a much larger homebrew audience. Mr. Hillier will hear none of that, though: "The R4 has shifted balance of power in the piracy industry to the consumer -- and that is hugely worrying. That's why we intend to stop trade in these chips wherever we can."

90% of DS owners are pirates? Not bloody likely! originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 31 Jan 2008 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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'Safer Scotland' places anti-drunk driving ads in 360 games

Scott Jon Siegel — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Microsoft Xbox 360, Driving, Sports

Proving that not all in-game advertising is used solely for evil, the Scottish government plans to spend £10,000 on virtual billboards to discourage drunk driving, the BBC reports today. The campaign will place anti-drunk driving messages in Xbox 360 racing games like Need for Speed: Carbon, Project Gotham Racing 4, and sports titles like Pro Evolution Soccer 2008.

The Scottish government is elated that the campaign will be going forward, as it believes that video games are a great way of reaching younger audiences. We couldn't agree more, and think that this is one of the smartest uses for ad dollars we've seen in a while. Kudos to the Safer Scotland campaign.

'Safer Scotland' places anti-drunk driving ads in 360 games originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 24 Dec 2007 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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(Mostly) complete list of Wii tour stops in Europe

Alisha Karabinus — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 16:15:00 EST

Filed under: News

We know this is going to come as a big surprise to our friends in Europe, but you guys are getting something a little later than the United States. Try to pick your jaws up off the floor, guys. We know it's a shock. But hey, at least it isn't months later, right? And you guys get to miss out on the pain of Hawthorne Heights. That's right, you get an emo-free Wii Tour!

We only have dates for Western Europe -- Scotland, Ireland, England -- but if anyone knows about the Wii sweeping through the rest of the region, let us know. Full list of available dates after the jump.

Continue reading (Mostly) complete list of Wii tour stops in Europe

(Mostly) complete list of Wii tour stops in Europe originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 27 Oct 2006 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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