Roundtable with Britain’s Pride
Leading UK developers share their thoughts on the industry
The British “360 Magazine” has gathered together the headmen of UK’s main videogame companies to offer a brainy interview where they comment on developing costs, support from the government, the battle between creative and profitable or the possibility of a future single platform. Rare’s General Manager Simon Farmer was part of the roundtable, along with Peter Molyneux from Lionhead, Gavin Chesire from Codemasters and others.
Here is the excerpt from the interview collecting all answers by Mr Farmer.
360 Mag: How are UK developers placed in the competitive world of the games industry?
Simor Farmer: I think developers in the UK have always been and will continue to be in great demand. Not only because of the quality of the output, but also the creativity we historically display in titles dating back to the early Eighties. UK developers have consistently proven to be amongst the best in the world in videogame development.
360 Mag: Is there any concern that cheaper production costs abroad will push publishers away from the UK? What can British developers do to make sure they offer more than just cost effectiveness?
Simon Farmer: Some aspects of production may end up being created abroad due to financial factors, but that’s really dependent on the type of product you’re working on and whether or not you have the capability to guide, manage and deliver the required results from overseas. The greatest edge we have in the UK is our well-known artistry and imagination in the various gaming-related disciplines.
360 Mag: Are developers getting enough support from the government in your opinion?
Simon Farmer: It’s not something we have traditionally kept track of, as Rare has been around for coming up to 25 years and has never really seen any positive acknowledgement of the industry from the UK government during that time. I think it probably stems from a lack of understanding and appreciation of how many people it employs, not to mention the amount of money it brings into the country. It’s disappointing, especially when you see the incentives that are put in place in Canada and France. Of course, I’ll take this all back should Mr Brown follow suit with the recent French government announcement of 20 per cent rebate on game budgets.
360 Mag: How have relationships changed between developers and publishers in recent years?
Simon Farmer: The hands-on approach from publishers has obviously become more commonplace over recent years, and understandably so when you take into account the investments now being made in comparison to the older generation tech. Making a game is a considerable creative undertaking with many parties involved, so there will always be differences of opinion, but ultimately I think it’s down to finding the right relationship with the right publisher and working collaboratively to achieve a product that both parties are happy with. At the end of the day each side needs the other.
360 Mag: Are artistically innovative games and profitable games mutually exclusive or can creativity and popularity coexist?
Simon Farmer: It’s definitely getting harder, but I wouldn’t say impossible for the two to coexist. The safer bets are the ones that obviously receive all the momentum in terms of marketing support, which helps to set apart the real big hitters. But if someone created a game that was truly ground-breaking, word of mouth is still capable of infusing its own momentum and creating a success.
360 Mag: Should publishers be following Hollywood’s example of offering more opportunities to indie developers from their blockbuster profits?
Simon Farmer: Should they? Yes. Will they? It remains to be seen. However, Microsoft has put tremendous effort into creating a platform that enables hobbyists, indie developers and professional developers alike to develop games with Xbox Live Arcade. Also, the XNA Creators Club and Dream-Build-Play game development contest are good examples for how the bigger players in the industry are working to foster indie developers’ efforts to create games for the Windows and Xbox 360 platforms using XNA Game Studio.
360 Mag: What do British developers have to offer that others in the world do not?
Simon Farmer: Fortunately or unfortunately, British developers advantages in experience, passion and the bad weather that keeps us all indoors a good portion of the year makes us kindred spirits with a very vibrant game development community across the pond in Seattle.
360 Mag: What do developers need to be doing to keep themselves innovating and at the cutting edge?
Simon Farmer: Constantly review the production processes and technology used to create games, to allow development teams to focus their abilities and time on the gameplay and mechanics, rather than the tools required to build the games. And also bring in new blood to mix with experienced devs, a bit like the England football team really… oh… perhaps not a good example.
360 Mag: Is there such a thing as a quintessentially British game any more or has such a thing died off?
Simon Farmer: Ten years ago yes, but I believe they are a dying if not extinct breed with developers becoming more aware of world markets and publishers’ requirements and the need to appeal to them all.
360 Mag: Where is the new development talent coming from in the UK? Is the well of talent drying up or on the increase like never before?
Simon Farmer: From Rare’s perspective, we still have a healthy intake of graduates every year. This has tended to ebb and flow over the years, but at the moment we still see a desire from people to become involved and associated with an exciting and rapidly evolving industry.
360 Mag: There’s been talk recently of a single console future. Do you think such a future is inevitable and will it be beneficial to the industry or merely stifle its creativity?
Simon Farmer: If we continue to really focus on the high-tech capabilities of the platform then I think it will limit the competition to those with the financial capacity to develop such hardware, but I believe this generation is proving it’s not just about the technology, it’s about the whole experience and, as always, the games. I’d like to see a healthy competitive environment in the future – and I don’t think that’s possible with a single platform.
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