Member Article

Time to Switch The Game Kettle On!

Games studios across the North East of England have come together to form a new games network called Game Kettle.

Recently local companies met to discuss whether they saw a need for a games network and the resounding answer was “yes”. Game Kettle was born, and its launch event, sponsored by bluegfx, will be held at the stunning Baltic Flour Mill on the evening of the 5th September on Gateshead Quayside. The event will showcase local companies and be a fun evening of networking and game play. All are welcome http://www.amiando.com/MFNVDQY; the first 60 tickets are free, then there will be a £10 per ticket charge.

The North East of England has had a legacy of games development since the early 1980’s, and as a result, has a wealth of local games industry talent. It is supported by excellent games industry degrees from local universities such as Teesside, Northumbria, Sunderland and Newcastle. Its companies also have a history of collaboration which was cemented by the GameHorizon network. It was formed in 2004 and supported the industry until last year, when it was sold by Codeworks (it’s parent company), as a conference brand to Eurogamer.

The landscape is much different from when GameHorizon was formed but the need for a network is even stronger, as smaller independent companies have formed and need to share resources, achieve to access finance, develop skills and gain promotional support. The network hopes to see the larger companies such as Eutechnyx, Atomhawk, Pitbull Studio and Double 11 sharing their knowledge and supporting the smaller indies such as Lemonmoose Games, Nosebleed Interactive, Game Tonic and many more.

The new games network will be holding quarterly events as well as an annual games conference focused towards independent development. The network has no public finance and will be relying on its own members to form its foundations; already Tint Digital have developed a brand and logo and Secret Sauce and AtomHawk have contributed to events.

Carri Cunliffe, MD of Secret Sauce, who worked with the regions companies to found both GameHorizon and Game Kettle said “there was a definite gap and Game Kettle is aiming to focus on helping the independent companies through skills, collaboration and promotion. This network will be member-based but free to all games studios and regional games related individuals. We are thrilled that bluegfx who have been supporting the NE games industry for many years are, in conjunction with Autodesk, sponsoring this first exciting event. I encourage people to come to the region for the evening and meet our developers and play their games.”

Lee Phillips, Sales Manager at bluegfx said “We have a base in the region and are thrilled to see a new network emerging that supports the wealth of games companies that are in the North East. We know many of the companies, but the network has unearthed a number of independent companies who are new to us and we look forward to getting to know them better.”

Come and see the Game Kettle Switch on at this launch event on 5th September in Gateshead.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Carri Cunliffe .