BETA | OXFORDSHIRE ROUNDTABLE
Oxford
Thinking
While it’s famed University has allowed Oxfordshire to court an international reputation as a place of learning, the area is now becoming increasingly well regarded as a hub for video game development. Will Freeman spent time with the region’s industry leaders to find out more… Some of the key figures in Oxfordshire’s game development sector discuss the region
34 | APRIL 2010
hat are the advantages of setting up a studio in Oxford and the surrounding area? Mick Morris, Audiomotion: Audiomotion has been based in and around Oxford since the late nineties. Geographically we’ve always been around here, and any time we’ve considered relocating, we’ve always had to consider what we’ve got here. We have a lot of clients come over from across Europe and beyond, and they just love the city. They love soaking up the culture, the architecture, the good restaurants; it’s just got a lot going for it. David Hawkins, Exient: I totally agree. I would say all the things about Oxford being a beautiful place with great culture are true, and its central location in the UK is great too, but if I’m honest I like just like living here. That was the main reason I set up here. Gobion Rowlands, Red Redemption: On that note, the reality is that a lot of people who join us do just love the place when they visit initially. They want to live here, so they are happy to move to Oxford, and that really works for us. Also, it’s near enough to London, but contained enough that you can walk or cycle to work. Then there’s the universities. Our partnerships with them is essential to what we do, and both Oxford and Oxford Brookes are very approachable, and very engaged with making the city dynamic. Mike Montgomery, Lightning Fish: I’d say that’s the same for us, even being based in nearby Banbury. The reason we chose Banbury is that’s it’s close to Oxford, but it’s also because if you’re employing staff and customers are coming and see you, the transport network is really good, in terms of the motorway and the rail connections. Hugh Edwards, High Score: We definitely located in the Oxfordshire area because we’re in the centre of Britain, but also because we’re at the centre of where all the games companies are, excluding Scotland. We’re
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only half-an-hour away from London and Banbury, and you’re also very close to Southam, you’re very close to Leamington, and you’re really close to Oxford, where there’s a real hub of lots of game companies. We like to be central because of that, and then we go to London to record, or travel to Europe, or do whatever else we need to do. Torsten Reil, NaturalMotion: For me it’s also about the ecosystem of companies that are here. It’s a critical mass, and at some point you’ve got enough companies in an area so that it’s more than just a good place to be or
There are very well established business networks, so if you need funding for a company this is one of the best places in Europe you can be to raise money. Torsten Reil, Naturalmotion to live. It’s at the point where, for example, we get our motion capture done with the Audiomotion guys here, just down the road, so it’s really convenient. We can meet up outside of work to discuss the industry and what is going on. That’s really interesting and valuable, and goes beyond how nice a city is to live in. So things are going well for the Oxfordshire development community? Rowlands: There’s been a seed change here. I’ve noticed from an external perspective on the nine years I’ve been in Oxford, that the number of games companies in or around has really reached that critical mass. It’s just amazing how much has happened here, whereas people didn’t think of Oxford as a
place for game development a few years ago. They thought of Brighton or they’d refer to London. Oxford has really come up, I think. Montgomery : I think you’re right. Oxford wasn’t really on the map about 15 years ago for game developers. Morris: To reiterate, I think there’s quite a nice social community. People have and do meet each other quite frequently outside of work, which is an important part of the relationships many of us share. With the studios, tech, and service firms now present in Oxfordshire, is it fair to say that the area hosts an autonomous development community? Edwards: I don’t think it’s a clique, but people tend to know one another because of the location. Rowlands: A lot of companies here are very helpful with sharing ideas, contacts, and connections. There’s a shared sense of where that can take us next. Edwards: And it’s the proximity that helps encourage that. It’s human nature that if you can pop in your car and within five minutes you can meet someone in a pub there’s a better chance of brainstorming and sharing ideas, rather than picking a provider who’s far away in Dundee. Morris: I think visitors are always quite surprised as well because they come and I can list the names of all the companies sitting here today, and others who aren’t here like Vicon, who make all the motion capture equipment. There’s all the products and services we all do, and our collective clients like Sony and EA and Microsoft. People just aren’t aware that this hub exists, of game development and related products. Hawkins: I’d say I use a lot of people who are local to here, but I don’t use them just because they are local; I use them because they provide the best service to my company. I use them because they’re the best, and they just happen to be local to me.