CRYTEK UK | BETA
and so forth. That ability to literally iterate onthe-fly means that artists are really able to hone in on the graphics, and they are able to finesse in a way we were never able to before. Are you hoping to keep growing as time goes on? Zala: That’s something we’re a little cautious about because Free Radical, before being taken over by Crytek, was a large company. Hilton: There’s an optimal size for a studio. Here we are getting up to about the 100strong now, which is enough to make a quality triple-A title with some insourcing and outsourcing as well. That’s the goal, to have one project per studio. The UK studio does some other little bits and pieces as well, so as to whether we need to get a little bit bigger we may do, but this is the kind of comfortable size where you can get that small developer feeling in the studio, where you know everyone’s name but you are still big enough to do something that is triple-A. Everyone likes working in small teams, but we realise the need for a certain size. The heart says we want to be smaller, the head says we need to bigger. You have to find the optimal balance there. Zala: Triple-A development means that you need to have quite large teams. There are no two ways about it. There’s also the flipside where you are too big and you don’t know all of your people. There’s a tipping point where all of a sudden you need twice the number of producers and so on and so forth to manage everything, and I think we are at a pretty efficient size to manage everything going on right now. How will Crytek UK manage to thrive in the UK’s rather challenged games development sector? Zala: We think our future’s very secure, Crytek as a company is doing very well. We’re well funded, we’ve got a good track record, and so publishers are always interested to work with DEVELOP-ONLINE.NET
us. We’re aware that it’s a tough time however, and a lot of big companies are finding it very difficult. Hilton: It’s all about interacting with other companies, and the reputation that you have in the industry and the strength of your technology and ideas. With the economic climate the way it is, publishers are looking very carefully at what they spend and how they spend it. So in that sense the competition is between independent developers who want to attract publisher money to them, you have to be sure about what you’re offering. You have to look attractive to them and we have that at the moment, that’s great. It’s a great position to be in, but you’ve always got to be on top of your game because there are some great studios out there who do some great work. It is really sad to see that some of that talent is falling away at the moment. We think we’ve got a good offering and we’ve got some good relationships, a good reputation. We think we’re secure.
Triple-A means that you need to have quite large teams. There’s also the flipside where you are too big and you don’t know all of your people.
other countries are doing it, we need to make sure we are working on a level playing field. What are you supposed to do otherwise, if you can’t realistically compete on the costs of development? You have restricted amounts of money to spend, and in that situation and in the current climate we do need something to help us compete internationally. Person for person we’re as good, if not better, than any other studios abroad, but if our cost base is considerably higher here then it automatically starts to undermine things for us.. Zala: It’s really sad when you see the UK gaming economy leading the way in terms of creativity and technology and general gaming standards. To see that being dissipated because a lot of the time the business is moving elsewhere, that for me is a real shame. Hilton: There clearly is a lot of young talent heading out to Canada and you can’t blame them; it’s a good offer over there.
Above: Hasit Zala and Karl Hilton with an unidentified Crytek employee
What does the future hold for Crytek UK? Hilton: It’ll be one project per studio and we have a solo project going in this studio which we are very excited about. Crysis 2 is a springboard for the UK company to continue on to bigger and better things. www.crytek.com
Hasit Zala, Crytek UK What is Crytek UK’s position on UK industry Tax Breaks? Zala: We’d love them, yes please. Hilton: Any healthy industry shouldn’t really need tax breaks. You shouldn’t be in a position where you have to use them. On a philosophical level, I don’t like the idea of them at all, but clearly if APRIL 2011 | 37