49,50,52 Dev119 spain_final 27/07/2011 13:34 Page 2
BETA | REGION FOCUS: SPAIN
BACK IN THE DAY
Clockwise from top-left: Bitoon’s Juan Tamargo, Crazybits’ Ricardo Amores Hernández, Digital Chocolate’s Gerard Fernandez, Filmutea’s Robert Fiueras, Gamelab founder Ivan Fernandez Lobo, Tequila Works’ Raúl Rubio Munárriz, Native Prime’s Diana Diaz Montón, and LocalSoft’s Randall Mage
However, some Spanish companies admit that the government and related trade bodies could do more to support the development sector as the game development industry there strives to increase in size and re-establish its footing on the global stage. “There is still a lot to be done here,” says Randall Mage, CEO of Málaga localisation specialist Localsoft, of support for the industry. “Video games need to be seen as something serious; something that could create wealth in the country and boost the industry with specific aids. This is not happening at the moment, although some progress is being made as we speak.” The present size of the Spanish development scene may make it hard to get recognition, but its relative smallness is also a strength. With intimacy comes a vital sense of community. COMMUNITY SPIRIT “Being a small community, centralised mainly in two or three cities, there is a rather strong sense of community,” confirms Diaz Montón. “Most professionals know each other and have worked with each other at different projects, in different companies.” There’s near unanimous agreement between Spanish developers and service providers that the relationships between studios is friendly and productive, and as a result events like GDC have become a focal point for a collaborative effort to promote the output of the nation’s developers. What’s more, the very aspects that make Spain such a popular holiday destination means attracting talent from overseas is rarely a problem for studios. “The quality of life in the country makes it very appealing for individuals and families,” states Fernandez Lobo. “Especially when talking about creative people, Spain is one of the most inspiring places in the world. In terms of salaries, there are not big differences with other European countries.”
50 | AUGUST 2011
With some of the most affordable living in the continent, and more hours of sunshine than anywhere in Europe, it’s not hard to see why Spain makes for an appealing prospect. There’s also been a marked improvement in the efforts of Spanish educators training home-grown talent, in part as a response to the aforementioned industry renaissance. “The level of students from the Universidad Pompeu Fabra, UCM or URJC is becoming really impressive lately,” insists Rau l Rubio Muna rriz, CEO at Spanish studio Tequila Works. He adds, however, that as with many of Spain’s strengths, more is needed for the country’s studios to realise their full potential.
Collaborations between universities and games studios are becoming more common, but there’s still a lot of work to do. Rau l Muna rriz, Tequila Works “The assimilation of that talent in the game industry is another question. Collaborations between universities and games studios are becoming more common, but there’s still a lot of work to do.” Robert Figueras, director and producer of transmedia at Filmutea, which recently created ambitious transmedia project Panzer Chocolate agrees that, despite a good start, Spanish educators must offer more. “I don’t think the well known international MBA schools in the country have any kind of specific programs for those who want to become the CEOs of the game studios and production companies of the future; and these specific programs are probably necessary here,” he says.
There’s a great deal of romanticising amongst Spanish developers about back when 8-bit was cutting edge. It’s seen as a high point when studios in Spain were strongest, and their work was internationally renowned. “The Spanish game development industry was quite significant worldwide during the 8-bit era with very remarkable studios – Dinamic, Opera Soft, Made in Spain and Topo Soft to name a few – who defined what was later called the golden age of Spanish game development,” explains Juan Tamargo, COO of Madrid studio Bitoon. “The late 1980s was a very creative period in Spain in terms of game development, where a lot of small
The Spanish game development industry was quite significant worldwide during the 8-bit era. Ricardo Hernández, Crazybits studios were founded and great games were made,” agrees Ricardo Amores Hernández, CTO of Gijon microstudio CrazyBits, before moving on to the demise of that heyday: “Almost all those little studios disappeared, having not made the jump to the 16-bit era.” That failure to adapt cost Spanish studios dearly, and for more than a decade the country’s games industry stepped away from the international limelight it had grown to adore. “Due to very high rates of piracy, price fights among local distributors, and the arrival of the 16 bit machines, most of the studios collapsed,” confirms Tamargo. Spanish studios, however, are back on track, and with high profile triple-A titles like Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (pictured top) by Mercury Steam or Battlefield Bad Company 2 mobile by Digital Legends “I’m my opinion the Spanish games development industry value is being rediscovered outside our country thanks to the traction gained recently by a few companies,” concludes Crazybits’