38,39 Dev121 Popcap_final 22/09/2011 09:11 Page 1
BETA | POPCAP DUBLIN
Pop stars
Will Freeman takes a look behind the doors of PopCap’s European HQ in Dublin, and meets the staff earning their right to autonomy in the wake of the recent EA acquisition PopCap’s hip Dublin office houses a constantly growing workforce, current over 80 in number
DESPITE WORKING for six years on what might be the most famous casual gaming IPs in the world, the inner workings of PopCap’s Dublin still studio remain something of a mystery. In the heart of a city that also plays home to Google and Facebook offices, the European headquarters of the company behind giant brands like Peggle, Bejeweled and Plants Vs Zombies houses an evergrowing workforce. But little is known of the creative culture, people and practices at the outfit recently acquired as part of an EA deal worth a reported $1 billion. In Dublin some 80 PopCap employees – half of whom are from outside of Ireland – are busily adapting existing properties and crafting original titles. Three months ago they were 50 in number, and by 2012 their ranks will have swelled to over 100.
PopCap Dublin’s studio general manager Paul Breslin (top) and senior game designer Dave Bishop are confident the EA acquisition is a good thing for the company
38 | OCTOBER 2011
AUTONOMY FOR THE PEOPLE In fact, so successful is PopCap Dublin as a studio, that it has now earned itself a significant degree of independence from the Seattle base that is the company’s global HQ. As well as developing games, the office on Ireland’s east coast has its own localisation department, PR team, and all the other elements that allow it to operate as a selfsufficient studio.
“The studio here is younger than the Seattle studio, so we do look to it for a few things, such as to source any technical knowledge we may not have here,” says Dublin studio general manager Paul Breslin. “But then we are very much autonomous in that we have our own teams and specific game projects, and these teams work fairly autonomously, occasionally reaching out to Seattle for any knowledge sharing.”
We are very much autonomous – we have our own teams and specific game projects, occasionally reaching out to Seattle for any knowledge sharing Paul Breslin, PopCap Part of the reason for that independence is PopCap Dublin’s track record with regard to its specialty: smartphone development. While the studio isn’t restricted to portable devices, its efforts on mobile are what affords the outfit its selfdetermination, says senior game designer Dave Bishop.
“We’ve earned our freedom from Seattle over the last couple of years,” he asserts. “If you looked back two years ago, here we were adapting PopCap games for mobile. That was really the focus of this studio, and then they made the decision that they effectively wanted to create ‘PopCap in a box’ here in Dublin, so that we could have some creative and developmental autonomy.” For that reason the studio opted to install someone creatively who could be an opposite number to the key creative team in Seattle, picking Bishop for the role. And it seems that they have succeeded in building that studio in a box. On a recent visit to Ireland, EA’s infamous CEO John Riccitiello declared PopCap Dublin ‘a company in it’s own right’. With the new boss suitably impressed, the Dublin team are clearly doing something striking. While the PopCap Shanghai operation is more autonomous, the Dublin base has still begun to blossom into being one of the most significant and influential casual studios on the planet. Part of the reason, argues Breslin, is an increased focus on game design. IT’S IN THE GAMES “We’ve got a number of designers here, and that’s evolved over the past few years,” he explains. “We now have three very strong designers on board, and that has changed our ability to create new IP and new IP adaptations. Around those individuals we’re building teams to create games.”