“More than seven million people live within an hour of Manchester alone and there are some 20,000+ students involved in creative and digital courses across its universities. It’s not just a home for established
professionals – the next generation is coming through” Liz Prince, business manager, Amiqus
the here and now, we gathered together senior representatives of some of the most established operators in the region: Liverpool’s Ripstone and Firesprite, Manchester’s No More Robots and Playdemic, and, on the fringes of the region, Wakefield’s Rebellion North (not to be confused with Rebellion’s Liverpool outpost). From Phil Gaskell, Graeme Ankers, Mike Rose, Gareth Jones and Arden Aspinall, we were keen to find out, not just about the region’s charms, but the depth of government support, links to education and what challenges and opportunities the region might offer those in the industry thinking of setting up or relocating under leaden skies.
T
WHERE IN THE NORTH WEST ARE YOU ESTABLISHED AND HOW DID YOU COME TO BE BASED IN THE AREA?
Graeme Ankers (Firesprite): Firesprite is based in Liverpool, and I am from Manchester, a true child of the North West and proud of our history of innovation and culture of inclusion.
Gareth Jones (Playdemic): We are based in Wilmslow, just outside of Manchester, a hotbed of development talent in the region with two other major developers in the same small town. Like many businesses, we’re here because it’s where we call home, but the North West has a strong history in the UK games development scene. Although some of the big names of the past have now gone, their legacy lives on through companies like Playdemic.
Mike Rose (No More Robots): We’re based in Manchester. I say “based”, because technically we have no office. However, myself and a few of the staff are Manchester based, and No More Robots was started in Manchester, since that’s where I’m from. We have staff in Liverpool, Lincoln, and a bunch of other places in the north.
Arden Aspinall (Rebellion North): Rebellion North was created when the Rebellion group
he North West’s past as a gaming powerhouse is undimmed and its future is undoubtedly bright, but to find out how things are in
acquired TickTock Games in late 2018. We joined as a successful team of developers able to take on the challenges of existing projects. We brought a high level of technical skills to Rebellion, and in turn, Rebellion offered and continues to give us the support we need – taking the team to new heights – new offices, new infrastructure and, most importantly, the ability to mine the growing seam of great talent in Yorkshire and beyond.
Phil Gaskell (Ripstone): Our main offices are located in the centre of Liverpool, which has global cultural and creative relevance and is home to a thriving creative and digital community that has collaboration and innovation in its DNA. I’ve always loved the creative vibe of the city, it has such a strong heritage for producing exceptional creative talent across all entertainment sectors, and I’ve always found the humour of the Liverpool people to be one of their biggest strengths. I live pretty much half-way between Manchester and Liverpool, and my co-founder lives over the water in the Wirral, so it just made a lot of practical sense to choose Liverpool as our base.
HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO REPORTS THAT THE NORTH WEST (SPECIFICALLY MANCHESTER) IS BEING TOUTED AS THE BEST PLACE TO SET UP IN TECH?
Gareth Jones (Playdemic): I’m biased but I think this is true. I am not a native of the area, I moved here from the Midlands to join a development company in early 2002 and found Manchester to be an incredible city. Friendly, vibrant and always evolving. It has culture and it has character. It has many of the best attributes of London and less of the negatives.
Arden Aspinall (Rebellion North): Over recent years, investment in game development, film and television has grown in our region, generating new opportunities, and setting a high bar for quality in our creative output. We have also seen a high level of investment in transport infrastructure, faster links to the capital and other UK cities, never far away from the networking hotspots but just far enough to sit back and contemplate the wonders of nature on our doorstep every once in a while.
54 | MCV/DEVELOP March 2022
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72
