Bank robberies, jewel heists and assassinations are bringing in cash that will play a vital part in resurrecting the computer games industry in Derby. Oliver Astley reports.
A GAME designed in Derby has become one of the world's most popular, with more than a million people playing it worldwide on smartphones and tablet computers.
Lawless, in which players rob banks, steal diamonds and carry out assassinations, hit the magic million mark within five days of its being released by Ashbourne Road software firm Eight Pixels Square.
It has reached the top of the charts in more than 50 countries. It is a giant coup for a business that rose from the ashes of failed city software giant Eurocom – a Derby company responsible for designing Harry Potter, James Bond and Pirates of the Caribbean games.
Eurocom shut its doors in December last year after contract work with games publishers dried up. Of some 200 Eurocom employees let go, about 40 returned to join the new business that, after an explosive start, hopes to double its workforce.
Director Mat Sneap said: "It really could not have gone any better for us. This is our first game for the mobile market, has taken 12 months to put together and more than a million people downloaded it in the first five days."
Lawless is set in late-90s Los Angeles, its designers having been inspired by films such as Heat, starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. It cost about £1.5 million to launch and is free to download from the Apple store. It will be released on Android devices next year.
Eight Pixels Square generates revenue as players have the option to pay for items to help them negotiate the 250 levels of play. Though there is a huge amount of criminal damage for players to carry out and plenty of explosions, they lose points for hitting innocent bystanders.
Items for purchase range from extra lives for 69p to virtual weaponry and the addition of a hitman or corrupt medic priced at more than £100 to give a player's criminal gang an advantage.
High-value items have already been purchased by gamers keen to get to grips with the Lawless universe.
The result is that Derby software firm Eight Pixels Square is powered up ready to take the mobile gaming industry by storm.
Last year, the city's reputation as a hotbed of computer-games design took a massive hit when Eurocom lost the last of its lives in a battle to stave off administration.
Contracts it was expecting from big clients failed to materialise and, faced with a giant wage bill, slashed jobs before closing its doors just before Christmas last year.
However, Eurocom directors Mat Sneap, Hugh Binns and Tim Rogers set up Eight Pixels Square, having purchased much of the equipment formerly used by the stricken company.
"The games industry changes very quickly," said Mr Sneap. "Previously, games would be developed then sent off to manufacturers and sold in shops for £40 to £50 for consoles such as Playstation, Nintendo Wii and the XBox.
"Lawless is free to play on the iPhone and iPad which basically means that we give the game away and it is up to us to make it compelling and enjoyable enough for people to make what are called micro-transactions within the game."
To release this first game, Eight Pixels Square joined forces with Japanese e-commerce firm DeNA, which owns the Mobage gaming platform, a network that allows people to download games to mobile devices and pay for added extras.
Mr Sneap said: "There was a lot of cynicism in the industry about whether expertise making games for consoles would translate to success for mobile platforms.
"We didn't know this side of the market and so producing Lawless has been an important learning exercise."
Having made its first mark on the mobile gaming industry, Eight Pixels Square is looking to publish its next titles on its own.
The switch to mobile gaming platforms has, in part, been triggered by entertainment giants such as Warner Brothers, Disney and Activision producing fewer console games and concentrating on franchises such as Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto that have budgets rivalling those of Hollywood blockbusters.
The growing popularity of smartphones and tablet computers has also opened up the market to millions of potential new gamers.
Mr Sneap said: "Mobile gaming is very different and people are more likely to play in bursts of a few minutes when they are on the train rather than several hours at a time. It is a different market with casual gamers playing in a different way and so we have had to think differently when developing Lawless.
"Over the last 18 months it has switched and mobile gaming has become massive."
The majority of those working for Eight Pixels Square were formerly Eurocom employees.
Mr Sneap said: "They have an average of 17 years' experience which is a lot in what is a relatively new industry.
"When Eurocom closed, 200 people left and it was a really difficult time.
"There are no plans to become a company employing that many people again as we want to keep it small and focused because this is such a fast-moving industry.
"When you're a big company you cannot react that quickly. That said, ultimately we want to produce two titles a year and think that there is potential for the company to grow to employ around 80 employees."
REVIEWS OF LAWLESS FROM APPLE APP STORELAWLESS has received excellent reviews on Apple's App Store, with many people pointing out the quality of the game's graphics and the ease of play.
Here's what some of the happy gamers had to say:
ImMostyn said: "Awesome game. Great point and shoot with fantastic graphics. Very playable and easy to get in to. Good job guys."
Kevlad1 said: "Best graphics I've ever seen on an app, great game."
HydroSimmo said: "This game is just great! Fantastic AAA production quality and so playable. Brilliant!"
Some reviews have pointed out the game crashes frequently. However the game is supported on relatively new devices including the iPad 2 and up, iPad mini, iPad air and iPhone 4s and up. It will not work on earlier devices.
GratbagsVick said: "Great game, really addictive. The graphics were amazing!"
Castley compared the game to Virtua Cop, an early Sega arcade game. He said: "Just like Virtua Cop back in the day. Excellent game, excellent graphics. Keep up the good work."
TheKing1968 said: "This is a brilliant game! Very polished and looks like a next-gen console game. To all those who can't get it to run, try making some space on your device, it's so worth it!"
BurgessDj said: "One of the best iPhone games I've played. Smooth, great graphics, easy to play and stable on iPhone 5."
The 148apps blog gave the app four stars overall on the iPad mini version.
