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Haverhill computer games studio outlines plans for a multi-million games franchise and motion capture studio
By Steve Barton
steve.barton@iliffepublishing.co.uk
A computer games company at Haverhill Research Park has revealed exciting plans for a five-game franchise and its ambition to create an industry facility that would be unrivalled in East Anglia.
SKC Games Studio, based at The EpiCentre and owned by Wixoe resident Asa Burrows, outlined its plans at an event last week.
Called Project UN, it will consist of five AAA games (the industry standard in excellence) created over a 10-year period.
Some of the team working on Taradene, the new game being designed by SKC Games Studio. Picture by Mark Westley
The first game, Taradene, will cost £10 million to produce and will give players the challenge of solving intergalactic crime while experiencing the Scottish Isles, London, and the fictional planet of Taradene.
The aim is to publish the game in 2024.
Asa explained: "We are trying to build a games franchise that will continue to grow. It's going to be a fast-paced action adventure.
A demonstration of motion capture at The EpiCentre, home to SKC Games Studio. Picture by Mark Westley
"As we release each title we expand our environment and by the time we get to the final game it's going to be a pretty open world environment.
"We are not doing a standalone game, we are telling a story but within our game we will have little offshoots."
On board with the project are various partners, all technology SMEs with their own specific areas of expertise, said Asa.
These include games engine leaders Unity, Wwise for the sound engineering and Target 3D for the motion capture, a process where sensors are placed on an actor to track and record their movements, allowing them to be mapped on a computer screen in real time as a virtual 'skeleton'.
The EpiCentre at Haverhill Research Park. Picture: Mark Bullimore Photography 2021
Also involved with the project are composer and songwriter Ellie Rees, as musical director, and BAFTA-winner Martin Korda, as the story lead, among others.
Asa said the vision was for SKC Games Studio to create a games accelerator on the top floor of The EpiCentre.
A key part of this was a motion capture studio, which would be, he said, 'one of the largest, if not the largest' motion capture studio outside of London.
A demonstration of how motion capture works was also given at the EpiCentre as part of the event.
The games accelerator will also be a resource for all the academic institutions in the East of England, and will help to bridge the game between industry needs and academic output.
Arts and Showbiz Business Haverhill Suffolk Homepage Steve Barton