I’ve been looking into the game development scene in the UK, and found some welcome results. I’d always believed that game developers were largely based in London, with the exception of Rockstar and a few others. In reality, there is a much more even spread. Sure, the companies tend to nucleate around hubs, but as far as the distribution of these goes, its all very positive. For instance, I’ve always had aspirations of working in Liverpool when I graduate, because I’ve always liked the place, and its very close to home. I’m sure other people will have found themselves in a similar position, and even though I’ve lived in London for the last couple of years, I have little intention of staying here indefinitely.

This isn’t just confined to the games sector either; there are also opportunities for other digital creatives. These companies didn’t spring up overnight, so why do they keep such a low profile? I would have been interested to know about the employment prospects when I was a young whipper snapper, who through the tyrannies of the world, came to believe that computer games were bad.

During my brief foray into this area, I’ve encountered some useful on line resources (see the bottom of the post).

1. Advice for budding animators (Independent Newspaper)
2. Info for animators (Prospects)
3. Bizarre Creations Fantastic Liverpool based developer (Project Gotham Racing, Geometry Wars)
4. List of game developers (only large ones – doesn’t include subsidiaries):
5. Skillset (perhaps the greatest asset for a budding game programmer or artist)