Monthly Archives: April 2011

Apr 27 2011

Codeplay Teams With Eutechnyx For Whole New World Of Damage

If you’ve been to any games or technology related event in Scotland over the last few years, the chances are you’ll have run into Codeplay. The company is one of the oldest games-related studios in Scotland, having been around since 1999. However Codeplay is no simple game developer. Instead it has created a global profile in the area of compiler optimisation.

Now, unless you’re a genuine, card-carrying geek, that phrase has probably caused your eyes to glaze and your fingers to go searching for the mouse. – but hold on, this is important stuff.

Codeplay works with chip manufacturers, semiconductor companies and hardware manufacturers, to help exploit the full potential of the technology these companies are creating. To put it simply, they make things run faster, better and more efficiently. Which in turn allows software companies and game developers to push the hardware further and faster in all manner of new directions.

You’re still not convinced, we can tell. Well Codeplay has worked with some of the world’s largest technology companies and the chances are, that if you’re a gamer, you’ll be playing on at least one console the Codeplay team has worked on.

Now however, the company is doing something new and fascinating. Its taking its unparalleled experience in the optimisation area and turning it into direct practical support for games developers.

Codeplay announced recently that it is working with Newcastle-based driving game experts, Eutechnyx. Codeplay is using its advanced Offload technology and low-level programming background to provide the real-time car damage system for Eutechnyx’s new NASCAR: The Game 2011 title, due for release later this year.

the Offload technology promises to simulate ‘fully-deformable metal damage,’ as opposed to several pre-modelled and scripted stages of damage, which can quickly become repetitive.

This is simply the first of many new projects and technologies which the company hopes to bring to the games industry, according to CEO Andrew Richards:

“At Codeplay we have the expertise to develop extremely complex and innovative games technology for clients. Our strength is in our deep understanding of the hardware and its capabilities. This allows us to efficiently implement new hard technical features, improve performance and optimise existing game code. We hope the games industry will see Codeplay as the go-to company for sophisticated technical outsourcing and that this will be the first of many collaborations with developers.”

Which is a sentiment shared by Eutechnyx’ Executive Producer for NASCAR: The Game 2011, Dave Thompson:

“Eutechnyx has a long term relationship with the team at Codeplay who consistently deliver great work on time and on budget. Working with our existing engine, the guys have delivered unsurpassed damage modeling in the tough technical environment of a 43 car race. I would have no hesitation in using Codeplay’s services in future Eutechnyx games.”

So, if you’re working on anything of an advanced or technically challenging nature, get in touch with the guys from Codeplay, the chances are they’ll be able to help…

Apr 25 2011

Interview With Whisky Biscuit Founder Stuart Gray

Following the release of WarPath for the iPad, we caught up with the founder and chief code weaver of Whisky Biscuit, Stuart Gray, to ask him a few questions about the company, its games and its plans for the future…
Scottishgames: Thank you for taking the time to speak to us, Stuart.  So, starting at the beginning, when did Whisky Biscuit start?
Stuart Gray: Whisky Biscuit was officially setup October last year.

SG: Why did you start the company?
Stuart: Well the process started off after restructuring at my old company meant I had to leave.  I have always wanted to set up my own company and thought this was the perfect time as I wasn’t too set into the comforts of having a salary and other things people get used to when working for somebody else.  Running your own company gives you certain freedoms and flexibility, so I can work when I want to work ( although at the moment I need to work quite alot ) and I can try to make working suit me ( less meetings, different hours and so forth ). And most of all, at my own games company I have the opportunity to make my own games, something which is less likely if I was working for somebody else.

SG: What is your vision for Whisky Biscuit?
Stuart: My vision for the company is obviously to make lots of fun games that lots of people enjoy.  As a company we hope to build a company that is fun to work for that will grow in a sustainable way, I have chosen not to pursue funding so that we can keep control of our own destiny and how things are ran. In the long term I hope to make some games that make an impact on the players beyond entertainment, maybe they can learn something about themselves or better themselves.  Obviously they are quite big ideas so will take a lot of resources, so we will not be able to tackle them until we have a regular income to sustain it.

SG: What benefits are you finding in from working from Elgin?
Stuart: One of the benefits of Elgin is I can be at home with my family, something which I haven’t done for 6 years, having my own company gives me the freedom to live where I desire, rather than where the jobs are. Our designer Paul works remotely and lives in Surrey, so we are both not really tied to anywhere in the grand scheme of things.  Elgin is my hometown and I have alot of friends I have known nearly my whole life so it’s nice to be around them again, and personally I think the Highlands is one of the most beautiful parts of Scotland so it’s great I can live here again.

SG: So, what excites you most about WarPath?
Stuart: It’s our first game so we’re already pretty excited about it! I think it’s a fairly unique concept – it’s a multiplayer simultaneous turn-based game which means each player takes it in turns to plan their moves, then all the moves happen at the same time. You plan the moves using this really cool waypoint system we made which is another quite unique mechanic. There are a number of simultaneous turn-based games out there, but I think there is only one that is anywhere near what ours is like, so it excites me that we can explore this concept and what we can do with it.

SG: What can we expect from Whisky Biscuit in the future?
Stuart: Well we have a number of improvements and new features planned for WarPath and are considering porting it to iPhone.  We are considering trying out making a social game, mainly to see what its like and what we can bring to it.  I also had a small idea of a game based in the Highlands that I am prototyping.  There is also a million other ideas we have been milling over, but we want to concentrate on improving what we already have first.  Basically expect more from us :) .
Apr 21 2011

Cohort Closes Doors

It’s been reported across all of the major games industry websites that Dundee’s Cohort Studios is to close down, with all staff being laid off.

All 25 members of staff have been given redundancy notices and the company is starting to wind down.  This is despite the recent announcement of Cohort’s first original title for PSN Mini’s Me Monstar: Hear Me Roar, which is due for release in May.

Lol Scragg, Cohort’s CEO, said, “As we entered 2011, we have looked to change the direction of our business but unfortunately we ran out of time.”

The company has worked on a number of very high profile projects – original and branded – over the last several months, including MotorStorm, the Buzz Jr franchise and Burnout Paradise.  More recently Cohort completed their debut title for Sony’s MOVE technology, The Shoot.

Our very best wishes go out to Lol and the team at Cohort right now.  If there’s anything Scottishgames can do to help, you only have to ask.

Apr 20 2011

New Release – WarPath – Multiplayer iPad Tank Combat From Whisky Biscuit

What better way to pick up after an unexpected break than to highlight a new game – and a new company – in one glorious update?

Please welcome WarPath, the inaugural game from Elgin-based Whisky Biscuit.  It’s a turn-based, top-down iPad game, for up to four players.  Plan moves, position turrets, drop mines and try to stop your enemy in their tracks.

As Whisky Biscuit themselves describe it:

WarPath is fun for all the family – particularly if your family likes tanks. It has been specifically designed for iPad in top-down 2D as an easy to pick up but un-put-downable explosion-fest and features an innovative way-point control system for planning moves. Each player takes it in turns to plan their moves, then all gather around the iPad screen to watch the action play out. Lonesome players can fight against the cunning AI tanks, programmed with ruthless efficiency to scamper about firing shells at anything enemy-shaped. Or up to four players can battle together in pass-and-play mode. With four tanks in each team, players can drop mines and co-ordinate attacks with deadly accuracy.


If that hasn’t convinced you, the ringing endorsement certainly should: “This is categorically the best game I have ever made for the iPad,” says Stuart Gray, founder and Chief Code Weaver for Whisky Biscuit – and he should certainly know.

You can see WarPath in action over on the official YouTube stream, or find Whisky Biscuit itself online, on Twitter or even, should the mood take you, on Facebook.

WarPath is available NOW on the Apple App Store.  It costs £1.79 ($2.99 or €2.39).

We have an interview with Whisky Biscuit founder (and chief code weaver) Stuart Gray coming up later this week.

In the meantime, everyone who queued up for the iPad 2, or who’s making do with the old fashioned original model, is encouraged to go out and buy WarPath and support the team.

We also need to thank Stuart and the Whisky Biscuiters for the rather charming banner you now see adorning the top of your all time, favourite ever games blog.  The banner was created by Paul Money, of APFROD.com who works remotely for Whisky Biscuit (insert joke about Elgin being remote from everywhere…)  The game again is WarPath – and we’d like to thank Paul and Stuart and the team for their time and hard work.

Leave a comment or say hello the guys and make them feel welcome…

Apr 20 2011

Notes From The Underground…

We’d like to apologise to our loyal readers for the… slight gap in updates over the last couple of weeks.  Sadly your editorial had to contend with a number of lowly engineering issues and problems of a paranormal nature and this led to several delays in updates.

However, please be assured that service is now more-or-less resumed and that updates a plenty will be online in the very near future.  We have new companies, new releases, interviews, articles, guest editorials, new banners and all manner of interesting, informative and educational stories, links and news, starting from this morning.

We would, as always, like to thank you, our devoted readers for your patience and remind you, gingerly, that we always welcome feedback, comments and updates on each and every thing we do.  We are, after all, your SG.