Proper Games has received a £25,000 investment from the prototype fund, run and overseen by the University of Abertay. The investment was announced by UK government minister for universities and science, David Willets, during a visit to the city.
The Prototype fund is designed to invest directly in young, high-growth, creative companies, allowing them to explore new areas, prove concepts and create new prototypes. The company can then look for additional investment to bring these new ideas to market, create new jobs and generally do wonderful things.
There’s no word on what project Proper is working on as yet.
David Willetts said: “Our rapidly expanding digital economy is vital for boosting economic growth, and Dundee has some of the best computing facilities and talent that the UK has to offer. This investment will further boost the sector, giving students the opportunity to gain invaluable experience of working in industry and encouraging the creation of new high-tech jobs and companies.”
Paddy Sinclair, CEO of Proper Games, said: “It was a genuine pleasure meeting David Willetts. I feel very proud of how our company has grown over the last few years and I relish such opportunities to tell our story and showcase the quality of work that our talented team are producing. Receiving confirmation of the Prototype Fund investment from Abertay University is really great news and we look forward to getting this project underway.”
Paul Durrant, Director of Business Development at Abertay University, said: “The Abertay University Prototype Fund is a very exciting project, backed by BIS and ERDF, and aimed at creating 30 new companies and up to 400 new jobs. Proper Games is a very worthy recipient of this UK-wide funding, and they are a great example of the talent in Dundee’s games development cluster – and the huge economic potential this sector has for the whole of Britain.”
Over the next two months, Proper Games will host their Prototype Fund project. This will involve a team of six graduate students gaining vital industry experience by being based in the studio and working alongside the Proper team on a new title.
The announcement from Abertay also highlighted a number of other projects and areas of research at the university which are increasingly using technology and techniques from games:
Computer models developed at Abertay are capable of processing the vast and hugely complex amounts of data required to accurately represent the millions of microscopic organisms and their interactions that exist inside even just a cubic centimetre of soil, as well as visually displaying the interactions between new drugs and cancer cells.
We’ll be finding out more about those projects from Abertay in the near future. In the meantime, congratulations to the Proper Games team. We’re looking forward to finding out more about what you’re working on.
