Matthew Ratcliffe

My studio offers Production and Development services. From Consultancy to Full Game Development utilising a team of resources or single contract hires, we can support what you need for your studio. There are some differences though: 🦏 You get myself providing oversight on any single resource or work for hire team package 🦏 We are a UK registered studio allowing you to claim the new VGEC tax relief if you are eligible (VGTR if still to transition over) 🦏 Very competitive and transparent rates, with a new client discount 🦏 Flexible and professional team making you feel like we have always been part of the team 🦏 Can scale where needed delivering across different genres of titles 🦏 If using our Production services you receive a production deep dive for your studio included in the hire 🦏 If using any of our programming team we will include a code review to support the quality of delivery I can provide advice on your projects and ensure you are getting the most out of my team. Working across multiple engines and also providing XR development plus software product delivery services, get in touch to find out more! #indiestudio #gamedev #Indiegames #gamesservices #developmentservices #outsourcing #gamesoutsourcing #gamessupport #gamedevelopment #gamesdevelopment #indiedev #gaming #indiegamesstudio #gamesstudio #codev #technology #games #technologies #AIgamedevelopment #AIgameservices

71

1 Comment

Last week's budget offers great news for the UK VFX market. The government has identified the creative industries as one of eight growth-driving sectors within its Industrial Strategy. Moreover, that AI will be a big part of that. Earlier plans to exclude AI from the tax relief have been scrapped after consultation with the industry. Firstly, it didn’t make sense for the government to pour funding into AI development on one side while, on the other, disincentivizing UK businesses from exploiting them through the tax credits scheme. And secondly, practically speaking it’d be impossible to audit. AI is weaved into the creative process, and has been for many years. So trying to pick them apart would be a whole process by itself. I’m excited for this. The government has made a great choice, and is rewarding those willing to take AI by the hand and take the jump. #VFX #AI

7

1 Comment

There are a number of 3D creation tools available at the moment - such as Niantic Studio from 8th Wall -> https://lnkd.in/eKzdC4Tp, which has been dubbed as "Unity for the web", and Spline -> https://spline.design/ which lets you create 3D content. Coupled with AI tooling and potentially more no-code platforms evolving, where do you see the role of a 3D developer in the near future? Are we just going to be working for the companies making the tools? Will we just use the tools to create our 3D experiences? Will we all be out of a job pretty soon 😲!? Will it offer more ways to be creative? Will it open the 3D field to more people? I'd be really interested to hear your thoughts and reassure me where the industry is headed 😊! #3dgraphics #technology #webxr #webdev

2

1 Comment

I wrote a bit of an overview of how we animate our Citadel band ("The Wingnuts") using 'silent MIDI' tracks, as well as some of the reasoning behind having them in Badlands Crew. Read more, and see them in action here: https://lnkd.in/eSKcXspE

10

3 Comments

Our 5 biggest struggles as a Glasgow based studio were: 1. Not being a London based studio 2. Limited local opportunities in our niche 3. Small local talent pool (voice actors) 4. Non local prospects wanted to work with a sound design partner on their street So here's what we did: 1. Persevered. And guess what? The world changed. The business landscape shifted. It turns out: 1. Not being a London based studio is now our biggest advantage 2. Now our local industry is growing and we can add tremendous value to it. 3. We cast our projects from all over the UK and beyond. Unbeatable casting service. 4. We only work with clients who focus on the creative and relationships. Not convenience. What areas have you or your studio struggled with? How have things changed?

69

16 Comments

Today's the last day to apply to be part of the next cohort for SPEEDRUN. Get in your applications here! https://sr.a16z.com/ Richard Foge and I hesitated to start 2weeks - it's an idea we were very passionate about, but we'd just come off of a studio closure into a very difficult games market, and it was scary imagining trying to get a new studio off the ground. Pitching SPEEDRUN was pivotal for us - it required us to really get the concept in shape fast, and it got tested rigorously. Doing pitches is antifragile: the act of pitching strengthens your pitch, especially if the feedback you're getting is from a team as strong strong as a16z's games team. This wound up being a microcosm of the whole experience - we've since made a ton of progress getting the company off the ground, strengthened in numerous ways by the a16z team and the halo of investors and advisors they've helped connect us with. If you have an idea, even if you're not sure it's ready, you should still pitch it. Use the time pressure of today's deadline as a gift!

16

Well here is update on the project we can share, its our own IP of Race Track Tycoon (Name is work in Progress). https://lnkd.in/eNy3AZvg Ben showcases the progress we made on Race Track Tycoon after we decided to change from Unreal Engine 5 to Godot engine. And during the time from our last update in late September, Ben has recreated Road Tools and improved upon them from technical point, to create smooth roads with curves function that snap nicely to one another and don't leave holes between each one. We also have a prototype of a Voxel based terrain system, however we have decided not to include it in the update video as Ben put it, it needs a week or two in the oven. While we work on contract work the development will be slower than expected however we are committed to seeing this project reach a demo point within Q1 of 2025 at the latest, and we'll try and have something to show every 2 weeks, however don't hold me to that, it'll depend on our workload. #unreal #engine #godot #work #in #progress #motorsport #race #track #tycoon #builder #update #demo #prototype #update

12

It was awesome to host Everyone Can and a panel of accessibility experts at Tencent this week for our Giving for Good day in front our of employees. We even got to play with some cool assistive tech! Here's some of the key takeaways discussed in the panel: - Accessibility is something that should be considered throughout development, not as a one off thing. - Working with consultants and conducting user tests is a powerful and simple way to find barriers with the experience you're developing that you would likely never consider otherwise. - Implementing accessible design creates a better experience for all users of your product, whether that's a game or a website.

26

I'm going to the Develop Conference in a couple of weeks and looking to meet with any publishers or project funds for our two in-development projects, which are part of our Project Nightmare IP. The larger of the two projects was almost signed last year before the industry collapsed, and funding was rescinded from all the publishers we were talking with. Our larger project, a turn-based tactical RPG, stands out with its unique setting in a dark, gothic re-imagining of Victorian London. Players are challenged with managing an enclave of survivors, venturing into the Monster-filled streets for resources, and battling nightmarish creatures and rival factions. The game's art style, reminiscent of Riot's Arkane animation series, and its influences from popular titles like Kingdom Death: Monster, Aeon: Trespass, Monster Hunter, Bloodborne, and This War of Mine, make it a compelling proposition for any publisher or project fund. Our second, smaller title is a turn-based survival horror / immersive sim that takes the player on a journey across the British Isles and London as they try to uncover a dark plot leading to our larger game's events, using a set of unique dice-based mechanics that combine tactical spending with player-controlled RNG for every action, from investigating to interactions to combat, weapon and ability activations and more. This is combined with a non-linear level design that offers players a variety of ways to reach their goals, providing a highly replayable experience influenced by board games such as Mansions Od Madness and other games in the Arkham Universe of games. Anyway, if you'd like to chat during Develop or anytime before or after, please message me. (please, no recruiters or service providers)

33

2 Comments

From 25th May - 2nd of June Steve Moyler opened up Pathway XR studio in association with MediaCity Immersive Technologies Innovation Hub and SO many talented professionals, for a first Virtual Production Film Hack. Top class DOPs and Directors together over 9 days to create 3 pieces of film using #virtualproduction that are everyone’s to create, own and share. "We want to show how creativity, innovation, AI and good old fashion skills to pay the bills can all live together to create something amazing..." - Well done Steve, you're nailing it. Building on Hack day #5 this is a ComfyUI video from this open source workflow https://lnkd.in/eDWeCraA Pure luck gave us the workflow we needed, matching the GPU provided by MITIH. Ryan Parker's endlessly enthusiastic bulldog Tony whipped out his best broadway lipstick, and provided a camera perfect moment. If you know, you know. https://lnkd.in/ebucdkSc Incorporating the work of Matt McHugh, Mukila Sri, Sophie Stewart, & loads of others, and the whole #opensource community. GenAI should be a tool that rapidly combines the ideas of real people into a creative moment. It can totally do that. Let's not have it replace people, let's give them their weekends back.

10

4 Comments

Our time at Digital Catapult with the FutureScope BridgeAI Accelerator ended with my final presentation. We’re "Unlocking the 3rd Dimension" using #GenAI 🤖. We’re unveiling the cutting-edge tech of “Deep Mirage” in a few months. This project was made possible by Digital Catapult, Innovate UK, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google for Startups, NVIDIA & YellowDog. Visualax Ltd has been truly accelerated 🚀. ⬇Companies that presented⬇: Creative Industry: TRUSS (Future Heroes Of The Fashion Resale Market), And NeuralEcho Labs (Sci-Fi-Level Brain-Video Game Interfaces), Construction Industry: From Tagntell Technology Ltd (Preventing The Next Grenfell), Material Index (Reducing Waste From Buildings), And OptimalSlope Ltd (Optimised Mine Design) – descriptions by Ben Maling – AI Patent Attorney #InnovateUK #BridgeAI #GenAI #GenerativeAI #3D #AI #DeepMirage #Deep #Mirage #Visualax

53

9 Comments

Launching PerAnder ArtWorks site! https://lnkd.in/eg4dD2mu Site for my web dev contract with PerAnder ArtWorks is now online! 😁 This is a business based in Milton Keynes, England: PerAnder ArtWorks is the platform where Maria brings her love of the captured imagery-art that speaks to you, to the public. So, you too can buy and enjoy the artworks within your own home, place of work or public spaces. Building this site involved React, TailwindCSS, Stripe Payment Integration, Figma, Docker k3 cluster and TypeScript! #webdev #coding #programming #typescript #react #docker #freelancer

3

1 Comment

“How do I convince my boss to go for your XR solution?” A lof of times, the people who reach out to us for enquiries are in the mid-management level. And in that demographic, the usual situation is that they are open to XR but faced with resistance from the upper-management. Here are my pointers for them to consider: 1. Discover your real needs of XR XR is great but don’t be too focused on the shiny allures of the technology. Nothing is more appealing than alleviating real pain points or increasing tangible gains. 2. Educate your potential users and decision makers Unfamiliarity breeds apathy or even animosity. Enlighten them about different kinds of XR, their typical use cases, as well as their pros and cons. Experiencing XR demo first hand is usually the best eye-opener. 3. Show successful cases in similar industries There are plenty of XR case studies and reports out there. Find 2-3 findings that highlight the resemblance in initial circumstances and desired results. 4. Outline your implementation plan Once your users and decision makers are on board, take the initiative to plan the implementation. With your preferred partner, estimate the ballpark budget and timeline that satisfy the key requirements. Your upper-management can’t be convinced about XR if they don’t see the value yet. And you won’t change their mind by pushing. You will have a better outcome by pulling them toward their desired outcomes. Our mantra in consulting is always: “less convincing, more educating”. 🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹 Hi, I am Reyn (read: rain). A tech enthusiast and developer, especially in the immersive technology field. I post regularly about: ✏️ XR and tech on weekdays ✏️ Stoic life musings on weekends If you find my post is resonating with you, don’t hesitate to send me a connection request and say hi! 📨 Reyn Aria

35

5 Comments

13 years ago I had a failing music studio, debt, high stress levels. 12 years ago I started Bigmouth Audio, focussed on B2B, offered multiple audio services (to see what would stick). 10 years ago I landed my first sound design project, started to laser focus on sound design for animation, started attending industry events relevant to my niche, started going to the gym. 9 years ago we landed our first BIG project, this changed my mindset, asked this client how we could better support them in achieving their goals going forward, started to focus more on voice casting & production. 8 years ago I found out I was going to be a dad, stopped working IN the business, focussed my time working ON the business, read Profit First to tackle more of the debt. 6 years ago pivoted the business to service games as well as animation, moved into a bigger studio, landed our first MAJOR project, this changed my mindset again. 5 years ago I hired project management staff, signed Netflix as a client, signed our first games client. 4 years ago we invested in building a state of the art audio facility in Glasgow, took over the rest of our building for office space, launched our business in Toronto, started doing sauna therapy. 3 years ago saw the end of the busiest spell we have ever had, entered one of the most challenging spells our industry has seen, blew through our cash reserves. only recently we have started to land decent projects again, saw a slight improvement in the market, started to focus on building our / my brand, decided to invest in the basics (finance & strategy). Now I have: - Experience & battle scars - A great team - Great clients - Resilience and better mental health - No debt - A profitable business All things I didn't have 12 years ago. Turning things around takes time. Often a lot of time! It's also never going to be a smooth ride. But it's guaranteed to be one hell of a journey.

94

14 Comments

Here's a timelapse of our main menu in Badlands Crew (screenshots taken by our regular build process). You can see how we really started with nothing. Towards the end where it starts jumping about is where we introduced animated cameras to the intro, and the process doesn't capture the screenshot at the exact same time through the motion (you can also see that because we're working on things much deeper in to the game, the main menu changes a lot less later on). This has been a complicated project to work on. We're still just a team of 4 (2 programmers, 2 artists - with anything that falls outside of those disciplines being covered a bit by all of us), and this game is huge. I've learnt a lot along the way on this one (but that's always the case). We've built a lot of stuff to help hold it all together. One of the most interesting things we've done (which we experimented a little with on the last project) is to ditch using Unity's "Update" (etc...) methods pretty much entirely in favour of our own update scheduler. This allows us to have stuff which updates infrequently, or only actually when it has something to worry about... it also means we can have things which aren't inherited from Unity's MonoBehaviour receiving the same update tick as things which are. We can also make this work nicer with jobs and raycast batching, too... so, there are many benefits. I have more timelapses which I will post another time, perhaps with some hashtags or banal motivational sentiment.

29

4 Comments

We've been going deep into the world of XR for some recent projects and exploring what makes compelling virtual experiences. Like in the early days of any new technology there's a temptation to get something out there quickly based on mental models and patterns we have today (remember web interfaces ported to mobile apps anyone?) The best XR experiences aren't those placing flat 2D screens and apps in 3D space. Sure, there's some value in supersizing an existing workspace, but the real value lies in immersion. And, to do this well, there's new skills, team members and team shapes (technical and creative) that digital product teams will have to adapt to, bring on and revisit previous expectations. It's a fascinating space, and at ZeroSixty Design, we are here for it. #design #XR #designforimpact

14

2 Comments

More terrible news today with Payload Studios announcing that they had to make reductions in staff due to the economic climate. You can find the full detail, as well as references for those affected, here: https://lnkd.in/eyKhTqEZ Those of you who are affected by this, please make use of my resources below: 🥇First, reach out to us at People Can Fly Studio, we have many roles open right now in Canada, the UK, Ireland and Europe, please check them out here: https://lnkd.in/eWpV5PbA 🥈Next, Discipline Games Jobs Resources: Over the past months I have created 9 (at time of writing) Games Jobs Resources to find jobs in a wide range of disciplines, and I would urge you to check them out, if anything just to see what would be available to you: https://lnkd.in/e2qSeKk6 You can find over 5,600 jobs there. 🥉 Third, the Ultimate list of Video Games Career Resources: This should be your one-stop shop for all information. My dear friend Amir Satvat maintains these documents, he is a legend for doing this - please check them out: https://amirsatvat.com/ I urge you to check out the areas in particular about CV support and mentoring, as these will help you no matter what industry you are hailing from or are looking into going next. 🎖 Finally, do not give up. Ever. No matter how dark things may look right now, I KNOW you will get through this, you have got this! 👊 Remember you are not alone. If you need help, advice, or even an ear to listen, we're here for you. Always! ➡ A request to my community, please can I ask you to repost this post to your colleagues and friends, so that we can get as many into jobs as possible! And please comment if you or your studio are currently hiring - let's help each other! Much love ❤️ #payloadstudios #layoffs

27

No squatch sightings last weekend...but wow...what a week since. A massively productive one for The Glitch (on all fronts), and apparently some other things happened around the industry as well...huh. Alright...let's-a-go: OMY@C 🤘 ⛏ - Metallica will be in Fortnite soon. The event is called "Metallica: Fuel Fire Fury," and it will kick off on June 22nd. The San Francisco band got on the Fortnite Festival stage yesterday - so if you're curious...hop on in there. RIP Cliff. RIP Eddie. 🍎 - Apple's WWDC was this week...and their formal entry into Ai was the big takeaway. "Apple Intelligence," was the name they landed on. Essentially, it's Ai integrated through every aspect of their various OS's...adding personal context to everything. My first reaction was...do I want that though? On one hand, this feels like the first real indication of where consumer Ai is headed...on the other: privacy? A big part of Apple's presentation of their Ai is "setting a brand-new standard for privacy in Ai." So...they're well aware of the line that's being crossed. Apple's 5-minute video overview (on their site) shows you how "Ai for the rest of us" will work...and it's easy to be cynical about it. A squirrel DJ...cool. Custom emoji's...neat. Still...you should watch it. When app devs finally start building for this though...look out. PREDICTION: iPhone 16 will be the best selling iPhone yet. The 6 sold 222M units total...71.5MM units in it's first 3 months...so we'll know by year's end how this crazy statement is trending. 📺 🎮 - Mike Verdu will soon be leaving his role as VP of Netflix Games (and starting a new role with the company). Speculation is rampant about what this means for the games unit. It's possible that it means...nothing at all. I'm still massively bullish on the gaming opportunity for Netflix. My personal opinion is that transmedia is the biggest, most exciting play here...but I've also heard there are internal headwinds on that. 🤷‍♂️ 🍷 ⛵ - I'm not going to Cannes...again. Maybe some day. I'll drink rosé and look important at home...again. I'm not bitter. 📺 🎮 - Follow Friday: Two nerds with a webcam...that you absolutely should be following if you're in the games business: 1) Chris Melissinos (Principal Evangelist for Amazon Web Services (AWS) - Video interviews with games industry legends, deep retro dives, and discussions on the top news. 2) Alexander Seropian (Founder/CEO of Look North World) - Host of "The Fourth Curtain," is always a headliner event. 📺 - Palm Royale (Apple+). Kristen Wiig as a social climber in 1960's south Florida. So good. Save a grasshopper for me. 🎵 - Spotify's "Daylist" - pull the throttle back a bit with your list names though. "90's Indie Twee Friday Afternoon," might be accurate...but it's embarrassing. 🎮 - It's been 2 weeks since I picked up Hogwarts Legacy and Vampire Survivors...haven't started either yet. THAT's how busy it's been.

43

8 Comments