HuzuTech

HuzuTech

Based on HuzuTech’s own social gaming platform, these ‘worlds’ allow developers to plug into all the major social networking sites, without being constrained by their limitations.

TalentScotland spoke to Brian Baglow, a consultant with Huzutech

Tell me about the history of the company

HuzuTech was established in 2010 by its founder and CEO Graham Harvey, who spun the company out from the remains of the old Digital Animations Group. It’s grown quickly since then, with some big successes and 15 people on staff - mainly game developers, environment designers and producers.

One of Huzutech's first major contracts is with the Horrible Histories brand. It's a great showcase for the platform, because it’s lot more focused on education than you would usually find on social networking sites.

If brands are developing for social networking sites, why would they want to use a third-party platform?

Facebook games tend to be quite standalone and lock developers into that specific company's technology. Huzutech is working at the intersection of social networking, online gaming, massively multiplayer online titles and digital communities.

A virtual world can be wholly branded, white label. It then hooks into all of the major social networking sites, so achievements can be posted out to Facebook, Twitter, or Google+, or whatever ones you happen to use. It brings in all those social aspects, without locking you into a particular social network.

Any exciting developments in the pipeline?

We’re definitely looking for growth over the next 12 months and for developers to work with, who are interested in moving beyond the same old Flash-based games.

There's been a lot of interest, largely from brand owners and media companies, because they're the ones looking for the new experience and planning two or three years ahead. We’ve found a lot of the traditional games developers and publishers are too focused on the challenges they have just now – they’re not asking where things will be in five years’ time.

Why should the best candidates want to consider Huzutech?

It's the fact that we're working so far ahead of the market. This is where the mainstream of interactive entertainment is going to be over the next 2-5 years. Regardless of the success or failure of any one social network, we have the habit of social play through technology now. So, if a disruptive new player knocks Facebook off its perch, we’ll still be there to plug our clients into it.

Fundamentally, this technology works because it recognises consumer choice. If a consumer isn't a Facebook user, do you demand they change their digital lifestyle to interact with your brand, or do you give them an independent platform which gives them freedom to choose?