Proper Games
Independent game development studio Proper Games was founded in early 2006 and is headquartered in Dundee. TalentScotland spoke to co-founder Paddy Sinclair about the company and what they look for in new staff.
Tell me about the history of Proper Games
We started out in early 2006, around a core of people who had previously worked together at another company. Together, we have over 70 years of industry experience that enables us to thrive on projects of any size and on any platform.
In the early days, we were primarily focused on the emerging download market for consoles, with the aim of producing smaller scale games at the same quality standard as AAA titles.
Since then, we’ve moved on from the console space, toward iPhone, Android and even Facebook. It’s such a fast-changing market that you need to be relatively platform agnostic and just follow the gamers.
What products and services do you provide?
There are really two strands to the business. As well as developing our own intellectual property – like our award winning, self-published release, Yo Deshi – we’ve also worked in partnership with Capcom, developing from scratch a bespoke emulation engine for some of their arcade classics. Through that, we’ve brought games like the BAFTA-winning Flock! and the critically acclaimed Final Fight : Double Impact! to modern platforms.
Any exciting developments in the pipeline?
We see Facebook as a huge area for growth and are working on one or two big client projects that we can’t talk about yet. We’re also working on our own title too, with help from Abertay University and Scottish Enterprise. We’re developing new technology for that one and have taken on some new staff specifically for the purpose.
What do you look for in recruits?
The first trait we look for is flexibility. We're not the sort of company to put someone into their pigeonhole and leave them there for three or four years. Three or four minutes, maybe! If someone comes on board as a graphics expert, that won’t be all they do. We want people who can see the big picture and actively want to do other stuff.
…and why should people want to work for you?
It's the opportunity to work in a friendly environment. We have a very open management system, so I'm not the unapproachable boss in his soundproofed office. People are quite forthright with their opinions to me and I wouldn't have it any other way, because it's the way you get things done. If you're inclusive, then people like being included, whereas if you don't have that culture to begin with, it's very hard to achieve.
Plus, Scotland has an awful lot of appeal to people. Once they've got used to the fact that it's maybe a little bit colder and rains a bit, they love it and end up staying for the long term