A Quick Chat With a Game Development Startup

by Startacus Admin

To celebrate the launch of ‘Grand Theft Seagull’ their latest game to hit the virtual shelves, we have caught up with the folks at NI based Startup Game developer Troll Inc to pick their brains (so to speak) on 5 key issues which have affected their business and their startup journey.

It’s the first in our new series of 5 question interviews designed to give a quick insight into some of the country’s most burgeoning industries.

Over to Emma, from Troll.

So Emma, Tell us, 'Grand Theft Seagull' what's that all about?

Grand Theft Seagull is about a rogue seagull who flies around the town stealing food from citizens. You swipe to dodge obstacles and tap to poo, simple to master and addictive to play!

Can you give us a quick idea of the team at Troll Inc, what are your backgrounds?

Most of us come from some sort of coding background, we have a mix of straight up computer science graduates and games development graduates. Our artists come from a few different backgrounds too, some graphic designers and a cartoonist, so we have a good mix of insights into the look and feel of our games. The one thing that everyone has is a passion for games and a desire to create something brilliant.

How would you rate Derry as a place to start and grow a tech business? Are there any programmes / organisations that have been particularly helpful OR any that have been surprisingly unhelpful?

Derry has come a long way since I first started studying game development, nowadays the tech startup programmes do offer support for games development but it is still a specialised area that could do with dedicated support. As the industry grows in NI hopefully there will be a shift in how startup organisations and supporting agencies handle game development.

As we understand it Troll Inc has taken part in the Invest NI Propel Programme- what would you say to someone who was thinking of applying in the near future?

It's a great opportunity for mentorship from people with an outside perspective on your company, so they can look at it more objectively. That really helps to find any faults or flaws in your business and by the end of the program you'll have great experience of explaining your business to people outside the games industry, like investors and funding bodies.

Can you give us a sense of the state of the Game Development industry in NI / ROI at the Moment?

Ever growing is probably the best way to describe it. It is still quite a young industry in Ireland but there are more and more university courses in game development and more games companies popping up. And you can see the talent and experience starting to show through in the games released. Check out Guild of Dungeoneering by Dublin-based team Gambrinous, which recently won the Most Promising in Development award at Casual Connect. Another Dublin team have Onikira: Demon Killer currently available on Early Access on Steam. Here in NI Brain and Nerd have just gone on Steam Early Access with Predestination, also worth checking out!

There are so many more people also working to make the industry in Ireland inviting to newbies and sustainable for all. It's brilliant to be a part of it.

Thanks for the chat Troll Inc and best of luck with Grand Theft Seagull.

If you would like to take part in one of our 5 Question interviews, then drop Eoin an email to eoin@startacus.net and he will get back to you for a chat.

Check out the trailer for Grand Theft Seagull.

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• #game development
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Published on: 11th February 2015