Scotland is famous for many fine things. Haggis, kilts, Irn Bru, Lorraine Kelly. But there’s one unorthodox success born from creative IT and design genius that still surprises and inspires in equal measure and the IT bods who are behind this success story have effectively rewritten the history books, cementing Scotland’s place atop the most unlikely of podiums.
Video gaming is not something that at first glance seems particularly Scottish or integral to the local and national economy.
However, as a nation defined by our creativity and ingenuity, should we be surprised that Scottish developers tore up the rule books, and changed the video gaming landscape forever?
The symbol of Scottish gaming development is, of course, Rockstar North. They developed the RPG-third-person-freeworld defining gaming experience Grand Theft Auto.
The latest game, GTA V, was developed in Rockstar’s Edinburgh studios and has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide, generating over $1 billion in revenue. Rockstar also developed other successful series, such as Red Dead Redemption and Max Payne.
Beverly The Paparazzo puts the Scottish gaming industry into sharp focus.
One could be forgiven for thinking Scotland’s gaming success and the future evolution of our giant human thumbs is one completely orchestrated by the Dundonian developers. In fact, Dundee is the spiritual home of gaming in Scotland, not Rockstar. The iconic game Lemmings was developed by Dundee’s DMA Design, who are is now a part of Rockstar.
4J studios developed the frustratingly addictive Minecraft, and also handled the development of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for Sony and their Playstation platform. YoYo games also developed the hugely popular Gamemaker: Studio. Not forgetting Ruffian, who developed the hugely successful Crackdown 2.
But it’s not just Dundee. There are currently more than 100 game development companies across the country, developing games across a host of platforms. And the games industry is getting stronger. The Scottish Games Network is an official trade body that has been set up to support game development here, and ensures Scotland’s gaming legacy is here for years to come.
And not just through traditional platforms too. Massively Multiplayer Game developers like Hunted Cow offer industry-leading games in a different market. Rockstar, amongst many others, are leading the race for next-gen mobile game and cross platform offerings that continue to break the mould in the industry.
Degrees in game development are available from Abertay, Caledonian University and The University of the West of Scotland.
Gaming is perhaps the best 21st century example of Scotland’s traditional links to world-altering, industry-shaping creativity and design. Scotland visited the gaming landscape, saw it, developed it, and conquered it. Who knows, maybe in the future gaming will become as synonymous with Scotland as bagpipe music, Rabbie Burns or Tennents lager.
Don’t forget, too, that GTA V gave us the immortal line from Beverly the paparazzo: “She looks like a bloodhound in front of a windmill!”
Now that’s something to be proud of.
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