VooFoo Studios
Josh Read, PR and Digital Marketing Assistant at VooFoo Studios, gives up some of his valuable time to take part in my Indie Corner Spotlight Interview feature. VooFoo Studios have recently released top-down racer, Mantis Burn (you can read our review here), and they are busily in the process of developing This is Pool.
How long have you been a developer?
Around 18 Months.
How many years has your team been developing games?
Coming up to 12 years.
Who, or what, inspired you to become a games developer?
My love for games started at an early age, with my dad also being in the games industry for over 20 years, some could say it’s a family tradition.
What was the inspiration for your team’s name?
I would love to tell you that the name ‘VooFoo’ has a deeper meaning to it. However, we believe the name was forged after a few drinks down the pub!
Describe a usual day in the life of an Indie development team.
Depends on where we are on the development timeline. Being in Marketing and Social Media, I start my day by going through and monitoring all our social channels, answering any questions people have. Meetings and sprint planning are also a regular occurrence.
Can you describe the process/timeline of developing a game?
The timeline for our games usually looks something like 1) Brainstorming and Idea creation 2) Written design and Concept art 3) Prototyping 4) Pre-production/ Vertical slice 5) Full production/ Content complete 6) Q/A, User testing and Localisation 7) Certification 8) Launch
How do you juggle all of the aspects of games development?
Working in teams and planning, we are very fortunate to have a large enough company to employ specialists for specific areas.
What is your ambition as an Indie developer?
To keep making commercially successful games that put smiles on people’s faces.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to get into the games industry?
Find your niche and work on it. Passion and tenacity goes a long way.
Where do you see gaming heading in the next decade?
Honestly, I’m not sure, and the games industry seems to be continually changing. We look forward to keeping up to date with it. Hopefully, it takes us somewhere even more exciting.
I want to say a massive thank you to Josh at VooFoo Studios for giving his time to take part in the Indie Corner Spotlight interview. If you would like your team to be featured, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
