Sidhe Interactive
May 2009 Update
Since the publishing of this case study in July 2006, by the middle of 2009 Sidhe Interactive has grown to employ nearly 100 staff, despite nearly two years of recession. "Our studio is growing and we have been hiring," said Jos Ruffell in an article in The Dominion Post's NZ Infotech feature, 11 May 2009. "There are great opportunities at the moment for studios that are flexible cross-platform developers like ourselves. In a downturn, people want entertainment."
On 14 May Sidhe announced a new original title, Shatter™, which will debut on PlayStation®Network later in 2009, and the company has four other major projects in the pipeline.
Shatter, which joins GripShift as the second of Sidhe's major self-published games, is a retro-inspired brick-breaking game that merges familiar action with a modern-crafted production approach.
"We were inspired by classics in the genre, but were very aware of the limitations that most examples don't overcome, which means they don't reach the full potential possible," said Mario Wynands, Managing Director of Sidhe. "We stripped brick-breaking back to the base elements, and rebuilt it from the ground up. The result is a much more connected and visceral experience."
Shatter is like the classic brick-breaking games but with twists that make it modern and unique, including:
- innovative controls, physics effects, power-ups, special attacks, and boss battles which combine to provide an experience that is always interactive;
- Standard, Boss Rush and Bonus game modes enhanced with leaderboards and trophies;
- vibrant 3D style presented across 10 distinct worlds in 4xAA 60fps HD; and
- a fully scored soundtrack featuring more than 90 minutes of original music.
For more information on Shatter, visit: www.shattergame.com
In 2009, Sidhe received a $550,000 matching grant from the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology (FRST) TechNZ fund, which gives out more than $50 million each year for innovative technology projects. Sidhe will use the grant to improve in-house development software so it can produce games for different gaming consoles without extensive rewriting. The $1million-plus software project will make it much more viable for Sidhe to develop and self publish a range of original, high-quality titles, such as Shatter, for the console download market.
Screenshot from 'Shatter'
Shatter and Sidhe are trademarks or registered trademarks of Prodigy Design Limited. "PlayStation" is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved.
