New group bids to supercharge Peterborough onto UK gaming map
The group aims to bring like-minded people together to grow the sector
The co-founder of a new gaming group in Peterborough says the city has a "lot of opportunity for creativity" but needs to take it.
People in Games (PinG) aims to bring students, developers and creatives together to build local talent for the gaming industry through in-person meet-ups and online sessions.
It's working with ARU Peterborough to help develop these connections and a greater computer games development community in and around the city.
"There are indie and bigger game studios that have grown up around different cities and towns, and it's a draw for people to go there to become a developer," Jamie Myland, co-founder of PinG, said.
"Peterborough has a lot of opportunity for creativity, and at the moment, there's not a huge creative sector in the area."
73,000 jobs generated from gaming sector
A report from the gaming trade body - the Independent Game Developers Association (TIGA) - showed last year, the industry supports more than 73,000 jobs in the UK, including around 28,000 developers.
TIGA also found the sector contributes £2.2 million in tax revenue each year.
While according to the UK Video Games Council, consumers here spend more than £7.5 billion annually on video games.
Jamie - who teaches computer games technologies at ARU Peterborough - has seen the number of students grow in the last three years and is expecting more graduates this year.
"There's no limit (on the industry)," he said.
"One of the things I'd like to see locally happening more often is game jams, where creatives come together to develop games in a short amount of time.
" It's not just programming and art, they are a key core aspect of game development, but there's so many other jobs that can come out of the sector, be it marketing and management, the things you need to make a game a business."
Tackling isolation
For many game developers, it can be a lonely business.
Jamie said isolation is common in the independent games scene, another reason why the PinG group was set up.
“By connecting developers, students, and creatives, we’re creating a space where ideas can be shared, skills can grow, and early-stage studios can get the support they need to thrive," Umar Ijaz, co-founder of PinG, said.
"This is the start of a long-term effort to put Peterborough more visibly on the UK games map.”