Denki restructures, targets new IP

Dundee, Scotland-based studio Denki has announced the completion of what it terms a ‘radical restructure’, which puts new IP creation at the forefront of its business.

The studio , famous for prolific production of games for interactive TV and other platforms plus design consultancy (the team helped out with Relatime Worlds’ Crackdown), now consists of two halves – an external development team and internal development team.

Gary Penn will lead the latter with Richard Ralfe, who has led development of over 100 Denki titles, leading the external team.

Colin Anderson, the managing director of Denki, said: "The games market evolves incredibly quickly worldwide. New technologies, new routes to market and new devices capable of playing games are appearing all the time. This gives developers an amazing opportunity to reach whole new audiences and create entirely new types of game. Denki has pioneered accessible gaming over the last eight years, through the televisions in people’s homes. We’re now moving forward to ensure we can use this experience and expertise to work in all of the other broad, accessible channels in which people are now finding and playing games.

"By creating two dedicated development teams, we can continue our award winning work on digital television, designing and developing playable, popular titles for our partners. At the same time we ensure that we have a constant flow of new concepts and ideas from our designers, which will give Denki an unrivalled portfolio of original content for all of the new platforms, devices and channels where people play."

Penn’s internal team will prioritise the creation of new genres and styles of gaming for multiple platforms, including virtual consoles, PC’s, handhelds, mobile phones and other consumer gadgets. The team has already described its first games ("A single-button action/puzzle title in which the player controls a hot-air balloon; A cartoon-style strategy game – with a unique spelling and word-creation twist, described as a ‘Risk-style strategy game, in which words are your weapons’; A new skill game in which players must build tanks and military vehicles, which are then thrown into battle") with more on the way.

“The new titles from Denki incorporate many new and different styles of play," commented Penn. "Some offer different takes on existing game types, while others give the player something wholly new. The internal development process encourages every Denki employee to create and submit new concepts and has already brought some really interesting new ideas to light. This gives us a chance to play with some unorthodox ideas, which are working their way into a number of new titles that are very unusual and enjoyable. The market is at the perfect point for new types of content. Even experienced players are realising that games can be fun and original. We’re really looking forward to introducing people to our new titles.

The external team, meanwhile, will continue to drive forward activity in the interactive TV game space – the studio has produced almost 200 titles for the likes of Sky based on properties owned by the likes of Cartoon Network and DreamWorks.

Ralfe commented: “Denki is now recognised as a world leader in the development of branded and original iDTV games, which have proven themselves incredibly popular time and time again and provide real long-term enjoyment for audiences worldwide. We’re enormously proud of the work we’ve done to date. With more and more people now realising they can play and enjoy games on their TVs, we’re looking forward to working with both our existing and future customers on projects such as iPTV. Denki’s expertise and understanding in these areas is already delivering dividends for our partners as they explore these new areas.”