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Company: Philanthropy
Project: Synthesesia

http://www.philanthropystudios.co.uk/en/?page_id=7

Dates: Sep 2007 to Jan 2008

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How did the project start?

Philanthropy started as a group of Teesside graduates. After many discussions about games and the industry, we devised an idea for a game which we thought would be an excellent addition to the up-and-coming digital distribution games scene. Synthesesia was born and we approached DigitalCity in Middlesbrough for funding.

What options did you consider?

It was necessary for us to undergo some major design shifts throughout the project, mainly for technical reasons. Originally we started out designing a space/sci-fi context for the game but this had to be changed as we were limited by file capacity.

What help and expertise did you receive?

Once onboard the DigitalCity Fellowship, we were really lucky to receive not only the financial support but also the use of their amazing facilities and mentoring from games industry veterans.

Did you face any challenges or learn any lessons?

Coming straight from University we were full of enthusiasm but lacked professional experience and insight. There were a number of things we failed to anticipate and prepare for which put us behind schedule. Subsequently, we now give more consideration to analysing potentially problematic areas. The project itself was a huge learning experience for all involved and we've vigilantly applied the resulting knowledge to later work.

What are the outcomes and how has it improved your business?

Development on Synthesesia is continuing and at the moment acts as our flagship technical demo. It has been demo'd to various publishers, developers and magazines - such as EDGE and Famitsu. Recently, however, a company were impressed enough to offer us some contract work, so it's already done its job in that sense.

What are your plans for the future?

With regards to this project, we still want to see it on the scene - either XBLA, PSN or WiiWare is where we feel it'd fit in the best. For the company, however, our focus at the moment is on a more mainstream contract, as well as continually raising our profile in the North East.