Ninja Kiwi had a wildly successful online game portal and then extended that audience into hit smartphone games.
SmallWorlds has expanded its online world into non-English speaking markets such as South America. Path of Exile is a PC role-playing game with several million players. Downloadable games from New Zealand studios for the new XBox One and PlayStation 4 are a possibility. While many studios do contract work for the likes of Disney Interactive, Dreamworks, BBC Worldwide and local advertisers, larger profits come when you have a hit with your own ideas.
Do we punch above our weight in game development?
New Zealand has more game developers per capita than Australia or the United Kingdom. We seem to be great all-rounders who can combine the technical challenges with great design. We had a first-mover advantage. When App Store and Facebook games came along we got in early. Several studios had hit games, like Majic Jungle's Chopper, in the gold rush era and have grown their brands and loyal audiences since. The most successful New Zealand studios are already six or seven years old. New Zealand's international creative reputation extends to games. PikPok's Super Monsters Ate My Condo was nominated for a Bafta award in Britain and Michael Brough's Vesper5 was nominated for the Independent Games Festival Innovation Award this year.
How can young people get a start in game development?
Studying maths and physics, and maybe design, at school is the start. There are now specialist bachelor degrees in game development at the Media Design School in Auckland and several universities offer gaming or graphics papers. Many game-making tools are available free online, such as GameFroot, Construct 2 and Unity3D.
What are the industry's challenges?
It is now hyper-competitive and big players with large budgets have entered the market. But I believe many opportunities remain for games targeting a global niche and delivering a unique experience.
Stephen Knightly chairs the New Zealand Game Developers Association.