Glitchers is a British video-game company based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded in 2013 by Matthew Hyde, Hugo Scott-Slade, and Maxwell Scott-Slade (of Johnny Two Shoes).[1][2][3] Glitchers is best known for developing Sea Hero Quest in 2016. The game was developed in collaboration with Alzheimer's Research UK to help dementia research by tracking players' 3D navigation.[4]
 | |
| Founded | 10 September 2013 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Founder(s) | Maxwell Scott-Slade |
| Industry | Indie game design and development |
| URL | glitchers |
The company's name was GLITCHE.RS from 2013 to 2016.[5] It uses the tagline "Games for Good",[6] and aims to "create games that could make a positive impact on the world".[7]
Games
edit- Plunderland (2010) is an interactive pirate adventure game for iPhone, released initially as part of Johnny Two Shoes but now developed by Glitchers and is available as part of GameClub
- Chippy (2013), a time management game in a simulated fish and chips shop, Chippy was developed as a self-funded app based game and is now available as part of GameClub.[1] Chippy was well received and described by Pocket Gamer as “addictive stuff, and it’s easy to play”.[8]
- Gumulon (2013) is a mobile app based game promoting Stride chewing gum by requiring the player to chew to activate the game.[9]
- Kano is an experimental colour-matching arcade game,[10] which Glitchers explain “was designed primarily as an experiment for us to test out assumptions around player retention, payment models and growth hacking.”[11]
- Sea Hero Quest (2016) is a mobile game which contributes to research on dementia by tracking players' 3D navigation[12] It was designed by Glitchers in association with Alzheimer's Research UK, University College London and the University of East Anglia and with funding from Deutsche Telekom.[13][14][15] The idea for the game came from neuroscientist Michael Hornberger of the University of East Anglia who collaborated with Hugo Spiers of University College London and a group of six other neuroscientists.[16] A new Research Edition was announced in 2021.[17]
- Cone Wars (2017) is an online multiplayer and PC game featuring Ice cream van turf wars[18] in which teams compete to sell the most ice creams using weapons and tactics.
- Nestlums (2020) is a money training app for children, designed to teach good financial habits using familiar gaming techniques, developed in collaboration with Cauldron.[19]
- Crush your FOFO (2018) was developed with the Patients Association and AbbVie to explore patients' "Fear of Finding Out" which leads them to delay seeking medical advice.[20][21][22]
- Drive Buy (2021) is described as a "short-session multiplayer vehicle combat game with a delivery twist" and is available on Steam and Nintendo Switch[23]
In a 2023 blog post marking the 10th anniversary of the company, two forthcoming games were described:[7]
- Forest Guardian will concern rainforest protection
- Enhance, developed with University College London, will be a "spiritual successor" to Sea Hero Quest, "targeted at the 60-80 year old audience Sea Hero Quest couldn’t quite reach".
Awards
editIn 2018 Sea Hero Quest was nominated for a British Academy Games Awards BAFTA in the category: Game Beyond Entertainment,[24] a new category for games which "deliver a transformational experience beyond pure entertainment".[25] Sea Hero Quest also won bronze in the 2018 The One Show awards.[26]
Also in 2018 Glitchers won a Webby award for Social Impact.[27]
In 2020 Sea Hero Quest was nominated for the Coney Island Dreamland Award for Best AR/VR Game at the New York Game Awards.[28]
In 2022 the company was awarded funding from the UK Games Fund to support the development of Cone Wars.[29][30]
References
edit- ^ a b Lomas, Natasha (2 November 2013). "Chippy Is A Fish & Chip Shop Simulator For iOS That Puts The Fun Into Deep-Fat Frying". Techcrunch. Archived from the original on 18 May 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
- ^ "Maxwell Scott-Slade". ICE Totally Gaming. Archived from the original on 13 May 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
- ^ "Company Profile: Glitchers". The Scottish Games Network. 5 February 2021. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ^ "'We can change lives': How one Scottish games company is helping to fight dementia". The National. 31 October 2023. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ^ "Glitchers Ltd overview". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Companies House. Archived from the original on 10 November 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
- ^ "Glitchers - Games for Good". Glitchers. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ^ a b "Celebrating 10 years". Blog. Glitchers. 21 September 2023. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ^ McKeand, Kirk. "Chippy". Pocket Gamer. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
- ^ "Gumulon Case Study". W+K LDN. Wieden+Kennedy. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
- ^ "Kano". Archived from the original on 9 June 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
- ^ "Kano". Glitchers. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
- ^ "Mobile game Sea Hero Quest 'helps dementia research'". BBC News. 4 May 2016. Archived from the original on 5 May 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
- ^ "Partners". Sea Hero Quest. Archived from the original on 13 May 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
- ^ Titcomb, James (4 May 2016). "Playing this smartphone game can help fight dementia". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 5 May 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
- ^ "Home page". Glitchers. Archived from the original on 13 May 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
- ^ Kaplan, Sara (7 May 2016). "Two minutes playing this video game could help scientists fight Alzheimer's". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
- ^ "Sea Hero Quest relaunches as a new Research Edition". Blog. Glitchers. 12 October 2021. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ^ "Cone wars". Archived from the original on 21 May 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
- ^ McLaughlin, Aimee. "Meet Nestlums, the app teaching kids all about money". Creative Review. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
- ^ "Crush Your FOFO". Glitchers. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ^ "A new quiz app wants to help users beat their fear of finding out bad news from the doctor". www.expressandstar.com. 15 February 2018. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ^ "Quiz aims to help understand the fear of finding out medical conditions". Digital Health. 20 February 2018. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ^ Craddock, Ryan. "Multiplayer Vehicle Combat Game Drive Buy Speeds Onto Switch". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 20 February 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
- ^ "Game Beyond Entertainment: Sea Hero Quest VR". BAFTA.org. Archived from the original on 8 December 2019. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
- ^ Makedonski, Brett (12 April 2018). "BAFTA names What Remains of Edith Finch its best game of 2017". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 25 April 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
- ^ "The One Show - Archive of Winners | The One ClubOne Show | Glitchers / London | 2018 | Interactive". www.oneclub.org. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ^ "2018 Winners". The Webby Awards. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
- ^ Sheehan, Gavin (2 January 2020). "The New York Game Awards Announces 2020 Nominees". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on 4 January 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- ^ "Three Scottish Studios Awarded £25K By UK Games Fund". The Scottish Games Network. 13 May 2022. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ^ "Cone Wars". UK Games Fund. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.