About: Product Development

Software

One of the greatest opportunities we’ve been given is the chance to be able to develop our own products. Our team is experienced in developing commercial software applications that have been sold internationally and that has led us to naturally develop our own SaaS and Mobile applications. We have been busy working in partnership with the NHS on a software and we have developed a mobile marketing and advertising platform for Comic book Publishers called KomikAR® which has now become a registered trademark of Blue Donut Studios Ltd.

Comics

The Last Dead End AR Comic started out from an animation project and that grew from writing a larger graphic novel and that came from a short story. Things leads to other things. That’s perhaps a good reflection on our design process. We’ve now developed another Graphic Novel called Blood & Valour as part of a project funded by the National Lottery and the Arts Council in the UK. The story, taken from the Legends of Sir Bevis, has assembled a great team and we’ve now proven our skills in tackling a cultural project that was a literary treasure and delivered it to a new audience. It’s great to feel part of history and it’s given us the experience of working with print and publishing professionals taking it to market and gave us a chance to work with some great retailers.

Games

Physical product development requires different skills and we’ve learned a lot in developing our own comic books, merchandising and now, our first Card Game called Line. Developing a product is only part of the journey. We’ve been working hard to develop our board game cafés to give people a chance to learn about board games and provide a proving ground for Line, the Skateboard Card Game. It means that we’ve got real-world experience in developing and delivering a game. But Why?

We found that the design processes needed helps us strengthen many areas of our project development process and made us think about solutions from a different perspective.

Development companies can tend to be rather myopic in terms of solving customer problems with the same solutions that they know work but may not always be the best answer. We have learned that it is answering the customers’ needs that should come first and then the finding of the most appropriate solution vehicle – technology that should come second.

We’ve now become part of an amazing community of people who make and play games. They, like the comic community are deeply passionate about their obsession and they are made up of a very diverse background of people. They love new ideas and are not afraid to share advice or comment and their support. What’s not to like about making games?