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Student's Company Could Make Wales A Key Player in Computer Games Industry

21 June 2007

As Lara Croft’s latest Tomb Raider adventure is released, an ambitious plan is taking shape to make Wales a centre for the design and development of tomorrow’s top computer games. Adam Griffiths, a student at Newport Business School, is setting up a company that will provide employment for Wales’ talented games designers and help the country to profit from this multi-million pound industry.

"The computer games industry is one of the biggest in the world yet there are very few companies in Wales making games,” said 30-year-old Adam who lives in Newport.“As a result, many people like myself who are gaining degrees in computer game design are having to leave the country in order to find jobs.”

To combat this“brain drain” of computer game talent, Adam, who is about to graduate from the University of Wales, Newport with a degree in Computer Game Development and Artificial Intelligence, is setting up a company called Centrifuge Interactive Studios.

“By starting my own company I will be able to stay in Newport and avoid the stress of relocating my wife and young children to find a job making computer games. I will also hopefully help establish a computer games industry in Wales where we have only a handful of small software companies compared to England and Scotland where there are many large developers creating some of the world's biggest games.

“Newport’s University has two computer games development courses producing talented students with lots of potential. It seems ludicrous that Wales is losing them to other countries because we have no computer games industry.”

Adam, whose final year project‘Transitions’ will be included on the cover disc of the next issue of PC Zone magazine, is currently seeking sponsors and exploring ways of funding his company. He is also actively recruiting talented people, such as artists, programmers and sound technicians, who can create the characters and virtual worlds for the games that will help get Centrifuge off the ground.

“I plan to start by creating 2D games which are very popular. Recently, a simple one made by an American company made?60,000 profit. After that I want to move onto more complex 3D games such as Half Life and Tomb Raider.”

Anyone who is interested in investing or working for Adam’s computer games company should contact him on adam@centrifugedesign.co.uk or visit www.centrifugedesign.co.uk. For details of the computer games development courses at the University of Wales, Newport phone 01633 432432 or visit www.newport.ac.uk.


For further information contact:

Phil Mansell

Press&Communications Officer

Marketing Services

University of Wales, Newport

Caerleon Campus, PO Box 179

Newport, South Wales

NP18 3YG

Tel: 01633 432822

Fax: 01633 432988

Mobile: 07823 533217

Email: press@newport.ac.uk


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