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This is part two of a series of articles chronicling the early development days of GallantCloud Games. You can read about their journey here.
GallantCloud, the team of five Train2Game students merged together to create a new and upcoming games studio, are now on Week 4 of the Microsoft Ventures UK Accelerator Programme.
With our mentors onboard, ranging from members of existing high profiled games studios, Microsoft resources, and many others lending their expertise, GallantCloud now have a vast quantity of resources to make use of.
The team and mentors have worked hard and have created a game development curriculum that is unique to GallantCloud and will work alongside the overall curriculum that all Microsoft Ventures UK Accelerator teams are working to.
The GallantCloud curriculum is very geared towards making the most of the teams time in getting ideas out there and filtering those ideas to a smaller number which the team will develop further. To accomplish this we are using a physical whiteboard for those in the office, and then everything is transferred to the digital whiteboard for future analysis.
Everyone on the UK Accelorator Programme has just been really helpful as well as informative. GallantCloud have been granted access to hardware and software that wouldn’t have been possible going it alone. Great things were happening, but now they are happening with greater tools for the job.
Of course it isn’t all work (well it is, but it’s fun!), the Eurogamer Expo that took place in London Earl’s Court was a fantastic opportunity not to be missed.
Being that GallantCloud were all Train2Game students, at the allotted time we took our positions within the GamesIndustry/fair section of Eurogamer in the Train2Game room to talk of our experiences whilst on the Accelerator Programme to train2game students. Day two also saw GallantCloud standing up front talking again. After a great overview of the UK accelerator programme a thunderous applause erupted!
Eurogamer was a great experience and we certainly had fun and took away a lot from it (not just the free loot and photos with cosplayers!). GallantCloud managed to take part in the mass energy and excitement that buzzed throughout the building, gathering ideas and intel on ways to create, present and expand on everything there is to do with getting a game created from the simplest to the complex of ideas.
Technological advances such as eye tracking systems to drive cars with your eyes only (or slice fruits in Fruit Ninja!) were brilliant to witness and experience each piece of innovative technology adding to the way we think about our game ideas.
We invited our followers to join us in our Eurogamer experience, with a constant stream of pictures and updates to our Facebook and Twitter, and received loads of new support and great feedback!
We have achieved a lot and have so much more ahead of us to accomplish. We continue to move forward, each step a discovery.
If someone were to ask us how we feel things are going with the UK Accelerator Programme, things are going incredibly well. There is something happening every day, whether it be a talk from an external party coming in to give insight in to how they got started with their product, or a quick chat with a mentor, a meeting with Microsoft to give updates on our milestones, or actually getting some games created, there is always productivity taking place.
