outsourcing
projects

dovetail games

One of our longstanding clients for outsourcing game development and design is Dovetail Games. Their Train Simulator is a popular game and one that requires a great deal of attention to detail when designing its components.
The Train Simulator is a good example of a game that has to change and expand fairly constantly to keep users happy. The sim game boasts hundreds of thousands of fans around the world and making sure that innovation lies at the heart of game development has been key to Dovetail’s success.
When you’re recreating a vehicle that exists in the real world, the key factor is research. You need ot do as much as humanly possible.
Our game designers may not have known much about a train like the Flying Scotsman but getting into the technical details is critical if you want to recreate it in digital form. You need to consider what the train looks like from every angle. Not only that but there’s also the surrounding countryside that the train is traveling through to take into account. Of course, we’re not the only ones working on the game for Dovetail. That means it is critical to have good communication and ensure that standards are maintained across the board. We need to fit like a glove and be ready to go from day one.For Dovetail Games, we’ve helped with several different projects. One of the most recent was their Holiday Express sim game where we provided outsourced services for areas such as prototyping a track design and working with the company to avoid licensing issues.
We’ve often been employed by Dovetail to create accurate vehicle artwork, including interactive components such as windows and doors. One of the keys here is how we continually work with the client and refine our approach according to their needs and feedback.

small impact games

If you love sci-fi games then Marauders is likely to be right up your street. This was developed by Small Impact Games and published by Team 17 and Skyhook Games was brought in to help with certain aspects of the initial design. One of the big challenges of working on a project that is already underway is getting up to speed with what is required and the way people are working. Embedding in another group requires good communication skills and the ability to adapt quickly and effectively.
We were brought on board to help develop various prop assets that fitted with the game’s overall look and feel. One of the most important things is to bring together the right designers who can adapt quickly and can meet the deadline set.Our experience with Small Impact Games and Team 17 was pretty good and we were pleased with the overall result. We look forward to working with them again in the future. This is just one example where Skyhook Games can take some of the heavy lifting and fill in the gaps through outsourcing, ensuring that developments stay on track.

lucid games

Lucid Games developed a game called Switchblade which involved vehicles in combat in a variety of different environments. They aimed to produce different vehicles over time to keep user interest high once the game went live.We were contacted to provide our outsource services to create game-ready vehicles based on the company’s description and mood boards. This involved us putting together a relatively small team to work on concepts that the client could then choose from. Once they were happy with a particular design, it was then up to us to create a 3D concept and take this forward to create a fully functioning vehicle that fits in with the game. Like many collaborations, we work in stages which end with getting approval from the client before we move on to the next. With 2 artists working on the project over 15 months we were able to develop 15 new vehicles for the game, taking them from initial concept to fully operational.

outsource your game development

Taking advantage of outsourcing makes sense:

• You don’t have to shop around for the right people to complete the work required – at Skyhook Games we give you access to a wide range of ready-to-go expertise, creativity and skill.
• Outsourcing helps you control the costs because you’re not employing a new team onsite full-time.
• Working with a team that knows what it is doing can also save time in getting everyone up to speed.

If you are developing a game and require additional input from an expert team, contact Skyhook Games today to find out how we can help.