Bizarre History
Our Gaming Philosophy
Tweek from Fur Fighters
Being a games company today is a difficult task. You don't want to be too serious to make games, or too 'gamey' to be taken seriously. Both the games AND the business have to be strong - and after over 10 years developing the reputation as a leading-edge, secure and stable representative of the UK games development scene, Bizarre Creations are hoping that they've always kept the balance right.
We've never been one to shout about ourselves or our games - just writing this sort of stuff is hard enough! We're not driven by the desire to be famous or try and rule the world - or to make enough money to buy it. The one passion that drives the company forward is the games themselves - with, of course, a secure business strategy running alongside. And happily, financial success and international accolades have been the obvious result.
The Early Days (1994-2000s)
The Original Bizarre Creations Logo
The company started out in the days of back-bedroom programming, and began employing permanent staff in 1994 to begin work on the PlayStation. And as the industry has grown, so has Bizarre Creations, with a slow and steady expansion to just over 160 staff. And when we find people who are right to join us, they tend to stay - the annual turnover of our permanent staff being only just 1 per annum - meaning that our teams are extremely experienced both in development terms, and at working together as a team.
Our recruitment philosophy might seem a little strange to many. We don't really look at experience or qualifications - more pure talent, enthusiasm and being a 'Bizarre' kind of person. For more than 1/4 of the company, this is their first job - with 1/3 of the company joining from unemployment. And astoundingly, 4/5 of the programmers and the vast majority of the artists here have no prior industry experience!
Our Working Environment
Our Custom-Built Studio
We pride ourselves on our relaxed and caring working environment, with generous rewards for our passionate staff. From great financial incentives, through parties and company holidays, to little touches such as 'cake day', we're always striving to make sure we're a great company to work for. And Bizarre Creations are proud to be the first (and only one of two) games company to be awarded the UK Government's prestigious 'Investors in People' award.
Our working environment is also important to us. We started out in a tiny 500 square foot modular unit, and have expanded through five other locations to our eventual move in 2003 to the impressive 18,500 square foot building we're in today. This was custom designed and built by ourselves to meet all the needs of future games development - from relaxation and leisure facilities through to little touches like high-level windows and customisable lighting in the development studios, essential to avoid screen glare.
How We Develop Games
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved
So how do we develop our games? We have a clear structure to our two main development teams, but one that doesn't enforce a rigid or inflexible environment. We are bringing in a strong sense of ownership, where those involved in a development area have a strong say in the way this area is designed. We have shared resource groups that work across all our projects - in the areas of Core Technologies, Tools, Audio, IT, Presentation Design and even Marketing. We involve out-sourcing companies and other external help just where we feel it prudent.
Over the years, we've worked with a number of leading publishers, and most of the hardware manufacturers, either as first or third parties. Knowing how important the publisher-developer relationship is, we try to maintain long-term, strong partnerships with publishers. So we've found that past partners who we aren't working with currently would still be happy to work with us again in the future. We strive to make sure both development and marketing forces at our publishers have everything they need to make the game a success.
Success & Legacy
Project Gotham Racing 3
And with more than one experience in the difficulties and pressures involved in being a hardware launch title, we have our scheduling and budgeting tightly honed. Surprisingly for our industry, our last five games were successful, on time and within budget - the company has never even needed an overdraft! And very successful they have been - both in terms of critical acclaim and outstanding sales numbers. Our titles have averaged nearly 1.12 million unit sales each over the 10+ years we've been going!
But even with all this success, Bizarre Creations fights to remain humble in its achievements. You won't normally hear us brag about our sales figures, awards, charity work or the many other things we do as a company or as an employer. The games have always been, and will always be, the focus of all the company's efforts - as is often said, 'You're only as good as your last game'. And with the last one winning a BAFTA, being one of the highest rated games in history, and being up for multiple accolades in the Develop Industry Awards, it's all hands on deck to make sure the next ones fly just as high!
Today: Browser Games & Digital Art
Today, we've evolved our focus to bring that same passion for innovation to the browser gaming space. We're dedicated to showcasing amazing free browser games, from HTML5 experiences to Unity WebGL creations, while also celebrating digital art and creativity. Our legacy continues with each weird, wonderful, and accessible game we share with our community.