EMPIRE STUDIOS
Empire Studios is Bahrain’s first professional video game development studio which recently just announced its first video game production on Android and iOS devices, Guardians of Valor. Empire Studios is made up of a team of locals and internationals with great experience in the industry.
Thank you for this. Would you mind telling us who you are and what you do?
Fahad: My name is Fahed Alkhalifa. I’m the chief creative officer at Empire Studios. I take care of anything related to game development.
Ali: I’m Ali Alkhalifa, the CEO of Empire Studios, and I take care of day-to-day operations, recruitment and HR management.
How big is your team, currently?
Ali: In Bahrain, the local team is around 10 developers, including us.
How did Empire Studios come to be?
Fahad: We ended up going with something we’re really passionate about. In the beginning, we had no idea how big this industry was, and how hard it was to develop something on this scale. We opened our first studio in July 2013, and started actual development in February 2014 with a small team. Little by little, we grew—one developer at a time.
Would you say this whole business venture started out of a passion for gaming?
Ali: Yeah, 100% passion for gaming. We are confident that we can develop and launch something that’s acceptable in the gaming industry, both locally and globally.
Why did you focus on mobile gaming?
Ali: Mobile is an emerging industry, and it’s growing very fast. Reaching the mobile market is much faster than with retail, boxed games.
Do you feel that the industry of mobile gaming in this region is just beginning? Or is it booming, or mature?
Ali: In terms of gamers, it is booming. In multiplayer gameplay, gamers like to play with friends; they like to show people what they’ve done. And just like everyone else, they like to play while waiting in line, etc.
Fahad: Part of the reason we started this studio was because there are gamers, there is a community—and they’re hungry for more. At the end of the day, though, they’re consuming foreign products. We are here to prove that video game development is a viable career in this part of the world.
It is obvious that game consumption in this part of the world is way higher than production. Do you think that’s going to change anytime soon?
Fahad: I think it’s going to change for the better. It’s becoming the new narrative. Storytelling used to be a very rare thing in video games. Now people expect story, and Hollywood has invested in the video game industry. That’s proof of success. That’s proof of evolution.
Exactly. I think this is the right time to tell us more about what you guys have developed.
Ali: This is our first game. We’re very happy and proud of our team. Recruiting international talent for this project was not easy. We always pushed them to the limit, to make sure that the design, gameplay, and interface all meet the international standard. Technology really tested us more than once, but we never thought of it as an obstacle. We thought of it as a challenge. If it didn’t work or it didn’t meet or exceed the international standard, we either removed it or figured out a way to implement it properly. Eventually, over a long period of time, we managed to get the game to a standard we’re happy with.
And for our readers who don’t yet know about the game?
Fahad: We call it Guardians of Valor. It’s about heroes trying to defend their realm from evil.
Does the name have any personal or regional significance?
Fahad: We started with our regional background, way, way back in history. It’s a very interesting theme based upon ancient times and Babylonian lore. It’s a fantasy game based around evil jinn.
Under which genre does your game fall?
Fahad: It’s a strategy game; a tower-defense game where the player has to control the hero in addition to building towers and defending an objective at a specific level. You have enemies approaching from different directions, and you have to strategize and tactically place towers to defend your objective.
What were some of the biggest challenges you had while developing this game?
Ali: Technology was one; recruitment was another. When technology evolved, we had to evolve with it. For example, the latest iOS operating system that came out didn’t support an engine we had been working on for at least three months. We had to upgrade to the latest engine in order to migrate our game.
Which platform did you start developing your game on first, and why?
Ali: We started with Unreal Engine 3, and then we moved to Unreal Engine 4.
We wanted to launch on both iOS and Android. We have a very strong engine, and very good customer support.
And for people who still believe that video games are childish or restricted to kids, would you confidently say that video games are just another form of art entertainment, like movies or books—just more immersive, and in a different form?
Fahad: In the west, they’ve begun to accept that already. It is another art form. It certainly has budgets that eclipse other art forms we already know and recognize. What’s the difference between a story in a video game and a story in a movie or a book? You are part of the story.
Do you foresee a future in which you’ll take your studio full-time?
Ali: Our goal is to take it to the next level every time, to surprise and challenge ourselves every time. We’re planning only to grow and expand.
What are some of the barriers of entry in Bahrain to getting into video-game development?
Fahad: Finding talent here in Bahrain is not easy, because it’s not developed yet. Currently, in Bahrain, we do have entrepreneurs and business-minded people, but game development is still young. Artists are available, but their development in 3D is just starting. Here in Bahrain, we have very smart programmers but they are usually oriented toward website and software development. Game development was not part of their portfolio—but there are a handful in Bahrain who are very intrigued to basically train themselves.
Are there plans to have Empire Studios develop other people’s games?
Fahad: I get that question a lot. Our approach to game development was to launch amazing, polished, well-worth-it games to the public as a service to game development.
Ali: The first and most staggering barrier to entry that people face is the length of the pipeline. For any other businesspeople who start in Bahrain—cupcakes, whatever—as soon as you open your shop, you start making sales. However, when you have a pipeline for a video game, you can’t make it overnight. It’s not a fast-food service. It takes six months, a year, a year and a half. Some games could run five to six years.
Fahad: Yeah, and that could be very intimidating and risky for a lot of people.
Ali: At the end of the day, if you don’t have the heart for it, it might not be something you want to get into—but we do. The Bahrainis we have on board with us face situations they’ve never faced before, and they took on the challenge out of passion, because this is something that they believe in. This is something that they want to be a part of. We may not be publishing other people’s games, but we want to inspire others to know that this is something that they can do. Hopefully, in two years’ time, we’ll be in a position where we can take them on. We hope to see educational institutions taking the discipline of video game development seriously, and adding it to their curriculums. That way, when the time comes, we can actually pave the way for Bahrainis in Empire.
What kind of game do you dream of building?
Fahad: We want to show that a studio coming out of the GCC can compete with the international studios out there. One day, maybe a very polished FPS, and if we’re confident enough and have the time and resources, we might take on bigger projects, like MMOs and multiplayer games.
Ali: The sky’s the limit, basically.
Is there something you wish you had known when you first started—about the process of video game development?
Fahad: Expecting new kinds of obstacles to appear. Knowing exactly how much it would cost, and exactly how long it would take. Technology not being an obstacle, basically. I would get the full team in-house instead of outsourcing.
That’s excellent. Why?
Fahad: Outsourcing is a viable option regardless of the industry, but in our case, it took a big role in the creative development of the game. I had to deal with artists abroad, I had time constraints, and communication slowed down.
Ali: We couldn’t have team meetings.
I think having the full team in-house will basically get the communication to be much quicker. I’ll have direct control in the office instead of via the Internet, or by e-mail or Skype. Outsourcing is tough and time-consuming.
Did you get any kind of support, financial or otherwise, from any organizations in Bahrain, like Tamkeen or Bahrain Development Bank?
Fahad: Yes. We were very fortunate to receive budget support from Tamkeen, and that’s how we started. When we pitched the idea to Tamkeen in the beginning, they had a lot of questions—but luckily, we were funded, and they helped us get all the equipment we needed.
How was their process?
Fahad: Their process was straightforward. Obviously, the rules have changed over time, but we had to apply normally, and go through a review process. We just had to show them our business plan, and they agreed without hesitation. We contacted the retail shops we needed to buy from, and it was a straightforward approach.
Ali: The idea of pioneering the game industry here is such an unconventional concept, and for Tamkeen to support us was a very big thing. It’s something we appreciate. I’m not knocking traditional ideas; if it works, it works. I think the future of Bahrain is in small business. Small businesses are going to make an impact that’s going to be felt beyond Bahrain’s borders. We need to break new ground.
That’s absolutely true. What advice do you have for people who are thinking of getting into game development and game design?
Fahad: In terms of game design, literally anyone can do it. It may not be a good design, but at least you can design any game. Games are fun, and everyone likes to play them.
Ali: In other words, If you play games, you know games.
Fahad: Designing is not that hard. Finding the right design over time will help: playing games, knowing what’s out there, knowing what’s bad, what’s good, and what’s great. Artistically, if they feel confident, they should join a small studio in the region, if there are any—or take on internships, and basically train themselves in 3D and 2D software. In terms of programming, it takes a lot of math and code. In game development, you need to understand engine programming and AI tools. Everything about games is completely different from software or website development.
How can people find Guardians of Valor, or read more information about it?
Fahad: We currently have our Empire Studios website, which has a brief introduction about the studio. We also have a preview of the game, with a few screenshots. Our game website is also live now, so you can read more about it there on empirestudios.bh/gov
Ali: And we’re happy to say that Guardians of Valor is available to download on Android and iOS right now.
Fahad: That’s right, and you can expect some pretty cool updates for the game very soon.
Thank you so much for this.
Fahad: Thank you.
Ali: It was a pleasure.