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11 year old whizz kid releases his own computer game.
omnisoft
Member Posts: 5
NI schoolboy takes on the internet gaming industry
Game launched in July already a hit with 10,000 users
A local entrepreneurial schoolboy has successfully launched his first game in the highly competitive internet gaming market, with 10,000 users in its first month.
‘Buccaneers and Lobsters’ was developed over the last eight months by 11 year old Peter FitzGerald from Crumlin, Co. Antrim. The game, which is set on the high seas during the Napoleonic Wars, asks players to use their skill and judgement to build and develop a fleet of warships in order to dominate the seas, in competition with other online players and teams.
The game is fun but it also has educational value, developing players’ knowledge of Napoleonic history and naval activity. ‘ I saw a gap’ says Peter, ‘when I couldn’t find an interactive, multi-player game that featured pirates after watching Pirates of The Caribbean & series such as Hornblower on the TV. This is a real area of interest for both boys & girls!’
Peter is primarily focused on gaining users from his target market of 8-12 year old boys, and knows his market well given that he’s just about to start secondary school himself. However, he has been pleasantly surprised to find the game has a wider appeal.
Peter explained; “We’ve asked older players what they think of the game and the feedback is good. We also have a growing following on Facebook from women, which is something I didn’t expect.”
Peter thoroughly researched his market and a key focus on the marketing strategy was to make the game educational, and Peter’s team have used related material linked to Wikipedia, You Tube and Facebook.
He said; “We spent a lot of time on working on the details of ‘Buccaneers and Lobsters’, to make sure it’s as accurate as possible and to encourage teachers and parents to see the value of the game.”
While other companies focus on impressive 3D graphics, Peter believes a focus on the fundamentals of the game is paramount to its success.
“The game must be playable, if a player can’t get into my game in five minutes then we’ve done something wrong,” he stated.
Peter is aiming high, and notes the success of US gaming company Zynga as a source of inspiration. Founded three years ago, the company is already valued at US $1 billion. While Zynga have an active payment option, you can play ‘Buccaneers and Lobsters’ for free, as Peter is determined to get the game right before developing his business model further.
Peter cites the highly successful Zynga game ‘Farmville’, where players pay to develop a virtual working farm, as a worthy model. “Access to the game is simple and it is constantly being improved,” he said.
Peter continued; “To get this right, we can’t say that Buccanneers and Lobsters will ever be finished. I need to keep updating it and adding to it if my players are going to keep coming back. Over the coming months I hope to add Ghost Ships, Special Items and Weapons, the ability to capture ports, and aim to host a series of historical naval battles that will enable players to pit their best and strongest ships against the best online opponents.”
The game has only just launched but it has already received rave reviews from Facebook users, and recent TV and social media campaigns promise to bring many thousands of new players to the game.
This young man is well placed to embrace new technology to promote his game and looks set to change the face of the Northern Ireland games industry, so watch this space.
Play the game at www.buccaneersandlobsters.com
See the story:
http://www.buccaneersandlobsters.com
http://www.ulstertatler.com/social-events.asp?id=688
http://www.u.tv/Lifestyle/Antrim-schoolboy-releases-game/95faa416-b629-463d-ab92-2d2709794feb
andrew cuthbert http://www.buccaneersandlobsters.com
Comments
This is your son???
At any rate, it's very impressive for the kid to being this sort of stuff at his age. Congrats to him, and to a bright future for him and his family!
Very cool. I wish him the best of luck!
Nice looking web game but it seem simple like other facebook games. The video I watch http://www.youtube.com/user/Buccaneerslobsters#p/u/28/JuouzwInL3I
--
"Any free people have the right to choose how it wants to be govern thats the essence of democracy. It's sad when America has chosen for the stability and consistency of a dictatorship and doing it democratically" -utnow
So the "genius" couldn't figure out Google?
Pirates of the Carribean Online <<<<<-----( this one so obvious it makes my head hurt while laughing ).
Voyage Century/Bounty Bay
Pirates of the Burning Sea
PirateKing Online
And the list goes on...............
-Letting Derek Smart work on your game is like letting Osama bin Laden work in the White House. Something will burn.-
-And on the 8th day, man created God.-
It may seem simple but some of those facebook games have millions of players from what I've heard. If I was this kid's parent I would encourage him to pursue his dreams. So far it looks like he's off to a good start.
Yay...another money pit, inspired by Zynga no less.
At least this time, it really is made by an 11 year old and doesn't merely portray the appearance of such. Looks like another gimmick to me.
Which Final Fantasy Character Are You?
Final Fantasy 7
You guys can be negative all you want, while I agree the game is nothing new or special, this 11 year old still has a game to his name and we don't.
Face it, he wins.
What computer games have you yourself made so far in your life?
I thought so.
All those memories will be lost in time, like tears in the rain.
Wins what exaclty? Didn't realise this was a compition
LOL. Making a computer game in this day and age is no big deal. I think thus thread has just proved that.
You've missed Omnisoft's point.
Duh!
An 11 year old kid with no "coaching" or "parental guidance" made this game all by his lonesome; inspired by the tales of a billion dollar bubble corp.
I think daddy wants a big fat cheque off all this "buzz". Hell, me may even get it. Smart guy.
Which Final Fantasy Character Are You?
Final Fantasy 7
So, where's yours?
Hey, it was my point, not Omnisoft's.
-Letting Derek Smart work on your game is like letting Osama bin Laden work in the White House. Something will burn.-
-And on the 8th day, man created God.-
I do. It's not the next wow and it's not farmville, but I am pretty proud of it in terms of how it emulates an mmo experience, albeit on a very simplistic level. I hate facebook 'games' that are nothing but sending requests to friends to piss them off and staring at a glorified spreadsheet, with the depth of the game amounting to clicking something that essentially says 'do a job and get some points and come back later and do it again'.
You missed the point completely here.
The game takes place in NAPOLEONIC times, while all the games you've listed happen much earlier in history.
The kid noticed that this period of naval history (that's roughly 1790's to 1820's) is curiously ignored especially considering it is the very pinnacle of the age of sail, happening just before the steam ships arrived on the scene.
This is even curiouser when you consider that the napoleonic times as a fictional setting were quite popular for a very long time, just like, if not even more than "pirates" setting was.
Think "Master and Commander" rather than "Pirates of the Carribean".
Good for him. I hope many take inspiration from this young man's approach to a problem and follow his example.
It'd take a Mac user to turn something like pirates and ship battles into a dice roll computer game.
I kill other players because they're smarter than AI, sometimes.
grats on the 10k ,but as far as hard to make a game.
The kid is likely a genius, just based on the way he speaks (if no one cleaned up his words for him, that is). He sounds like he's 40 with a marketing degree!
I am convinced there is only one way to eliminate these grave evils, namely through the establishment of a socialist economy, accompanied by an educational system which would be oriented toward social goals.
~Albert Einstein
If you think you could do better, put up or shut up.
When an 11 year old kids accomplishes that, it is a great thing. My hat's off.
And silence you little barking dogs of envy.
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
You're being fed these 2 minute video clips of a pony riding rich kid who's multi millionaire father hired a web designer to set up this "idea" for him. I don't want to shit all over this child, but come on now; are you all really this Goddamn gullible? If I'd spent my days riding ponies, maybe there's that odd chance papa would have indulged in my musings and built me my own amusement park. Maybe he'd even hire a professional designer/engineer to "help" me. Would all the world's plebs be hailing me a genius for it? I know there's a sucker born every minute, but this is ridiculous.
Have you even played the game? There's barely any content up and the only way to progress is to pump your cash into it. Repair costs for your ship grossly outweigh anything you can hope to bring in with your newbie ship. It was obviously designed at minimal costs with the objective of raking in the pocket change.
It is cool that this kid is out there "running" this little project of his, and more power to him for being able to, but I wouldn't go so far as labeling him the next Beethoven.
Which Final Fantasy Character Are You?
Final Fantasy 7
Yup, they call it life
"Mr. Rothstein, your people never will understand... the way it works out here. You're all just our guests. But you act like you're at home. Let me tell you something, partner. You ain't home. But that's where we're gonna send you if it harelips the governor." - Pat Webb
Where is your evidence that he is a "rich kid with a multimillionare father that hired a web designer..."? i didn't watch all the videos, but all the articles that I've seen seem to say the same thing and they don't mention his father at all.
Steam: Neph