Wolverhampton graduate gets backing for new game based on hacking
A former University of Wolverhampton student is getting ready to launch his first ever original game on the biggest PC platform.
Lovepreet Singh, graduated in 2013 after studying (BSc) Computing, and saw an opportunity to start his own game development business after coming across SPEED Plus – a European Regional Development Fund project in partnership with the University of Wolverhampton.
After creating Hut 90 in 2014, Lovepreet decided to focus on the business full-time in 2015 and quit his job as a technology facilitator. Within six months, his debut game, Retool, started gaining attention and became a finalist in the 2015 Strasbourg Indie Game Contest, where the public were able to play the game during the festival in Strasbourg, France.
Retool, a 3D hacking puzzle game, has been released via Steam, the biggest PC platform with over 125 million gamers registered.
The story focuses on humanity being enslaved after losing a war against the alien species known as the Onix, with Maria – the character players control, trying to escape by hacking into computers to rewire the output of electronics. The game promotes creative problem-solving, allowing players to complete each level numerous different ways.
Future plans include releasing Retool on console platforms, with Lovepreet already gaining approval by Microsoft to release the game on Xbox One.
Lovepreet said: "My time at the university taught me that learning is a continuous process that never ends. I continued to stay in this mind-set after graduating and used it to learn about new programming concepts that helped me with the development of Retool.
"With the release of Retool, I hope it will show that game development studios can exist anywhere in the UK."
