Digital startup releases first video game
The first Canadian football sports game to be released on Microsoft’s Xbox One and personal computers – the first title made by a city-based digital technology startup – hit the market Wednesday after about two years of development.
Canadian Football 2017 by Canuck Play, a client of the Innovation Cluster Peterborough and The Kawarthas’ downtown Cube since March 2016, was revealed at an afternoon launch held at Retro’s eSports Bar on Simcoe St.
The first Canadian football game for a major console – complete with three downs per possession and 12-player teams – represents about 6,350 hours of development time, Canuck Play founder and president David Winter told those gathered.
Canadian Football 2017, while not licensed to use the names of actual teams and players, includes all nine cities with professional football.
It aims to provide the most authentic experience possible, Winter said. “That has been the focus for us, to bring the Canadian football experience to a video game.”
Each venue is visually unique. Subtleties, for example, include how Montreal’s stadium has rounded end zones because the venue also hosts racing. The movement of players in the game were created by by using motion capture suits.
Canuck Play has lofty goals for the game, such as being able to add a pro licence, but first aims to shape a following.
“This is our starting point. This is what we’re going to build upon,” Winter said.
The company, which celebrates Canadian culture, sports and heroes, chose a beaver logo because the animal is admired for its ingenuity, Canuck Play vice-president Sheryl Loucks said, explaining how the proposal for the game was actually sent to Microsoft on a whim.
The approval about 18 months ago was sweetened by the fact that only five per cent of Canadian submissions are okayed, she added. “It’s been a bit of a road and we’re proud to be here.”
Loucks expressed the company’s gratitude for community’s support for the project. Radio personality Jordan Mercier of Extra 90.5 FM provided his voice as the in-game announcer, while realtor and former city councillor Bill Juby volunteered his talents as referee.
Life-long football fan Mercier said his voice over, his first, opened his eyes about just how much work goes into the voices for such titles.
Groups like the Peterborough Wolverines were also consulted, Loucks added. “This is an authentic an experience as one can possible make it.”
Winter brings more than 20 years of experience of working with both international and smaller studios to the project. His production and design credits include titles such as Electronic Arts’ Madden, NHL and FIFA series, as well as Batman, Harry Potter and The Sims.
Under the publishing name Wintervalley Software, those behind Canuck Play developed and released the first video game officially licensed by the Canadian Football League (CFL) and CFL Player’s Association, CFL Football ‘99.
Winter said mobile titles can take as little as six months to develop while console games can take as many as four years. It generally takes about two years to build the first sports title in a franchise, because of their complexity, he added.
There are more expectations when it comes to sports games, he said. Making them as lifelike as possible is one of the biggest challenges, because players are fans that watch the game regularly. “If something doesn’t look right, you can get called out on it.”
Retro’s co-owner Andrew Warman agreed, joking about out how even a Tetris painting recently placed on the bar’s patio drew some criticism. “In order for a game to be amazing, it has to have a great meta game ... they’ve done an amazing job.”
Cluster president and CEO Michael Skinner noted that the video game production industry spends more than $265 million in Ontario while contributing more than $3 billion to Canada’s gross domestic product each year.
He pointed out how helpful Winter was to other clients that surround him at the business incubator in the VentureNorth building, particularly when it came to computer programming. “That ecosystem really proves The Cube is working.”
Canadian Football 2017 is available for PC distribution via Steam or by clicking Buy Now at www. canuckplay.com for $15.99 USD ($21 Canadian).
NOTES: Canuck Play was a finalist of Bears’ Lair 2016 .... Agreements are in place with Sony to develop the title for the Playstation 4 .... A launch party that included a live tournament was held Tuesday night at Retro’s eSports Bar.