Elwin says: “We were in the last year of our Game Development studies at NHTV (now Breda University of Applied Sciences) and we both knew we didn't want to work for a large company. We collaborated well and decided to create a project together with a teacher: Fragments of Him, a narrative-based game. We received funding from the Gamefonds and this provided the kickstart for our company.”

Sassybot is still around and they have since released several award-winning games, such as the management game Winkeltje. “We are a small company: we have been just the two of us for a long time. This means that developing games takes a long time. But we really value our independence; we currently have no external investors and we can create what we want to.”

‘The course is an asset’

In Breda, you can study Creative Media and Game Technologies (CMGT) at Breda University of Applied Sciences (BUas). Elwin teaches one day a week to pass on his knowledge to the students. “This course is truly an asset for Breda. It is one of the best game courses in the world. We have very good teachers; everyone comes from the industry. They have worked for small or large companies, or they have run their own businesses. We also have many guest lecturers who occasionally come to teach about their specialisation. It is a fast-paced industry; you can't sit still for three years. Therefore it is important that teachers are still involved in practice.”

Breda as a gaming city

“You can particularly see that a lot has happened in Breda around gaming over the past two years. The arrival of Breda Game City for example,” says Elwin. By contributing to the development of game studios in the city, the founders of Breda Game City hope to retain talent here. Elwin also sees that it is important to keep talent in the city: “I notice that the CMGT programme attracts a lot of talent, but after graduation, these students often leave. There are only a few game companies where they can start after they graduate.”

Game community

“I don’t know if it’s a typical fit for the city of Breda or part of the new generation of developers, but we want to help each other. We don’t see each other as competitors. That’s why we are working with a few other parties to find a shared building for Breda's game companies. This way we can invest in each other and in Breda as a gaming city. We hope that start-ups will then have easier access to affordable workspaces and that we will have a place where we can support each other. The gaming industry is complex; there are many nuances that you need to know. We have already made a lot of mistakes, but we hope that by sharing our knowledge, these mistakes will be avoided by other game designers.”