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Blogs

Colin Anderson's Blog   Expert Blogs

Colin Anderson co-founded Denki in March 2000 as the world’s first digital toy company. Denki believes that computer & video games are first and foremost about the toys inside. Denki went on to create 180 individual games in under nine years, establishing a reputation for creativity and tight, efficient development and picking up a number of industry awards along the way. Denki has now brought its experience creating a new generation of games to more traditional console platforms such as Xbox Live Arcade, Wii, PSN, etc.

Before founding Denki, Colin worked at DMA Design from 1993-2000 heading up their Audio Team - so yes, he's somewhat to blame for all those radio stations you have to endure in your driving games these days.

A recovering musician, it's fair to say that Colin really loves guitars – and anything chocolatey. Especially "Galaxy" chocolate. In 1986 he used his scientific background to perfect the technique of microwaving a Mars Bar to melt the inside, while the exterior remained structurally intact. A feat professional chocolatiers are still trying to emulate to this very day.

If you're really bored you can follow the minutiae of his daily existence at twitter.com/denkicolin.

Expert Blogs

Inside The Digital Toy Factory – Developing To Deadlines  Featured Blogs
Posted by Colin Anderson on Thu, 17 Sep 2009 07:30:00 EDT in Production
The creative process is widely regarded throughout the world as a "dark art", full of superstition and ritual. We don't believe in using magic to make games at Denki, so we've set about prodding creativity in our laboratory to see what makes it tick...
Read More... | 10 Comments

Busking – A Guide For Indie Game Developers  Featured Blogs
Posted by Colin Anderson on Thu, 03 Sep 2009 05:00:00 EDT in Production
Most people don't care if we almost kill ourselves on the way to making great games; they still judge them entirely on what they play in the end. In this blog, find out why Denki have embraced "busking" as part of developing their latest game - Quarrel.
Read More... | 12 Comments

What Has The iPhone Really Changed?  Featured Blogs
Posted by Colin Anderson on Thu, 30 Jul 2009 06:45:00 EDT in Production
Treat claims like "the iPhone has changed everything" with some caution. It may not have changed as much as you first thought. Here's Denki's take on such claims for the benefit of indie developers seeking their fortune, regardless of platform.
Read More... | 8 Comments

Creative Assembly Lines  Featured Blogs
Posted by Colin Anderson on Tue, 16 Jun 2009 06:37:00 EDT in Production
The challenge facing all creative media businesses today is to establish a production system that balances creativity alongside productivity. I went looking for examples of systems that have delivered results. Here's what I found...
Read More... | 13 Comments

An Introduction To Denki  Featured Blogs
Posted by Colin Anderson on Thu, 11 Jun 2009 04:19:00 EDT in Production
Hello and welcome. A quick word about Denki. Who we are, what we do and why: An introduction to provide some context before we start delving in to what we've learned along the way.
Read More... | 2 Comments

   

Colin Anderson's Comments

Comment In: Inside The Digital Toy Factory – Developing To Deadlines [Blog - 09/17/2009 - 07:30]

@raigan: You raise some very ...

@raigan: You raise some very astute points here and, again, the answer could fill a blog of its own. However, what I'd say at this point are two things: a Denki's development process places significant emphasis on working with established repertoire. In other words we try not to put games ...

Comment In: Busking – A Guide For Indie Game Developers [Blog - 09/03/2009 - 05:00]

@Claire - glad to hear ...

@Claire - glad to hear you got something useful from my ramblings. Your point about being able to compare The Way vs The End with regards resumes is a really important extrapolation of the ideas in this blog. Well done for making that connection - you're totally getting the hang ...

Comment In: The £500 Game: What Games Could Learn From Shoes [Blog - 09/01/2009 - 11:32]

What a thread you've started ...

What a thread you've started Tadhg - well done My gut feeling says there might be a business model in the Super Group approach. You know, get Will Wright, Sid Meier, Dave Jones and Pete Molyneux together to work on a new game and then sell it at a premium ...

Comment In: Creative Assembly Lines [Blog - 06/16/2009 - 06:37]

One of the significant characteristics ...

One of the significant characteristics I noticed about Pixar when I was researching them for this blog was their willingness to do whatever it takes to keep their creative team together. When it became apparent that they were running out of cash, and Steve Jobs' patience was wearing thin funding ...

Comment In: What Has The iPhone Really Changed? [Blog - 07/30/2009 - 06:45]

@Rebecca - I know what ...

@Rebecca - I know what you mean it's one of my main gripes with the App Store too. I'd go so far as to say that Apple's choice of interface for selling applications actually delivers less of an App Store experience and more of an App Garage Sale experience. Store ...

Comment In: Production or Destruction? A Quick Guide To Project Management [Blog - 06/27/2009 - 03:22]

Don t try to do ...

Don t try to do the best product in the market ever just do the best you can do. Otherwise, you ll always be focusing in other people s strengths and successes that may or may not be your own. Amen to that one In fact, now you mention it, ...