Pitch

Ants - tiny, strong, focussed, good at working with others to achieve their goals and often with a nasty bite. Some of these characteristics (not so much the bitey ones) are also shared by Ant Workshop, a small independent game developer based in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Description

Ant Workshop is a BAFTA, Develop and TIGA Award nominated studio founded in January 2015 by Tony Gowland to focus on developing original IP full of character and with a quirky sense of humour. As well as their own titles, they've also helped bring over a dozen cool games (such as John Wick Hex, Yes Your Grace, and Thomas Was Alone) to current and next generation console platforms.

The team is now focussing on bringing the crazy cartoon fantasy multiplayer mini-golf world of Dungeon Golf to life. It's a turn-based casual sports party game that follows our ethos of making family-friendly original IP with bags of character and a quirky sense of humour.

History

Ant Workshop is a BAFTA, Develop and TIGA Award nominated studio founded in January 2015 by Tony Gowland to focus on developing original IP full of character and with a quirky sense of humour.

The company's first title was Binaries, a BAFTA nominated controller-smashingly tough 2D puzzle platform game, followed by the Scottish Summertime Simulator Taps Aff, and most recently the Apple Arcade launch title Dead End Job - a 90's cartoon-style shooter where you bust ghosts as a Paranormal Pest Control worker.

In January 2022 Ant Workshop received a seven figure equity investment from Chroma Ventures to enable the development of new titles including Dungeon Golf, in which minotaurs, goblins, and other mythical creatures compete with one another.

Tony Gowland

Tony has been a professional game developer for over twenty years. He has held senior and lead positions at Rockstar Games (working on hits such as the Grand Theft Auto: Stories series, GTA: Chinatown Wars, and 2010 Game of the Year Red Dead Redemption) and been Associate Creative Officer of Mobile at ActivisionBlizzard, bringing a brand new Call of Duty experience to mobile.

Chroma Ventures

Chroma Ventures was created in 2021 by Paddy Burns and Chris van der Kuyl as a broad-spectrum investment arm. Based in Scotland, but with an international outlook, Chroma Ventures backs companies developing and deploying innovative technology and data-led businesses. Its investment approach will reflect the principals' commitment to investing in great people with great ideas and supporting their growth through long-term collaboration. Chroma Ventures' expanding portfolio include 4J Studios, Ace Aquatec, ADV Holdings, Blippar, Broker Insights, Parsley Box, Puny Astronaut, Stormcloud Games, Team 17, TVSquared, and the property development company Chroma Developments.

Starter for 6

Ant Workshop was supported through its early development by Starter for 6. This prestigious enterprise training programme is run by Cultural Enterprise Office, Scotland's only specialist business support and development service for creative micro-businesses and cultural practitioners with investment from the Scottish Government via Creative Scotland’s Innovation Fund.

Games We Ported

• Subsurface Circular (Switch)
• Black and White Bushido (Switch)
• Sky Scrappers (Switch)
• The Swindle (Switch)
• Quarantine Circular (Switch)
• John Wick Hex (PS4 - Xbox One - Switch)
• Behold the Kickmen (Switch)
• Yes Your Grace (Xbox One - Switch)
• Lair of the Clockwork God (PS4 - Xbox One - Switch)
• Thomas Was Alone (Switch)
• The Solitaire Conspiracy (PS5 - Xbox Series X|S - Switch)
• Dunk Lords (Switch)
• Timelie (Switch)
• MindScanners (Xbox One - Xbox Series X|S - Windows Store - Switch)
• Rico London (Xbox One - Xbox Series X|S)

Additional Links

• Edinburgh Video Games Studio Ant Workshop Secures Equity Investment From Chroma Ventures  Further details of Chroma Ventures' investment in Ant Workshop. Chroma.Ventures
• Indie Spotlight: Tony Gowland reflects on running Ant Workshop for five years An interview with Pocket Gamer about running Ant Workshop. Pocketgamer.biz
• Accessibility does not mean making your game easier Tony discusses how indies can reach beyond - but still satisfy - core gamers. Gamesindustry.biz
• Edinburgh games developer creates independent design hub A piece about Ant Workshop's involvement in forming an Edinburgh game development hub. Scotsman.com
• BAFTA Guru Spotlight On... Indie Games Developer Tony Gowland A short interview about routes in to the games industry and what Tony's job entails. Guru Bafta.org