Sumo Digital Report

Company Introduction

 

Sumo is an independent company that develop games. Currently for PS4 and Xbox 1 because these games are in higher demands. They don’t publish Games, as that is the job of Sony and Microsoft. They have made games for many platforms and franchises including Sonic and Moshi Monsters. On platforms ranging from the Nintendo DS to the PlayStation 4. But they have been developing games since the PS2. Sumo doesn't specialise in one specific game genre, as they go from Arcade style fames all the way to Sport games.

Company Structure

 

Directors

 

Carl Carvers

 

He was one of the people that found Sumo Digital way back in 2003. He has a history of being in the gaming industry from being a studio manager at Atari, he has also lectured for the institute of quality insurance.

 

Paul Porter

 

He is the studio head and has worked at Rolls Royce as a Scientific Software Developer to work on a nuclear reactor plant. He too worked at Atari. He currently leads a team which is full of elite people and experiences. He was also a Co Founder of Sumo Digital in 2003.

Darren Mills

Mills is the art director at Sumo Digital, he has been a designer and Animator for [program introduction sequences. He has also been a cameraman and editor for the BBC, ITV and Sky. He has been a Art director manager on several gaming titles before moving on in 2003 to become a Co Founder of Sumo Digital.

Ash Bennet

Ash Bennet is the technical director at Sumo Digital/ his career started in 1989 and  soon progressed onto working for NES and SNES. He joined probe entertainment. He has also worked on very successful game titles such as Wacky Races. He then co found Sumo in 2003, and became the technical director in 2003.

Gary Edwards

The development director was an OEM Producer in 1997 and worked with all major hardware companies. Soon he became a senior producer for them in 1999. Another key role he has played in the gaming industry is being an executive producer for the popular game Runescape. He then joined his old colleagues at Sumo in 2006 and became an executive producer. He then got appointed as a development director in April 2009.

Sean Millard

Sean Millard has been designing games since 1993. He started at 221B  which was an indie game company based in Sheffield. His career prior to Sumo had covered a lot of ground, working across a variety of different platforms and genres. He used this expertise and knowledge to really help Sumo Digital in the early days, and has been a member since 2003. In 2011 he became the creative director where he rules over the design department and helps to guide them on their way in the world of design.

Steven Zalud

He is the director of product development at sumo digital, he feels lucky to have his job as he gets to travel the world a lot. He has a vast amount of knowledge in game development, and being part of operational management. He is a very important part of how Sumo works together and all of the layers of a game come together to become part of a game. 

 

 

Departments

 

Each team at Sumo Digital has a specialist in each sector. This person basically controls the team and finalises the product as well as giving guidance. They have to finalise everything with the head studio, so if things go wrong it is their responsibility to sort. 

 

Here is an example of the specialists the art department will have

 

- Concept Artist

- Character Artist

- Environment Artist 

- Animator

- Graphic Artist

- Technical Artist

- VFX Artist

- Lead Artist

 

 

Developmental Software

Sumo Digital is such an elite company that they have developed their own engine to use as a lot of their main tools. But their team is so elite they are more than comfortable in using other engines if they are collaborating with other companies.

 

Some of the tools that they use include

 

- 3D Studio Mac

- Maya

- Adobe Photoshop

- Z Brush

Platform Technology

As I mentioned in my introduction to the company they have been able to work on several different gaming platforms from the past like the PSP, PS2.

Here is a list of current gaming systems they have available to them

- PS4
- X-Box 1
- Wii U
- PC
- Ps Vita
- Nintendo 3DS
- iOS
- Android

Regulatory Bodies

PEGI are in control of choosing the age rating on a Sumo Digital release. PEGI have 8 things that they keep in mind when it comes to rating a game.

- Violence
- Bad Language
- Fear
- Sex
- Drugs
- Discrimination
- Online Play
- Gambling


The 5 age rating are, 3, 7, 12, 16 and 18. This age rating system is based on the maturity gap between each of these ages. No Sumo Game has ever been deemed as banned, due to the main genres they specialise in don't rally have any edgy or dark content like Sonic Sega All Stars Racing.


 

Football Hitman Treatment

Overview

Football Hit-man is appoint of view mobile application that is an ariel shooter game set on a football pitch which has an emphasis on shooting footballers that aren't on your team as they run around on a pitch, the quicker you do it the more weapons you unlock. As when you finish one level the footballers speed up and your time decreases.  puzzles and combat. This game will feature a lot of cartoon violence, but won’t be too dark in tone. I would say that this game would be rated a 12 as the games I based this on are the same age rating, these games includes iDestroy and the Sunset Raiders Mini Game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System . This game would also include a secondary mini game that is where your character moves and you tap the screen to kill zombies that ares coming towards your character

Gameplay:

Football Hitman will take inspiration from games such as: Rayman 2 and 3 in the sense that the game will have linear 3D levels with additional exploration that’s optional, Jak and Daxter and Oddworld franchises where they have a slightly dark tone but not overdone, and combat inspired by the Lego games but made a lot quicker and flashier, alongside a useful dodge button. 

Football Hitman will

      Provide a fairly unique experience that will last for a long while due to the amount of replay value that it has. This will come with the increased difficulty levels, and almost infinite replay value due to the challenge that the user will revive due to a timer. This will create a unique experience due to the two different types of gameplay and the variety of experiences that they offer. 

      Create a competitiveness aspect with a feature similar to Game Centre where you can compare where you rank throughout the world. Which will hopefully result in a competitiveness that players will get.

Levels:

                                                                                                     

The levels in this game aren’t set to a certain level, but more of a timer and stage sort of system depending on which mini game you may choose to play. In the mini game based off iDestroy a time limit that is imposed, will get more and more difficult depending on which mode you choose. So as the time advances the more tough this game gets, but the bigger the reward of coins to spend on weapons that may help you. Buying these weapons will help increase your ability to finish the game in a quicker time.

Items and Weapons:

The items on this game are based around iDestroy, each weapon that is slightly brutal will be available for purchase. Either with in game currency or with real life packs. Below is a list of weapons

Nail Gun

Land Mines

Napalm Strike

Liquid Sword

Mallet

Orbital Beam

Shrink Ray (Shrinks until they explode with blood.