GAME AUDIO AND SOUND DESIGN WITH
LUKE RICHARDS

Luke Richards is a games entrepreneur, published author, freelance Narrative Designer, and Producer and Head of Pitching at Utopian Game Labs. He has co-founded two businesses. Being CEO and Creative Director of Black Cat Entertainment, a games studio, narrative design consultancy, and training provider and also co-founder of Utopian Game Labs Academy, a vocational training provider swiftly building a presence around the globe, providing the gold standard for vocational education and experience for entry into the video games sector.

During his interview at Coventry University he states that video Games are by far the largest media sector, with an estimated $165bn (USD) revenue generated in 2020. In the UK, studio staff grew by an annualised rate of 12.2% between November 2018 and April 2020. During that same period, total studio population grew from 812 to 1041, and annual investment by studios rose from £818m to £993m.

In the wake of this phenomenal growth, games audio studios find themselves in a highly competitive marketplace where they struggle to find both the numbers, and the quality, of staff. 

BUSINESSES CO-FOUNDED BY LUKE

Black Cat Entertainment

The company states that games are part of the entertainment industry, and as such, audience experience comes first. Their funny games will make people laugh. Their intense games will make hearts palpitate. Art is all about emotional effect, regardless of genre, or type of impact. All that matters is that the impact is strong.

Their principal projects are the following:

  • Roald’s Adventure: a story-driven adventure game designed to be enjoyed by parents playing with their children.
  • Super Canary: a bullet stormer designed to be a lark. This game is elegantly simple fun that should make most gamers chuckle at least.
  • Hunter XL: a satire making fun of 90s drug PSAs, and the irrational fears that inspired them. We love this concept, and can’t work on it for five minutes without laughing..

Utopian Game Labs Academy

Utopian Game Labs Academy is a company where deliver courses and training for career pathways into the video games industry.
UGLA directly addresses this issue, with the gold standard of vocational education, training embedded within the industry, producing graduates employers can trust.
Partnership with UGLA, emerging as one of the world’s top educational, vocational, creative and technical training institutions, will help to ensure abundant access to a talented, business-ready workforce, primed to fast-track the development of the industry. It will create a foundation for home-grown young talent to find pathways into long-term, sustainable careers, and spawn new businesses.
They provide training for all industry pathways, from less skilled, entry level professions all the way up to executive.