A group of creative companies behind a major new Wallace and Gromit experience in Bristol has moved into the city centre to work on the project.
Fictioneers is a collaboration between three South West and Welsh businesses - Potato, Sugar Creative, and Tiny Rebel Games - which will be based at arts centre Arnolfini for the next 12 months.
The consortium was chosen by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) as part of the Audience of the Future programme - a key part of the Government’s Creative Industries Sector Deal - and has received a multi-million-pound R&D grant to explore and pioneer cutting-edge immersive experiences.
The team is working with Bristol’s Academy Award-winning animation studio Aardman and the research team at the University of South Wales to launch an immersive digital experience in Bristol this autumn - Wallace & Gromit: The Big Fix Up.
Fans of the lovable duo will be able to immerse themselves directly into the pair's adventures through a first-of-its-kind, location-based, multi-user augmented reality experience around Bristol’s harbourside.
Fictioneers has based itself at Arnolfini to be close to where the action will happen and near partner Aardman, which it has been working closely with since early 2019 to produce the new story.
“The harbourside provides the perfect location for us situated across the harbour from and in view of the start of the location-based experience planned for this autumn," said Susan Cummings of Fictioneers.
"It’s also ideal as it’s so close to our friends at Aardman. Gary [Topp, executive director at Arnolfini] has offered us a warm welcome in the dynamic, creative home which is Arnolfini. We couldn’t be happier.”
The three individual companies that form Fictioneers all have experience in video game development, immersive technologies , and scalable software architecture and design.
Potato is a Bristol-based digital product studio with offices in London and San Francisco. It specialises in design and engineering of large, complex digital experiences and it’s projects are used by more than a billion people every year.
Tiny Rebel Games is a Wales-based game developer and publisher. Its founders have more than 20 years of experience, including roles in Grand Theft Auto, Bioshock, Borderlands, X-Com, Civilization and founding 2K Games.
The company has created two award-winning Doctor Who games including Doctor Who: Legacy which has been played by more than 2.5 million people.
Sugar Creative is a Cardiff-based digital creative agency which has been pioneering AR since its inception, working with global brands to deliver projects for government and private and public-funded organisations.
Gary Topp, executive director at Arnolfini, added: “We’re delighted to welcome Fictioneers to Arnolfini to be part of the creative community here.
"Arnolfini is well known as a Centre for Contemporary Art but we are also a base for a much wider creative community - from the large UWE student and academic cohort to our many community partners.”
