The developer of a video game which is set In an alternate version of Wirral has said Japanese gamers are quizzing him about the Merseyside peninsula.
Jay Baylis, 30, is the director of Bytten Studio. Although he and his business partner Tom Coxon are now based in Brighton, they grew up in Bebington.
They wanted to give their first release, Cassette Beasts, something unique in the crowded field of indie games. Jay said: “We’ve set it in a place called New Wirral, and there’s lots of references and homages to the place we grew up in. We’ve got characters called Pensby and Hoylake and given it an English seaside aesthetic.”
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Cassette Beasts will be released next week on Xbox Game Pass and PC to over 25 million subscribers. It is described by Jay as a “monster collecting, Pokemon inspired role playing game (RPG) adventure”.
Jay and Tom used the game’s premise to link with Wirral’s history. Jay said: “There’s a really interesting history to Wirral with Arthurian legends. In a 14th century poem, called Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the poet travels to Wirral and describes it as a land of beasts and monsters."
He added: “We thought, because we’re working on a game where you both fight and can transform into monsters, it’d be really cool to tie in to that history.”
Gamers and those in the industry from across the world have warmed to its setting on the peninsula. Jay said: “We’re getting people in Japan talking to us about Wirral, which is really cool.”
He added: “We get files for translating the games into other languages. Someone’s had to translate the word Birkenhead into Korean for probably the first time!”
There aren’t many video games set in Merseyside or the UK generally, with America or Japan being the favoured setting for many developers. Jay wanted to change that.
He said: “We really like this game stands on its own and could become a franchise in the years to come.”
Bytten is only a small developer and was only started by Jay and Tom in 2019. However, Jay argues it is their indie status which has made this unique game possible.
He said: “As small developers, you get to make personal touches and don’t have to make safer decisions with less artistic impact like you would if you were working under a larger developer. That personal touch comes across in smaller titles, and I think players actually connect to it.
Cassette Beats is coming to the Xbox Game Pass service for PC next week, and to Nintendo Switch and Xbox consoles later this spring.
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