The Louisiana Technology Park, a shopping mall-turned-research facility, plans to break a personal record by releasing five new video games from its incubator for the first half of this year.
Games include the musically-inspired “Tadpole Treble,” the dating simulator “Cyberpunk Casanova,” the arcade-style throwback “Quest of Souls,” the science fiction procedural “Limit Theory” and the drag racing-themed “Road Redemption.” While created by different studios, all five video games were developed under the same roof.
Four of the five developers work in the park’s Level Up Lab, which “aims to create and bring new digital media companies to Louisiana,” according to the park’s website. Louisiana Technology Park Executive Director Stephen Loy said the lab was made possible by a two-year, $75,000 grant from Delta Regional Authority.
“What we’ve found is it’s a different model,” Loy said. “While there are crossovers, the video game industry is a little bit more creative.”
Though he expected only two or three companies to use the lab at a time, he said the lab now houses five: After Hours Lab, King Crow, Star Blade, Jetstreame and Bit Finity. He said some of the developers visit the workspace three or four times each week.
Loy said Pixel Dash Studios, a Baton Rouge-based custom software and video game development company, provides mentorship for the Level Up Lab.
Physics and computer science senior Craig Jones, who created After Hours Lab, expects the group’s video game, “Space Shrimp,” to also hit the market in 2016. The group’s puzzle platformer follows the misadventures of Grub, a shrimp searching for his significant other in outer space.
Jones said the game does not include any sort of violence or death, a rarity in today’s video game repertoire. He said it appeals to all ages and offers a relaxing break for all players.
“It’s meant to be sort of artsy and all in all an enjoyable experience,” Jones said.
Inspired by a University video game design course, Jones started the After Hours Lab last summer when he gathered a group of University students who wanted to know what professional game development was like. He said the group wanted to learn how to effectively market video games.
Loy said he believes Baton Rouge offers a creative environment conducive to success in the video game market.
“I think video games allow the creatives to make products for their passion,” he said. “So I think it’s a natural fit for something like video games to be popular and do well in Baton Rouge.”
From crowdfunding to social media campaigns, Loy said marketing strategies vary. The most successful developers target niche groups, such as cosplay groups, he said.
He said most of the new releases will be sold virtually — some via Steam, an online platform, and others through the iTunes store. However, he said the Bit Finity team will sell through Nintendo.
Space Shrimp is designed for mobile devices, a trend Jones said is skyrocketing. Another trend he sees involves more immersive virtual realities.
“The more you play a game and the more involved and invested you can get into a game, the more value it has to you,” Jones said.

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Catherine Seddon

The Louisiana Technology park hosts multiple companies that create video games.