Developing a recipe for success

Busy third-year Bachelor of IT student, Will Adamson, dedicates evenings and weekends to his role as co-director of Lesser Key Studios – a Dunedin game development studio.

Formed in 2023 by Will and his friends Cait and Seymour (who are Otago Polytechnic Design and IT graduates), Lesser Key Studios quickly attracted funding from CODE – the New Zealand Centre of Digital Excellence in Dunedin, which supports the nation’s video game development industry.

“Cait suggested we create an idea for a game and put together a pitch to submit it to CODE for funding. Seymour and I didn't expect it would go very far.”

However, the trio successfully secured $40,000 in kickstart funding to develop a basic prototype of their game, Apothecurse. It centres around a fledgling alchemist called Leon, who arrives in an 1880s port city only to discover the residents are slowly being turned into horrible creatures.

“As Leon, players find ingredients throughout the world and combine them to create recipes and potions that do a variety of different things,” he explains. “It's very much inspired by Eldritch Horror and plays with Lovecraftian themes.”

Once the demo was developed, they received a separate travel grant from CODE to take it to some international events – the first of which was the Game Developers’ Conference (GDC) in San Francisco.

“We spent a week meeting with game publishers from around the world – from Japan, Colombia, England, Wales, America. We left with so much information. Those publishers, more than anyone, have their finger on the pulse of the industry. They told us what was really good about our offering, and what could use improvement.”

They also visited Pax, a consumer-facing gaming event in Australia, to test the demo and get immediate feedback from players. Apothecurse proved its potential, and Lesser Key Studios has since received a further $150,000 from CODE to continue developing it.

“We're in the thick of it now, building up more of the game. The funding allowed Seymour to work full-time on the programming for a bit, and we also have part-time contractors working on programming and hand-drawn art.”  

Will’s Bachelor of IT studies have been helping him to grow his own skills as he’s working on growing Lesser Key Studios.

“My studies are helping me to slowly move into a more technical role in the business,” he explains.

“In the BIT, we have a really great class called Studio, where you learn to work collaboratively in a team setting to emulate a real-world business environment. Some of it I already knew, because I'm kind of doing it already, but I’ve learnt lots of new and interesting skills as well. I’ve been able to immediately take what I’m learning in class and apply it to the business – so it’s been really helpful.”

Will also holds a marketing qualification from a university, and he’s found Otago Polytechnic to be a supportive and enjoyable place to study.

“I’m just so happy here – I’ve met so many people and learnt lots of great skills. The community here is great, the support is great and the learning is much more practical and hands-on,” he says.

“It's also been my experience that the teaching staff here care a lot about students as individuals and about their success, and they help prepare everyone for their chosen careers which is really great to see.”

As he gets closer to graduating, Will is excited to continue building his business within Dunedin’s gaming ecosystem.

“Since CODE founded, there are now more than 20 game studios in Dunedin. The city is producing some amazing work, and the community is really encouraging and welcoming. The New Zealand industry has a strong reputation internationally, and people overseas are very interested in what we’re doing down here.”