Scotland's Got Talent

Now, as I'm hoping you've guessed from either my location or from my deliciously smiley avatar at the side over there, I'm a Scotsman through and through. I enjoy the occasional deep-fried fish takeaway, I wear the occasional kilt (with the photos proving this remaining out of sight) and I have a soft little Glasgow brogue.

I'm quite fond of Glasgow, and quite fond of the country as a whole. It's a gorgeous place in the countryside, and a bustling centre of innovation and commerce when you head into the cities; many big companies such as British Telecom - in charge of the country's phone lines - have head offices based here, and the country thrives on their business.

Phone companies aren't the only businesses fuelling Scotland's consistently healthy economy and export potential. Over the past 20 years or so, this quiet little country has been brewing up a storm in the games industry, not just in the UK but all over the world. Considering the impact of video games today and their growing popularity with adults - thanks, Nintendo - the games industry could be considered the gem in Scotland's economic crown.

Towards the east coast of the country lies a small city called Dundee, and it's here that two of the biggest games of recent times have been developed - one of them a global franchise known to gamers and non-gamers alike. In 1988 David Jones, a university graduate, set up a games development company called DMA Design, and started to develop for the Amiga and C64. Their first huge success was Lemmings, probably known to one and all gamers. Following a number of sequels and other projects, the company started work on a truly unique premise - a free-roaming area the size of a city where a player could carjack and perform tasks for criminals. In 1997, Grand Theft Auto was released, and following an uproar from far-right newspaper the Daily Mail, the game became a huge success and Scotland's place in the games industry was assured.

Its place on the map has only been further improved through DMA's further releases (after a name change to Rockstar North following GTA III's release) and following the expansion of the industry, several universities saw the opportunity to further increase the influx of opportunistic gamers with specially-tailored courses in Dundee and Glasgow, the latter of which I am starting in the autumn. Each course has snatched the attention of larger, international companies, with Sony providing Linux development kits and alumni being snatched up by Electronic Arts, among others. Crackdown was developed by RealTime Worlds, created by a Dundee Abertay graduate and based there today. A rhythm action game named Ragnarawk, which mixed RPG elements with the Guitar Hero controller, was created for a contest at the university and has since scooped a prestigious BAFTA award and gained national media attention.

Also to be credited, although not quite as well-known, is Scotland's repertoire of talent to be out-sourced by larger companies. Cohort Studios, an outsourcing company based in Dundee, has been called up by Sony to demo the PS3's rendering ability and has worked on MotorStorm, Go! Puzzle and Buzz Junior games.

A number of people I know had always assumed that GTA was an American game, such was the depth and Americanism of each setting, and how it felt like it was made by people who lived on the other side of the Atlantic. A similar story occured whenever I brought it up with Crackdown, or Lemmings. Their astonishment at learning it had been developed about 2 hours drive away surprised me more than anything. Perhaps it's a subtlety to be admired, that Scotland is not one to brag about its own gaming talent, but to simply let the world take it all in and bask in the glory of each successful release. Still, it'd be nice to have a little shout about it once in a while; anything that annoys the Daily Mail has got to be worth bragging about.

PS: Rockstar North are in no way afraid of showing their pride in their own country. Check the Scottish rock band Love First in Vice City, and have a gander at the road and rail bridges leading out of San Fierro: both are based on bridges over the River Forth in Scotland. And even the title of the game itself - San Andreas - is the Spanish translation of Saint Andrew, Scotland's own patron saint. At least they're shouting about it in a quiet way.