People pulled out all the stops when it came to dressing up for Wellington Games Week Photo: Sharon Brettkelly
The New Zealand gaming industry grew by 24 percent last year, and has aspirations to export $1 billion within a few years.
Every day thousands of video games are made around the world, but it took Wētā Workshop 25 years to make its first one, Tales of the Shire.
The Lord of the Rings game will be released in March after several years of development and investment.
The Wellington company that led the way in film effects hopes it will be the first of many video games it develops, and that it helps boost New Zealand's fastest-growing technology industry to become a $1 billion exporter within a few years.
But breaking into the industry is not as easy as a stroll down Bagend for a pint of ale at the Green Dragon.
"It's pretty fickle," says Wētā Workshop co-chief executive David Wilks.
"Building the game to get it out in the market, that's where you're taking the risk. We're taking a risk, the publisher's taking a risk and you're hoping you get the right quality out there and the fans will love it and buy it."
Today The Detail meets the developers leading the way and the gamers immersed in a world that grew by 24 percent last year in New Zealand, compared with global growth of four percent.
They are marking the inaugural Wellington Games Week with about 25 events around the city, including a three-day conference attended by 1000 delegates.
Game Developers Association executive director Joy Keene says the conference has attracted top publishers and investors but won't name them, saying many prefer to stay anonymous.
She says New Zealand developers spend tens of thousands of dollars every year travelling to conferences around the world pitching their games at events like Gamescom in Germany.
Wellington Games Week attracted people of all ages Photo: Sharon Brettkelly
"We thought, why don't we bring the world to us rather than us going to them," she says.
The association is highlighting the highly paid jobs, clean and weightless exports, and strong contribution to the economy from an industry that until recently has not been taken seriously, Keene says.
"A lot of people think that game development, specifically video game development, is something that teenagers do in their bedrooms with all the curtains closed, eating pizza, drinking coke and creating video games. It's actually a very professional industry."
Companies have been helped by the new Game Development Sector Rebate of $160 million over four years, but Keene points out that some Australian states offer firms double New Zealand's rebates and poach local talent with lucrative salaries.
She says to reach its $1 billion export goal, the local industry needs more local and international investment.
New Zealand's oldest and largest game developer and publisher Pik Pok is investing $10 million developing its newest game Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days, to be released on the Steam platform next year.
Chief publishing officer Karah Sutton says like blockbuster films, games can cost hundreds of millions of dollars to develop but there is also a thriving independent industry.
"At 200 (staff) we're a good sized developer but its absolutely possible to make a game with a couple of people or even one person if that person has a large variety of skills," she says.
Wilks says Wētā Workshop has ambitions to create more games.
"It's obviously where we want to head," he says.
"But someone said, there's only one thing harder than going from a no-games studio to a first-game studio and that's going from a one-game studio to a two-game studio."
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