Barrow & Blade
Beakman Studios is a two person development team based in Brighton, UK. The team consists of Isaac Boxall, our lead programmer and Will Richards, our creative lead. Isaac has a background in software development and Will has 10 years of experience as a freelance illustrator working with brands around the globe. We have been playing games together for over 10 years, and building games together for 3 years.
Now, we are at a point where we want to take our passion for game design beyond just a hobby, and create our own studio, supporting fantastic UK based talent along the way. We hope the Starter Fund will give our studio the tools required to get a self-sustaining studio off the ground. Giving us the opportunity to properly compensate industry professionals, fill production gaps and raise the overall level of polish we can achieve with our project Barrow & Blade.
Key features
- Barrow & Blade is a shop keeping action roguelike. Play as a struggling trader, plundering ancient barrows in search of wares to sell in your travelling shop. Delve into deadly crypts to fight supernatural enemies and uncover valuable loot. Ancient Relics grant new abilities, transforming your build and creating powerful synergies. Return to your shop to sell your haul and fund permanent upgrades. Expand your business and return again to push deeper underground.
- We are building the game for PC, Steamdeck and Consoles. The game is made up of two halves, the combat side will appeal to fans of action roguelikes such as Hades, Sworn and Cult of the Lamb. While the meta progression shop keeping mini game is inspired by Balatro and Backpack Hero. With an overarching merchant fantasy taking inspiration from games like Dave the Diver and Moonlighter.
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We applied for the Starter Fund not only because we believe we have an interesting project worth exploring, but to enable us to properly compensate UK based talent, expand our networks and give ourselves the best chance at creating a self-sufficient studio. Our goal is to have a small core team of UK based developers, with scope to work alongside contractors on a project to project basis.
Without the Starter Fund this would not be possible, not only in terms of financing, but also through the skills and mentorship we will receive. As a team of 2 there is only so much we are able to do ourselves, we are excited for the opportunity to bring on help and collaborate with our peers to build a studio that can keep itself afloat, while creating exciting worlds for players to explore.
