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Rebellion CEO launches new book, Leading the Rebellion: Questing to Succeed in Work and Life

Jason's book Leading the Rebellion sits on some hay next to an authentic sword with gold detailing. Jason's upper body adorns the cover of his book, he's wearing Medieval armour.

Leading the Rebellion: Questing to Succeed in Work and Life is the new book from Rebellion CEO and Creative Director, Jason Kingsley OBE.

Drawing on Jason’s unique insight from leading a successful games and entertainment company, together with his interest in history, the book explores how modern life and businesses can be conducted in line with the tenets of the medieval Knight’s Code of Chivalry.

Jason founded Rebellion with his brother Chris in 1992. The business is now one of the world’s most successful independent video game developers and publishers.

Leading the Rebellion: Questing to Succeed in Work and Life is a fascinating look into Jason’s business and lifestyle philosophy. It offers a unique modern interpretation of the chivalric code, the moral system which combined a warrior ethos, knightly piety, and courtly manners, all combining to establish a notion of honour and nobility, in a motivational, aspirational take on how to live life to the fullest.

Jason sits on the back of a beautiful white horse. Behind him looms the remains of a grade castle.

“We have always tried to run Rebellion ethically. Chivalry is a form of ethics and my interest in medieval history made me want to explore if the rules of chivalry can apply to modern business,” said Jason. “For example, these guidelines dictate that you are decent in your dealings with other people, show and respect wisdom and act with sensible moderation. These are all qualities that can transfer to business and improve the way we behave as leaders. 

“At times business can be a fight, but you should always fight within the rules. Play to win but play fairly. At its core, it is about doing business in the way that you would like business to be done if you were on the other side of the table. For example, pay your bills on time and deal with people fairly. This will benefit everyone. 

“I hope that this book will be insightful and enjoyable for people at all stages of their business journey as well as those with an interest in the medieval period.” 

In 2016 Jason’s fascination with medieval history and his research into the period culminated in the launch of his highly popular Modern History YouTube channel, which now boasts over 700,000 subscribers. He owns and trains his own horses, fights and jousts in authentically crafted medieval armour and follows a modern interpretation of the chivalric code in both life and business. 

Leading the Rebellion: Questing to Succeed in Work and Life is available in both hardback and eBook now.

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Rebellion Celebrates Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2023

Join Rebellion as we celebrate this year’s GAAD (Global Accessibility Awareness Day)! Promoting and contributing to the online discussion surrounding digital access and inclusion, and the more than one billion people with disabilities/impairments around the world.

Did you know that one of the most common accessibility failures online is missing image Alt text? With that in mind…this year, we’re putting YOU to the test with our Alt Text competition!

Hitler braces himself in a room against an explosion which sends furniture and bowling skittles flying

Craft your best Alt text for the above image and share your results on Twitter using the hashtag #SniperAltLite. Alt text copy can be uploaded using Twitter’s in-built Alt text feature or via the main post copy.

Entries will be judged by @TheWobblyGamer – a visually impaired Streamer, Content Creator, Accessibility Advocate and Consultant and @EveryoneCanUK Ambassador (You might recognise him from playing Sniper Elite 5 for Everyone Can Game Together last October).

The winner of the contest will receive a key for Sniper Elite 5, Sniper Elite 5: Season 2 and a mammoth Sniper Elite 5 merch bundle, complete with a branded Army Rucksack, Ammo Tin, Canvas Map Bag, Dog Tags, A5 Notebook, T-Shirt, Hip Flask and more!

A Sniper Elite 5 branded Army Rucksack, Ammo Tin, Canvas Map Bag, Dog Tags, A5 Notebook, T-Shirt, Hip Flask, branded documents, compass and bullet key chain.

The competition is open to UK residents only and ends on Friday 19 May 2023, 5pm GMT. For information on how to enter and for our full terms & conditions, please click here.

What is Alt Text?

Alt Text means Alternative text and is text that describes the appearance or function of an image so screen readers (a tool that reads digital screens aloud) can communicate them to the user. People who use screen readers may have visual impairments or blindness, so unless Alt text is provided, they can’t “see” images. This makes them incredibly important!

Rebellion’s top tips for crafting Alt Text

A tweet from Rebellion: Devs gotta do what devs gotta do! Smiling face with sunglasses emoji. Did you find them all? Meme of Nicolas Cage and Pedro Pascal in two parts, on the left is an image of Nicolas Cage frowning looking towards Pedro Pascal, text "producer, ok seriously what easter eggs are we putting in our gritty world war two themed Sniper Elite game", and on the right is Pedro Pascal, smiling widely and looking high, text "devs, what about garden gnomes?".

Without Alt Text, this post would read:

Devs gotta do what devs gotta do! Smiling face with sunglasses emoji. Did you find them all? Unlabelled graphic.

For someone with a screen reader, there is no context for what “them” is.

This post does have Alt Text, so it reads:

Devs gotta do what devs gotta do! Smiling face with sunglasses emoji. Did you find them all? Graphic. Meme of Nicolas Cage and Pedro Pascal in two parts, on the left is an image of Nicolas Cage frowning looking towards Pedro Pascal, text “producer, ok seriously what easter eggs are we putting in our gritty world war two themed Sniper Elite game”, and on the right is Pedro Pascal, smiling widely and looking high, text “devs, what about garden gnomes?”.

Now someone using a screen reader can understand what “them” is referring to and enjoy the meme!

What should Alt Text include?

✅ Content of the image – what’s in it?

✅ Purpose & context of an image – what is important about it?

✅ Text in the image.

❌ Reference to the fact it’s an image, such as “an image of.” The screen reader will already say it’s a graphic.

❌ Information that’s not in the image, such as hiding a joke in the Alt Text.

❌ Be cautious of being overly wordy – often images can be summed up concisely.

For more information on how to craft Alt text, check out Microsoft’s helpful resource: Everything you need to know to write effective alt text – Microsoft Support.

Rebellion’s efforts towards more accessible social content

Since GAAD 2022, Rebellion has made strides to improve the accessibility of their social content so that more people can enjoy and engage with the content we produce via our social and community spaces.

We completed a workshop with Accessibility Specialist, Stacey Jenkins, on accessible community management. Here are some quotes from our Community Management team on the value of the workshop.

The workshop reiterated the need to consider accessibility from every angle. It wasn’t just about adding alt text, it was about exploring the various ways all users would engage with a post – and how even with the best intentions, your posts can exclude people from participating in challenges and discussions. The workshop has certainly had an impact on the kinds of social media competitions we’ve run since, as we aim to ensure we’re not excluding anyone from the chance to win keys and giveaways.

A lot of the value from Stacey’s workshop came from understanding where I could better embed myself into the online discourse surrounding accessibility. Stacey was able to share a lot of useful accounts, influencers and resources that I still use on a weekly basis now. As we all know, the accessibility space will continue to evolve and develop so it’s crucial that our ears are always on the ground in terms of how we [Rebellion] move with this change.

In addition to the impacts of the workshop, we now have live captions on our streams and engage with accessibility fundraising events like One Special Day and Everyone Can Game Together.

A screenshot of Rebellion's brand new Accessibility Overview page for Sniper Elite 5. The title 'Accessibility' sits above a short paragraph reading 'We believe anyone can be elite, and Sniper Elite 5 is the most accessible game in the Sniper Elite series. From Aim Toggle to Traversal Assistance, to our extensive difficulty customisation. We’re incredibly proud of what we have achieved.' Below that paragraph is then a contents page with the remaining options available on the page.

In-game accessibility features

Of course, accessibility doesn’t start and end with social media! If you want to find out how we support accessible features in our latest title Sniper Elite 5, head over to our brand new Accessibility Overview page by clicking here.

From Aim Toggle to Traversal Assistance, to our extensive difficulty customisation, Sniper Elite 5 boasts a range of customisable features making it the most accessible title in the franchise. We’re incredibly proud of what we have achieved and we can’t wait to build on this success for future titles.

Read More: https://rebellion.com/accessibility/sniper-elite-5/

How you can contribute to the conversation

If you’re interested in getting actively involved in the conversation surrounding Rebellion’s accessibility efforts, join our Discord server where the conversation keeps going all year round.

We regularly share updates and respond to feedback in our #accessibility channel, whilst also discussing crucial in-game accessibility features elsewhere in the server. Share your feedback, chat to developers and have your voice heard!

The text 'Join the discussion on Discord #Accessibility' sits on top of a visual of Sniper Elite 5's mission three, Spy Academy. The Rebellion logo appears in the bottom right.

Can everyone play? Lessons from Rebellion’s Accessibility Journey

Fresh from delivering her talk at this year’s GDC, Senior Accessibility Designer Cari Watterton shares her thoughts on the past, present and future of accessibility at Rebellion via LinkedIn Live Stream.

Giving a sneak peak into Rebellion’s ambitions for a more inclusive future and reflecting on the work we’ve already carried out on existing titles. If you’re looking to inject a more accessibility aware energy into your workforce or if you’re simply interested in how Rebellion approaches accessibility, this is the stream for you!

Come armed with questions, reflections and suggestions on Thursday 18 May, 3pm GMT via LinkedIn. Register your interest via the LinkedIn event page here for a notification when we go live!

The title text 'Can Everyone Play' sits on a red background on the top half of the visual. With 'Lessons from Rebellion's Accessibility journey sitting just underneath it. The lower half of the visual is white and cut in two, with the right hand side including a picture of Cari, and on the left, the text '3pm BST, Thurs 18th May, Cari Watterton, Senior Accessibility Designer'.

Furthering your learning

Whether you’re a gamer, a game dev or someone just passing through, there’s never been a better time to further your understanding of accessibility within the online and gaming landscape. Here are a few of our favourite resources to do just that:

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Game Together Accessibility Fundraiser

Karl Fairburne holds his SREM-1 rifle and looks out toward the Amongst the Rubble Survival map. Some Axis guards stand guard at a wooden lookout post nearby.

Rebellion is working together with Everyone Can to support their Game Together annual online fundraiser that takes place on the weekend of the 17th & 18th September.

Everyone Can is a charity that specialises in technology that can improve and enrich the lives of disabled people. Through the careful research of both existing and developing digital technologies they’re able to deliver services that can increase the level of independence for disabled people.

Game Together is an annual online fundraiser aimed at helping disabled gamers by spreading awareness and raising much needed funds to provide assistive technology.

Developer Challenges

The event encourages people to stream themselves playing their favourite games and completing community challenges. So, we’ve asked the Sniper Elite 5 dev team to create a list of challenges for seasoned sniper or fresh cadets – varying in difficulty!

  • They’re Behind You!

During Axis Invasion, get a photo of yourself directly behind your opponent.

  • Chain Reaction

Kill the most enemies with one bullet.

  • Sniper Minus Sniper

Complete a level without using your Sniper Rifle.

  • Nut on my Watch

Only kill enemies with testicle shots.

  • Gnothing Like a Gnice Gnomish Gname

On Guernsey, only kill enemies whose names begin with G, N, O, M or E.

  • Don’t Need Guns Where We’re Going

Complete a level without using any guns.

Karl Fairburne hides behind a church stall whilst an Axis officer walks past unaware.

Enhancing Accessibility

To better advocate accessibility in games and spread awareness, we’ve also put together a set of guidelines people can adhere to when playing:

Audio Described

Describe all cutscenes to your audience and, when you can, describe the environment.

Take Control

Play the game with an Xbox Adaptive Controller or other custom hardware that helps players with physical impairments to play more easily.

Visually Accessible Streaming

Have all game text set to the largest it can be, and all text/prompt opacities to 100%.

Tuning In

SightlessKombat (Gamer without sight & Accessible Gaming and Immersive Technologies Research Officer – RNIB) and Cari Watterton (Senior Accessibility Designer – Rebellion) will be streaming this weekend in aid of Everyone Can. The stream will take place at 3pm-5pm on Sunday 18th on Sightless’ channel where they’ll be running a charity raffle for Sniper Elite 5 keys during their stream.

Good Luck

If you wish to take part in the Game Together weekend, you can sign up here

Don’t forget to tag us on our usual social channels if you’re taking part. You can also connect with fellow Snipers to share all the latest tips and tricks on completing these challenges via our official Discord server.

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Audiomotion relocates to Rebellion Film Studios

Audiomotion is moving! The award-winning VFX facility, specialising in full performance capture and production has vacated its premises in Wheatley, South Oxfordshire where it has been since 2013.

As part of Rebellion Group, Audiomotion has collaborated on a wide range of incredibly exciting projects in the last few years, including AAA video games, commercials, film, productions, broadcast TV and virtual productions.

Beyond Rebellion’s own in-house projects such as Sniper Elite 5, Audiomotion has supported on capture for Horizon Zero Dawn, Forza Horizon 4, Ready Player One, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, World War Z and many more.

Now, not only is Audiomotion celebrating over 25 years in the VFX and Mocap industry, but it has also established a new 11m x 16m volume facility (AKA the capture space) at Rebellion Film Studios, equipped with a Vicon Vantage Motion Capture system.

The move provides access to Rebellion Film studio’s diverse collection of stages and filming spaces that make up over 40,000sqft of shooting space. With 30 years of games production experience and two decades at the forefront in performance capture technology, Rebellion Film Studios is the perfect space to house the growing Audiomotion team.

Producer Sarah Whiting commented on the move: “We’re so excited to bring our extremely talented animators and ambitious team to Rebellion Film Studios. With a stream of very exciting upcoming projects, we can’t wait to share just what we are working on.”

The studio is a stone’s throw from Didcot Parkway Station, which provides 36-minute train links from London Paddington. The site also has over 100 parking spaces on site, 24-hour security, and loading bays, providing space for catering trucks and large vehicles if required.

Stay tuned via the official Rebellion and Audiomotion channels to find out more about upcoming projects:

Want to work with us? Find out how we can tailor packages to fit your specific filming requirements: https://www.audiomotion.com/contact/

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Jason Kingsley responds to John Cridland

Dear John Cridland,

Whilst I share the core arguments of your recent presentation on STEAM subjects and the computer games industry, I must ask you to rethink your characterisation of what is a hugely successful industry as “spotty nerds.” 

I’ve got nothing against anybody who is in fact spotty or a nerd, and whilst I appreciate that sometimes one needs to ‘exaggerate for effect,’ your statement is something that has never been true about the massively valuable games industry even in its nascent days, and is still even less true now.

It is simply counterproductive to stigmatise our highly technical and creative industry with terms like this. Many of my colleagues come from arts and technical backgrounds, sometimes a combination of both. To belittle pure academic achievement with words like nerd or geek is something done by bullies, and is surprising coming from someone in a position to influence the career choices of many young people, some of whom respond to social pressure in ways that may not benefit them in the future. To be a nerd is to be passionate about something, and surely we should want everyone to be passionate about their career?

I’m pretty sure you’ll apologise, and that you didn’t really mean the words you said. It is essential that this country celebrates all types of academic and non-academic achievement, and belittles none. Our industry needs multitalented people from all walks of life and from all backgrounds.

Equality of opportunity is what I hope we offer in the games industry. Not everybody can be successful, but all can try.

By the way, I’m a games designer, artist, boss of Rebellion, jousting knight with warhorse, lance and sword, Oxford full Blue, international sporting competitor and trustee of Her Majesty’s Royal Armouries, as well as Chairman of TIGA, the trade body that represents the games industry.

I would hope I deserve a broader description than “spotty nerd.”

Yours sincerely,

Jason Kingsley OBE

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Jason Kingsley on Self-Publishing (Part 4)

As our CEO Jason Kingsley explains below, self-publishing Zombie Army Trilogy was a risk for a studio like Rebellion, but it was a risk we could control. And the game has proven to be a stellar success. With that in mind, here are the three key lessons we learned from self-publishing Zombie Army Trilogy.

The early results are in for Zombie Army Trilogy, Rebellion’s first self-published console title. I’m pleased to say we are on track to make double our costs back in 12 months or less – a return rate that, if you’re a venture capitalist, you’d be more than happy with.

The goal of these articles has been to share some of the insights I’ve uncovered and, with this being the final piece, here are the key lessons we’ve learned.

1. Cut your coat according to your cloth

Self-publishing was a risk, but we felt we could control that risk. We took confidence from our track record, and that the investment required for the game was relatively modest.

This has to be reflected in the price, which is why Zombie Army Trilogy retails for a third less than the £45 (and up) that new-generation console titles tend to start at. This reinforces the view that there’s a market in-between mobile games and full-priced console releases – perhaps the mid-tier is making a comeback. Basically: we weren’t over-ambitious or greedy, either.

2. Happy fans and strong sales beat critical acclaim

When we made the first Nazi Zombie Army game, there were no plans for a sequel, let alone two of them and a console version. But the franchise found an audience – a keen fanbase for what is unashamedly a tongue-in-cheek, gory, WWII zombie shooter.

Part of the decision to self-publish came from knowing that there was a fanbase who wanted more. We didn’t over-analyse the market opportunity – we simply made a great game that we thought others would like to play.

I’ve spoken before about the disconnect between professional game reviews and consumer purchasing decisions, and that disconnect has been apparent again with Zombie Army Trilogy. That’s not to denigrate anyone; it’s simply that that the game was never designed to win a BAFTA, and with my CEO hat on, and my responsibility to pay our 200-plus staff, it’s sales that keep the lights on, not review scores or awards (though they are always welcome). My advice to other developer-publishers is not to be unduly fearful of reviews – and I say that as Rebellion’s creative director and a vociferous proponent of the artistic and cultural value of our medium. Creativity and innovation matter a lot – however, knowing what you do best and if there is a market for it, and then delivering what that market wants – is more important for a sustainable business.

3. Decide quickly and share early 

If there’s anything I will do differently next time, it’s making key decisions faster – such as how we’re going to get a game to market.

It’s surprising just how many emergent and unexpected issues there are. For example, with Zombie Army Trilogy, whilst it’s clearly an 18-rated game, if you want your game on supermarket shelves, then the cover needs to be appropriate. That skinned, burnt, Nazi skull represents the game’s tone and content, but may give a buyer the heeby-jeebies.

Also, direct access to the PlayStation and Xbox platforms is wonderful, but brings with it a number of production and approval processes, which can take far longer than you think.

Ultimately game developers should take heart – self-publishing is a viable and profitable route if you’re prepared for everything that comes with it.

This is the fourth and final part of Jason’s series on self-publishing, as originally published by MCV. If you’re just joining us, be sure to go back and read parts 12 and 3. And keep reading the Rebellion blog for more great content in the coming weeks and months.

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Jason Kingsley on Self-Publishing (Part 3)

“Never assume you know everything – because you don’t – and be willing to invest in the right people.” 

As originally published on MCV, Rebellion CEO Jason Kingsley continues his series on self-publishing. In this column, Jason explains how Rebellion went global with the launch of grindhouse compilation Zombie Army Trilogy.


Self-publishing involves a lot more complexity than work for hire. With work for hire you normally have one deal with one partner; it’s straightforward and you don’t have to worry about how this deal might affect any others.

As a developer-publisher, however, there are a lot more moving pieces to track, and they all interact with one another – like one of those sliding block puzzles. 

Retailers and distributors still have a lot of input over how and where your game is sold, and they have a lot of people in their value chain that they need to protect and consider. It’s only right that everyone should be paid fairly, but with rapidly changing market conditions in our sector, tensions can arise which are difficult to balance. 

Whilst retail is still an extremely important component of the overall sales mix, it’s now not the only game in town and it’s fair to say that, due to the shift in the landscape towards digital, the terms on offer have changed a lot over the past five years. From the perspective of a self-publisher, this has been a welcome development.

Critical to managing multiple agreements is staying calm and checking your obligations. People can often get their nose put out of joint, and as a self-publisher you have a lot more people to keep happy. Remind yourself that everybody wants to sell your great project, even if they pretend they don’t think it’s any good. Have a realistic level of confidence in your title and don’t be frightened to politely disagree.

Evaluating the sticky bit of a contract, being clear on what you are trying to protect – and what the other party is trying to protect – will often get you halfway towards a resolution.

Ultimately, contracts are there for everyone’s protection and benefit so, if you’re honest about what you all want and willing to insert a clause, search for a solution and compromise where necessary, then there are very few roadblocks that cannot be overcome.

Sometimes people have ‘red-line’ terms they aren’t able to cross, but remember that sometimes these red-lines are negotiating tactics, too. Try to see the issues from the other side, and if their point is reasonable, then agree to it.

Find your harbour master

UK developers make games for a global audience, but when it comes to physical and digital sales, it’s not easy to work out who distributes where – with some people operating ‘globally’ and others saying they are ‘global, except for China’. There are also huge legal variations by country, on top of the differences between consumer protection and business-to-business laws.

The upshot is that you need help. You need to find your harbour master, someone who – in travel or seafaring terms – knows all the regulations and operational procedures of a particular port, in order to ensure safe travel. For Rebellion’s Zombie Army Trilogy, that was Garry Williams from Sold Out, who helped us navigate these channels. If you don’t know someone who can help you in this respect, then get networking.

Never assume you know everything – because you don’t – and be willing to invest in the right people. As the old Red Adair quote goes: “If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.”

Mistakes can be expensive, in both financial and reputational terms. When it comes to everything from legal to distribution counsel, control the scope of what you’re asking them about – it saves a lot of money if you know the specific areas where you need input.

That said, don’t be afraid to ask if there’s anything else you need to know. With lawyers in particular, I find they have a healthy pessimism that often provides hard-charging games entrepreneurs with a valuable reality check.

Be sure to check out parts 1 and 2, and look out for the fourth and final part on the Rebellion blog later this week.

Go to part 4…

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Jason Kingsley on Self-Publishing (Part 2)

In the second part of his series (originally published for MCV), Rebellion CEO Jason Kingsley says that when it comes to self-publishing, when you launch is key. Also, Jason says, the best way to minimise surprises is to be ready for them.


Adapting your business to the self-publishing model requires a number of practical changes.

You need someone who can handle PR, manage an internal marketing team or someone that can hire in and manage freelancers.

Finding someone externally to make assets like trailers can be costly so, if you can’t afford dedicated teams, think about hiring individual artists and video editors who can help with communications.

This all needs to be done a long way in advance, as planning and creating the content needed for sales, marketing and media channels takes a great deal of time.

Timing is Everything 

As a developer-publisher you have to make the call on when to launch.

This means considering when you realistically expect to complete project milestones, checking resources like MCV’s release schedule and making sure you’re not going to market jammed in between two franchise behemoths. As an indie publisher, you’ll want as much clear space around your release as possible.

With massive games these days initial release dates can slip, and feature sets can often change or be dropped. It’s therefore best to keep your ear to the ground for insider news. It’s also worth looking at the track record of those making a potential competitor. Some dev teams hit dates, others don’t. With Zombie Army Trilogy, we had one eye on The Order: 1886 and Batman Arkham Knight. The Order turned out to not have multiplayer and Arkham Knight got pushed back to June, which worked out well for us.

Knowing the genres of games you will be competing against is important; with Zombie Army Trilogy we wanted to avoid other major shooters, but Forza Horizon and Just Dance were less of a concern.

Being an indie publisher you have to accept that there will be, in many cases, an enormous disparity in the scale of resources at your disposal.

Rebellion is now relatively large, yet we are aware we’re still competing with titles that cost at least ten times as much to make and have more than 20 times our marketing budget. So you need to have talented people who can spot an opportunity and make it count.

We have to be very targeted in our more traditional marketing activity, using social media intelligently and choosing only a handful of important voices and trusted media partners with whom we have a longstanding professional relationship. For us, TV spots are out of the question, but short, effective bursts of video pre-roll ads on Twitch and YouTube aren’t. Focus your resources where you can, and where you’ll get the biggest bang for your buck. Be sure to review the data afterwards to find out what worked.

Minimise the Surprises

If you are making your first foray into publishing then my top piece of advice would be to communicate honestly and as far in advance as possible with your partners. Problems can and will emerge, and you will need other people’s help to address them.

As a publisher you are more dependent, compared to a developer, on a wider array of other businesses to do your job – whether they are retailers, manufacturers, design agencies, merchandising support, legal counsels, journalists, or banks.

Companies like Sony and Microsoft are huge, with complex structures and in spite of large budgets in places, a lot of restrictions. It is vital to cultivate relationships here – you will need friends in high places, and the best way to win new friends is to be honest and ask for help when you need it. The biggest corporations are run by busy people and behaving like an aggressive so-and-so won’t win you any favours.

When plotting your project timelines, be sure to overestimate how long everything will take and give yourself an extra week here and there – the extra time will be used up in ways you didn’t expect.

Ultimately, things will happen, but by minimising the surprise as much as possible, you give your partners the time they need to help you address the challenges.

Look out for more from Jason’s series on self-publishing on MCV and here on the Rebellion blog. And be sure to follow Jason on Twitter: @RebellionJason

Go to part 3…

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Jason Kingsley on Self-Publishing (Part 1)

When it hit stores in March, Zombie Army Trilogy became the first console game Rebellion had ever self-published in its long history. This was a huge and exciting decision for us, but as our CEO Jason Kingsley explains in this piece (originally published on MCV), it was one we came to after a whole lot of thought. 


There are advantages and disadvantages to developers self-publishing.

The complex decision as to whether we should self-publish happened over an extended period of time and a series of long conversations. Ultimately, the decision will depend on the weight each different studio gives the risks and rewards.

Basically, it will depend on how deep your pockets are, how confident you are in your game-making and scheduling skills, and where your company is in its employee structure. Publishing is not easy, nor is development, and each discipline has its own set of skills. I’d encourage any budding developer-publisher to think over their own situation carefully.

Here are the key questions I would recommend addressing: 

How strong is your cash flow and project pipeline?

Working with a publisher can provide a solid underpinning for a game development business, as long as you have steady flow of projects with minimal downtime in-between and a publisher that is financially stable. 

Gaps in the production pipeline mean an interruption of cash flow, which needs to be planned for and, if unexpected, can be deadly for any business. Hitting development milestones on time, as agreed with your publisher, is also essential; if you miss them repeatedly, it’s likely you won’t get paid. 

We were in a fortunate position; we own our own IP and have multiple sources of revenue, plus expert teams who make great games again and again to deadlines. As such, we’re well positioned to take advantage of the increasing options available to those looking to self-publish. 

Do you have the capacity and capability to pick up the publishing workload?

When you self-publish there are a lot more tasks you have to take on, such as approvals, retail and platform-owner negotiations and packaging design. In addition, there’s marketing, PR and community management.

This is easier for purely digital PC releases. Digital-only removes the complexity and scheduling hassles of the physical manufacture of discs and boxes, and also means you don’t have to manage approvals, age ratings, distribution schedules and inventory – it’s just a case of getting the message out there and hoping people download your game. 

After analysing how the workload is or has been historically split between you and your publisher, if you find you have been doing much of the publisher-side tasks yourself already, and already have the staff and knowledge – or can cost-effectively hire them – then it may make sense to consider self-publishing. 

How strong is your business track record and experience? 

Publishers always take a risk when they back a developer, just as you are taking a risk in backing yourself. Ultimately the decision whether to self-publish or not comes down to a balancing of risk versus reward.

By choosing to self-publish Zombie Army Trilogy, Rebellion added more risk to the project, as nobody else was paying us to do the work; crucially, though, we think it’s risk we can control. 

It’s still just as essential to set dates and stick to them, otherwise you risk letting your ‘increased freedom’ cost you more in expensive delays. 

Data is also a benefit. With work-for-hire, the feedback on how your game is performing can take many months, if not years – especially when it comes to physical retail. By self-publishing, you can see on a daily basis what revenue is coming in, and what you’ll be receiving in the future, allowing you to manage post-launch investment in terms of game updates and marketing. 

Self-publishing is an exciting new direction for Rebellion. We’re keeping our fingers firmly crossed, and I look forward to sharing more of the experience as we progress towards the launch of Zombie Army Trilogy – and beyond.

Look out for more from Jason’s series on self-publishing in the coming days, right here on the Rebellion blog. And be sure to follow him on Twitter: @RebellionJason

Go to part 2…

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An exclusive interview with Neil Newbon

Some of you will have already enjoyed two awesome videos showcasing an actor performing motion capture at Audiomotion studios for Zombie Army Trilogy and our April Fools’ Zombie Army “Thrillogy” trailer.

But who’s the man behind the suit and glowing ping pong balls who brought the zombies, demons and survivors of Zombie Army Trilogy to life?

We sat down with actor Neil Newbon to discuss his career, his favourite games, and doing the Hitler thriller dance in just one take …

Hi Neil, thanks for chatting with us. A few sharp-eyed UK gamers might recognise you from TV shows like Hollyoaks but what else have you worked on? Did you start out in other entertainment industries?

Pleasure thank you. I’m a professional Actor with over 14 years of experience in film, tv and theatre, predominately in lead or supporting lead roles. My more recent work includes NetFlix’s three-part series Residue, 76 Days Adrift for Discovery Channel, Hollyoaks Later, and the multi-awards winning short The Stomach – as you can imagine with over a decade’s experience my body of work has got pretty long and a more complete list can be found on spotlight.com than the one I keep in my brain!

And what about the games side of things?

Well, I’ve been a Performance Capture artist and Voice Over artist for over five years now, working on over a dozen video games for various studios, including amongst others: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 ,F1 2014, Fable Legends, Until Dawn, Ghost Recon: Future Solider, FunCom’s: The Secret World and more. Of course Rebellion and Sniper Elite fans will know me best from Sniper Elite 3 and its spin off, Zombie Army Trilogy.

Where did you train and what are your specialities?

I trained at the National Youth Theatre and later with the internationally acclaimed Giles Foreman at his Centre for Acting. I’d say I have a background in method acting and movement but I’m also a highly experienced martial arts expert, incorporating motion capture dramatic performance with stunts, combat and weapon work into his roles. 

You’re clearly a versatile actor with a wealth of experience in four different industries. Do you ever encourage other actors to think about working in video games?

I definitely take any opportunities I find to encourage other actors to enter Motion Capture as another part of their work.

Having comprehensive knowledge and considerable experience in many varied types of production across different media, allows me to be a better teacher as well as an actor- I am due to teach an ‘Understanding Actors’ course at NFTS this year and I also apply that as a Tutor with the Mocap Academy, teaching and enabling future games developers/ directors, as well as aspiring performance capture artists to better understand their craft and how to get the best out of their mocap shoots and the projects as a whole.

I’m also honoured to be a member of this year’s BAFTA Games Crew! I was helped early on through all the fields in my career I have worked in and I feel it is only karma to help and support those who show an interest too. This is my way of giving that back into the Industry and brings me immense satisfaction.

So let’s chat Zombie Army Trilogy! What was your role exactly?

I was very fortunate that not only did I get to play Hitler, zombies, skeletons, Elites (and all the other boss characters), but I also did the stunts, combat and in-game movements. I also captured all the main survivors for their in-game movements and cut-scenes, which was a very interesting challenge when dealing with tight schedules and a fast shoot to change between different characters sometimes on a scene to scene basis.

I got a real kick out of the chainsaw wielding Elites and end game Hitler boss was just ridiculous fun to inhabit. I hope every time his fist goes through a wall the players get a sense of my trying to tear each one of them apart with great joy and love!

How did mocapping the undead for ZAT compare to your other projects?

I love what I do – it’s basically playtime – this project was no exception!

Most shoots tend to be very physically demanding and ZAT proved just that – I like the challenge of working to multiple roles, switching movements from one set of creatures to another, sometimes on the fly, and the dark action paced, dynamic scenarios that this game offers up.  

As a huge zombie fan (and this being the first zombie game I have been involved with to date) this particular project has a very special place for me. It really brought out the wide-eyed, staying-up-way-past-his-bedtime–staring-at-a-black-and-white-TV-hiding-under-covers kid in me.

ZAT basically fucking rules as a performance experience as well as my boy-fantasist day dream. It’s great to see so many players feedback and they joy they get from our collective work!

What ZAT characters were the most fun / hardest / to capture?

Interestingly the skeletons proved some of the hardest characters to portray – to find a movement based on ridged lines without muscle and sinew to allow complete fluidity was tough- we spent quite some time over a couple of sessions nailing it – I’m really pleased with the result but it was a bit ‘touch and go’ for a while to get the movements just right, with us trying multiple techniques to find the ‘feel’ for their machinations.  

We got to use a lot of background material for the character of Zombie Hitler through stock footage and picture references. The team and I had a lot of fun weaving what I hope is a convincing dramatisation of the Nazi Leader.

Not only do you as an artist have to be very focused and centred about the task at hand, you need a good, trusting, working relationship with the animators and technicians as well as the specialists in the studio (the wonderful team at Audiomotion). They not only guide you through the story they want to take and help in characterisations, they also help give you the freedom for you to work in such complexity, with great ease. I am hugely grateful to work with Rebellion on Sniper Elite 3 and ZAT and it is a privilege to have so much fun throughout the hard work. Looking forward to the next one!

Tell us about the Thriller dance – how did that come about? Were you expecting the footage to ever see the light of day as an April Fools’ game announcement!?

Those loveable bastards sprung it on me at the end of the shoot after an incredibly gruelling day involving high tower falls and the like!

It was however enormous fun to do- we shot the whole thing in ONE take, no rehearsals for the routine, all of which improvised with shout outs from the team – the only initial note was of course ‘think Thriller’, I am amazed frankly it looks so great and I will happily acknowledge that is more to do with the Team’s skill than my own!

So what’s your favourite game of all time? And what about your favourite zombie or horror flick of all time?

Man – favourite game – dude seriously it’s impossible: some notables: huge fan of almost all of Bethesda’s work, I am a genuine fan of Rebellion of course and really enjoyed having my ass handed to me repeatedly in Sniper Elite 2. Left 4 Dead 1 and 2 as well as the Bioware games and Interplay and InXile reincarnations.  I’m currently getting to grips with Pillars of Eternity which is a joyous modern take on the classic Infinity Engine. 

Basically there are too many games and I have too much work to dedicate enough time to lose myself for too long – a good problem as a gamer to have I think!

Film wise: LOVE Dawn of the Dead – both Romero’s original and the re-make which is superb.

‘Zombieland’ is an amazing modern day classic too, shame it never became a series. Incidentally, a music video for Doves entitled ‘Kingdom of Rust’ which I was in, seems to have been homaged by the filmmakers in the long driving scene half way through the film (a testament to the wonderful vision of director China Moo-Young and to Doves’ haunting song), although this may only be coincidental!

Awesome stuff. Any last words? *loads shotgun*

Thanks to all at Rebellion, Audiomotion and especially the Players for continuing their support of the games we get to play in. I hope for every drop of sweat we broke , a player earns another ear-to-ear smile at dropping a triple zombie headshot in the game! Boom. *spits on the dust and spins the colt chamber one more time for luck*

You can find Neil on Twitter: @NeilNewbon or maybe even in a favourite game of yours …