About Scattergood Studios
Owned by Damian Scattergood, we’ve been around a long time.
Damian started his video game career in the 1980s.
See the current History of Games Developed by Damian Scattergood
Who is Damian Scattergood?
Damian Scattergood is the founder of Scattergood Studios. He is a game developer, avid game player, and entrepreneur. He was one of the most prolific game developers in the 1980s and probably the first famous game developer from Ireland. He still develops games today.
Starting as an indie developer in the 80’s, he is one of Ireland’s first game developers, and probably Ireland’s first big game development celebrity.
He was one of the first commercial game developers in Ireland, having worked with New Concepts developing ‘Surf Champ’, the first surfing simulator game in 1980 on the CBM 64. This was recently covered by the BBC as part of its retro sports game coverage.
He later joined Emerald Software as lead Z80 Developer for Spectrum and Amstrad.
He’s had several top 10 games in the UK including Moonwalker the Michael Jackson hit game in 1989. Other hits include Vigilante, an Arcade conversion, and SuperTed, a Cosgrove Hall TV license from the 80s. He has been featured in Sinclair User, Crash, and Your Sinclair and wrote articles on game development for many magazines.
Damian knows a thing or two about successful game design. He founded his first game company “Scatz Computer Games”, when he was just 17. The company released a number of games including Radical Moves a platformer and Planet Storm a 3D vector game.
He launched Scattergood Studios to re-enter the retro gaming sector
He introduced several innovative ideas and practices during his early career in video game development, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s.
Early Technical Innovation
– Surf Champ, developed for the Commodore 64, was one of the first surfing simulator games, showcasing early attempts at simulating real-world sports in gaming.
– He worked with 3D vector graphics in games like Planet Storm, which was ahead of its time in terms of visual rendering on limited hardware.
Creative Game Design
– Damian was known for blending popular culture with gameplay, as seen in Moonwalker, which integrated Michael Jackson’s music and persona into an arcade-style game.
– His work on SuperTed demonstrated early efforts in adapting TV characters into interactive experiences, a precursor to modern multimedia franchises.
Development Practices
– He was among the first Irish developers to commercialize indie game development, founding Scatz Computer Games at just 17.
– Damian emphasized hands-on development, often coding, designing, and publishing games himself or with small teams—an approach that inspired future indie developers.
Localization & Accessibility
– Later in his career, Damian transitioned into software localization, applying his gaming experience to make software and games more accessible across languages and cultures.
