Fred Hoffman Joins BAFTA Breakthrough 2024: A Rising Star in the World of Games
From Illustrator to Game Designer
Fred Hoffman, art director at Newfangled Games, has joined the prestigious BAFTA Breakthrough 2024, a program that recognizes some of the most promising new talents in the creative industries. Along with his brother Henry, Fred co-founded Newfangled Games, the studio behind the critically acclaimed puzzle game Paper Trail, which was released in May for various gaming consoles, including Nintendo Switch.
The Journey from Illustration to Game Design
Fred’s journey into game design was not a straightforward one. He initially studied illustration at the University of the Arts London, but his focus shifted after working on the indie platformer Hue with his brother. "I was struggling with this realization that it’s very hard to make people look at your art for more than five seconds," he recalls. "The illustration pipeline was very much, ‘you spend hours working on something, you post it on Instagram, it gets scrolled past, you get a few likes, and that’s your currency’."
The Power of Games
Working on Hue with his brother was a game-changer for Fred. "I saw people spending hours and hours playing the game, face pressed up against my artwork. There’s no other medium where you can do that, where you can force people to sit and live in your drawings for hours at a time. So it was very hard to go back to regular drawing after that."
Paper Trail’s Success and Future Projects
Fred’s latest game, Paper Trail, has been well-received, and its success has inspired the studio to work on a new, secret project. "We can’t talk about it, but the idea is to cautiously grow in scope and try and tell bigger, more ambitious stories with more ambitious mechanics," he says. "Think like Paper Trail, but more."
BAFTA Breakthrough 2024
Fred is humbled to be part of the BAFTA Breakthrough 2024 program. "Growing up, I remember watching the ‘big, glittering establishment’ of the BAFTA awards on TV and thinking it was very far removed from my life in a small, rural town in Suffolk. And now to be a part of the Breakthrough program, it feels like an acceptance into a world which I only ever had one foot in."
The Future of Games Development
Fred believes that the UK’s games development scene is becoming less London-centric, thanks to the exodus of talent from the capital. "London is very expensive to live in, but a lot of genuinely very creative people aren’t necessarily hugely wealthy, and therefore we’ve seen – especially after COVID – a really big exodus of talent from London. That’s why there’s so many great games hubs that aren’t based in London, like Dundee and Aberystwyth and Glasgow and Newcastle and Leeds – and now Norwich as well."
Conclusion
Fred Hoffman’s success with Paper Trail and his inclusion in the BAFTA Breakthrough 2024 program are just the beginning of his journey in the world of games development. As the industry continues to evolve, it will be exciting to see what he and his team at Newfangled Games have in store for us next.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the BAFTA Breakthrough 2024 program?
A: The BAFTA Breakthrough 2024 program is a prestigious program that recognizes some of the most promising new talents in the creative industries.
Q: What is Paper Trail, and what is its significance in the gaming world?
A: Paper Trail is a puzzle game developed by Newfangled Games, which was released in May 2024 for various gaming consoles, including Nintendo Switch. Its success has sparked interest in the gaming community and has led to the development of a new, secret project.
Q: What is Fred Hoffman’s background, and how did he get into game design?
A: Fred Hoffman studied illustration at the University of the Arts London and initially worked in the illustration industry. However, after working on the indie platformer Hue, he shifted his focus to game design and co-founded Newfangled Games with his brother.
