FUTURLAB

The Velocity maker on unlikely tie-ins, the games that got away and living up to its brilliant breakthrough

- Chris Schilling

James Marsden has an idea for a videogame. Approaching 17 years in charge of Brighton’s Futurlab, he’s in the business of having ideas; it’s what has kept his studio in operation for so long, after all. But this particular idea is special. It’s been percolating in his head since he was at university in 1999. It fuelled his desire to get into videogames in the first place. He’s pitched it three times already, to no avail. But he’s still convinced it could be the studio’s next big thing if only someone would take a chance on it. It’s Marsden’s white whale, essentially, and naturally he can’t tell us what it is. “It doesn’t really matter what the vehicle is, from my point of view. It’s more important to just get the concept out there,” he says. “But once the cat’s out of the bag, anyone could copy it, so I’m loath to say any more.”