This month marks 13 years of Tag Games! Last Friday we took some time out with the team to celebrate reaching our teens.
13 might seem like an odd number for such a special occasion, but this also marks the first year of Tag Games under the new management of CEO Marc Williamson. It’s been a busy and exciting year in the history of our company, so we thought we would ask Marc to name his top three highlights of his first year at the helm.
1. New business cards that say “CEO”
Becoming CEO of Tag was a huge milestone in my career, as you might imagine. I joined the company in 2010 as Head of Production and have been a member of the board for six years, so it was a massive honour and a privilege to be appointed to the role.
However, I also knew that in taking over I was standing on some pretty tall shoulders. In his time as CEO, Paul Farley guided the company through a lot of industry changes, and his steady hand has helped us survive when others have fallen away. I can't think of many other independent studios that have been delivering on mobile as long as us, and I understand the responsibility I have to keep that going.
2. Signing kick-ass projects
We announced our latest partnership earlier this year, working with NaturalMotion on CSR2. I’ve been involved in all areas of the business during my time at Tag, and a major part of delivering many of our titles, but winning projects of this calibre when you’re running the company definitely has a bigger impact personally.
It’s been a busy, but rewarding year of pitching and winning new business, and we have more announcements to make in the coming months. These are projects that I feel will redefine Tag as a studio. We are actively seeking new projects and partners that push our capabilities and show our potential as a studio.
3. Refocusing efforts on the team’s development
My time in charge started with a period of reflection on our strategy and processes. A major part of this for me was how we can provide the best possible environment for the Tag team to work in.
There were a few changes I wanted to implement immediately such as flexitime, assistance programs for counselling, and improved HR procedures. We also now have an internal employee board run entirely by the team with its own budget to empower them to bring innovation and improvements to the company.
Other key changes focused on giving our staff even more autonomy to run their projects in the way they think is best. Everyone here plays a major role in their projects and the success of the company, so we are putting as much trust in our staff as possible.
As they say, change is constant and it’s still early days, but there is definitely a new buzz about the place!