Who is Bermuda Island Games

Bermuda Island Games is the first Bermudian video game development company, dedicated to designing games that celebrate Bermuda. We are here to give Bermuda its rightful place in the digital realm.

Our goal is simple - we want to promote Bermuda in the most entertaining (and in many cases, educational) way possible. We will do this through Bermuda-themed video games that portray our culture in a way never seen before, inspiring the imagination of both locals and visitors.

Gaming allows people to make connections and feel good about their accomplishments - all while learning a thing or two about what Bermuda has to offer.

Take it from the Top

Bermuda Island Games was founded in October 2016. When deciding which game to initially develop to enter the gaming world, Adrian wanted a game that was ground-breaking, featuring as much about Bermuda as possible, and having the potential to be played by thousands of players. This was to be the first of many more games to be developed about Bermuda, by Bermudians.

With America’s Cup 2017 scheduled for the summer and Bermuda’s thriving tourism industry, it was apparent that it would be useful to target tourists to Bermuda to showcase all that the sub-tropical island had to offer. After attending Bermuda Tourism Authority’s Investment Workshop, there were two key elements that really stood out that we wanted to improve upon: “tourists said that when they come to Bermuda, they are looking to explore, experience different cultures, and experience different cuisines”, and that “there are no interactive or digital apps that take advantage of modern-day technology to promote Bermuda”.

Based on this feedback, Adrian chose a geographically-based app which scores points based on different restaurants the player dines in, different locations they visit, different people they meet, and different activities that the player engages in during their time in Bermuda.

Somewhat similar to Pokemon Go, which went viral in mid-2016 as mobile gamers took to the streets with their phones and tablets, Hidden Gems of Bermuda was designed to do the same thing – enjoy the outdoors with technology leading you. Rather than playing at home on the computer or during class while the student is bored, this game was intended to help break the player out of the regular cycle and go and explore different parts of Bermuda which many people (including locals) have never been to.

After doing some brain-storming, the name which resonated was “Hidden Gems of Bermuda”. Adrian quickly realized that there was already a local tour company by that same name, and rather than change the name of the game, he decided to partner with the tour owners instead. After going through several rounds of challenges, the game was officially launched on Android Google Play, and iOS App Stores by January 2017. Featured is the original promotional video used during the inital launch.


Hidden Gems of Bermuda Promotional Video

Then the Pivot

Since the inception of producing and selling games, Bermuda Island Games has shifted from being a full-time game development studio, to focusing more on educational courses, game design events and summer camps for students.

In 2020, Adrian decided to put on the first Video Game Design Challenge to get the local community more engaged in video game development. What he didn't anticipate was a global shutdown and shelter in place for COVID 19. So the original date had to be rescheduled which started again three years later, and has since become an annual event.

Bermuda Island Games also started offering summer camps to students who wanted to play games. A colleague had come up with the concept as many people noticd kids were sent to summer camps but ended up playing on their phone, tablet or console while the class was otherwise engaged. Adrian Lodge decided to test out the market and see if there were enough children who just wanted to have fun over the summer break. Sure enough, it spread like wildfire once word got out, and again became an annual occurance at Warwick Academy.

Other educational courses, again arose as Adrian Lodge looked to further engage willing participants on sharing his knowledge and skills with any who were interested. This included Video Game Basics covering Roblox and Unity, Art Design for video game digital artwork, and Game Programming using Unity's Visual Studio and Github. Courses are available to this date, upon request.

If you are interested in joining the team, you can check out the Job Opportunities page and we will be happy to work with you and bring you on board!

Adrian Lodge The original Video Game Design Challenge Flyer