A GAMING expert from Bury is appealing for donations to help get his first project off the ground.

Dean Hulton, from Walmersley, set up his own studio last year and is working with partners in America and Kuwait to develop a new sci-fi strategy game.

A Kickstarter web page designed to help the company, BlueBlaze Studio, hire more staff has so far raised almost £500 for the project.

Mr Hulton says the game, Celestial Cleave, was inspired by the famous ‘space chess’ scene aboard the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars and could be ready for release on PC by Christmas.

He said: “There are three of us working on the game but we need funding to get some more staff to help with animation and networking.

“Other than those aspects the game is close to being finished.

“We’ve been working on it for nine months, which is a long time when it’s only three of you working around the clock for a small studio.

“Fundraising can be a bit shaky with Kickstarter, but it’s always worth a shot.”

This is the first time Mr Hulton has taken the lead in developing his own title, having worked on several other games, including popular online children’s game 'Fight My Monster'.

The 30-year-old’s company is unique in that they are sharing their game development techniques for free through live streaming and social media, in the hope of giving aspiring developers a helping hand.

He added: “We do it to help people who are getting started in the industry because I know how tough it can be to get a foothold.

“This way we can help students or young developers, or even just people who take a passing interest.

“It doesn’t really help us at all to share our coding and so on, but it’s good that we can give a little something back to the gaming community.”

To find out more about the game and to donate: visit www.kickstarter.com/projects/blueblaze/celestial-cleave