A group of entrepreneurial Essex students based at Parkside Office Village on the University of Essex’s Knowledge Gateway have created a highly addictive game inspired by some of the most beautiful places in the world.

Laurentiu Cotiuga, George Negoita and Cristian Olteanu from Novo Games, designed their second game Mirror Dash in just over a month while also studying for their final year exams.

The simple, yet challenging game consists of two mirrored environments where the player has to either jump over obstacles or teleport to the opposite environment. It is based on an easy to learn but hard to master two button system.

Throughout the game the players are taken on a journey across some of the most beautiful places in the world including the wild Egyptian desert, France, Britain, Japan and the glamorous cities of Italy.

George said: “I am incredibly proud of our team. We worked day and night to make this happen and we are very excited to see whether people will enjoy the game. After the success of our first game, we were motivated to make the second one even better and take it in a different direction to see what appeals more to the public.”

The team’s first game called Bobblehead Mania, which was launched last year as part of the Games Hub programme, is a fast-paced endless runner game full of surprises and unexpected challenges. It incorporates quirky characters inspired by historical figures or celebrities such as Breaking Bad’s Heisenberg, Cleopatra and Game of Thrones’ Dhal Krogo.

George added: "The University has provided me and my co-founders with a lot of support to start our own company. Thanks to the Games Hub programme I was able to meet like-minded people and pursue a common goal led by passion. Moreover, the University helped us spread the word across the Essex community through the website and social media. We were also encouraged to get involved in multiple entrepreneurial activities and competitions which helped us get out of obscurity. The opportunity of building a company opened many doors for us and improved our career prospects."

The Games Hub is a programme established by the Eastern Enterprise Hub (EEHub) at Parkside in partnership with Steve Huckle at Shark Infested Custard and the University, with support from Essex County Council, Colchester Borough Council, Birketts and BDO.

Download the games or find out more about the team and their company Novo Games.