International Hobo is a consultancy incorporation in video game industry.

ihobo was founded by Chris Bateman

Chris Bateman

Chris Mark Bateman is a game designer, outsider philosopher and author, best known for the games Discworld Noir and Ghost Master, the books Game Writing: Narrative Skills for Videogames, 21st Century Game Design and Beyond Game Design: Nine Steps Toward Creating Creating Better Videogames, and his...

 in 1999 and it is based in Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

They provide services about game design

Game design

Game design, a subset of game development, is the process of designing the content and rules of a game in the pre-production stage and design of gameplay, environment, storyline, and characters during production stage. The term is also used to describe both the game design embodied in a game as...

, narrative design

Narrative Designer

A Narrative Designer is a role for contemporary video game development first officially seen in 2006 when THQ Canada dba Relic Entertainment began hiring for the role. Stephen Dinehart wrote the job description in collaboration with publisher THQ...

 and scriptwriting.

iHobo focuses on role-playing, platform

Platform game

A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...

, and children's games. In addition to working on many video games over the years, iHobo also has published a few books on video game design, such as Game Writing: Narrative Skills for Videogames and Beyond Game Design: Nine Steps Towards Creating Better Videogames.

The company has worked on titles targeting the core audience for video games such as MotorStorm: Apocalypse

MotorStorm: Apocalypse

MotorStorm: Apocalypse is a 2011 racing 3D video game by Evolution Studios and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It is the fourth game in the series and the third for the PlayStation 3...

 and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is a first-person shooter video game by the Ukrainian developer GSC Game World, published in 2007.It features an alternate reality theme, where a second nuclear disaster occurs at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone in the near future and causes...

 (2 million units), as well as titles targeting more unusual audiences, such as Bratz: Rock Angelz

Bratz: Rock Angelz (video game)

Bratz: Rock Angelz is a video game based on the popular Bratz fashion doll line. This is the first Bratz game published by THQ. It is based on the direct-to-DVD movie and the collection with the same name...

 (1.4 million units).

It provided the first proof that external game design was a viable proposition with Ghost Master

Ghost Master

Ghost Master is a puzzle/strategy game for the PC. It is among a small selection of games, for more see below, that put the player in the role of the enemy. In this case, the player assumes the role of a Ghost Master, a bureaucratic spirit tasked to perform certain duties...

 (nominated for Best New IP in Develop Industry Excellence Awards), and has also worked on chart-topping titles like Reservoir Dogs

Reservoir Dogs (video game)

Reservoir Dogs is a video game based on the Quentin Tarantino film of the same name. Released in 2006, it garnered mostly mediocre reviews and caused minor controversies for its violence, being banned in Australia and New Zealand.-Plot:...

.

The members of International Hobo have worked on major game projects for publishers like Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...

, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, Ubisoft

Ubisoft

Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....

, THQ

THQ

THQ Inc. is an American developer and publisher of video games. Founded in 1989 in the United States, the company develops products for video game consoles, handheld game systems, as well as for personal computers and wireless devices...

, Take 2, Namco

Namco

is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...

, Atari

Atari

Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...

, Eidos, Codemasters

Codemasters

The Codemasters Software Company Limited, or Codemasters is a British video game developer founded by Richard and David Darling in 1986...

, Vivendi Universal, SCi

SCi

Square Enix Limited, doing business as Square Enix Europe, is a British publisher of video game software wholly owned by Square Enix. Square Enix Europe has its head office in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton....

, 3DO

3DO

3DO may refer to:*The 3DO Company, a video game company that developed:**3DO Interactive Multiplayer, a video game console, 1993–1996***List of 3DO games, a list of games released for the 3DO...

, and Turner Interactive.