Pool Nation lines up PSN release today

Doctor! Doctor!! I think I’m turning into a pool ball. Get to the back of the queue!

Dawn breaks over a wet and grey Manchester. It’s raining. Again. Outside the office window, a shopping trolley is having a race down the Irwell with a slightly crazed duck. The big money is on the duck.

Inside, it’s approaching fever pitch as the finishing touches are put to our first game, Pool Nation. A small band of just 10 occasionally-presentable gamers, we’re giving our balls that one last polish. Ball obsession may sound like something a ’70s DJ may be afflicted with, but here at CherryPop, in one way or another, we’re all smitten.

We’ve even been known to dress up as giant pool balls and scare small children.

In Huw’s corner, he’s doing what astrophysicists do best – bouncing pool balls around and making sure they behave themselves. To Huw, a spot of ball-on-ball interaction is physics porn, pure and simple. Nobody describes the inner dynamics of what happens on the baize, second by second, quite like Huw.

Gary, on the other hand, loves to admire his balls. Not just beautiful balls, but gorgeous, shiny balls in gorgeous, shiny settings. Right now, he’s wondering whether to give them another good buffing, or just let them be – after all, he can already see his face in them.

Matt puts it all together in a sexy little package, making Huw’s ball action and Gary’s good looks work. Matt also has an online alter-ego, the question-fielding “Dr Matt”. No Pool Nation question is too big, none too small. Dr Matt explains that it’s a positive sign if your balls turn black, and how streaking is a wonderful thing – if you’re playing Endurance, of course.

We want our maiden title to count. The way to do that is by belief, and by making the best-playing, the best-designed and the best looking pool game ever made.

Yes we’re a small team. True, we may have an obsession with all things round and shiny, and yes, we can’t write a press release without alluding to Uncle Dave’s cue envy. But what we do well is make great Pool Games. We hope you agree, as we’re really very proud of what we’ve achieved.

Check out our launch trailer to see our shiny balls in action: