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A leading Cardiff-born games developer who lives in the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles has returned to South Wales to launch his new game based on Doctor Who.

Lee Cummings, who owns Tiny Rebel Games with his American wife Susan, was at the Doctor Who Experience in his home city to take the wraps off Doctor Who: Legacy – a game he hopes will be a hit with fans of the Timelord of all ages.

The 35-year-old games whizzkid, originally from Llanrumney, believes that his company’s latest offering – a free-to-play, puzzle RPG adventure for IOS and Android on mobile, will as its name suggests be a success for years to come.

“In the game players are tasked with building a team of allies and taking on some of the biggest villain’s from the show’s last 50 years,” he explained. “When we started talking about the possibility of doing a Doctor Who game we wanted to do something very different from what came before.

“We decided that the only way to build a game which was worthy of being released during the 50th anniversary of the show was to design a game which would allow fans to interact with not just a multitude of Doctors, companions and allies, but pit them against the Doctor’s most cunning and dangerous enemies within the context of episodes of the show. The only way to accomplish that sort of goal was within a puzzle game.

“I wanted to create a game where any Doctor Who fan could play it anywhere in the world on a mobile phone, whatever age they are, it’s very accessible to all ages, whatever you love about Doctor Who you can find it in there. Whoever your Doctor is you can get them in the game as we’ll be going back through the Doctor’s timeline adding new content. We’re continually adding new content. It’s a platform that we’ll keep expanding.”

Producing a game based on the world’s most famous Timelord was wish fulfilment for the lifelong Doctor Who fan.

“I’d grown up on Doctor Who throughout the ‘80s,” he added. “I was always hiding behind the sofa like most children, but my favourites were the ‘80s Doctors. The stuff before that I don’t have an emotional connection to because it was before my time but when I think of my childhood it was Doctors Six and Seven (Peter Davison and Colin Baker) and I also love Paul McGann. I would pay so much money to see him in the series again.”

Arriving in the States, aged 19, Lee has built an impressive career Stateside working for games publishers such as Rockstar Games – where he helped develop the huge-selling Grand Theft Auto series, before setting up on his own with Tiny Rebel Games.

The name Tiny Rebel may be familiar to those who love their ale – as Lee’s family are responsible for developing the hugely successful Tiny Rebel Brewery in Newport, which has recently opened its first bar – Urban Tap House on Westgate Street in Cardiff.

Lee explained: “We needed a name and named the company after our son Lanyon, who is now five, as he was a tiny rebel when he was a baby.

“My brother and brother-in-law then started the brewery and called it Tiny Rebel. They kept the same artist who did our logo, and we’re partners in the brewery as well as Urban Tap House. It’s a family business and most of my siblings work for the brewery,” he added. “It’s a big family business. There’s a lot of love going into making beers around South Wales from the Cummings family right now. My dad is the ringleader but we all bring different things to the table. And we all work really well together. We’re greater than the sum of our parts!”

Find out more about Doctor Who: Legacy from www.tinyrebelgames.com

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