Building Games Rooted in Irish Tradition and Myth
Where Our Inspiration Begins, Language, Landscape, and Living Culture
Introduction
Yesterday, we shared a very short teaser from our current game project. It was deliberately brief, offering only a glimpse of tone, atmosphere, and intent rather than answers or explanations. That teaser marked an important moment for us, not because it revealed gameplay or story, but because it reflected something deeper, the reason this project exists at all.
At Mac Uaid Enterprises Limited, we are building a game inspired by Irish culture, language, landscape, and mythology. That inspiration is not something we discovered recently, it is something we grew up with, lived through, and continue to carry with us into our creative work today.
This post is about where that inspiration comes from.
Who We Are
Mac Uaid Enterprises Limited is an independent game studio founded in August 2025 by Alex Mac Uaid and Alison McQuade. We are a small team with large ambitions, focused on creating narrative driven, atmospheric game experiences for a global audience, while remaining deeply rooted in Irish culture.
Before we ever wrote a line of code or opened a game engine, both of us grew up through the Irish language. We attended Irish medium primary and secondary schools, where Gaeilge was not just a subject but a living, everyday way of thinking and communicating.
That environment shaped how we see stories.
Irish mythology, folklore, music, and oral tradition were not distant historical concepts, they were present in classrooms, in songs, in conversation, and in community. Stories were not simply told, they were felt, repeated, questioned, and reimagined. That sense of living culture has stayed with us ever since.
Growing Up With Story, Sound, and Language
For us, Irish myth has never been about spectacle. It is about atmosphere, memory, and place. These stories are often quiet, strange, and emotional, rooted in the land itself. They are stories meant to be experienced rather than explained.
Both Alison and I grew up immersed in the Irish language from primary through secondary education, surrounded by these stories, songs, and traditions from an early age. During our college years, we founded ITTD Cumann Gaelach in TUD Tallaght (Formerly ITTD), a student society dedicated to promoting Irish language and culture, which in its first year became a national award-winning society. Those experiences shaped our understanding of culture as something lived, shared, and carried forward.
That understanding deepened significantly when we began working in Áras Chrónáin. Through planning events, working in sound engineering, supporting performances, and spending countless hours immersed in traditional music and song, we witnessed Irish culture as something active and evolving.
We heard stories told in Irish, listened to songs passed down through generations, and experienced how language and music carry emotion in a way that transcends translation. Presenting on Raidió Na Life 106.4FM through Irish further reinforced that connection, speaking directly to audiences through the language that shaped us.
These experiences fundamentally influence how we think about game design.
"We believe myth works best when it is felt rather than explained."
From Culture to Creation
When we began shaping our current game project, we did not start with mechanics or features. We started with a question, how do you translate the feeling of Irish myth into an interactive experience without turning it into a caricature.
The answer, for us, lies in restraint, respect, and research.
We have spent time visiting real locations, walking landscapes, observing light, weather, stone, and silence. We have taken reference photographs, studied textures, and used modern tools to better understand the physical world we are drawing inspiration from. These visits are not about copying real places directly, they are about grounding our worldbuilding in authenticity.
Our aim is not historical recreation, but emotional truth.
Sound as Storytelling
Sound plays a central role in how Irish culture communicates emotion, and it plays the same role in our creative process. Traditional Irish music is not background noise, it is storytelling in another form.
As a studio, we place enormous importance on atmosphere and sound design. Whether it is the quiet of wind across open land, the distant echo of music, or subtle environmental audio, sound shapes how a world feels long before a player understands it.
This approach informs every layer of our project, from worldbuilding to narrative pacing.
A Glimpse, Not a Reveal
The teaser we recently shared was never intended to explain the game. It exists to set tone, to communicate mood, and to signal the kind of experience we are building.
We are still early in development. Iteration is ongoing, including our third major revision of our main protagonist. We are refining our ideas carefully, guided by culture, collaboration, and craft rather than speed.
There will be time to share more. For now, we prefer to let the work speak quietly.
Looking Ahead
Since officially registering Mac Uaid Enterprises Limited in August, we have made meaningful progress. We have completed extensive research, conducted surveys, built a growing mailing list, formed cultural partnerships, and established a solid development pipeline for the months ahead.
Our mission remains clear.
To create games that honour Irish culture, language, and creativity, while delivering high quality experiences for players around the world.
Irish legends, global games.
Stay Connected
If you would like to receive occasional updates on the project, development insights, and future announcements, you can join our mailing list below.
By AMacU
By Alison
By macuaide