TLDR; I love coding, video games & art - therefore SoopaNova was forged.
Hey,
I'm Aaron Bentley, a software developer from the UK.
I love coding, I love video games, I love art.
I had an idea to power-up your favourite video game screenshots into mighty-fine artwork for your space, so you can display your victories, scenic views, and crazy in-game moments IRL.
SoopaNova is here to make sure those memories last.
Way back in April 2009, it was coming up to my brother, Jims birthday.
He's a total petrol-head and was really into Forza Motorsport 3 at the time. Jim had been taking loads of screenshots of his cars and online victories.
I thought it would be a great idea to get one of his screenshots printed onto a framed print for his birthday.
I secretly grabbed the screenshot file and ordered a print of his favourite car (a McLaren F1 in papaya orange) from a local print shop, then took the print to another company to get it framed.
Jims birthday came around, and I handed over his gift.
He loved it.
This got me thinking, there must be others out there who would love to get their favourite screenshots printed, without the effort of having to find a print shop and a frame shop.
I noodled on this idea for a while, but never really threw myself into it.
After all, the image resolution of screenshots at the time were pretty low, and I didn't think that would translate well into prints.
I felt, to quote Howard Stark, "limited by the technology of my time".
Fast forward to 2022, and look how far we've come. High-resolution gaming is the norm, and the image resolution of screenshot images are pretty damn good.
I thought to myself, "the time is right - I've got to do this".
Plus I now had 20+ years of experience in software and web development, so I had the skills to build the app and supporting systems to make it happen.
So I got to work - coding away in the dark hours, working around a full time job and fulfilling my dad duties.
It took a little while, but I got there.
SoopaNova — a one-stop service for transforming your favourite video game screenshots into mighty-fine artwork for your space.
At the time of writing, SoopaNova is on the verge of launch, it's quite exciting!
Here's hoping I've made something fun, that helps people present their favourite gaming memories in a unique way.
Thank you to my wife Eva & my darling daughters Lexi & Maddi for your love & support, and for putting up with me disappearing into the home office for hours at a time.