Virtual warfare campaigns are being waged by a Sussex company.

Brighton-based production company The Bridge is making a TV series of competitive computer gaming programmes, for men's channel, Bravo.

The Mercenaries is a new take on the TV game show, merging puzzle solving and game play with online computer skills.

Tony Steyger, The Bridge managing director and Mercenaries executive producer, said: "Two teams of computer gamers compete in a series of contests using a bank of networked PCs.

"All the multi-player games are contemporary military scenarios, ranging from flight simulations to shoot 'em ups. We combine the narratives from three different games as if the teams were facing a single mercenary campaign during each 30-minute programme.

They might be in a tank battle and then be told to launch a helicopter before moving on to an aircraft carrier situation."

The teams include a hacker who is given a separate set of games to play isolated from his or her colleagues.

Mr Steyger said: "The hacker faces two challenges using established hacking software. Problems include having to hack into a PC to find a password and having to access controls of a web cam for spying. Whoever meets the challenges gains an advantage for their team in the last round."

Players compete for credits, stashed in a virtual Swiss bank account, which can be exchanged by the winning team for prizes, such as computers and army kit.

Filming takes place in the basement of London's internet cafe The Playing Fields, which has been decked out to look like a military bunker.

All production and editing is handled at The Bridge's digital suite in Brighton.

Mr Steyger said: "The complicated part is making sure all the different technological components work together for the filming stage.

"There are many elements involved when running 18 networked PCs using a range of software and operating cameras.

"Some of the games required a connection to the internet and this led to problems because people online started to play along with us."

While the company was filming the briefing for one of the rounds, someone in Japan logged on and "stole" an aeroplane to be used in the next game.

Mr Steyger said: "Teams who had only ever met online turned up for filming. People were brought face-to-face with fellow players who they knew by their online names.

"Online gamers do a lot of text chatting and often they recognised each other very quickly. But it was strange to watch.

"The same happened when teams met their opposition and realised they had previously play-ed against them online."

The programme style is punchy and host Jason Bradbury, of Big Breakfast and TV channel Trouble, barks out instructions in sergeant major-style.

The opening credits introduce the show as "30 minutes of digital warfare for the computer games generation" and launch the viewer straight into the fast-moving Mercen-aries' world.

The series features 14 preliminary rounds and a final. The first weekly programme will be broadcast on August 5 at 8.30pm. Nine shows have already been filmed with the remainder to be shot by the end of August.

Mr Steyger said: "We are still looking for teams to take part.

"We haven't had any applications from female teams, although we know they exist and would encourage them to come forward."

Getfrank, based in Brighton, produced the Mercenaries title sequence and graphical content.

Mr Steyger said: "It would have been great to have done a complete branding exercise as they did with the Gorillaz but the budget didn't stretch that far.

"But we are planning further joint broadcast ventures on the strength of this strategic alliance and have a deal underway with Channel 4."

The Bridge was founded in March by Mr Steyger and Barabara Mackie, both of whom have worked in TV production for more than 20 years, with companies including the BBC, Channel 4 and Meridian.

The company produces for television, cinema and the internet.

www.mercenaries.tv
www.the-bridge.tv
www.getfrank.com