Open line — a person reads every message
Email [email protected] or write to 3 Victoria Place, Earley, Reading. No portal, no ticket queue — messages land with the studio and get read by a person.
Getting in touch
This page explains how to get in touch with Northwood Retail and what kinds of messages the studio can respond to. The two direct routes are email at [email protected] and post to 3 Victoria Place, Earley, Reading, England. There is no support portal and no ticket queue — messages go to the studio and a person reads them.
Timing varies with what is in the build schedule, but a short, clear message about a specific game, tool or listing is the one that comes back fastest, because it is the easiest to answer well. Nothing on this page is automated: a reply from us means someone sat down and wrote it.
Before you write
A message that names the project or tool, and says what you need to know, is the one that gets a useful answer. Both columns below are honest about where the studio's help starts and stops.
Some messages fall outside what a small studio can handle. If your message fits one of these, it will likely go unanswered.
Routes in detail
The fastest route
Send anything time-sensitive to [email protected]. Game questions, tool questions, corrections to a listing, or a project enquiry all work through the same address. Include the specific project or tool name if your message is about one of them, because that helps the reply land accurately.
We read every message that arrives. A short, clear email gets a faster and more useful response than a long one with the question buried inside it.
A good subject line
On paper
Post is slower by nature, and for most enquiries email will get you an answer sooner. It is still a real route. If you are sending something that needs to be on paper, this is where it goes. Include a return address if you would like a written response, and give it time.
Replies
Replies come from the studio directly, and timing depends on how much is going on with the projects. A clear message about a specific game or tool usually gets a faster response than a broad enquiry, because it is easier to answer well.
If several days have passed without a reply, resending the same email is fine. We would rather get a duplicate than miss a genuine question. The studio does not run an automated acknowledgement system, so a reply from us means a person wrote it.
Studio hours: Monday to Friday, 09:00–18:00
How we build
A question about process is a fair question. This is the relay each of our projects runs through, and it is the shape most studio questions land against.
The idea arrives on paper first — a state machine, a rule set, a small table of numbers. If it cannot be written down plainly, it does not become a game.
A rough build, in the state it needs to be to be judged — not prettier than the idea, not more finished than the question being asked of it.
Hands on it, with a written copy of what worked and what did not. A playtest that does not change the build did not do its job.
The shipped version — PC-first, handled on our own bench from the case up. A question about where a project sits on this line is easy to answer.
Reporting a problem
A site that claims accuracy has to fix it when it slips. Corrections get priority over a general enquiry, because they are quick to act on and they matter to readers arriving after you.
What to include
Name the page and say what you expected to see instead. A project listed at the wrong development stage, a tool description that does not match what the software does, or a broken link are all things we would rather hear about once than leave quietly wrong.
Tool bugs
Bugs in our desktop tools go to the same address. Include your Windows version and a short description of what happened — the steps that led to it, and what you saw. A screenshot without a description is harder to place than plain words.
What happens next
Corrections and bug reports are prioritised ahead of general enquiries. When a fix lands, we reply from the studio. If the fix is not coming soon, you will get a plain answer about that too, rather than silence.
Straight answers
The address
Drop-in visits are not possible, but the address is genuine and post is read. Earley sits just south of Reading town centre, a short way from the M4, if you are placing us on the map.
Northwood Retail, 3 Victoria Place, Earley, Reading, England. Email remains the fastest route — the map is here so you can place the studio, not so you can turn up.
One last route
Email is the fastest route, and the address is the same for everything — game questions, tool questions, listing corrections and project enquiries. Post works too when something needs to be on paper.
Post
Northwood RetailNorthwood Retail is an independent game studio in Earley, Reading, England, building PC-first games and small desktop applications.
