MANSFIELD – When Mansfield residents Travis Behrendsen and Brandon Mawhorr began a video gaming startup in 2016, they hoped their hometown could become a major gaming center.But shortly into the process, they realized a need to narrow the skills gap to make this happen. Close 1 of 6 Buy Now Facebook Twitter Email Print Save Buy Now Facebook Twitter Email Print Save Buy Now Facebook Twitter Email Print Save Buy Now Facebook Twitter Email Print Save Facebook Twitter Email Print Save Facebook Twitter Email Print Save prevnext The founders of Red Mystic Studios, an independent video gaming company, recognize the challenges to building a startup in Mansfield, especially a technology-heavy one. Still, they’re determined to overcome the barriers and ultimately make Mansfield a go-to gaming place.“We like living here. We love the community," said Mawhorr, a programmer. "So why take it somewhere else and give them the opportunities and benefits when we could give back to a community we’ve lived in."Mawhorr, Behrendsen and their team started Red Mystic Studios in late 2016 with plenty of ideas and limited resources. Since then, they’ve enhanced two portions of their business: the video gaming side and a training program.The group’s first game, called Fairchild, is described as a “first-person shooter” game set in the 1800's American frontier in an alternate universe. Something that currently doesn’t exist in the industry, according to Behrendsen.They hope to have a playable demo by fall 2018. Currently, the game is about halfway finished in multiplayer mode.“A castle wasn’t built in a day; it’s built block by block,” Behrendsen said. “We’re pushing to get a demo out soon and focusing on multiplayer.”He wants to see several games finished within five years and anticipates even further growth long-term.“I’d like to see ourselves established in the community. We want a flagship facility here, and I want to see a staff of 10 or more,” Behrendsen said.But early into building Fairchild, the Red Mystic Studios team realized something was missing.“We realized the talent pool in Mansfield didn’t have the skills we needed in game design,” Behrendsen said. “Sure, you have people in graphic design, people in web, but no one was really specifically engaged in what we were actually doing.”Going into this, Behrendsen and Mawhorr knew they wanted to give back to their community by helping young people who want to get into the industry. But they had not realized what a significant component it could be for their startup.Though their resources are limited, they have trained several Red Mystic Studios team members and pointed other people in the right direction. Behrendsen recalls how one team member, Larry, went from “zero to hero” in a short time.“He is probably one of the best I’ve ever seen. And he’s still learning stuff every day,” Behrendsen said.The goal is to offer more structured workshops, but it’s proved challenging as they balance this with the more expensive and time-consuming video game development. They haven’t determined how to best approach and solve this problem yet.“A lot of people contact me, and I never turn those people away,” Behrendsen said. “I always do my best to point those people in the right direction.”For now, they expressed intentions to continue growing both sides of the business, as they depend on one other.Red Mystic Studios also participates in game night events set up by Christina Mawhorr and Pristell Dogans. The next is expected to happen in late spring.To learn more about Red Mystic Studios or to follow their progress, visit redmysticstudios.com or find them on Facebook.