An independent video game developer says work on a new wave of "lifestyle" titles has driven expansion at its Brighton studio.

Staff numbers at Kuju Brighton have quadrupled from ten to 40 since the company moved into the Brighton Business Centre in Ditchling Road in March last year.

The team, which added to Kuju's operations in London, Sheffield and Surrey, is focused on developing games with a strong sense of fun, humour and style.

The games have emerged from recent innovations using dance mats, cameras and microphones, and often involve rhythm and music.

They tend to have a literal approach to player-participation and are usually defined by the absence of traditional control pads, which some people find difficult to use.

They are seen as a social, women-friendly alternative to the "shoot 'em ups", car chases and increasingly violent titles on offer at the moment.

Kuju Brighton recently worked alongside Sony on the last Eye-Toy game where players are filmed by a small set-top camera that puts their image into the game.

Simple and exaggerated body movements then control the action.

This type of title perfectly demonstrates the qualities of lifestyle games - social, active and a little daft.

Ed Daly, who heads Kuju Brighton, said: "The production process can be tricky as most of us are hardcore gamers trying to develop titles for those who normally wouldn't play games.

"But for the industry to move forward we must concentrate on what hasn't been done before for people who don't play games."

Kuju's success comes at a time when other independent games developers face a struggle for survival in an industry increasingly dominated by a handful of mega companies.

The rising cost of developing original titles and the trend towards outsourcing more programming to cheaper offshore locations, such as Vietnam and Hong Kong, also threaten the smaller outfits.

But Kuju is doing well and has several secret titles underway that should carry enough status to keep it buoyant for the foreseeable future.

The company moved to Brighton when it took over Wide Games, another video games developer which used to be based in Old Steine.

Already it has been involved in creating a new games development course at City College and contributed to the Game Girl project designed to entice more women into the industry.

The relationship works both ways - Kuju may well be training its future employees.

As Mr Daly said: "Being based in Brighton is always one of our selling points when looking to attract new staff."