1. So you (think you) want to work in video games

2. Overview How I got into gamedev What’s so great about making games Where does one start? Games studios, the good Games studios, the bad Indie game development A post-mortem: Bloodlust

3. Character sheet

4. Character sheet Name: Sven Job: dev @ iChoosr Msc in Computer Science Exp: 7 years soft dev 1.5 years game dev 20 years gaming :D

5. Character sheet Job 1: .NET developer C# HR company 4.5 years 2 hours commute / day

6. Character sheet Job 2 Lead UI developer C++ 1.5 years 10minutes commute!

7. Character sheet Job 3 Web developer C# 6 months and counting 6minutes commute

8. How are games more fun?

9. Why games > reg. software Creator of worlds

10. Why games > reg. software Brings emotion

11. Why games > reg. software Brings laughter

12. Why games > reg. software Challenging (physics, gfx, maths, AI)

13. It’s like working in the movies! Credits Events, commercials,… Big budgets GTA IV: 100.000.000 $ MGS4: 70.000.000$

14. Super stars !

15. Landing a job

16. Landing a job Difficult to get in with no experience Tests Plenty of folk waiting in line

17. Landing a job So you are a student So you are a developer

18. Landing a job as Junior So you are a student Get a game degree Better yet, get a CS degree Lots of material out there, (gamedev.net etc) Make a demo! Work on open source projects Get an internship

19. Landing a job as senior So you are an experienced developer Again, read, learn, … Work on open source projects etc Make cool, finished demos Know C++ like the back of your hand (tip!) Prepare to hand in some salary

20. Interviews C++ Tests Algorithm Tests Demo Online tests Interviewed by teams Prepare to do tough interviews at night Make applications

21. Game studios

22. Game studios, the good Great colleagues Like minded people Access to games Networking Awesome dev kits Publisher events Free food All things to keep the kid in you happy

23. Game studio, the bad Immature industry Companies come and go Job insecurity You’re not a game designer Crunch/Overtime Salaries & … benefits?

24. Family games Until industry matures, not a good option Great when you’re young Move abroad for big companies Getting out not easy

25. But I really wanna make games Stop wasting that spare time! There are more people like you Mingle, network … and go indie!

26. Indie Game Development

27. Indie game development Not supported by publisher Small teams Can be open source Big communities

28. Indie game development Creativity Good for portfolio Chance to do something new Chances to work with interesting people As developer, learn all aspects Art/Music Game design

29. Indie game development Day job, no risk Something with reliable hours Or something brain dead Just make sure to have plenty of spare time

30. Indie game development Experimental Gameplay IGF Awards PAX Indie Game Competition Start your own company Make big bucks :D

31. Indie win World of Goo Braid Trism Audiosurf Osmos Darwinia Everyday Shooter Crayon Physics

32. Indie start So, where to start? Sony PSP mini Nintendo WiiWare/DSiWare Steam Microsoft XNA Flash iPhone/iPad

33. Indie: Sony PSP mini 1500$ dev kit C++ - approval by Sony - hidden costs - difficult SDK + it’s a Sony!

34. Indie: Nintendo WiiWare/DSiWare 2000$+ dev kit - Nintendo difficult to get approved - Hidden costs - Need real company to be accepted - Specific market

35. Indie: Steam Steamworks (cloud etc) Source-engine (mac+pc) - approval Steam - own engine, port for both platforms + big market + Mac/PC

36. Indie: Microsoft XNA .NET 99$/year Deploy on PC Deploy on Xbox 360 + sell on Xbox 360 Live Indies + easy to develop (tools, framework) + Windows Phone 7 :D - small market (where the hell is this store)

37. Indie: Flash Actionscript Deploy on web Deploy on portable devices + multiplatform + also relevant for UI game development - not supported by iPad/iPhone (although ..)

38. Indie: iPad/iPhone 99$/year Objective-C / C++ - need a Mac (expensive) - objective-c - devices change every year (expensive) - rely on Apple + no cost and easy to publish (30% goes to Apple) + free advertisement if Apple loves it + excellent for casual games, hopefully more

39. Indie: iPad/iPhone Lots of engines Cocos2D (free) Torque (700$) Unity 3D (300$) … Possibility to use C++ Easy for porting!! Game Center

40. Indie: Tools Beanstalkapp(SVN/GIT) Dropbox Visual Studio Express Xcode Etc..

41. So … Find the tools you love Make stuff you’d play Make stuff your friends would play Make a team! Try the wackiest things! Keep it simple Be active in communities/Twitter/etc

42. Bloodlust

43. Bloodlust: a postmortem Radlab Games Project with colleague + friends in the US 1 developer 2 artists 1 musician 2 QA 1 Social Media

44. Bloodlust: a postmortem 4 weekends From scratch to published iPhone game

45. Bloodlust: process 3 weeks spent on getting a working game Iteration on gameplay during development Small project, so easy to iterate Tech is reusable Ideas plenty

46. Bloodlust: advertising Social media through Facebook/Twitter/etc Around 2000 sales at .99$

47. Bloodlust: what happened? People got new jobs Moved away Half written games on shelf

48. Bloodlust: what’s next? Half finished game A nice basic 2D engine (Windows) Port new engine to iPhone Artists/developers welcome to apply ;)

49. Continue? Questions? Thoughts? Ideas? Twitter: @svencharleer Website: 5dollashake.com (bij de weg: iChoosrzoekt developer)