SO YOU (THINK YOU) WANT TO WORK IN VIDEO GAMES

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

Character sheet

Character sheet Name: Sven Job: dev @ iChoosr Msc in Computer Science Exp:

7 years soft dev1.5 years game dev20 years gaming :D

Character sheet Job 1:

.NET developerC#HR company4.5 years2 hours commute / day

Character sheet Job 2

Lead UI developerC++1.5 years10 minutes commute!

Character sheet Job 3

Web developerC#6 months and counting6 minutes commute

How are games more fun?

Why games > reg. software Creator of worlds

Why games > reg. software Brings emotion

Why games > reg. software Brings laughter

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

It’s like working in the movies! Credits Events, commercials,… Big budgets

GTA IV: 100.000.000 $MGS4: 70.000.000$

Super stars

!

Landing a job

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

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

Landing a job as Junior So you are a student

Get a game degreeBetter yet, get a CS degreeLots of material out there, (gamedev.net etc)Make a demo!Work on open source projectsGet an internship

Landing a job as senior So you are an

experienced developerAgain, read, learn, …Work on open source

projects etcMake cool, finished

demosKnow C++ like the back

of your hand (tip!)Prepare to hand in some

salary

Interviews C++ Tests Algorithm Tests Demo

Online tests Interviewed by teams Prepare to do tough interviews at night Make applications

Game studios

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

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

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

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

Indie Game Development

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

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

Indie game development Day job, no risk Something with reliable hours Or something brain dead

Just make sure to have plenty of spare time

Indie game development Experimental Gameplay IGF Awards PAX Indie Game Competition

Start your own company Make big bucks :D

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

Indie start So, where to start?

Sony PSP miniNintendo WiiWare/DSiWareSteamMicrosoft XNAFlashiPhone/iPad

Indie: Sony PSP mini 1500$ dev kit C++

- approval by Sony- hidden costs- difficult SDK+ it’s a Sony!

Indie: Nintendo WiiWare/DSiWare

2000$+ dev kit- Nintendo difficult to

get approved- Hidden costs- Need real company to

be accepted- Specific market

Indie: Steam Steamworks (cloud

etc) Source-engine

(mac+pc)

- approval Steam- own engine, port for

both platforms+ big market+ Mac/PC

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)

Indie: Flash Actionscript Deploy on web Deploy on portable devices

+ multiplatform+ also relevant for UI game development- not supported by iPad/iPhone (although ..)

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

Indie: iPad/iPhone Lots of engines

Cocos2D (free)Torque (700$)Unity 3D (300$)…

Possibility to use C++ Easy for porting!!

Game Center

Indie: Tools

Beanstalkapp (SVN/GIT) Dropbox Visual Studio Express Xcode Etc..

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

Bloodlust

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

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

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

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

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

Bloodlust: what’s next? Half finished game A nice basic 2D engine (Windows) Port new engine to iPhone

Artists/developers welcome to apply ;)

Continue? Questions? Thoughts? Ideas?

Twitter: @svencharleer Website: 5dollashake.com

(bij de weg: iChoosr zoekt developer)