My name's Matt, I mostly do Java development at Entelect in Johannesburg for my day job. I was lucky enough to help design the game for this year's Entelect R100K Challenge, wrote most of the test harness and in the general helped running the challenge (some of you may have seen me at the monthly JHB meetup a few months back).
I've been fascinated by games since first watching my dad play Space Invaders on an old home computer back in the 80s and I've been dabbling in game development since high school. I have yet to make a game that I consider good, but I have loads of half-finished prototypes and game design documents lying around.
I'm currently working on a little Space Invaders clone based on the original game design for the R100K Challenge to sharpen up my Unity and C# skills a bit before next week's Ludum Dare.
Welcome Matt. Great job with the 100K challenge. I entered a Gooey this year. Quite excited about it. You guys are very lenient with the deadlines though lol.
Hey All, My name is Elan. I am an engineering student at Stellenbosch University and I love programming. We had to make a game for our computer science course and my professor encouraged me to post it here to get some feed back. Will someone please give me some info as to where I can do that? :)
I see everybody introduces themselves here so I thought I'd follow in the same tradition!
My name is Wiehahn and I am a freelance writer based in Cape Town. I predominantly write about gaming and tech for Gearburn (Hi @GrahamZA!) but I've written some freelance pieces for other online publications such as Stuff, NAG and GameZone.
I am very keen on getting into Narrative Design for games (as you can see here ) as I've always been both a storyteller and avid gamer by heart. I hope by being active on MGSA I can meet like-minded individuals and find opportunities to better my craft and eventually realise my dream.
As for game design, I've dabbled a bit in Unity and Unreal Engine 4 and created some simple first-person experiences (absolutely nothing to brag about though!) so understand a bit about game mechanics. But my interest lies, first and foremost, with Narrative Design.
Hi guys! A short intro about myself: I've been programming professionally for 13 years. Love video games, have been messing around with programming games since...forever. It's time to get serious and actually release something! So I've started on one of my many ideas last week, and I'd like to see it through. I need some help with modeling, rigging and animation. I see some great art work and modeling here, if someone is interested in creating something, let me know. I use Unity and C#, as well as Blender, Sculpltris, Quixel (for normal mapping). We're not going to create the next AAA title here, but I'm sure we're going to create something better than flappy bird, that I can assure you!! If you would like to know more about the project, let me know. It's basically a local network multiplayer, top down shooter. Think of it as a lovechild between Babo Violent and Atomic Bomber man. Anyways, here's some VERY early tests.
Welcome @SleepingSafari always nice to see more writers on the forums.
Welcome @CodeNinja, nice WIP. You should make a new thread for your post and get people's feedback. That's probably where you could entice some help with the models and stuff.
Welcome @dark_seth. I remember coming across your side scroller somewhere on here.
Hi guys! I recently joined my buddy as a part time indie game developer. It all started back when Terraria first came out - I remember reading through the game's website, when one of the FAQ's was what language the game was written in - XNA. A free platform for making games with C#.
We both started playing around with XNA, but life got in the way. My friend, however, slowly but surely kept on going, and about 2.5 years ago he started playing around with Unity. As part of his learning he wrote a game - as he put it "a game that I WANT to play, something that isn't out there already". It was a side project, and never his intention to really publish and sell the game - maybe here and there, but not something like Steam.
I, however, DID see potential, the game was fun, and in my opinion others might find it fun as well. I decided to put forth the $100 to get the game on Steam Greenlight, because I reckoned if the game was on Steam, it will sell!
My little investment got me way more interested in the field of game development, and the bug bit me once and for all when I participated in a Ludum Dare with my friend. It was a blast, and I became part of Alister Software (we'll revamp the site at some stage...) - After about 45 days, our game, called Star Chronicles: Delta Quadrant, got Greenlit on Steam! We couldn't believe it! Check it out here: http://store.steampowered.com/app/383330/
For those who are interested, we are part of the current Friday Indie Gala bundle! Delta Quadrant is up with 11 great other titles for an absolute steal, check it out here: https://www.indiegala.com/friday
We are also actively developing another game called Catch a Falling Star (a much more casual game), which we hope to launch on as many platforms as we can - Steam, Android, iOS, Windows Store, etc.
My name is Rudi and my partner is Jayson. And we are proud South African game developers!
Anyway, hope you guys all have a great weekend! Game on!
Hello Everyone! My name is Vincent. I am currently a student studying IT, games development and electronics engineering. It's a bit of a long story that I will spare all of you. I love writing games and learning new languages/technologies, one of the first things I do when I start with a new language is write a small game using it. I look forward to meeting some of you at the next JHB meetup. That is if I am not too shy to be there haha.
Hello, My name is Ryan. And I too have the urge to create games :) I am an aspiring gamedev working on making my own game engine along side some smaller games to build up to the point of making bigger multiplayer FPS games and other smaller games.
I am also a member on GameDev.net (same username).
I'm Gerald, I am a systems administrator and part time videographer from Johannesburg. I have been slowly but surely coding my way through a few games and I am now seriously pursuing it. Just one day, it was clear to me, that my love for coding, video, digital art and music should be used in unison and be married to create games.
I'm Sunette and have been dabbling with Unity for the past year. I live in CT, a newb at C# and still intimidated by Blender - but hoping to keep learning as I go. My job has absolutely nothing to do with design, modelling or programming and would never consider myself to be anything more than a hobbyist. Only audience I need to satisfy are my kids LOL
Awesome to see that there is such a thriving community in SA and so much interest in game design/development :)
@rudivdw Well done on getting your game on Steam. Every game published is a huge victory!
@vince Welcome to the forum, and you should definitely go to the next meetup. The people there are made of awesome, don't deny yourself the awesome!
@ryan20fun Hi and welcome, hope to see those prototypes on the forum soon :D
@skeadster Videogames are indeed the marriage of many art forms, and to me it falls in the highest tier of any of them. The ride is long, but the journey is worth it.
@LadyAth Hobbyists, students, professionals everyone is welcome. If you have the opportunity you should really consider coming to the Cape Town meetup next week. Being around so many creative people is really inspiring. Plus this next meetup is going to be packed with interesting talks.
Hi everyone, my names jatniel, ive been following some of the posts on this site and decided it was about time i introduced myself.
Ive been practicing programming for a while now and know my way around most of the tools you'd expect unity, blender, source control... The list goes on, and im still learning something new every day.
I like programming and currently im busy testing out system/component based systems
Hey guys, I'm Ross. Iv'e been experimenting with games and simulation related stuff for most of my life. I'm currently studying IT in cape town. I'm hoping to get actively involved in the community over the next year or so. Look forward to seeing y'all around and building some cool stuff!
I eat noobs. Unfortunately, I am currently a game design noob. Like most of you i grew up around games, have a deep passion for them and Computer Hardware. I have decided to take up the Game Design hammer as a hobby; I guess i'll see where it goes.
I have a education background in Information Systems, Economics and a little less Computer Science (Programming experience in Java, C#, python and SQL). I have worked as a Business Analyst, Project Manager and currently a System Analyst.
I am busy doing a online course in Game dev and design, Object Engine = Unity 3d. Hosted on Coursera via Michigan State - go Spartan's i guess :P. I plan to complete this before making any further decisions about jumping into the world of game design.
Its great to see the commitment and growth within this sector in SA. I will purchase Broforce and Desktop Dungeons on steam tonight :) and give them a spin.
Greetings to all, my name is River, I am 21 years old from Carletonville. I currently work for a seismology company, designing Oculus Rift focused simulations for mines. I hope to expand in to the free-to-play market, seeing as it is the most viable to gain capital to expand into my own Indie Company one day. I have worked solo in all fields of design for the past 10 months, but I am now taking on my first team member soon. I hope to use this to expand my skills in team management.
I am starting my C# Programming course next year, and possibly also undertaking a Product Design and Management course. I love video-games, and I will do everything in my tainted soul to make it a reality XD
Hi everyone. I'm Johan, a semi-retired IT specialist with some coding background. A keen gamer with an eye for detail and design.
I've been following the development of SuperCell, BHG and others closely, and like many others I suppose (insert smiley) pondered the idea of joining the bandwagon.
Since I have zero background in game development I've been busy gathering more information on the processes, timeframes, skill sets, infrastructure, costing and obviously viability of developing massive multiplayer online games locally that is up to challenging the likes of Clash of Clans, DomiNations, Samurai Siege and AoE: Castle Siege.
Ambitious indeed, but will continue gathering information and explore possibilities to decide on the way forward.
Welcome to MGSA. I hope you find useful information and can join in on the fun of this community in making awesome games! If you are in CT or Jozi you are most welcome to come around to the MGSA meet-ups where you can chat with rad game dev people and learn a lot about making games!
I am looking to put an indie development team together (in the Cape Town area.)
The initial pay will be terrible, the hours will be long and the challenges near-impossible. (Stop reading now if that bothers you.)
(Work will be after-hours and based in coffee shops with WIFI/ libraries / anywhere)
We'll need, artists, designers, passionate enthusiasts, Unity/Stingray/Unreal developers, design leaders, animators and multi-talented individuals. You'll most likely be involved in a little of everything.
I believe the best of us will never be better than all of us and no true maker of things should work alone.
So if you feel bored and unchallenged and feel like you would like to be part of something great, then I hope this message reaches you.
All you need is the passionate desire to be part of something greater. Everyone is welcome.
Hi everyone. I'm Leighton, a graphic/digital designer from Cape Town. I've discovered Concept art, nearly 2 years ago, Feng Zhu's youtube channel in particular and I've never looked back. I knew that this is what i want to do and I've been teaching myself to get better in terms of perspective, anatomy etc. ever since. I'm starting the Level Up course on www.conceptart.org this week.
The design projects I'm doing at work are pretty tedious. I really want to work in the entertainment industry, hopefully in 2016.
Here are a few examples of my work. I'd appreciate any feedback from the community.
Hello there, my name is Marouane and i am nearly an it engineer in coding and modeling this is my last year haha =D , I'm really passionate with playing and making games, but really bud designer :p just coding. and i like it ^_^
I am a digital designer/marketer, competitive bodybuilder and social entrepreneur with an insurmountable of energy and determination that increases in leaps and bounds when I hang out with my two children and awesome husband.
I find my purpose in simplifying processes and systems for the end user and I am now extending my talents to include game development.
Hey guys. I'm from Pretoria and I'll be in matric in 2016 and I'm also taking IT as one of my subjects.
I've been getting back into Unity recently so hopefully I'll be an active member of this community. I've been a (on and off) lurker for about 3,5 years and I just looked back at some of my old posts. Oh the cringe. I thought I knew everything but I actually knew nothing. Well hopefully I'll be able to set that straight ;p.
Do you guys ever get together for any game making competitions (like Ludum Dare) in Pretoria or Johannesburg?
Looking forward to getting to know you all (and especially the guys who made BroForce) and I'm aiming to show my next project at rAge next year.
We generally try to have a get together for LD in JHB, but it depends if we can get a nice venue to use for the event. (AKA can we convince Microsoft to let us invade their offices.)
On a side note: showing games at rAge seems rather cool but unless you are doing it for a specific reason (like getting feedback) it doesn't really do anything for making the game better, or sell more.
Haha, you make it feel like I've been part of the community ever since I signed up for this community.
Sick! I never knew we did those Game Jams. If I feel like I'm proficient enough in Unity by the end of January otherwise I might join you guys for a Ludum Dare. I just want to make sure that I don't waste anybody's time by getting to the Game Jam and realizing I have no idea what I'm doing.
Anybody got an idea of how many people are going to the Pretoria Game Jam? With previous Game Jams what's been the norm with sleeping arrangements? Do you guys go home on the Friday night after discussing everything and then come back the Saturday and start working on the game and stay until Sunday? I suppose I only live 10 minutes from the Pretoria venue so it's probably worth sleeping at home.
Also, with Ludum Dare: Am I correct in saying that everybody starts at the same time globally which is about 2-3AM on Saturday for us? How do you guys do the meetups if the comp starts at such a weird time?
Yeah, I get what you're saying about rAge but a big part of the reason that I'm doing gamedev is because I'd really like to know that skmebody enjoys something that I made with my own 2 hands. But feedback from the average Joe would also be very valuable.
My names Tom, currently live in the UK but looking to move out to Durban area some time in 2016 hopefully (august/sept). Thought I would find out what the industry scene is like over in SA and found this place!
So, about me? I'm a masters graduate 3D modeller / artist and have had a little industry experience. However I have mostly been working in QA, from general software through to games, and helped set up a games QA company too.
I love working on projects and going to meetups/game jams.
I have started concepting a game design at the moment, hopefully to have a project to show about so I can give myself a better chance of getting a decent job out there. But if that fails at least there seems to be a decent community to keep up with.
I'm Keith from Pretoria. I am a game coder and 3D artist. I have been making games since 1987 when I got my first micro computer, the Sinclair ZX Spectrum +. I am currently in the process of building my own game engine, and to test out its limitations, I am making a freeware reimagining of Richard Garriot's (Lord British) 1980 RPG 'Akalabeth'.
It's good to know that SA has such a large Indie game development community. I am happy to have found this site.
I'm Keith from Pretoria. I am a game coder and 3D artist. I have been making games since 1987 when I got my first micro computer, the Sinclair ZX Spectrum +. I am currently in the process of building my own game engine, and to test out its limitations, I am making a freeware reimagining of Richard Garriot's (Lord British) 1980 RPG 'Akalabeth'.
It's good to know that SA has such a large Indie game development community. I am happy to have found this site.
You should really come to the game jam in Pretoria at the end of the month. I'm going to be bringing my friend who is also in the process of building his own engine. I've never done it before but I'm sure it's going to be lots of fun.
I just want to make sure that I don't waste anybody's time by getting to the Game Jam and realizing I have no idea what I'm doing.
You'd be like a lot of people there...including veterans. Game Jams is a great place to learn new things. You rarely have access to all the devs for weekends at a time like you do with a jam. :) People are generally friendly and helpful. So don't be afraid to ask.
It can also be fun sitting down with another person trying to learn the same things and struggling through it together. :)
No qualification, currently still studying in the I.T field. Love taking on projects! Currently working on a Unity 3D Horror game, and a simple DB android app. Got the story down more or less for the game already. Don't have much experience but I'm learning as I go =D. I have done C, C++, C#, PHP, HTML, JS, Java, Assembly and Visual Basic at introductory level at uni and at school. So I have decent coding experience but nothing too adept. So I'll be asking for help a lot ^_^
I also have my own, non-profit, website that I use as a blog, personal C.v and as a forum for students to get help at secondary and tertiary level. So if you know anybody who needs information/assistance or would like to help me send them to our facebook page or website =D Indeterminate Hub - inhub Inhub Facebook
My name is Ian, I'm a digital artist and front-end developer. Been a lurker on these forums for a while, and went on hiatus for about a year to finish my degree (BA Fine Arts with specialisation in game development), and recently moved to Cape Town. Now I hope to become more active in the community. Met a couple of you at the community night, which was great!
Hi Im Darren and im a full time Graphic designer, i work part time on games with my friends, latest being the GGJ entry "Tiki Toss". I hope to one day work on games as a full time job!! or sell our first one and get into it like that :)
Hello my name is Julius and before you ask: it's not Malema (though that would be pretty cool).
I found this through @creative630 and @dislekcia both of who joined me for my first game jam this past weekend (including the wonderfully talented @damousey).
I am currently in my 3rd year of a BSc CompSci & Games Dev at UCT and I am really enjoying it. I get super excited about making games, even though I'd say I'm pretty inexperienced at the moment. My strengths would be creative writing and an overactive imagination.
I firmly believe that games are an art form and that I want my games to tell a story or make the player feel something. My goals for the future are to transfer as many of my game ideas from my head to code (and hopefully improving each time).
Hey folks, I'm Martin. Not from South Africa (but Germany) but interested in the country and its / your games. I'm a Game Designer at Funatics funatics.de and Community Guy at Nevigo really looking forward to get in touch with you guys.
Been reading the forums for a bit, been meaning to join for a bit and just never got around to doing it.
I'm Pieter, an attorney and Lecturer at UWC in Internet law and also doing my doctorate in Internet monopolies and their regulation. No programming or IS experience (unless turbo pascal in the 90s counts), although I'm company secretary of a software development house, so I'm not totally foreign to the industry, and we're hoping to start building a game in the not too distant future as a Labour of love and a team building exercise. I'm a gamer by heart, still own a working NES from the 80s (best birthday gift ever), playing less these days due to having a toddler in the house, but I still try!
Looking forward to getting more involved with MGSA and IESA!
I'm Ricardo. I'm currently working as a digital designer in Cape Town. I've been playing games all my life and started with Prince of Persia on a 486 machine way back in the day. Since then I grew up playing a lot of Blizzard games like Diablo and Starcraft. I was around for some of the first FPS's like Wolfenstein and Doom.
In the last couple of years I've been really impressed by what the some of the local guys have done here in SA and it's inspired me to start drawing again. So now I'm on a mission to become a game artist and will be looking to get involved in the local community here in CT!
Hello everyone, my name is Pieter. I'm a young developer trying to cut it out here. Being in a tight spot I teach myself using resources and questioning communities out there how to achieve my goals. As of this post I have completed one Alpha project called Soccer Chase, which is a point-and-click or "Clicker" game if you will. Was the first of its kind but never released due to unoptimized code and I hope to be able to release it soon. I'm also working on creating a personal engine to use with various game types (RPG, RTS and Puzzle) which is based off of procedural generation heavily.
Greetings All! I am Stan The Guy, a 23 year old guy trying to get back into an old hobby. Working on my first game in 11 years. Lover of Unity. Husband, Father and KEEN TO JAM!
Good afternoon. My name is Norm and I am new here! I come from a film editing background and have been playing around with creating games for last couple of years. I've been enjoying reading all the discussions on the page and finally decided I should join in! :)
Hi @PainKillerREX, strong Afrikaans name you have there boet :D If you want some quality feedback on your game, post it in the forums as quickly as you can, and don't worry about optimizing code, it's way more important to get people to play it first.
@StanTheGuy let the Jam flow. You will find no shortage of Unity supporters on these forums ;)
@NormRandall welcome, glad to have you with us. Look forward to seeing what games you create. If you're new to game development without a lot of coding experience, I suggest you go pick up GameMaker. It's easy to learn and will get you producing your first prototype in no time.
Hi everyone, my name is Yuko and I’m a Researcher and Lecturer at the University of Johannesburg. I have always loved game development and retro games. Unfortunately, my career and studies have always come in the way of my passion for writing games, but now that I have completed my doctorate in Electrical and Electronic Engineering I have much more time to pursue this hobby. Over the years, I have written a number of game engines, but have never completed a game as there is always more features and cool tech that you can add to the engine and then you never get to the game. This time I have decided to buy the game engine and all the tools needed to create the game and rather focus on the assets and the game itself. For the last three months I have been working on a Metroidvania style game with a princess and dragon quest romance storyline.
Hello there! I'm James in the meatspace. I've always loved games and wanted to make them - I dabbled with GameMaker some years ago when NAG first published articles about it, but I suppose life found me other priorities after school. I work as an IT/network support guy for a moderately sized office now, finding myself with the time to study and I'm looking to get myself back on the game dev track!
Comments
My name's Matt, I mostly do Java development at Entelect in Johannesburg for my day job. I was lucky enough to help design the game for this year's Entelect R100K Challenge, wrote most of the test harness and in the general helped running the challenge (some of you may have seen me at the monthly JHB meetup a few months back).
I've been fascinated by games since first watching my dad play Space Invaders on an old home computer back in the 80s and I've been dabbling in game development since high school. I have yet to make a game that I consider good, but I have loads of half-finished prototypes and game design documents lying around.
I'm currently working on a little Space Invaders clone based on the original game design for the R100K Challenge to sharpen up my Unity and C# skills a bit before next week's Ludum Dare.
Looking forward to LD33!
My name is Elan. I am an engineering student at Stellenbosch University and I love programming. We had to make a game for our computer science course and my professor encouraged me to post it here to get some feed back. Will someone please give me some info as to where I can do that? :)
I see everybody introduces themselves here so I thought I'd follow in the same tradition!
My name is Wiehahn and I am a freelance writer based in Cape Town. I predominantly write about gaming and tech for Gearburn (Hi @GrahamZA!) but I've written some freelance pieces for other online publications such as Stuff, NAG and GameZone.
I am very keen on getting into Narrative Design for games (as you can see here ) as I've always been both a storyteller and avid gamer by heart. I hope by being active on MGSA I can meet like-minded individuals and find opportunities to better my craft and eventually realise my dream.
As for game design, I've dabbled a bit in Unity and Unreal Engine 4 and created some simple first-person experiences (absolutely nothing to brag about though!) so understand a bit about game mechanics. But my interest lies, first and foremost, with Narrative Design.
A short intro about myself:
I've been programming professionally for 13 years. Love video games, have been messing around with programming games since...forever. It's time to get serious and actually release something! So I've started on one of my many ideas last week, and I'd like to see it through. I need some help with modeling, rigging and animation. I see some great art work and modeling here, if someone is interested in creating something, let me know. I use Unity and C#, as well as Blender, Sculpltris, Quixel (for normal mapping). We're not going to create the next AAA title here, but I'm sure we're going to create something better than flappy bird, that I can assure you!! If you would like to know more about the project, let me know. It's basically a local network multiplayer, top down shooter. Think of it as a lovechild between Babo Violent and Atomic Bomber man. Anyways, here's some VERY early tests.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=jEJ8ceeMGrI
Name is Deon. Been coding some projects for the last 1year for myself to see what I can do. I code Js. Currently using the Unity engine.
Currently Working on The Ninja Girl Android bases game. First early Preview
Some Old prototype ( pride and joy, Sadly all Modeling and Animations done by me. ) Playing with PS3 Remote on PC.
Welcome @CodeNinja, nice WIP. You should make a new thread for your post and get people's feedback. That's probably where you could entice some help with the models and stuff.
Welcome @dark_seth. I remember coming across your side scroller somewhere on here.
:)
We both started playing around with XNA, but life got in the way. My friend, however, slowly but surely kept on going, and about 2.5 years ago he started playing around with Unity. As part of his learning he wrote a game - as he put it "a game that I WANT to play, something that isn't out there already". It was a side project, and never his intention to really publish and sell the game - maybe here and there, but not something like Steam.
I, however, DID see potential, the game was fun, and in my opinion others might find it fun as well. I decided to put forth the $100 to get the game on Steam Greenlight, because I reckoned if the game was on Steam, it will sell!
My little investment got me way more interested in the field of game development, and the bug bit me once and for all when I participated in a Ludum Dare with my friend. It was a blast, and I became part of Alister Software (we'll revamp the site at some stage...) - After about 45 days, our game, called Star Chronicles: Delta Quadrant, got Greenlit on Steam! We couldn't believe it! Check it out here: http://store.steampowered.com/app/383330/
For those who are interested, we are part of the current Friday Indie Gala bundle! Delta Quadrant is up with 11 great other titles for an absolute steal, check it out here: https://www.indiegala.com/friday
We are also actively developing another game called Catch a Falling Star (a much more casual game), which we hope to launch on as many platforms as we can - Steam, Android, iOS, Windows Store, etc.
My name is Rudi and my partner is Jayson. And we are proud South African game developers!
Anyway, hope you guys all have a great weekend! Game on!
And I too have the urge to create games :)
I am an aspiring gamedev working on making my own game engine along side some smaller games to build up to the point of making bigger multiplayer FPS games and other smaller games.
I am also a member on GameDev.net (same username).
-Ryan.
I'm Gerald, I am a systems administrator and part time videographer from Johannesburg. I have been slowly but surely coding my way through a few games and I am now seriously pursuing it. Just one day, it was clear to me, that my love for coding, video, digital art and music should be used in unison and be married to create games.
Looking forward to the long ride! :P
Awesome to see that there is such a thriving community in SA and so much interest in game design/development :)
@vince Welcome to the forum, and you should definitely go to the next meetup. The people there are made of awesome, don't deny yourself the awesome!
@ryan20fun Hi and welcome, hope to see those prototypes on the forum soon :D
@skeadster Videogames are indeed the marriage of many art forms, and to me it falls in the highest tier of any of them. The ride is long, but the journey is worth it.
@LadyAth Hobbyists, students, professionals everyone is welcome. If you have the opportunity you should really consider coming to the Cape Town meetup next week. Being around so many creative people is really inspiring. Plus this next meetup is going to be packed with interesting talks.
Here's the forum link:
Cape Town Community Night 30 September
Ive been practicing programming for a while now and know my way around most of the tools you'd expect unity, blender, source control... The list goes on, and im still learning something new every day.
I like programming and currently im busy testing out system/component based systems
Thanks
I'm hoping to get actively involved in the community over the next year or so. Look forward to seeing y'all around and building some cool stuff!
I have a education background in Information Systems, Economics and a little less Computer Science (Programming experience in Java, C#, python and SQL). I have worked as a Business Analyst, Project Manager and currently a System Analyst.
I am busy doing a online course in Game dev and design, Object Engine = Unity 3d. Hosted on Coursera via Michigan State - go Spartan's i guess :P. I plan to complete this before making any further decisions about jumping into the world of game design.
Its great to see the commitment and growth within this sector in SA. I will purchase Broforce and Desktop Dungeons on steam tonight :) and give them a spin.
I greet you all, hello
I am starting my C# Programming course next year, and possibly also undertaking a Product Design and Management course.
I love video-games, and I will do everything in my tainted soul to make it a reality XD
Peace -_-
I've been following the development of SuperCell, BHG and others closely, and like many others I suppose (insert smiley) pondered the idea of joining the bandwagon.
Since I have zero background in game development I've been busy gathering more information on the processes, timeframes, skill sets, infrastructure, costing and obviously viability of developing massive multiplayer online games locally that is up to challenging the likes of Clash of Clans, DomiNations, Samurai Siege and AoE: Castle Siege.
Ambitious indeed, but will continue gathering information and explore possibilities to decide on the way forward.
Welcome to MGSA. I hope you find useful information and can join in on the fun of this community in making awesome games! If you are in CT or Jozi you are most welcome to come around to the MGSA meet-ups where you can chat with rad game dev people and learn a lot about making games!
The initial pay will be terrible, the hours will be long and the challenges near-impossible. (Stop reading now if that bothers you.)
(Work will be after-hours and based in coffee shops with WIFI/ libraries / anywhere)
We'll need, artists, designers, passionate enthusiasts, Unity/Stingray/Unreal developers, design leaders, animators and multi-talented individuals. You'll most likely be involved in a little of everything.
I believe the best of us will never be better than all of us and no true maker of things should work alone.
So if you feel bored and unchallenged and feel like you would like to be part of something great, then I hope this message reaches you.
All you need is the passionate desire to be part of something greater. Everyone is welcome.
Let's make something together.
Best Regards,
Dane
The design projects I'm doing at work are pretty tedious. I really want to work in the entertainment industry, hopefully in 2016.
Here are a few examples of my work. I'd appreciate any feedback from the community.
Kind Regards
Thanks!
Thank you for creating such a community =D .
I am a digital designer/marketer, competitive bodybuilder and social entrepreneur with an insurmountable of energy and determination that increases in leaps and bounds when I hang out with my two children and awesome husband.
I find my purpose in simplifying processes and systems for the end user and I am now extending my talents to include game development.
I've been getting back into Unity recently so hopefully I'll be an active member of this community. I've been a (on and off) lurker for about 3,5 years and I just looked back at some of my old posts. Oh the cringe. I thought I knew everything but I actually knew nothing. Well hopefully I'll be able to set that straight ;p.
Do you guys ever get together for any game making competitions (like Ludum Dare) in Pretoria or Johannesburg?
Looking forward to getting to know you all (and especially the guys who made BroForce) and I'm aiming to show my next project at rAge next year.
Good to see you back around these parts :)
We have Global Game Jam coming up at the end of Jan.
We generally try to have a get together for LD in JHB, but it depends if we can get a nice venue to use for the event. (AKA can we convince Microsoft to let us invade their offices.)
On a side note: showing games at rAge seems rather cool but unless you are doing it for a specific reason (like getting feedback) it doesn't really do anything for making the game better, or sell more.
Haha, you make it feel like I've been part of the community ever since I signed up for this community.
Sick! I never knew we did those Game Jams. If I feel like I'm proficient enough in Unity by the end of January otherwise I might join you guys for a Ludum Dare. I just want to make sure that I don't waste anybody's time by getting to the Game Jam and realizing I have no idea what I'm doing.
Anybody got an idea of how many people are going to the Pretoria Game Jam? With previous Game Jams what's been the norm with sleeping arrangements? Do you guys go home on the Friday night after discussing everything and then come back the Saturday and start working on the game and stay until Sunday? I suppose I only live 10 minutes from the Pretoria venue so it's probably worth sleeping at home.
Also, with Ludum Dare: Am I correct in saying that everybody starts at the same time globally which is about 2-3AM on Saturday for us? How do you guys do the meetups if the comp starts at such a weird time?
Yeah, I get what you're saying about rAge but a big part of the reason that I'm doing gamedev is because I'd really like to know that skmebody enjoys something that I made with my own 2 hands. But feedback from the average Joe would also be very valuable.
My names Tom, currently live in the UK but looking to move out to Durban area some time in 2016 hopefully (august/sept). Thought I would find out what the industry scene is like over in SA and found this place!
So, about me? I'm a masters graduate 3D modeller / artist and have had a little industry experience. However I have mostly been working in QA, from general software through to games, and helped set up a games QA company too.
I love working on projects and going to meetups/game jams.
I have started concepting a game design at the moment, hopefully to have a project to show about so I can give myself a better chance of getting a decent job out there. But if that fails at least there seems to be a decent community to keep up with.
Happy new year to everyone!
I'm Keith from Pretoria. I am a game coder and 3D artist. I have been making games since 1987 when I got my first micro computer, the Sinclair ZX Spectrum +. I am currently in the process of building my own game engine, and to test out its limitations, I am making a freeware reimagining of Richard Garriot's (Lord British) 1980 RPG 'Akalabeth'.
It's good to know that SA has such a large Indie game development community. I am happy to have found this site.
It can also be fun sitting down with another person trying to learn the same things and struggling through it together. :)
I'm Kriyen from Durban.
No qualification, currently still studying in the I.T field. Love taking on projects! Currently working on a Unity 3D Horror game, and a simple DB android app. Got the story down more or less for the game already. Don't have much experience but I'm learning as I go =D.
I have done C, C++, C#, PHP, HTML, JS, Java, Assembly and Visual Basic at introductory level at uni and at school. So I have decent coding experience but nothing too adept. So I'll be asking for help a lot ^_^
I also have my own, non-profit, website that I use as a blog, personal C.v and as a forum for students to get help at secondary and tertiary level. So if you know anybody who needs information/assistance or would like to help me send them to our facebook page or website =D
Indeterminate Hub - inhub
Inhub Facebook
Keen to be a part of the community!
^_^
My name is Ian, I'm a digital artist and front-end developer. Been a lurker on these forums for a while, and went on hiatus for about a year to finish my degree (BA Fine Arts with specialisation in game development), and recently moved to Cape Town. Now I hope to become more active in the community. Met a couple of you at the community night, which was great!
Will be posting some of my games real soon™.
I found this through @creative630 and @dislekcia both of who joined me for my first game jam this past weekend (including the wonderfully talented @damousey).
I am currently in my 3rd year of a BSc CompSci & Games Dev at UCT and I am really enjoying it. I get super excited about making games, even though I'd say I'm pretty inexperienced at the moment. My strengths would be creative writing and an overactive imagination.
I firmly believe that games are an art form and that I want my games to tell a story or make the player feel something. My goals for the future are to transfer as many of my game ideas from my head to code (and hopefully improving each time).
Cheers,
Martin
Been reading the forums for a bit, been meaning to join for a bit and just never got around to doing it.
I'm Pieter, an attorney and Lecturer at UWC in Internet law and also doing my doctorate in Internet monopolies and their regulation. No programming or IS experience (unless turbo pascal in the 90s counts), although I'm company secretary of a software development house, so I'm not totally foreign to the industry, and we're hoping to start building a game in the not too distant future as a Labour of love and a team building exercise. I'm a gamer by heart, still own a working NES from the 80s (best birthday gift ever), playing less these days due to having a toddler in the house, but I still try!
Looking forward to getting more involved with MGSA and IESA!
I'm Ricardo. I'm currently working as a digital designer in Cape Town. I've been playing games all my life and started with Prince of Persia on a 486 machine way back in the day. Since then I grew up playing a lot of Blizzard games like Diablo and Starcraft. I was around for some of the first FPS's like Wolfenstein and Doom.
In the last couple of years I've been really impressed by what the some of the local guys have done here in SA and it's inspired me to start drawing again. So now I'm on a mission to become a game artist and will be looking to get involved in the local community here in CT!
Working on my first game in 11 years. Lover of Unity. Husband, Father and KEEN TO JAM!
My name is Norm and I am new here!
I come from a film editing background and have been playing around with creating games for last couple of years.
I've been enjoying reading all the discussions on the page and finally decided I should join in! :)
@StanTheGuy let the Jam flow. You will find no shortage of Unity supporters on these forums ;)
@NormRandall welcome, glad to have you with us. Look forward to seeing what games you create. If you're new to game development without a lot of coding experience, I suggest you go pick up GameMaker. It's easy to learn and will get you producing your first prototype in no time.
Over the years, I have written a number of game engines, but have never completed a game as there is always more features and cool tech that you can add to the engine and then you never get to the game. This time I have decided to buy the game engine and all the tools needed to create the game and rather focus on the assets and the game itself. For the last three months I have been working on a Metroidvania style game with a princess and dragon quest romance storyline.
I'm James in the meatspace. I've always loved games and wanted to make them - I dabbled with GameMaker some years ago when NAG first published articles about it, but I suppose life found me other priorities after school. I work as an IT/network support guy for a moderately sized office now, finding myself with the time to study and I'm looking to get myself back on the game dev track!