“Ever wanted to make a game?”

Perhaps the answer to that question has crossed your mind before. Perhaps you’ve dreamed of one day becoming a game developer, creating popular and important videogames for PC, consoles, handhelds and mobile. Perhaps you’ve even got a few ideas and a fair bit of talent to make this dream a reality.

But wait. You live in South Africa. How are you ever going to get into game development and join a studio, or even form a studio of your own, if you don’t have the support of other like-minded and talented individuals?

Easy.

Join a local South African game development community, take part and learn most everything you need to know about creating games with your peers.

And visit rAge 2011.

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Have you heard about Dragooo? It’s a new iPhone game created by South African game development outfit Tasty Poison Games, where you’re invited to adopt a virtual pet dragon of your very own, and feed, nurture, train and customise it to be the best little dragon it can be!

Once you’ve trained up your little guy and he’s fully grown, you’re able to fly him through the underground caverns of Mount Kahmi using the iPhone’s accelerometer to guide him through challenging courses and best your own time.

As you can see in the screenshots and the in-game footage below, Dragooo looks incredible for an iPhone game, with all kinds of awesome effects and great stylised art direction.

Wonderful!

You can watch Dragooo in action in a gameplay video below, which gives us some looks at the little dude waddling around, getting fed and flying through caverns:

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Last year I wrote an article for videogame industry trade site Gamasutra entitled ‘The South African Game Development Scene: Past Present and Future,’ which attempted to look at the history of game development in the country and surmise how an industry may rise and move forward here.

The article was based on interviews conducted with a diverse, influential and talented group of developers both from and based in South Africa, but a lot of the responses were unfortunately not included due to the nature of the piece, so in an effort to share this potential goldmine of knowledge with aspiring game developers and gaming enthusiasts, I decided to start posting the interviews here on El33tonline, in full, continuing today with part six, and an interview with Naughty Dog’s Judd Simantov (you can read part one, part two, part three, part four and part five at your leisure).

Judd Simantov is the Art Technical Lead at Naughty Dog Inc., having moved from South Africa in October 2004 at the age of 22 to use his specific skill sets related to 3D animation, modelling and technical scripting, and to pursue a career in the field of videogames.

Initially, Simantov’s focus was purely on animation and digital visual arts, working on CG movie shorts and animated advertisements, before being offered a job opportunity at Naughty Dog in Los Angeles, California. Feeling frustrated by the lack of opportunity in South Africa to utilise his unique animation technology skills, Simantov took the job at Naughty Dog and is now responsible for the developer’s character and animation pipeline, as well as the development of the technologies driving the animation.

Simantov has held presentations related to his work at Naughty Dog at Game Developers Conference (GDC) events every year from 2007 up to and including 2010 (excluding 2009, to my knowledge), and has helped the team at Naughty Dog create and ship both Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and the recent industry-crushing, multiple award-winning Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.

Simantov also co-created the 3D art plug-in and related website, CGMuscle. To find out what he does in his spare time (when he has it), you should definitely visit Simantov’s personal blog over here, and check out the range of artistic endeavours he busies himself with.

Let’s begin this fascinating and highly inspiring interview with Judd Simantov:

Continue reading The Lost South African Game Developer Interviews Part 6: Judd Simantov.

Last year I wrote an article for videogame industry trade site Gamasutra entitled ‘The South African Game Development Scene: Past Present and Future,’ which attempted to look at the history of game development in the country and surmise how an industry may rise and move forward here.

The article was based on interviews conducted with a diverse, influential and talented group of developers both from and based in South Africa, but a lot of the responses were unfortunately not included due to the nature of the piece, so in an effort to share this potential goldmine of knowledge with aspiring game developers and gaming enthusiasts, I decided to start posting the interviews here on El33tonline, in full, continuing today with part five, and an interview with Damien Classen (you can read part one, part two, part three and part four at your leisure).

Damien Classen is (primarily) a graphics programmer currently working at ThoroughTec Simulation in Durban, South Africa, after having spent a year at Digital Extremes (co-developers of the Unreal franchise) in Canada working on Bioshock 2: specifically, Classen was a graphics programmer at the company working with the in-house Evolution Engine, while working with the part of the engine that handles rendering on the PlayStation 3.

In order to be working in the realm of graphics technology, Classen studied Computer Science in South Africa and received a Masters Degree specialising in graphics programming, and while tinkering with his own graphics engines and projects (like the brain-teasing puzzle game, Lyntheria), he entered into stints at Durban-based software developers Derivco and ThoroughTec, which lead to an opportunity at Digital Extremes in 2008.

Classen left Digital Extremes towards the end of 2009 and moved back to South Africa to be closer to family and friends, and has returned to work at ThoroughTec.

You can check out Classen’s impressive portfolio of personal work at his website.

Let’s begin the interview:

Continue reading The Lost South African Game Developer Interviews Part 5: Damien Classen

Last year I wrote an article for videogame industry trade site Gamasutra entitled ‘The South African Game Development Scene: Past Present and Future,’ which attempted to look at the history of game development in South Africa and surmise how an industry may rise and move forward here.

The article was based on interviews conducted with a diverse, influential and talented group of developers both from and based in South Africa, but a lot of the responses were unfortunately not included due to the nature of the piece, so in an effort to share this potential goldmine of knowledge with aspiring game developers and gaming enthusiasts both here and abroad, I decided to start posting the interviews here on El33tonline, in full, continuing today with part four, and an interview with Jacques Krige (you can read part one, part two and part three as the mood takes you).

Jacques Krige (known as ‘Korax’ in the online development community) is the leader of South African game development community SAGameDev, owner of technology company Business Gateway, and founder of Excentrax Games.

As a self-taught programmer, level designer and game developer, Krige cut his teeth programming business applications and began working with level creation tools for a variety of id Software and Raven Software-developed games, as well as programming the NewHexen mod for Raven Software’s Hexen II.

More recently, Krige took over ownership of the South African game development community website, SAGameDev, and has continued work on upgrading the site, while taking an interesting approach to forming his own game development studio, Excentrax Games, by first creating and running a successful internet technology company, Business Gateway, to fund the games he and his studio will create in the future.

Currently, Krige and Excentrax Games are working with Unreal Engine 3 technology (after working with a variety of other technologies, including Microsoft’s XNA) to create their first game as a studio.

Let’s begin the interview:

Continue reading The Lost South African Game Developer Interviews Part 4: Jacques Krige.

On March 6th 2010 (also known as ‘last week Saturday’), a group of like-minded individuals, professional and enthusiast software developers alike, all passionately interested in disciplines related to the development of computer and videogames, gathered at an undisclosed location (CTI’s campus in Durban North… 59 Adelaide Tambo Drive) to discuss their common interests in this exciting field.

Little did we (I) know that everyone would soon have their faces glued to their monitors and their hands stuck to their computer peripherals (some nice imagery there) in an effort to create a mini-game masterpiece in under eight hours.

At the beginning of the day, this garbage bin was empty. By the end of the day, it would be overflowing with discarded junk food wrappers and condiments - a diet of saturated fats and caffeine was our fuel.

The clock was ticking and there were games to be made.

Continue reading El33tonline’s Durban DevLAN March Report: Full of win or epic fail?

Hey fellow South Africans, what’re you up to this weekend?

If you’re in the vicinity of Cape Town and you feel up to the task of taking part in some Fifa 10 and Guitar Hero 5 competitions from the evening of March 6th (tomorrow) until the morning of March 7th (Sunday), as well as standing a chance of winning some prizes, then the PS3 Cape Town LAN might just interest you.

Grab the details for that event over here .

On the other hand, if you happen to be in Durban, and you’re looking for a gathering of like-minded game developers (professional and enthusiast alike) to hang out with for the day to share ideas with, and perhaps even create a prototype game, you’d do well to look into the DevLAN happening tomorrow, March 6th, from 9:30 AM until 5 PM.

Have a look at the details for that event over here.

Happy weekending!

Calling all game developers - and those simply interested in the world of videogame creation - in the Durban area!

This Saturday, on March 6th Twenty-Ten, you’ll have the opportunity to attend a genuine DevLAN with genuine game developers (enthusiast and pro alike), meet with like-minded people, perhaps make a small game or two, and share ideas and expand your knowledge on the exciting topic of ‘game development.’

For the “What, Where and When,” head on down below, and also be sure to visit the original Game.Dev forum thread, where you can confirm your presence and/or interest in the gathering, and ask further questions about the meet-up:

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A little over a year ago I conducted a series of interviews with a diverse, influential and talented group of developers both from and based in South Africa, which resulted in an article for industry trade site Gamasutra entitled ‘The South African Game Development Scene: Past Present and Future,’ which attempted to look at the history of game development in the country and surmise how an industry may rise and move forward here.

A lot of the interview material was unfortunately left out of the article for reasons of conciseness, and I say unfortunately because almost every response I was given was a gold mine of information and history that could potentially not only benefit aspiring South African game developers, and game developers in other developing nations looking to make a living in this industry, but also inform gaming enthusiasts around the world as to the complexity, and joy, of making videogames under difficult circumstances.

So after lying dormant on my hard drive for a year, I’ve decided to spruce up the interviews, which are just as relevant now as they were then, and start posting them here on El33tonline in a six-part series, continuing today with part three, and an interview with Danny Day (read part one and part two at your leisure).

Danny Day (known as ‘dislekcia’ in the online development community) is the founder and leader of South African game development community Game.Dev and owner of indie game developer QCF Design (which stands for Quarter Circle Forward), and has been creating and developing games in different forms for most of his life, finding his first great success with the innovative and stylised multiplayer shooter, Monochrome.

Ater working at a variety of contract jobs and studying during his teens to early twenties, Day founded Game.Dev and had a brief stint as a network programmer at South African developer, I-Imagine, working on Final Armada.

While doing much to encourage the local game development community and advocate its growth, Day founded QCF Design with the intention to focus on the development of original, smaller-in-scope independent games on a variety of platforms, as well as work on contract advergames, and continues to grow the Game.Dev community with regular development competitions (such as the recent Competition 24 dealing with the theme of ‘Coherence’) and meet-ups (a good example being the community’s gathering at rAge 2009).

Day has been extremely busy since I corresponded with him regarding the interview, so where I can, I’ve included more recent information (that he was kind enough to send my way) after each relevant question to bring you up-to-date.

Let’s begin the interview:

Continue reading The Lost South African Game Developer Interviews Part 3: Danny Day.

The demo for an incredible-looking South African-created game by the name of Bounty Arms (running on Unreal Engine 3) is now available for PC gamers to download and enjoy, while a batch of incredible screenshots and a teaser trailer for the game have also surfaced for you to peruse.

Bounty Arms is currently in development at the small indie developer, Open-Reset, who describes the title as “an old-school 3d side-scrolling action game.”

“Over the course of the final game,” says Open-Reset, “you gather power-ups that hugely alter your character and weapon arsenal, travel across the galaxy to many different worlds, unlock hidden doors to secrets, join with new comrades, fight the multitude of varying enemies that each world will bring, and defeat the bosses that rule them.”

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A little over a year ago I conducted a series of interviews with a diverse, influential and talented group of developers both from and based in South Africa, which resulted in an article for industry trade site Gamasutra entitled ‘The South African Game Development Scene: Past Present and Future,’ which attempted to look at the history of game development in the country and surmise how an industry may rise and move forward here.

A lot of the interview material was unfortunately left out of the article for reasons of conciseness, and I say unfortunately because almost every response I was given was a gold mine of information and history that could potentially not only benefit aspiring South African game developers, and game developers in other developing nations looking to make a living in this industry, but also inform gaming enthusiasts around the world as to the complexity, and joy, of making videogames under difficult circumstances.

So after lying dormant on my hard drive for a year, I’ve decided to spruce up the interviews, which are just as relevant now as they were then, and start posting them here on El33tonline in a six-part series, continuing today with part two, and an interview with Luke Lamothe (read part one over here).

Luke Lamothe currently serves as Technical Director at South African indie game developer Luma Arcade, but was born and raised in Canada, and after studying and assisting at the DigiPen Computer Graphics School, Lamothe moved to South Africa to co-found I-Imagine with fellow Digipen student, Dan Wagner.

I-Imagine was South Africa and Africa’s first ever console developer, as well as the first studio to be inducted into the Xbox Incubator programme, and released two titles, namely the action racing game ‘Chase: Hollywood Stunt Driver’ on Xbox, and the sci-fi action shooter ‘Final Armada’ on PS2 and PSP.

Once Final Armada was complete, Luke left the then dormant I-Imagine to work at then recent start-up, Luma Arcade where, following the commissioned development of a free-to-play racing game based on the Mini vehicle brand, MINI#37, the studio began work on a number of mobile titles, as well as 2009’s iPhone games Marble Blast Mobile and Flipt. Work now continues in partnership with InstantAction.com and Garage Games on new mystery technology, as well as mystery, unannounced projects.

Let’s begin the interview with Luke Lamothe:

Continue reading ’The Lost South African Game Developer Interviews Part 2: Luke Lamothe.’

A little over a year ago I conducted a series of interviews with a diverse, influential and talented group of developers both from and based in South Africa, which resulted in an article for industry trade site Gamasutra entitled ‘The South African Game Development Scene: Past Present and Future,’ which attempted to look at the history of game development in the country and surmise how an industry may rise and move forward here.

A lot of the interview material was unfortunately left out of the article for reasons of conciseness, and I say unfortunately because almost every response I was given was a gold mine of information and history that could potentially not only benefit aspiring South African game developers, and game developers in other developing nations looking to make a living in this industry, but also inform gaming enthusiasts around the world as to the complexity, and joy, of making videogames under difficult circumstances.

So after lying dormant on my hard drive for a year, I’ve decided to spruce up the interviews, which are just as relevant now as they were then, and start posting them here on El33tonline in a six-part series, starting today with part one, and an interview with Travis Bulford.

Bulford would be best known for his work at the small indie game developer Celestial on the action platformer Toxic Bunny, which was started in 1994 and completed in 1996 after a combination of part-time and full-time work.

Celestial then released another game in 2000, a cyberpunk role-playing game called The Tainted, after which the company began work on a Zulu War-themed real-time strategy title, which was never finished. After changing the company’s name to Twilyt in 2001, the group became dormant, and Bulford became a full-time Java software engineer.

Bulford also began work on a port of Toxic Bunny to the Java development platform. You should head on over to the official Toxic Bunny Java port site to show Bulford your support!

Let’s begin the interview:

Continue reading The Lost South African Game Developer Interviews Part 1: Travis Bulford..