iFEST 2011

If you're wanting to become an independent developer and you live in Melbourne iFEST is the place to go. While iFEST 2011 has finished I'll give a brief overview of what its all about and get you excited for next year.

So basically iFEST is a day where people who are involved in the independent gaming community gather and talk about different aspects of what you can do should you want to 'go indie.' From developers who had made it like Ed McMillen, the guy who made Super Meat Boy who answered questions from the audience about a range of gaming related topics. To people who have an involvement in the community other than being a developer like Yug Blomberg who is the co-founder of the Mana Bar who told us about his roller coaster experiences throughout the gaming industry as a whole. All very interesting stuff.

My personal favourite talk of the day was from the lads at Anomalous Interactive. They talked about how to start up an independent studio from a business perspective. Everything you needed to know like where to get funding, writing a business plan and even when to move out of your lounge room and into an office. It was all there. I have pages and pages of notes from them alone. Brilliant work guys keep it up.

Along with the talks were some games created by students from the Academy of Interactive Entertainment available to play. The one that stuck out to me was Microbe. It was only in early development but my mate from Thumbpad and myself saw a lot of potential for it to become something like the next Super Meat Boy. I'll review it once it is finished don't you worry about that.

The only advice I have for those who want to go next year is get there as soon as the doors open. Its cold in Melbourne this time of year and unless you have a nice warn coat standing around outside for half an hour is brutal.

Till next Wednesday. Peace.