October 26th is getting closer and closer … is your Windows 8 app ready? You’re invited to the last app-a-thon before Windows 8 hits the market. Join us at our offices in Zaventem on September 28!

Past hackathons we organized were an incredibly fun and interactive experience. We have people joining and putting their hands on coding Windows 8 for the first time, while others join to fine-tune what is already underway. It’s a very informal event, bring your machine, have Windows 8 setup and join the community! Check out some of the pictures of last app-a-thon on our Facebook page.

This time we’ve listened to the feedback, and we’re doing more: we’ve got a designer ready to help you with colors, visuals, and logo material for your app. What about UX and Windows Store guidelines? Covered too, a UX consultant will also be on site part of the day. And don’t forget the MEET community and the Microsoft evangelists ready to help you.

Hands on. Code. Build. Shine. Totally Metro. Totally Windows 8.

When? 28 September 2012       Where? Microsoft Belgium      Leonardo Da Vincilaan 3      1935 Zaventem

There will be 2 coding sessions, 1 for Day Birds from 10am – 4pm and one for Night Owls from 6pm – 12am. You can join us for one or both sessions. Build an app, have fun and go home with a fantastic prize!

Xbox 360 + Kinect Deluxe App’ero Bongo Box Professional Sharp Knife Set

Seats are limited so don’t lose a sec and SIGN UP NOW! All technical pre-requisites and resources are available on the registration page.

	No app idea yet? No problem! We have a bucket full of ideas and scenarios you can use right away to kick start your project!
	Questions about UX & design? Don’t worry, we’ve got that covered. You’ll be able to talk to a Windows 8 UX Expert (will be there for 4 hours) and a designer (will be there the entire day!) to help out with logo’s, graphic design, etc.

Looking forward to enjoy this day and/or night with you!

The re-imagined Windows 8 will come soon, and people will love playing games on it. Getting your game into the Windows Store prior to the launch on October 26, will bring you some key benefits:

• With Windows 8 in full spotlight, your app will gain maximal visibility.
• You as developer can make the game available, find out whether your game is having success      
  worldwide and use this information as starting point of your further professional career.

Microsoft & Howest DAE invite you on September 11, 2012 to transform your XNA game into a Windows 8 App. > SIGN UP NOW

Agenda

Morning: Setting the scene

1. A walkthrough getting the game from Windows 7 XNA to run on Windows 8 – no long theory but concrete examples
2. Get insights on:     
1. How to implement the settings charm
2. How to implement the sharing charm
3. How to deal with file reading and writing, threads, and any other topics which vary between platforms
4. How to prepare art assets for Windows
5. A list of links and resources for further reading

Alex Schearer, one of the attendees of our previous Windows 8 Hackathon in August is presenting the MonoGame content. He's working on something attendees can all use to get started.

Afternoon: App-a-thon to get your game Windows 8 ready

Alex will coach you during the conversion of your game. At the end of the day, your game might be ready to go, and you can get all visibility with your game.
At the same time, Microsoft evangelists and folks from Howest are ready to help you. Including yours truly, although XNA venturing will be a first one for me :)

Practical details

• Fee: free of charge, including lunch
• Location: Howest, Graaf Karel de Goedelaan 5, 8500 Kortrijk
• Timing: Tuesday, September 11 2012, from 10.00 until 19.00
• Instructor: Alex Schaerer, XNA/Monogame gaming expert
• Preparation: Install Visual Studio 2010 and Windows 8 (RTM or Release Preview), and Visual Studio 2012. You do not have it yet? No problem, we will send a full checklist in the confirmation mail (including instructions on where to find the installation software).
• Who: everyone who has developed an XNA game is welcome to attend this session. Our host, Howest DAE, will welcome all game developers.

Looking forward to seeing you there, and venturing into Windows 8 Games development.