The Past, Present and Future of Computer Games Development
Over the last 30 years the computer games industry has transformed from its humble beginnings in programmers back bedrooms to a multi-billion dollar industry with huge financial backing. Projects cost millions of dollars to produce and can take teams of more than 100 people many years to complete. This session details the history of game development and explains what it’s like to work in the industry now from the perspective of software development, the unique challenges it brings, the rewards and the level of technical expertise required. Finally we look at where the industry is heading and how you might help.
Presented by Nick Burton: Senior Software Engineer
After completing a Computing Systems Degree, Nick spent 4 years researching 3D Volume Visualization and Surface Reconstruction in academia. In 1998 Nick left research behind and moved into the Games Industry where he now works as a Senior Software Engineer for RARE, which over the course of the past two decades has grown into a huge creative force behind today’s consoles and become a household name to games players worldwide. With nearly 10 years experience working on the Nintendo 64, GameCube, Microsoft XBOX and XBOX360 Nick’s main areas of expertise are graphical FX and game polish though he is also interested in XBOX Live Arcade development, XNA, computer vision and academic relations. Nick recently completed work on ‘Kameo: Elements of Power’ for launch with the XBOX360 and Jetpac: Refuelled for Xbox Live Arcade and is now working on his third, and as yet undisclosed XBOX360 title.
