speakers

2024

dZH4v0EJ_400x400
Aleksandra Korabelnikova
Creative Director and Narrative Designer
Read More
Andrew Putter_portrait(1)
Andrew Putter
Director

Putter School

Read More
Anja
Anja 'Nanna' Venter
Producer

Free Lives

Read More
Arielle Kling
Arielle King
Narration Designer
Read More
Avuzwa Ntshongwana_pic
Avuzwa Ntshongwana
Developer

Games for Change Africa

Read More
Bracken
Bracken Hall
Game Designer
Read More
Celine
Céline Veltman
Developer
Read More
Craig
Craig Fairweather
Co-Founder

We Throw Switches

Read More
Crystal
Crystal Ball
Producer

Team Lazerbeam

Read More
Dom
Dominique Gawlowski
Managing Director

Free Lives

Read More
DopeSaintJude
Dope Saint Jude
Artist
Read More
Elben
Elben Schutte
Senior Composer

Pressure Cooker Studios

Read More
Evan
Evan Greenwood
Creative Director

Free Lives

Read More
Fey
Fey Vercuiel
Lead UI/UX Designer

Omeda Studios

Read More
henk
Henk Scheepers
Head of Game Design and Development

Vega School

Read More
JAMES
James Mathes
Creative Executive Officer

Pressure Cooker Studios

Read More
Joanna Oluoch
Joanna Oluoch
game designer, digital artist, and software developer
Read More
Johann Ungerer
Johann Ungerer
Entrepreneur and Software Veteran
Read More
Kane
Kane Forster
Game Animator and Rigging Artist

Free Lives

Read More
Kyle Jantjies
Kyle Jantjies
Author and Book Coach
Read More
Lars_web(1)
Lars Espeter
Game Design Lecturer and Game Designer

Academy of Digital Arts

Read More
Leon
Leon van Niekerk
Game Developer and Tech Entrepeneur

Clockwork Acorn

Read More
Marina
Marina Diez
Game Designer, Business Expert and Filmmaker

btf Games

Read More
Mascha Camino
Mascha Camino
Quest Designer

Guerilla Games

Read More
Melissa
Melissa Nzuza
External Ops Manager

Free Lives

Read More
Michaela Bussey
Michaela Bussey
Associate Producer

Nyamakop

Read More
MetaRick_Portrait(1)
MetaRick
Chief Global Universal Metaverse, XR, Spatial Computing, AI Officer

Uncanny Alley

Read More
Richards
Richard Pieterse
Game Designer
Read More
Rohun
Rohun Ranjith
Game Designer
Read More
Robin
Robin Baumgarten
experimental hardware game developer and interactive installation artist
Read More
Rodwin
Rodwin Malinga
Game and Level designer

Nyamakop

Read More
Thomas
Thomas Waterzooi
Game Developer
Read More
Tim
Tim Browne
CPO

Bright Gambit

Read More
Felix&Tom
Tom Kleinenberg and Felix Pedulla
Cinematics Team

Larian

Read More
Tshireletso Tshwenyane
Tshireletso Tshwenyane
Programs Director

Games for Change Africa

Read More
ulysses
Ulysses at Sea
Audio Designer
Read More
Viviane Christen
Viviane Christen
Developer
Read More
Xalavier
Xalavier Nelson Jr
Studio Head

Strange Scaffold

Read More

SPONSORS

PARTICIPATE
ABOUT
PAST FESTIVALS
CONTACT

Instagram Twitter Facebook
©2024 PLAYTOPIA

Aleksandra Korabelnikova

Alex is a creative director and narrative designer on a mission to get rich off “my daddy didn’t love me” games and then act like she don’t know nobody.

Andrew Putter

Putter is a Cape Town-based artist and teacher. Putter was a co-founder of the Mother City Queer Projects, the collaborative art parties which celebrate queer culture. He instigated the Suburbanist projects with young artists, coders, writers, architects and others, practically exploring the question: what is underground culture? Putter was a winner of the Spier award, the country’s biggest art award. He represented South Africa at the Venice Biennale and the Cuba Biennale, and his work is held in collections that include the Smithsonian Museum of African Art in Washington. Putter has taught creative subjects since the mid-1980s, and was one of the team responsible for introducing design as a high school subject into South African high schools. He has widely consulted as a teacher, including for the Cape Town Carnival and for Cape Town Partnership. Since 2015 he has directed Putter School, an extramural program for creative adults and teenagers. For more on that, see: putterschool.com

Anja 'Nanna' Venter

I’m a producer at indie games studio Free Lives, an assistant program director on Playtopia and a Super Friend at Super Friendship Arcade. My background is in art and design, and I hold a PhD in Media Studies. My focus throughout my career has been on cultivating creative scenes – whether through art, systems or technologies – to make the world a less lonely place.

Arielle Kling

Hello, my name is Ari. I’m an aspiring Narration designer from Switzerland. I have a background in Illustration and graphic design. The first game I made was during a workshop where the goal was to make interactive stories emulating a Gameboy Advance style; that was the first time I tried my hand at interactive storytelling and I had a lot of fun.

I sometimes take my inspiration from heroic-fantasy and B-movies as well as PS1 style games, which I express in a playful and sometimes absurd way.

Avuzwa Ntshongwana

As a certified AWS cloud engineer, I have expertise in cloud engineering, game development programming), and Android development. My primary objective is to elevate my career in the digital creative space specifically in the game development field and XR (Extended Reality) to the fullest extent possible. I have successfully completed my project management studies at Wits Business School.

Furthermore, I am the founder and director of Southgame studio that has achieved numerous accolades, including the prestigious Games for Change Africa Award in 2022. Additionally, I hold a key role as one of the esteemed organizers for WIGI (Women In Games International). Currently, I am employed at Fakugesi as a skilled project coordinator.

Bracken Hall

Bracken (he/him) took a quick detour through the field of game design on his way to becoming a science teacher, but decided to hang out here for a while. During this ongoing 10-year layover, he has been involved in game design, education, and community building. He usually lives somewhere in South Africa, where he currently works as an independent game designer by day, and an English teacher by night.

Céline Veltman

I’m a self-employed game developer that collaborates frequently with other game developers. My current project is a charming space adventure where you create your own solar system.

Craig Fairweather

Craig Fairweather (he/him) is 50% of We Throw Switches – a videogame-adjacent production // curation // hardware studio – who create and show incredible digital things. They’ve produced alt.ctr.PARTY! at GDC, made arcade cabinets for the V&A museum in London, and made a few experimental games of their own.

Crystal Ball

I’m the band manager/producer at Team Lazerbeam, helping bring thrilling games like Wrestling With Emotions 2 and Shroom and Gloom to life. My dream job: Clearing the clutter so that artists can make their best art. I found my game dev family in Cape Town, where I also co-run Playtopia’s volunteer program and proudly wear my Super Friendship Arcade T-shirt.

Dominique Gawlowski

I started in events and the music industry and ran my own businesses for almost 18 years before pivoting into games. I have spent my life in the arts and am driven by a collective willingness to make cool shit.

I started at MCQP then co founded Sub_Urban Magazine, a multimedia digital art magazine and then worked in film and then became an artist manager and worked with bands like Lark, Kidofdoom and Haezer. I naturally was also an event organiser which started out as epic house parties that culminated in a 5000+ EDM festival called GRIETFEST. I was co owner of GRIET (an events and artists agency) for many years before mic dropping music and joining the games industry. I am currently the MD at Free Lives and have a very long but rather cool story as to how I got here.

Dope Saint Jude

Dope Saint Jude, a Cape Town-based electro-hip hop artist, transitioned from drag king performances to her own music. Her EPs “Reimagine” (2016) and “Resilient” (2018) gained traction, with the lead single “Grrrl Like” featured in “Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts” and commercials. Her 2022 EP “Higher Self” garnered attention, with tracks featured on Netflix and in a MAC ad. She’s toured Europe and the US, performing at festivals like Terre Du Son and Shambala. Her music featured in Apple ads and the Oscar-nominated film “Nimona.” As an advocate for the queer community, she speaks globally about her experiences. She’s been

involved in campaigns for H&M, Ballantines, and serves as an advisory member for Bridges For Music, a Cape Town-based NGO.

Elben Schutte

Elben Schutte, a senior composer at Pressure Cooker Studios, is a born and bred musician, growing up in a family of talented musicians in Pretoria, South Africa. Now based in Cape Town, he heads up the Gaming division of Pressure Cooker Studios and boasts a versatile portfolio spanning film, television, advertising, and game soundtracks, with recent gaming projects including Semblance and Ancient Dungeon VR.

Schutte’s involvement in the early access medieval city-builder game, Manor Lords, has received widespread acclaim. With Manor Lords accumulating over 3 million wishlists on Steam, Schutte’s passion for gaming, combined with his talent for cinematic storytelling, gave him a creative edge in crafting this immersive soundscape.

Schutte’s work on Manor Lords has attracted the attention of prestigious publications such as Forbes, Rock Paper Shotgun, and COGconnected.

Indie game publisher Hooded Horse praised Schutte’s music for its beauty, meticulous attention to detail, and historical authenticity, enriching players’ experiences.

Beyond his remarkable musical abilities, Schutte embodies the core value of Pressure Cooker Studios: ‘We Nurture Talent.’ He spearheaded the Pressure Cooker Internship Programme, dedicated to fostering emerging composers and championing the future of the industry.

Evan Greenwood

Evan Greenwood is a South African game designer with 15 years experience. He founded the
Free Lives in 2012, a studio which has released several of Africa’s most successful video
games.
Evan has made dozens, possibly hundreds, of prototypes, and also a few very good games.
The studio at large, and Evan specifically, are continually trying to improve their process to more
reliably repeat their infrequent successes. As such, fostering a culture of creativity and
camaraderie has been a serious project for Evan ever since he gave himself the nebulous
authority of “Creative Director” at his own company.

Fey Vercuiel

Fey has worked in UI/UX field for over 18 years; during that time she’s shipped games in nearly every major genre in franchises such as Halo, Assassin’s Creed, Candy Crush, Total War and Runescape. She currently works on a MOBA called Predecessor at Omeda Studios.

She is originally from Cape Town and left to work in Europe to shape her career in the gaming industry. Fey has directed large design teams of up to 23 people and been involved in shaping and delivering business strategies from the perspective of always empathising with the players. Her design philosophy is deeply rooted in finding that balance between understanding player needs, business metrics and leaning on creative experience. 

This will be her first industry event in South Africa and she’s excited to be able to share her craft knowledge.“

Henk Scheepers

Heading up Game Design and Development qualification at Vega, Henk’s been teaching into the degree for the past six years. As a lecturer, he’s all about helping students navigate the game creation process and getting them ready for the game development industry.

In his own time, Henk has developed ΔVØID (2024), a game that really captures his love for crafting fun and engaging gameplay experiences. He also worked on Echoplex (2018), a puzzle-platformer known for its unique mechanics and storytelling.

James Mathes

James is the Creative Executive Officer at Pressure Cooker Studios, a Music and Sound Design Studio in Cape Town, South Africa, the studio behind the soundtrack of the 2024 hit game Manor Lords by Slavic Magic. James and his team at Pressure Cooker are pioneering the African Audio Arts Industry and enjoyed there first major game success with Semblance developed by Nyamakop and release on Nintendo Switch.

With a mission to build a platform for talent to flourish on the African continent. James has spent the past 14 years building a robust and secure infrastructure to service the media industry all the while growing talent in the local industry. By using the credibility and experience for story telling gained in the film and media industry with clients around the world like Netflix, Amazon, Paramount and Disney+ James is on a mission to bring an authentic African voice to the global game and media industry.

Joanna Oluoch

I am a game designer, digital artist, and software developer from Kenya. With my background in Mechatronics Engineering, digital art, character design, and programming, I draw inspiration from the world around me to merge tech, engineering, and art. My goal is to address challenges and captivate users through unique and engaging stories. I grew up in Oloolua Forest, and this inspired me to create ARGO (Augmented Reality Guide: Oloolua).

ARGO’s mission is to foster a symbiotic relationship between visitors to the nature trail in the forest and nature, inspiring players to become stewards of the environment through immersive gameplay while hiking through the forest. ARGO is my first original game, blending my love for environmental conservation and video games to create a meaningful impact on the public.

Johann Ungerer

I am an entrepreneur and software veteran with over thirty years of development experience. After exiting my software consultancy business at the end of 2022, I have been freelance consulting while working on my game, “Making Friends.”

My first job was writing COBOL code at a big bank, and since then, I’ve also built systems in C++ and C#.

In 2022, I completed a Startup Accelerator program with the Founders Institute in Texas and now mentor and advise startups.

Kane Forster

Kane Forster is a Cape Town-based Game Animator and Rigging Artist at Free Lives. With a background in films and cinematics, Kane has transitioned into the gaming industry, contributing to two indie games: Terra Nil and Anger Foot. Known for his creativity and skill in bringing characters to life, he continues to explore the dynamic challenges of animation and rigging in game development.

Kyle Jantjies

Kyle Jantjies is a 16x Published Fantasy Author, a book coach, and a Creativity and Innovation Professional Speaker. He is known for his unique ideas, his youthful expression, and dynamic approach. Kyle has been hosted on a number of podcasts, newspapers, radio interviews, and TV broadcasts. His books have reached the Top Ten in three different Amazon Categories and he currently speaks regularly on Creating the Innovators of our Future.

Lars Espeter

Developing and publishing his first game in 1993 for the MS-Dos system started a career into the games industry and interactive media development. His team worked as an outsourcing team throughout the 1990s for various companies on advertising games, educational games, game graphics, animations, and more.

In 2000, after developing his own game engine, the team of Angry Ant Entertainment started developing their own real-time 3D games. Casual action games, educational
games, and others were the teams main focus. In 2007 he created his first game development course for the Designschule Schwerin, Germany and, from 2011, a second course in Leipzig, Germany. In 2012 he developed and started the first South African standalone game course in 2012 for Friend of Design in Cape Town. The course was accredited in 2014. In 2017, he and the founder of Friends of Design started GDoutsourcing as a part of the Friends of Design Holding. GDoutsourcing connects South African career starters in the field of interactive media and game technology with companies and clients in Europe.

The ORI Foundation and being a member of the AfriGames Consortium followed. His Alumni students now work in South Africa, Germany, France, Switzerland, and the UK.

Leon van Niekerk

Some-time game developer, some-time tech entrepreneur. My career has taken me from entertainment to education, tech recruitment to fintech, online marketplaces to management consulting. All along that twisting path I have carried a fascination for how we work, create and play together. While I have met many incredible individuals in my life, I believe humanity is at its best when we’re working together towards a shared purpose, and I am passionate about how we build the organisations that empower us to do that.

Marina Diez

Marina Díez (she/they) is a Spanish award-winning game designer, business expert and filmmaker based in Berlin and London, UK. She’s the CEO at Three of Cups Games, an ethical and diverse games studio based in London. Marina is also a Principal Game Designer at BTF Games for The Berlin Apartment. Previously, she was the Lead Game Designer for the game Dordogne by Un Je Ne Sais Quoi Studios & Umanimation. Marina is also a consultant on emotional game design for indie and AAA companies.

She is involved in many community initiatives and activism. Marina is also a regular speaker at games events such as GDC, EGX, PAX, A MAZE,… In 2023 she also hosted Independent Games Festival at GDC in San Francisco. Marina is also a film director and her work has been screened and awarded all over the world.

Marina is a lister of 100 Most Influential Women in Games 2022, a Forbes 30 Under 30 2021 honoree, a Game Dev Heroes 2020 winner, a former BAFTA Crew member, an IGDA Velocity GDC 2019 recipient.

Mascha Camino

Mascha Camino is working as a Quest Designer at Guerrilla Games in Amsterdam. Focused on creating narrative entanglements and meaningful experiences for her players.

Since she started studying in Berlin, she enjoyed volunteering at events. Furthermore, she grew to love the community and was able to build up a few projects herself. Events like: Femisphere – Highlighting diversity in the games industry, the Indie School Trip, Devolution, and one of Berlins biggest Indie Dev gatherings, the Talk & Play, which she is moderating and co-organizing with Lorenzo Pilia. She appreciates rogue likes and is always looking for cute indie games to play.

Melissa Nzuza

Melissa is the external ops manager at Free Lives and a director of The Playtopia Foundation.

Her passion lies within the growth of the South African games industry and the creation of a more inclusive industry. Melissa fosters these goals by hosting various community events at Maker’s Massive, co-organizing Playtopia Festival and providing funding opportunities to local game developers through the Free Lives Jam Dole.

Currently, her focus is on the festival itself, but she is looking forward to growing The Playtopia Foundation in the year ahead.

Michaela Bussey

From the moment I pressed an arrow key age 6 I knew I was made to be a… videogame producer?

I am currently following that accidental dream as an Associate Producer at Nyamakop where I enjoy ensuring artists follow pipelines and look at Gantt charts – even though only producers can decode their cryptic meaning.

I am a two time Campus Game Jam winner with ‘Four Old Men’; have participated in the Pokemon TCG world championships; and have played over 2000 hours of Animal Crossing.

I am still searching for the arrow key that makes me an Art Director some day – I guess it can only be UP.

Rick Treweek

MetaRick aka Rick Treweek is the Chief Global Universal Metaverse, XR, Spatial Computing, AI Officer of Uncanny Alley, a civilization in the metaverse. He resides on the fringes of the Metaverse, accessing its portals through his studio in Kommetjie, Cape Town, South Africa.

Currently, MetaRick is collaborating with the Ferryman Collective on a live theatrical performance set in virtual reality. This production had its world premiere at the 81st Venice Film Festival, where it received the XR Fan Experience collateral award.

His storytelling and world-building are centered around Uncanny Alley, bringing to life the nuances of the metaverse.

Social media

Twitter: @metaverserick
Instagram: @whyrickwhy

Richard Pieterse

Richard Pieterse has worked at Free Lives, Night School Studio, and Netflix. He also co-founded of Super Friendship Arcade and Team Lazerbeam. Having recently returned from working Los Angeles, he is energised by the thriving Cape Town scene and is slowly working out what to do next!

Rohun Ranjith

During the day I’m a game designer at Free Lives, currently working on Stick It To The Stickman. However during the night I’m a game designer working on bad projects that bring me joy.

Robin Baumgarten

Robin is an experimental hardware game developer and interactive installation artist based in Berlin, Germany. His works range from award-winning one-dimensional hardware games, over weird wobbly spheres, to walls full of door stopper springs that visualise quantum physics in a playful yet scientifically accurate manner.

Rodwin Malinga

What’s up! I’m Rodwin, a game and level designer at Nyamakop, located in South Africa. My world revolves around creating immersive experiences that seamlessly blend artistry with technology. Whether I’m sculpting game worlds or composing soundtracks, my driving force is a relentless passion for creativity and innovation. Drawing inspiration from film, fashion, automotive design, and architecture, I’m always pushing the boundaries of interactivity and storytelling.

Thomas Waterzooi

Thomas Waterzooi is a solo-dev (formerly Larian Studios/IO-Interactive) from Brussels who makes accessible games inspired by art. His games are not about skills or high-scores. They are about relaxing, reflecting, experimenting, and being absorbed into the story & aesthetics. ‘Please, Touch The Artwork’ won several awards at a.o. Google Play Indie Festival ‘22, Tokyo Game Show, Belgium Game Awards and an Apple Design Award nomination. ‘Please, Touch The Artwork 2’ was downloaded more than 500.000 times and received over 3500 overwhelmingly positive Steam reviews.

Tim Browne

Tim has been a passionate advocate of the video games industry for the past 26 years. Starting as a level designer, Tim worked his way up to Creative Director within the design discipline. He has worked at various companies including Activision/Blizzard/King, Ubisoft, Avalanche Studios and Codemasters. He has also worked on some well known games including 3 Assassin’s Creed titles, the Candy Crush franchise, Operation Flashpoint and many more.

He now works as the CPO of Bright Gambit, a company he co-founded with some other like minded industry veterans focusing on supporting indie developers break into the the industry.

Felix Pedulla and Tom Kleinenberg

Felix Pedulla and Tom Kleinenberg are on the Cinematics team at Larian Studios. Larian was founded in 1996 and is best known for successful self-published games Divinity: Original Sin 1 and 2 and most recently multiple Game of the Year winner, Baldur’s Gate 3.

Felix started his career as a Video Editor at Crytek in September 2012 where he developed a keen sense for pacing and attention to detail. He quickly moved on to become a Cinematic Artist and shipped several games where he was mostly involved in creating cinematic trailers. In 2019 he moved to Dublin to work for Larian Studios and shipped Baldur’s Gate 3 as a Senior Cinematic Artist.

Tom worked as a Previs and Layout Artist in animation at Triggerfish Studios in Cape Town before relocating to Brown Bag Film in Dublin in 2016. When Larian started their in-house Cinematics team he jumped at the chance to fulfil a lifelong ambition to work in games and was part of the team that shipped Baldur’s Gate 3 as a Cinematic Artist.

Tshireletso Tshwenyane

Tshireletso Tshwenyane, a 2024 Blooloop 50 Immersive Influencer, is a grassroots impact leader and Programs Director for Games for Change Africa. As an interactive media producer, she has extensive experience managing diverse game and XR projects, including facilitating residencies that support African artists. Tshireletso is dedicated to empowering communities through digital media and has collaborated with organizations such as the Gauteng Department of Education, SciBono, Meta, UNESCO, and the British Council. She has led exhibitions at renowned events like the SoCreative Summit, Playtopia, SXSW Film Festival, Fak’ugesi Festival, and Meta-Metaverse Summit. Passionate about social impact, she mentors emerging game studios and supports grassroots initiatives like WeAreVR Jozi.

Ulysses At Sea

Ulysses is a professional Audio Designer having worked on a variety of titles in the indie and triple I space. He has a deep love for games and the magical experiences they impart on people which can be seen in his expanding list of accredited titles such as Tales of Kenzera: Zau, Loddlenaut, Desktop Dungeons Rewind, and many more. He enjoys making sounds that can shock and inspire as much as they can corner and comfort players. If he’s not wrangling voice actors together or messing around with soft synthesizers you’ll find him making music, practicing martial arts or bringing up Dune as a poem, metaphor or teeth grinding set of philosophies.

Viviane Christen

I completed my Bachelors Degree in Design with the subject Game Design in 2019 at the ZHdK. I love 3D modelling and implementing my creations into my games and projects! I am fast at Prototyping and I love to learn new skills.

Currently, I am developing my own Game «Lily The Explorer», where I am prototyping in Unity and creating art in Blender. With that project I made it into the SheGotGame 2024 program, where I am meeting with a Mentor every second week to discuss development questions.

Xalavier Nelson Jr

Xalavier Nelson Jr. is a BAFTA-nominated studio head, narrative director, writer, and Forbes 30 under 30 luminary, with dozens of titles under his belt including Stranger Things VR, Magic: The Gathering, Hypnospace Outlaw, Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator, and El Paso, Elsewhere. He also makes strides in a storytelling career outside of games, with releases such as the cult hit comic Sherlock Holmes Hunts the Moth Man.

Do the Thing That Makes Sense

Prolific developer and studio head Xalavier Nelson Jr. illustrates the design pitfalls and cultural assumptions that keep game developers from building projects they survive the process of shipping

Going Big and Staying Home

My name is Ulysses and for the past 2+ years I have been working as an audio designer for a variety of teams and games. For this talk I’ll take you through how I came to work professionally as a remote sound designer, the kinds of teams I’ve been on and games I’ve had the pleasure of working on and the values that have supported my career as an African game developer.

Baldur’s Gate 3: Agency is in the Authoring

Tom and Felix discuss how Larian approached the cinematic story-telling of Baldur’s Gate 3, honouring the player’s choices and respecting their agency while delivering compelling, emotive narrative. Gain insight on how a non-linear story was constructed and authored across more than 170 hours of cinematics.

Everything is on fire... but that's ok

Game development is full of unexpected twists, from technical hiccups to design roadblocks. This talk dives into the art of problem-solving on the fly, why you can’t plan for everything, and how flexibility, creativity and resilience are key to overcoming obstacles. With insights from a seasoned industry veteran, discover how to turn setbacks into stepping stones and make quick, impactful decisions that keep projects on track.

The Power Of Paintings

Thomas will explore the intersection of modern art and accessible (mobile) game design. He’ll discuss his design process, how he upcycles public domain artworks, and share things learned from his journey as a solo-developer, winning the Google Play Indie award in 2022, securing an Apple Design award nomination and making it to the top 10 rated games on Steam in 2024.

Juice it or Lose it!

In this talk, we’ll use soda as a metaphor to dive into three crucial aspects of good game feel:

Bubble and Fizz: The Pulse of Your Game Just as a soda’s fizz brings it to life, your game should be brimming with dynamic elements that keep players engaged. We’ll discuss how to inject that essential “”””fizz”””” into your game world by incorporating ambient animations, dynamic environments, and background activities. Imagine your game like a soda that’s just been shaken—it’s bursting with energy and excitement, ensuring that even when players aren’t actively involved, the world around them remains lively and captivating.

Satisfying Crack: The Responsive Reward The crack of a soda can opening is not just a sound; it’s a promise of refreshment and enjoyment. Similarly, every action in your game should be met with immediate, satisfying feedback. We’ll explore how to use audio cues, visual effects, and haptic responses to make every interaction feel impactful and rewarding. Just like that gratifying crack, your game’s feedback should enhance the player’s experience and keep them coming back for more.

Irresistible Chill: An Alluring Appeal The sight of a cold, condensation-dripped soda on a sweltering day is hard to resist. Your game should have the same allure by highlighting its most engaging features from the start. We’ll talk about how to present your game’s exciting aspects early on and ensure that its visual and interactive appeal grabs players’ attention immediately. Think of it as showcasing the most refreshing parts of your game right away to entice players to dive in.

By the end of this talk, you’ll have practical insights and creative strategies to make your game as irresistible as the perfect soda. Whether you’re designing dynamic worlds, crafting satisfying feedback, or presenting engaging features, you’ll learn how to “”””juice it”””” to keep players hooked and avoid the pitfalls of a flat, unappealing experience.

Behind the scenes of a playful installation artist

Robin talks shop about his artistic process and how he found his niche between alt ctrl game jam experiments and large interactive museum exhibits.

Infinite playground

Would love to share the journey of Uncanny Alley and show how its done and the collaboration with a theatrical crew. Im heading to venice as the project is in this years competition.

How to ignite that Vision Flame - Make your team burn for your ideas

Learn ways to put your feature ideas into solid words, find your way of documentation, which transports the value of your idea best.

Understand how your game design fits the project the best, but also holds the most of your personal design character. Help your teammates understand why they should also burn for your idea, and make it a shared flame amongst everyone.

I want to cover design topics, communication skills and documentation skills.

or:

The time your “overthinking” can actually come in handy. 

Understand your project’s design needs, prepare internal design documents that will be understood and loved by your peers, so that you can share a burning desire to get that idea into the engine. From “my idea” to “our idea”. Utilize your team’s strengths and get your design to pop, with these design, documentation and communication skills. 

The District Six VR Experience Project - The emotional and social impact of applied game technology

The talk will cover the work on the District Six museum VR app that puts the user back into parts of District Six and allows the user to interact with actual former residents and listen to their stories. Using game technology for museums and connecting the youth (and former residents) to their past has been a goal for this project. The emotions it created during launch and testing for users and the developers (Alumni students from 2023) has been an amazing experience and shows that game developers can contribute to their society in many ways.

Playing with Time - Animation in Games

Animation is the Visual Rhythm of time and can feel vague and superfluous but is a key component to communicating story and character.

I plan to share a brief overview of what the specialization of animation is, the experience of moving into game animation, the different mindset with working on indie games and learning how to know what tasks to rush and what tasks to take your time with when animating in Games.

Using examples from Terra Nil and Anger Foot to give insight into how I needed to change my workflow to fit the specific game and how rushing in the beginning is not always the right idea. Animation is all about choosing where to slow things down and where to speed things up and I will use this over arching metaphor to share how as game devs/animators we need to choose where to put our time and where to get things done fast.

ARGO. The Voices in My Head Want to Save the World

Explore the magic of imagination and creativity set within the context of environmental conservation with ARGO, an augmented reality game set in Oloolua Forest, Kenya. Through storytelling and character design, we’ll explore how conservation themes can come to life in engaging, impactful ways.

Panel: Inclusivity in Game development

This session brings together members of Games for Change, She Got Game, and The Maker’s Massive to explore how diverse perspectives shape the future of game development. We will delve into questions around representation, accessibility, and the power of inclusive storytelling, and learn how incorporating different voices enhances creativity and broadens the impact of game narratives. Panelists will share insights and practical approaches from their own experiences. Join us to discover how fostering an inclusive mindset can not only lead to more authentic experiences for players but also push the boundaries of what games can achieve as a form of art and social change.

Rejection Therapy

Getting rejected (putting out bad games and getting feedback that says your game is bad) is really good to becoming a better designer.

An Ode to the Cape Town Game Scene

Having worked abroad for the last 3 years, I would like to share the transformative perspective I have gained on why Cape Town is the best place in the world to be a game developer and why you should be incredibly excited right now.

How to become a game producer by accident

There are only a few studios that have them, and even fewer open roles for them in South Africa. So how does one break into production in game development in South Africa? Join me as I explore the story of how I got a job as a producer; what skills you need to operate as a producer, and what the day-to-day life of a producer looks like. I’ll also explore why production is important, and how production can be a great entry point to building your career towards other roles!

Principles over processes for guiding sustainable studios

Almost all successful games are built by teams of people, adding “organisational design” and “team management” to the already long list of skills game devs need to master if they want to make awesome games. This talk espouses a “principles over rules” approach to building teams, and cover a number of key principles learnt from 10 years running a small indie studio.

Developing a story that sells

As a Published Fantasy Author, I continually write stories that not only entertains but sells. There are a number of different tips on how to do this. These include building character arcs, worldbuilding, the importance of side quests, and building memorable side villians.

Scriptable Objects in Unity

ScriptableObjects are like the Swiss Army Knife of Unity development. Use them to abstract game objects and make projects data-driven and decouple game systems.

Fake It 'til You Break Down

This Hypertalk is a manifesto against the common adage ‘Fake it ’til you make it’. It is an exploration of the major shortcomings of this advice, through personal stories and experiences. It also proposes that the alternative ‘authenticity’ results in a happier, healthier life, and that that is what true success looks like. It is both an urge for industry juniors and students to be honest and genuine, and a plea for employers to establish realistic expectations, rather than encouraging stretched truths and CV embellishments.

Procedural Generation

I recently released a game where most of the 3D assets in the game were generated using code. The talk would be about the technique/algorithm I used and how I integrated it into my game.

Panel: From Concept to Console: The Art of Music and Sound Design in Gaming

Delve into the creative journey behind gaming audio, exploring how composers and sound designers shape immersive worlds from initial concepts to final console-ready soundscapes with the creative minds behind games such as Manor Lords, Tales of Kenzara: Zau and Broforce.

Deon Van Heerden

Coming soon.

What life is like being a UI/UX unicorn

This talk addresses the challenges of being adept with visual/interaction design and behavioural science/library sciences, and how its this constant push and pull between creative/user/business needs.

Evan Greenwood's "Carnival of Delights"

Enter a world of bizarre experiments and gloriously broken abominations in the Carnival of Delights! Join Ringmaster Evan Greenwood as he invites audience members to get hands on with a selection of exceptionally creative, janky or strange jam games that emerged from the Cape Town scene in 2024!

Creating Across Worlds: From Music to Video Games

In this talk, Dope Saint Jude shares her journey from music to game development, illustrating how creativity can cross and connect different artistic worlds. From writing characters to learning code and composing music, she delves into the challenges and triumphs of embracing a new medium. Through her experience, she explores how stepping outside our comfort zones fosters growth and innovation, proving that creativity knows no boundaries. Whether you’re a musician, a gamer, or a creator in any field, discover how passion and resilience can fuel new, exciting ventures.

How to Be a Producer (and Stay Friends)

South Africa’s indie dev scene is young, and the role of producer is even younger. Do you really need one? And why would anyone want to be one? This is my story of joining my friends as a full-time producer, defining the role on the fly, and discovering the paradox of “spoiling the fun” to make things more fun.

Fantastic; raucous; beautiful things - Exhibiting alt.ctrl and neo-arcades in social spaces

We Throw Switches has been showing (and designing) weird & wonderful hardware and digital experiments for 10 years now. This is how we got into it, some of the things we’ve learned, and maybe what’s next (?)

How I found the one timeline where my passion project didn’t die

This is the tale of how my game Curiosmos went from a silly idea to reality, in which we’ll explore over a half decade of dreams, the perils of life, and incredible opportunities.

Buckle up for a story of passion and failure, depression and burn-outs, funding hunts, and the joy of video games. Curiosmos is the tale of creating your own luck in this most difficult time of an ever-changing video game industry.

From It girl to IT girl

The business of art. How working in music, art and film set me up for a career in games.

Play for Adults

Play is a basic activity of the cosmos. If the cosmos didn’t always play with itself, nothing interesting would have emerged in it. Play is also one of the highest forms of human activity. Play comes preloaded in us when we’re infants, but falls into disuse in our teens. As adults, we stigmatize play as something only kids do. What is the value of play for adults? How does play work? How do we activate our innate capacity to play, and tap into an unimaginable world of discovery and delight?

From “Bingo Bongo” to “My daddy didn’t love me”: a very scientific games classification system

Content Warning and Goat Simulator are bingo bongo games. Disco Elysium and Gone Home are clearly my daddy didn’t love me games. But what about Slay the Spire, Balatro or Factorio? Whether you’re aiming for artistic value, endless riches or award recognition, your next game will land somewhere on the spectrum. And it says more about you as a creator than you think.