Gaming, Graphics & Future of Technology

Brian RobbinsPresident/Founder – Riptide Games

brian@riptidegames.comTwitter: @dubane

Agenda• Background

– Myself– Riptide Games– Video Game Industry

• Careers in Gaming– Location– Salaries– Skills– Experience

• Future– Upcoming Trends– Challenges and Opportunities

• Q&A

Who am I?

• Graduated University of Denver in 2001– BS, Computer Science w/ minor in

Leadership–MBA

• Lived in Denver, Ottawa and New York• Programmed over 100 games• Do what I love

About Riptide Games

• Founded in 2007• Indie game developer• Focus on “next-gen mobile”– iPhone, Palm Pre, Android, etc– All the cool toys

Video Game Industry

• $26.5 Billion global software sales from 3/2007 – 3/2008– 10% per year

Source: Hudson Square ResearchChart:

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2008/01/growth-of-gaming-in-2007-far-

outpaces-movies-music.ars

Careers in Games

• Over 100,000 game developers in 2005

Source: gameindustrymap.com

Salaries

• Average salary $79,000• Programming - $85,000• Art - $69,000• Game Designer - $67,000• Producer - $82,000• Audio - $78,000• Q/A - $39,000• Business / Legal - $102,000

Source: Game Developer 8th Annual Salary Survey

Skills

• Creativity• Math / Programming• Artistic Ability• Organization / Project Management• Creativity

Experience & Education

• Love of games• Programming or similar creative

endeavor• Hobby projects• Education– Computer Science– Project Management?– Business

Upcoming Trends

• Huge scale vs. Indie• Democratization of development• Mobile platforms• Social Gaming• Casual Games• New Hardware Interfaces

Challenges & Opportunities

• Shrinking attention span• Plethora of free content• Global Marketplace• Connected Gamers• Aging Gamers

Q & ABrian Robbins

President/Founder – Riptide Gamesbrian@riptidegames.com

Twitter: @dubane