Work hard, play hard: Benefit by creating the best benefit system

If you want to become successful, invest in your people. Pixel Federation is one of the Europe’s most unique employers in the industry. We will talk about our culture, benefit system and methods of motivating our people and boosting their potential by giving them the most creative work environment we can think of. But mostly, how we’re having the most fun by doing our job.

As a HR specialist with years of experience from different environment Martina not only finds, hires and evaluates the best candidates for Pixel Federation, but also takes care of our people and consecutively tries to create for them the most inspiring work environment with well-managed benefit system - with motto with our people for our people.

Work hard, play hard: Benefit by creating the best benefit system

If you want to become successful, invest in your people. Pixel Federation is one of the Europe’s most unique employers in the industry. We will talk about our culture, benefit system and methods of motivating our people and boosting their potential by giving them the most creative work environment we can think of. But mostly, how we’re having the most fun by doing our job.

From Unity3D to Unreal Engine 4

Unity3D is probably the most common engine in game development indie scene - even us used to work with it for a very long time. So why we changed it? When epic launched his UE4, we had to try it and from the very beginning we knew, that every our future project will be made in it. Why? That's what you will learn on this talk.

Martin Pernica is lead programmer and co-founder of young game studio Soulbound Games from Zlín. He started programming very young and continued with game development as a main focus. He always tries to look 'under the hood' of problems and challenges and then solve and optimize it.

Workshop: Microsoft Azure for mobile backend

Workshop will be in Czech language only.

Martin is working for Microsoft as a technology evangelist, which means, he tries to help developers find solutions for their problems and inform them about news inside the world of Microsoft. His work as about writing, lecturing, teaching and even little bit of programming - with main focus on cloud in form of Azure and Office 365 and mobile applications for Windows platform. Outside his work he like pc games, books and coffee in any form.

Azure as a backend - practical experiences

Gamifi.cc is using Microsoft cloud services as a backend for its games for a long time. You will learn about the experience with deployment of simple and complex game infrastructure inside Microfost Azure, tips and tricks and even about problems, which occured during the development process. And if you by any chance don't know what Microsoft Azure is, you will learn that too.

Rudolf Kajan is founder of indie game studio Gamifi.cc and a teacher at Faculty of Information Technologies in Brno. Apart from developing games, he is focused on augmented reality, research of public displays and interaction between humans and computers. His games Yggdrasil: The Tree of Life and Firefighters: Whatever it takes! won world final of Imagine Cup contest in Game Design category.

Workshop: game animations - technology, theory and practice

What do you think is covered by the term 'game animations', what are todays limits and possibilities, how many of these animations are necessary and why your favourite game doesn't look as good as it could? Characters, objects, faces and particle effects - and maybe you can expect even practical demonstration... Workshop will be in Czech language only.

20 years of experience with game development and 16 game titles under his belt. His passion is workflow, pipelines, UI and UX. He likes the most to make others work easier - if you eliminate after half-day of programming one tool button, that uses 5 other people 100 times a day, that's the way to go!

Game Design in reality III

This talk is sequel to the last year talk and will be about everything that game designer have to challenge, when his godly design document starts to be transformed into a reality. From little technical issues, discussion with programmers, to writing 1000+ pages long document and still remain sane.

Daniel Vavra is czech video games writer, designer and co-founder of Warhorse Studios. Among his most notable title you can find title Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven. He is currently working on RPG game Kingdom Come: Deliverance.

A Studio Post-mortem

Take a look back at the past 11 years for Capybara Games (Capy). Learn how a bunch of game industry novices started their studio and went on to make several award winning games for XBLA, PSN, PC and mobile. This talk will discuss the early years of the company, and the development of their games.

Sean Lohrisch is a co-founder, the Audio Director, and a Producer at Capybara. He has worked on every game developed by Capy, including critically acclaimed titles like Super Time Force, Sword & Sworcery, Might & Magic Clash of Heroes and Critter Crunch. He is currently working on Below.

'Köpös' - What is it and why do you want it

A game design talk about the elusive 'köpös'. What is it? How can you get it? Why do you want? All the secrets of 'köpös' will be revealed for the first time at this exciting talk.

Petri Purho is best known as the creator of Crayon Physics Deluxe. He's also known for his 7 day game prototypes.

Artificial Intelligence of open world inhabitants

Designer point on view (plus some technical info as a bonus) on NPCs and how to handle them, when there are hundreds of them and every single one o them has its own personality. How to treat them and never go crazy yourself neither them. How to build the world to look real, to be flexible and still feel entertaining enough as a game world should. Introduction into our approach in Kingdom Come: Deliverance.

Viktor is working in gaming industry mainly as a game designer nearly twenty year. He started with text based games, continued with czech 2D adventure games and that lead him to Operation Flashpoint, where he was chief designer. You can find few indie games in his portfolio as well. For a short time he was part of 2K CZech. Later on he co-founded Warhorse Studios, where he become lead technical designer.

Relatively realistic realtime dynamic lighting :)

Boring stuff about tools used in gaming for lighting the scene, many other boring tables and graphs about the same and explanation of another super boring variables used by these tools. All of that will lead us to relatively realistic realtime lighting in Cryengine, which dynamically changes during the day.

Jakub studied classical animation. After school he worked as a freelancer, then moved to indie game studio Craneballs, where he worked on mobile game Overkill 2. Now he is graphical artist in Warhorse Studios.

Gaming graphics trends

During this presentation we will present trends and path where modern PC games are going. What current hardware is capable to display and where are the limits of realtime rendering. We will uncover unique opinions on this topic from programmer and artist point of view, whose cooperation is more than necessary in game development process.

Roman Hladík is working as and Art Director in 2K Czech. He stepped into gaming industry nearly 19 years ago and through the years he worked on projects like Hidden & Dangerous, Mafia, Mafia 2, Mafia 2 DLC, Top Spin 4.

Gaming graphics trends

During this presentation we will present trends and path where modern PC games are going. What current hardware is capable to display and where are the limits of realtime rendering. We will uncover unique opinions on this topic from programmer and artist point of view, whose cooperation is more than necessary in game development process.

Jan Zelený is developing games for almost 16 years. His first 3D game was title U Becheru released in 2003. Last five years Jan has worked in 2K Czech company, where he finished Mafia 2 title (in that time as debug programmer) and then moved to render programming and fully focused on his main hobby and passion: Design and implementation of graphic computing.

Support for game development by Kreativní Evropa - MEDIA

How to get financed the development of video games from the Creative Europe – MEDIA sub-programme? Conditions and rules of application and examples of supported projects.

Pavlína studied Theatre Studies and Czech Language in Olomouc and she majored in Film Production at FAMU, Prague. In 2003 she established a production company Duracfilm where she worked as producer with the focus on creative documentaries, until September 2014. Since October 2014 she has been working as director of the Czech Creative Europe Desk – MEDIA.

Actual trends in indie games & development

Short talk about indie games trends in Year 2014. Sum up current findings and feelings from Casual Connect Belgrade, which ends only a day before GDS 2014! Do you want to hear about indie publishers and what they can add to your game? Do you want to know which genres, platforms, or marketing models are now interesting for investors? Do you want to estimate which direction are games going in the next Year? If yes, then invest 25 min of your time into this talk.

Former lead game designer at Activision’s exclusive development studio Cauldron, now co-founder and CEO of the indie team Fun 2 Robots Ltd., Vladimir believes that if he shares his own experience (making games since 2001) with other developers, they won´t make the same mistakes, but new and fresh ones :-).

Theory of developers pit

Incoherent talk full of shocking data, unlikely stories and unnecessary digress from the topic, which tries to tell untellable. By that it's meant some experience, more precisely it is like 20 years of experience with game development on different platforms. The talk is focused mainly on bad decisions and many fails, that nobody should repeat. Both speakers would kill for these kind of information and wisdom in mid nineties.

Lukáš Macura is game developer and co-founder of independent game studio Cinemax, which started back in 1998. In its 16 years of existence Cinemax created many quality titles and most of them were self published. Apart from developing games for usual platforms such as Windows or iOS, this studio is only one in Czech Republic specialized in Nintendo consoles and released more than 15 games for them since 2010.

Theory of developers pit

Incoherent talk full of shocking data, unlikely stories and unnecessary digress from the topic, which tries to tell untellable. By that it's meant some experience, more precisely it is like 20 years of experience with game development on different platforms. The talk is focused mainly on bad decisions and many fails, that nobody should repeat. Both speakers would kill for these kind of information and wisdom in mid nineties.

Marek Nepožitek is game developer and co-founder of independent game studio Cinemax, which started back in 1998. In its 16 years of existence Cinemax created many quality titles and most of them were self published. Apart from developing games for usual platforms such as Windows or iOS, this studio is only one in Czech Republic specialized in Nintendo consoles and released more than 15 games for them since 2010.

Infinitum uncovered - how to build MMO RTS

We are going to look under the hood of brand new online strategy game Infinitum: Battle for Europe. How to design server-client architecture? Which gameplay mechanics will be interesting and which will destroy the experience? How far can you go with gameplay monetization? This talk will uncover what we found and you will hear all the secrets that big companies would never reveal.

Martin Boháč is a game developer and co-founder of Allodium studio. He's got four years of game development experience, mainly from their game Infinitum and online Fantasy football. In his talk will also appear his colleague Jakub Müllere, who will cover all the technical details. This speakers duo made lots of talks in the past, so you can expect lots of fun.

Krtek's adventures and other stories

Krtek is not only a hero from our childhood, but also very strong brand. I will tell you how to work with such a license, for example how the whole approval process looks like, what are the specifics of graphical approach or how to design for three year old child. Other titles will be mentioned too of course, mainly what we've learned from them and how it is pushing us forward.

Martin works as game designer and producer in Silicon Jelly company, which among many other titles also created mobile puzzle adventure game Mimpi. Right now Silicon Jelly is working on a game series with the main character Krtek. Marting is also part of the team behind the online strategy game Infinitum as a designer. In his free time he design and produce sci-fi LARPs, which he tries to integrate with computer games.

Development of most anticipated RPG from Slovakia: Ups and downs

Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms is considered one of the most anticipated Slovakian game title. Peter will uncover its history, hardships and misery during its creation, as well as not so known facts from the background of development from the very beginning until the premiere of the game few days before GDS. He even looks into the future of Heretic Kingdoms.

Peter Nagy is co-founder and head of development in Games Farm, company focused on developing games for PC and consoles. Peter works in game industry since 1999 and is one of the most experienced developers in Slovakia. There are more than 20 games of different genre and nearly every platform under his belt. He cooperate with companies like Activision or Ubisoft and games he participated on were played by millions of players across the globe. Right now with his team Games Farm he is working on isometric RPG Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms.

Creating high performance, flexible, future-proofed games

When going cross-platform, often it’s a choice between more platforms or performance. Voted top for app performance, with Marmalade you can have both. Marmalade allows maximum performance and flexibility, with a C++ core and direct access to the device hardware. Senior Engineer Ivan will do a live demo of the SDK, used by EA and Konami; to show why it’s the tool of choice for serious developers.

After 3.5 years with the company, Ivan Beliy is a team leader at Marmalade and is focused on further developing the cross-platform capabilities of the Marmalade SDK. A Mechanics and Maths graduate of DNU, Ivan gained much of his commercial experience several years creating games for a wide variety of platforms such as iOS, Java-enabled mobiles, Cable TVs as well as Set Top Boxes.

Not Your Father's Gaming Market: How to make your game succeed in today's crowded marketplace

How has the gaming market changed? How can aspiring developers jump over the obstacles it brings and use it to their advantage? How can you create a community around a small game, maintain it and also grow it? These and many more questions are what this presentation strives to address. Moreover, you will have a chance to hear about Collective, a new Square Enix initiative that's designed to help small teams find an audience for their game ideas, and, ultimately, self-publish.

Petra has worked in PR and Community Management for companies such as Crytek, Rovio Games, Video Games Intelligence, and DICE 2013. Currently, she is working on an unannounced project at Square Enix in London where she also contributes to Square Enix Collective that aims to help new indie developers get the spotlight their games deserve.

CzechAccelerator

Are you a start-up looking for potential partners, investors or mentors? Would you like to gain international experience with your business? Are you interested in markets like USA or Singapore? Do you want to meet with Steve Ballmer? If your answer is yes, then you should visit this talk.

Marketa works on project Czech Accelerator 2011–2014 in company Czech Invest since 2011. This project is designed to help innovative Czech companies gain business experience on advanced international markets such as USA, Singapore, Israel or Switzerland. Marketa is responsible for communication with applicants and attendees of this project. She also communicates with the international partners and handles project administration.

Advantages and disadvantages of mobile publisher – path of Mega Dead Pixel

Would you like to know how it feels to create and release a game with one of the world biggest mobile publisher? Do you wanna know how to approach these kind of companies and succeed? What is important to them and how this overall cooperation works? This talk will explain all of this and show you main advantages and disadvantages of development under the wings of big publisher. Everything on example of Mega Dead Pixel – retro arcade game with Best of App Store 2013 award by Apple. Another upcoming project with Chillingo publisher will be revealed!

Started as a bad programmer, continued as slightly better analyst and finally ended up as project manager (without any attribute). He created his first game at the age of 10. Then he was part of indie team working on MMORPG Era Online, which was inspired by legendary Ultima Online. Last 3 years he is CEO and Co-founder of About Fun – mobile games development company. His most successful games are Mega Dead Pixel, Cut & Hack, LETZ Match! and Kids Puzzles.

The Good, The Bad and The PR

Did you ever struggle to prepare a media kit for journalists because you didn’t know what they really need? What works and what doesn’t in terms of pitching your game to media? How to increase the chance journalists will write a story about it? Did it ever tempt you to ask them directly but you didn’t know where to start? Then this talk is for you! Based on opinions gathered from over 100 gaming journalists, it’ll cover all what’s good and bad in creating a PR strategy.

In gaming industry since forever but at first it was a rather informal relationship. Adventure Zone editor and CD Action contributor. For several years a PR Specialist at CD Projekt RED, being responsible for The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077. Now managing her own PR company, helping indie developers getting the message across, about their awesome games.

Work with zero budget

Is it possible to create big game title without any money? How is the life of game developer without any wage? Where is the exact line between indie development and hobby?

Jakub Hussar is a movie director and game developer, founder of Trinity Pictures and game studio ARK8. He started with PC and card games back in 1996. He is an author of MMO card game Coraabia, in his free time he likes comics, sci-fi genre and composing music.

Project management in a small team

Basics about project management in small studios with limited budget. This talk explains if and why is management important even for a small team or studio, how external and internal deadlines influence overall phases of the project. Basic project management terms will be described as well as list of possible tools. Everything includes practical examples from indie game development process.

Jan is a game producer and designer. Author of book series Game Industry and many freeware games which are available for free at his website www.syslik.net. Currently working as a lead game designer of upcoming Czech RPG game Dex.

Challenges of designing a serious game from narrative perspective: engaging gameplay and meaningful message at the same time.

This War of Mine shows war from perspective of civilians. How to cover emotional challenge, not only physical, of the civilians/characters? How to make player be a perfect narrator? How emotions of characters can be transferred onto a player? How to connect that with engaging gameplay? Finally, how to speak about war game that is anti-war game actually?

Senior Writer at 11 bit studios team. Graduated from Journalist Studies at the University of Wrocław. Connected to the games sector since high school: first as an animator, later as a tester, and eventually as PR manager and author of games dialogues, texts, and plots (Metropolis Software, and games currently developed by 11 bit studios).

Introdaction into the serious games world

On this talk we will explain everything about so called 'serious games'. Listeners will learn what these serious games are, why it is interesting to create them, what is the target audience and finally will be shown similarities and differences between classic and serious games.

Otakar Nieder works in the game industry since 2002. He started as a programmer and then project lead in game studios like Altar Interactive, Altar Games or Black Element Software. Today he’s in Bohemia Interactive Simulations, where he works as a Director of Engineering.

Branding - secret weapon in the business war

This talk will show historical and imaginary examples about power of branding (how product is perceived) and why it shouldn't be ignored. Everyone from smaller or bigger projects will learn how to fight with the horde of plagiarists overwhelming today's digital distribution. On the other hand, if you are secretly working on some copy of a big title, you can find out what to fear of and why people are talking about all the other games and just not about yours. Prepare for cute presentation and maybe some kittens.

Designer. Creates and solves various problems. Lately these problems were mainly around presentation. Sleeps 5 hours a day. Didn't know what design is before finishing school, after that thinks design is the key to change things. Avoids big companies, which helps him to stay creative, happy and open minded. On Twitter (@EgoSociety) follows (apart from God - @TheTweetOfGod) AAA and indie games scene. Always open to discussion about anything.

AIR multiplatform game development

Why is AIR considered one of the best tools to create multiplatform games as it already has over one billion app installs over mobile device space. How you can access one of the best low level APIs for multiplatform GPU development or just use 3rd party libraries for pure high level game programming. Showcase of developing, deploying and debugging, profiling with unparalleled tools.

Peter Stefcek has over 10 years of experience in web/mobile game development industry ranging from Flash/AIR, Unity to native iOS/Android applications. He is a creator of Genome2D which is one of the fastest GPU accelerated 2D frameworks used by indies and top companies alike. In the 90ties Peter was a part of Slovak demogroup Insomnia and currently specializes in 2D GPU rendering pipelines and optimizations.

Keep it real

For the last three years the puzzle adventure game Lumino City has been taking shape at State of Play Games. Collaborating with artists, architects and model-makers, we've build an eight foot high interactive city, and have been using motion control rigs, video footage, stop motion animation and still photography to create a photo realistic interactive space. This talk will take you through the ideas, the techniques, the struggles and victories which have been a part of turning the vision into a reality.

Luke Whittaker established the indie games company State of Play in 2008, and specializes in the design and animation of hand-crafted games, often using pencils, papercraft and laser cutting to create game art. At State of Play he developed the IGF-nominated puzzle adventure game Lume, as well as the forthcoming sequel Lumino City, which involved the creation of a miniature city out of paper and cardboard, including working lights and electric motors.

Perfect Paths - "perfect path" through solo development

Perfect Paths is a difficult puzzle game designed for specific spectrum of players. Nevertheless it was profitable in a few days after the release. This talk will show you how the game was created, how the marketing went and how it all turned out in the end. Everything in details without secrecy and covering any numbers.

Ján Ilavský is a indie game developer, designer, musician and co-founder of Hyperbolic Magnetism studio. In recent years he worked mainly on development of mobile games - Lums, Perfect Paths, Escapology, Oh My Heart, Trappped. Ján is a big fan of Ludum Dare game jam, where he usually places at top.

Ronimo's roller-coaster ride from student team to successful indie

For the past two years Ronimo has had a continuous hit with Awesomenauts, but it took many years to go from a budgetless student team to 20 devs at present. Joost will discuss how Ronimo approached marketing and publishing and how from the ashes of a failed year of development grew the experience to make games on their own.

Joost van Dongen is a co-founder and lead programmer at Ronimo Games, the Dutch indie dev studio behind Awesomenauts and Swords & Soldiers 1 and 2. As a student he was part of the team that made De Blob. In his spare time Joost made abstract racer Proun and live performance game Cello Fortress.

Workshop: Designing mobile games

Workshop will be in Czech language only

Martin works as game designer and producer in Silicon Jelly company, which among many other titles also created mobile puzzle adventure game Mimpi. Right now Silicon Jelly is working on a game series with the main character Krtek. Marting is also part of the team behind the online strategy game Infinitum as a designer. In his free time he design and produce sci-fi LARPs, which he tries to integrate with computer games.