On Friday the 28th of October my plane towards Edinburgh took off. After getting up at 6, leaving at 7, checking in and waiting for an hour I was on board of the airplane.
Since I had never flown before the takeoff was a very exciting moment, as was the moment of (after a steep climb) arising above the clouds and seeing those clouds getting smaller.
The flight took 1 hour and 10 minutes, but since I was entering another timezone it only cost me about half an hour. After arrival I grabbed my bag and took the bus to Edinburgh and from there the train to Dundee. Everything was really easy to find and I had no trouble at all getting a ticket for any means of transport.
Upon arrival in Dundee I contacted Stuart (lead producer at Yoyogames) and he picked me up after a few minutes. First we headed to Yoyogames and I met all the employees there. They were really easygoing and I’m looking forward to working with them the coming six weeks. From Yoyogames HQ we went to the mall to purchase some essentials for my stay: sheets, lamp-hoods, and a power-converter for my laptop. When we got all we needed we went back to Yoyogames and from there to a place called Ketchup where I had a nice talk with Stuart and Andrew (one of my house-mates) while enjoying a delicious burger. The next day I spend with Jack (another house-mate) and Andrew, who showed me around the city-center of Dundee. We bought some groceries, played some games and ended the day with another burger, this time at another restaurant. Altogether the journey was pleasant and I’m having a great time, looking forward to the coming weeks!
Some things that surprised/amazed/shocked me:
- The altitude the airplane was flying.. I’ve never been at that hight before and its an incredible feeling.
- You can grab any bag from the baggage pickup and walk right out the door of the Edinburgh airport. Nobody will check if that baggage is actually yours.
- There is a huge amount of estates and castles surrounding Edinburgh.
- The Scottish use the word ‘cheers’ a lot.
- Supermarkets have many products you can also get in the Netherlands.
- People here seem to enjoy life a lot more. In the Netherlands the gross of the people you see on the street look sad or angry, here everybody smiles and store employees are friendly.
- Supermarket employees help you pack your groceries.
My Gameography
I have worked on many games in my life so far, here is a list of the ones that stood out.
‘Rick O’ Shea’ – 2011
First developed gaming app, published by YoYoGames.
iTunes: iPhone and iPad
Android market: other smartphones
‘Glimmer’ – 2011
First self developed casual game that made it to the shelves, published by Bigfish Games.
Link: http://www.bigfishgames.com/download-games/11462/glimmer/index.html
‘Smartgate’ – 2010
Serious game created at IJsfontein, contributed as game designer.
Link: http://www.ijsfontein.nl/projecten/bedrijven-en-merken/acn-schiphol-smartgate-cargo
‘Food is magic’ - 2010
Serious game created at IJsfontein, contributed as game designer and level designer.
Link: http://www.ijsfontein.nl/projecten/cultuur/zaans-museum
‘ABN AMRO Retailgame’ - 2010
Serious game created at IJsfontein, contributed as game designer.
Link: http://www.ijsfontein.nl/projecten/bedrijven-en-merken/abn-amro
‘De Soundery’ - 2009
Graduation project, nominated for a Dutch Game Award for ‘Best student game’ in 2009.
Link: http://www.ludomo.com/blog/?p=33
‘Plan-it’ - 2009
School project, a serious game for the city of Utrecht, focused on the core gameplay as lead game designer.
Link: http://www.utrecht.nl/smartsite.dws?id=318816
Nokia Cross Media Project – 2009
School project, designing a cross-media game for Nokia Research Center and documenting the process.
Link: http://www.hku.nl/web/Faculteiten/KunstMediaTechnologie/Studentenwerk/Projectenmarkt2009/ProjectenMultidisciplinair.htm
‘Sunset Studio’ - 2008
Intern project, made click-maps for the artists so they could see where players clicked in the levels
Link: http://www.zylom.com/nl/gratis-online-spelletjes/sunset-studio/?sgid=871
‘Gold Rush – Treasure hunt’ - 2008
Intern project, worked as level designer and gameflow balancer.
Link: http://www.zylom.com/nl/download-spellen/gold-rush-treasure-hunt-deluxe/?dsgid=938
‘Shangri La 2′ – 2008
Intern project, worked primarily as level designer, building over a 100 levels.
Link: http://www.zylom.com/nl/download-spellen/shangri-la-2-deluxe/?dsgid=725
‘Hotel Mahjong’ - 2008
Intern project, worked primarily as level designer, organizing game flow and level balance.
Link: http://www.zylom.com/nl/gratis-online-spelletjes/hotel-mahjong/?sgid=1030
