GAMESTART MAIN STAGE, 8 OCTOBER 2016 (SATURDAY), 2PM
Singapore’s game development landscape is growing and with more schools offering game-related courses, and more studios opening up, a career in gaming is now a very viable choice. Come check out the panel if you’re thinking of joining the games industry, or just want to find out more about the diverse ecosystem that produces the games you love and play.
Desmond Wong
Co-founder, The Gentlebros
Desmond is one of the co-founders of The Gentlebros, an award winning studio responsible Slashy Hero(iOS/Android/Steam). Having worked in GAMBIT and Koei Tecmo before starting his own company, Desmond has been in the industry for almost 8 years. His past projects include Fatal Frame 5, Dead or Alive 5 and the Dynasty Warriors franchise. Now he aims to make the games he loves and innovate in the gaming field.
Faizan Abid
Daylight Studios
Faizan Abid is the lead producer at Daylight Studios, an indie video game development studio based in Singapore. He started off as an intern at the company in 2014, and worked his way up towards production. The most notable title on which he worked on was Holy Potatoes! A Weapon Shop?! which fared well in North America, Western Europe, and the United Kingdom. He is currently working on a second title in the Holy Potatoes series called Holy Potatoes! We’re in Space?!
Faizan Abid holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering attained from the National University of Singapore, but decided his passions lay in game development and therefore shifted his focus to the video game industry. Faizan believes that games are the epitome of entertainment as they combine arts, science, and culture together in a creative and expressive manner.
He also believes games developers will rule the world in the future.
Gabriel Tay
Ubisoft Singapore
Gabriel joined Ubisoft Singapore in 2013 and currently serves as a Level Designer. Recent contributions include the Tower of London mission in Assassin’s Creed Syndicate and the Belle Epoque Time Anomaly level in Assassin’s Creed Unity.
Before joining Ubisoft, Gabriel was part of the team that created an IGF recognised game while studying at the DigiPen Institute of Technology Singapore in the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Game Design program.
Joe McGinn
DigiPen (Singapore)
Department Chair, Game Software Design and Production and Senior Lecturer, Department of Game Software Design and Production
Joe joined the game industry at Radical Entertainment in 2000, where he led the design of their breakout hit The Simpsons: Hit & Run, listed on Metacritic as the highest-rated Simpsons game of all time.
Joe has been a lead game designer for over 14 years with Activision, Disney, and Ubisoft, specializing in games based on AAA brands, such as Shrek, Crash Bandicoot, and Assassin’s Creed. His 2007 game Crash of the Titans, for which he worked on as lead designer, was nominated for “Best Children’s Video Game” by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).
