Seventh MEETUP OF 2013

Our first Meetup for 2013 will be February 7 and the rest of the planned Meetups will be the first Thursday of the month except May--on the 16th, and July --on the 11 to avoid meeting on the 4th. The change was necessitated by the class schedule for SAS's corporate clients.

John O'Neil of Spark Plug Games will discuss how gaming has expanded into the mainstream with mobile and tablet adoption rates exploding across multiple hardware and software vendors. Navigating the landscape of "how do I make and sell a game?" has gotten far more difficult as a result, even though there are more games being released daily than any other application type. Cross-platform development solutions, such as Unity3d, helps developers focus on the content development and not the multitude of devices that are available specifically for Android. We'll talk about game development evolution, considerations when going "free-to-play" versus "pay-to-play", real examples of games that have been developed for Android using Unity, and a developer discussion at some of the challenges we're exploring in the upcoming Firefly Online social online RPG slated for release next year.

Non-SAS employees:Please RSVP on the Meetup site by 9am on the day of the Meetup. Guests are welcome. If you can't make it, un-RSVP so somebody else can use your slot. Check in at the front gate when you arrive and follow the map directions to building S.

SAS employees: You do not need to RSVP - just show up. Let Ross Hannah and I know if you can help with hosting or cleaning up.

Smoking is not allowed in the building, but we do have free WiFi available under the SSID "guest". Feel free to bring your own snacks and drinks or use the first floor break room (near the bathrooms on the left as you come in - meeting rooms are to the right).

Presenters and sponsors wanted! If you can present something during a future meetup please contact Bill Walser, Bill Lahti or Mike Thomas--and, of course Ed, Ross, and Luke.