In this episode we explore the world of indie game development.

Kenneth and Kevin are joined by Sean Goncalves (@The_Son_of_Wolf) and Ben Myres (@_benjamming) from Nyamakop (@_Nyamakop), makers of independent games in Braamfontein, Johannesburg.

We touch on the difference between "AAA" and "indie" games, tools of the trade, the experiences of releasing a game, and how accurate the Indie Game movie is.

Ben & Sean share their experiences and observations and offers a ton of great insights and advice, and many ways to get involved in making games. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that there is a very active and successful community of game makers in South Africa. There are plenty of opportunities for beginners and experts alike to get involved with game development, and we hope to have helped clear some of the fog of war surrounding the topic.

Follow Nyamakop on Twitter (https://twitter.com/_Nyamakop) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Nyamakop).

Some useful resources from the discussion, categorized below.

Tools and assets:

* Unreal Engine - http://www.unrealengine.com

* GameMaker: Studio - http://www.yoyogames.com/studio

* Unity - http://www.unity3d.com

* Made with Unity - http://madewith.unity.com

* Unity on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/user/Unity3D

* OpenGameArt - http://www.opengameart.org

Local community & events:

* Make Games SA - http://makegamessa.com

* Amaze Festival Johannesburg - http://www.amaze-johannesburg.co.za

* Super Friendship Arcade - https://www.facebook.com/superfriendshiparcade

* Electronics & Gaming Expo - http://www.egesa.co.za

* rAge Expo - http://www.rageexpo.co.za

Local games:

* Broforce - http://www.broforcegame.com

* STASIS - http://www.stasisgame.com

International events with local participation:

* Global Game Jam - http://globalgamejam.org

* Ludum Dare - http://ludumdare.com/compo/

Picks:

Kevin:

* Daniel Smith (@jellym4nn) - RubyGL talk at Rubyfuza 2016

Kenneth:

* Buffer - http://buffer.com

* Humble Bundle - http://humblebundle.com

Ben:

* Thomas was Alone - http://store.steampowered.com/app/220780/

* The floor is jelly - http://store.steampowered.com/app/295750/

* Ludum Dare - http://ludumdare.com/compo/

* No Man's Sky - http://www.no-mans-sky.com/

Sean:

* GIMP - https://www.gimp.org/

* Blender - https://www.blender.org/

* Twine - http://twinery.org

Stay in touch:

* Socialize - https://twitter.com/zadevchat & http://facebook.com/ZADevChat/

* Suggestions and feedback - https://github.com/zadevchat/ping

* Subscribe and rate in iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/za/podcast/zadevchat-podcast/id1057372777

PS:

In researching our guests post-recording we discovered Ben is one of the Mail & Guardian's "200 Young South Africans under 35 for 2015" (http://200ysa.mg.co.za/blog/ben-myres/)! Well done Ben!