Philip Oliver, CEO of award-winning indie legends Blitz Games Studios, will present the keynote at Develop in Liverpool’s first Indie Dev Day, which takes place on Thursday 24 November at the city’s Hilton Hotel.

Drawing from nearly 30 years experience in the games industry, Philip will reflect on how he and his twin brother Andrew have taken every video game evolution head on and not only survived, but positively thrived, to become one of Europe’s largest independent games developers and home to six complementary business brands.

“More people than ever before are making games. Not all of them want to turn that into a business, but for those who do the potential rewards can be huge,” said Philip Oliver, CEO, Blitz Games Studios. “So, sadly, is the potential for failure and in my talk at Develop Liverpool I’d like to share some of the strategies that we’ve employed over nearly three decades in the games business that can limit the threats and maximise the opportunities.”

Develop in Liverpool event director Andy Lane added: “From back bedroom coder to CEO of one of the largest European video games studios is a significant journey and one that will hold valuable insights for today’s new wave of developers.”

New to Develop in Liverpool, Indie Dev Day will feature an afternoon of four 45-minute sessions designed specifically for established independent studios, new start-ups, wannabe indies, freelance developers and students. The concept debuted at Develop in Brighton in July to great success, with over 200 delegates lapping up inspirational talks from the likes of Hello Games, Hogrocket and Playniac. The equally impressive Liverpool line up can be found below:

Indie Dev Day Sessions:

KEYNOTE: Strategies for Survival in the Games Industry
Philip Oliver, Blitz Games Studios

From Student to Indie
Daniel Da Rocha, Toxic Games


Gladiator Kricket - From Daydream to Disney
Andy Banks, Foof Productions

To Start Up or Not to Start Up
Ewan Lamont, Legendary Games

Launching Hogrocket: how to create your own indie games studio
Ben Ward, Hogrocket

Indie Dev Day passes can be purchased at the special early bird rate of £50 before 26 October at: www.developconference.com/liverpool


Notes to editors:


About the Develop Conference:
The seventh Develop in Brighton Conference will take place from 10 – 12 July 2012. The 2011 event attracted over 1500 game developers from 30 different territories and has become firmly established as the leading conference for European games developers. The sister event to Brighton - Develop in Liverpool will take place in Liverpool on Thursday 24 November 2011. Early Bird Discount ends 26 October. Delegates can apply for conference passes at: www.developconference.com/liverpool

About Indie Dev Day:
Indie Dev Day is a conference and networking event running alongside Develop in Liverpool designed for established independent studios, new start-ups, wannabe indies, freelance developers and students. Indie Dev Day was successfully launched at Develop in Brighton 2011 and attracted over 200 delegates. For more info and to book passes go to:
www.developconference.com/liverpool

About Tandem Events:
Tandem Events has over 25 years of experience in organising market-leading exhibitions, conferences and events across a number of industry sectors. Specialising in the interactive entertainment market, their portfolio includes Evolve in London on 1 December 2011, Develop in Brighton, Develop in Liverpool, Evolve in Brighton, Games:Edu, Games Marketing Forum, Games Grads and GamesDev Masterclasses.
www.tandemevents.co.uk


For more information or to apply for a Press Pass please contact:
Ali Fearnley T: 020 7405 4500 E: ali@tandemevents.co.uk

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