Andy Korth, Beth Korth, Lizzy Siemers, and Troy Strand

Verdant Skies released in February 2018 after more than 3 years in development. As we discuss what went right and what could have gone better, we will explore aspects of the development, release, and post-release of this life simulation / farming game. We’ll touch on a few technical aspects of programming the game - highlighting a few interesting shaders and other topics like UI layout and project organization. We’ll cover the process of developing an artistic style for the game and how it evolved over time. The talk will also include an overview of the narrative structure of the game, and the process of writing for such a large project. Perhaps most importantly, we’ll also cover the finances of it as an indie project and how sales went. Each attendee will receive a steam key for the game.

Verdant Skies was developed by a team of Andy Korth, Beth Korth, Lizzy Siemers, and Troy Strand. Another dozen people helped out to make the game a reality. Andy led the project with 10 years of experience running an independent game studio. He’s worked on over a dozen software titles on platforms from the Nintendo 3DS to high powered current gen consoles.

Making & Self-Publishing A Game In A Semester

MCAD students

Throwing away the traditional class model, students are working in a studio-like environment attempting to get their goat rescue mountaineering game published by mid-December. Scope is a never-ending dilemma, especially for a 3 month project. They will talk about how the development process has gone thus far, and discuss plans for launch.

The team consists of five talented MCAD students: Magdi Hazaa, Alyssa LeBlanc, Ilan Logodko, Rachel Peterson, and Larry Phiravanh. They are seniors prepping their final projects and portfolios for graduation.