Tom Platten-Higgins
Bio
If the last 5 years are anything to go by, I don't know what I'll be doing by the time I get to the stage at Reasons to be Creative.
I've gone from graduating as a Graphic Designer, to programming gold laden interactive museum pieces for his majesty, The King of Bahrain - and finally, falling head over heels for making silly little video games.
Since joining the Devon based studio, Mutant Labs, I have had the opportunity to re-imagine just about all of my childhood memories through the medium of game development.
I've also become a table football champion and take credit in contributing towards the creation of the (soon to be) world famous, hacky sack based game of shallots.
Session
Making Fun of Games
Whether it's outbidding somebody by 17p on eBay, scoring two Lion bars from the vending machine, or choosing the fastest queue at the supermarket - we all like to play games.
While our fun-craving may be subconscious, it's these small, satisfying nuggets of triumph that can wash away the mundanity of everyday boringness.
Doing your taxes is boring. But what if the pen you were holding was actually a gun, and instead of ticking boxes, you shot bullets through them, while naked, while hover boarding. Now we're talking!!
A quintessential understanding of what makes something fun is the epitome of good game design and as with any art, it is a labour of love. Engineered fun may sound like an oxymoron but believe it or not - you can force it.
Come with me on a journey (and bring your hard hat), as I show by example, the processes of becoming a fungineer (yep).
