So, first off, I have to say that I wasn’t even planning to go to 360iDev in Denver. Budget and time constraints prevented me from even considering going.
Then a funny thing happened - I won a free ticket! Thanks to Fernando Barajas for giving up his ticket (he wrote the app, Skatr - get it now!!). Thanks to Dan Grigsby and MobileOrchard, an awesome blog for iPhone Developers, for posting the ticket giveaway (and for the great marketing advice) and finally, thanks to Tom and John for organizing such an amazing event!
So it was really a no-brainer for me to go now, so I went - but with the thought that this would be just like any other conference I’ve been to.
Boy, was I wrong.
This event may have been the single best experience I’ve had in my professional (and independent) career. And I say this without any hesitation - it was THAT good. So, why was it that good? As some others have already said, it wasn’t any one thing but rather a perfect storm of great talks, events and people all coming together to create this life changing experience. Let me briefly go through the list.
The Talks
I have to say the talks at 360iDev were all great and there were so many that really opened my eyes and struck a chord with me. I can’t possibly list them all but here are, what I thought, were the best of the best.
David Whatley - How to make Mad Money with an iPhone Game
Critical Thought Games (geoDefense and geoDefense Swarm)
For me, this was the best talk of the entire conference. I know the title sounds a bit cheesy, but his talk was FILLED with great tips on game design and business strategy specific for the iPhone platform and market. Great speaker, tons of great information and experience and success to back it all up.
Matt Drance - Keynote
Bookhouse Apps (and former Apple iPhone/Mac Evangelist)
Matt gave a great keynote about how to improve your chances of success on the app store. He talked about building relationships with Apple, how to build quality apps and how not to get screwed by the App Review process (well, insomuch that you can). Incredibly informative, especially the tip about adding Apple as a contact in your phone! (FYI, he suggested putting Apple’s number (408)996-1010 as “OMG APPLE” in your address book and lol and behold, a few short hours after I got the OMG APPLE call!)
Dan Grigsby - Warm, Clothed and Fed: Developer Run iPhone Business
MobileOrchard.com (Founder)
Dan was one of the best speakers at the entire conference - energetic, informative and great slides! His talk was practical and loaded with real numbers and statistics from the industry of iPhone development as a business. Standing room only for his talk, but it was worth it as the room was riveted the entire time.
Henry Balanon - Lottery you can influence. iPhone App Marketing for Devs
Bickbot (Founder & writer for TheAppleBlog.com)
Easily the funniest talk of the conference, Henry is also a great speaker. His talk was about how you can try to maximize your chances of getting that big “hit” and making it into the Top 100 - which should be your ultimate goal. Great information and entertaining throughout, Henry kept the whole room in stitches.
Rana June - Return to Quality Keynote
Medialets (Co-Founder and VP of Marketing)
Rana caught me off guard with this one. It had a controversial twist to it, but her talk cut through the BS and resonated with a lot of people, including myself. Luckily, it was recorded and you can watch her great talk here (Part 1) and here (Part 2).
The Events
So, besides the great catering, the free beer and the Rock Band parties, there was one event that spontaneously occurred that really made the entire conference for me, and that was the iPhone Game Jam. The idea was the brainchild of Noel Llopis (Snappy Touch) who came up with the idea and organized the event.
A Game Jam is where a bunch of developers get together and try to build a game or games in a limited time span. In this case, it was from 7pm at night until 8:30am in the morning. I know, it sounds like a brutal exercise but it was one of the most fun events I’ve done in a long time, and it was entirely because of the people I was with and the amount I learned in a short period of time. The results that came out of the iPhone Game Jam were incredible! You can check them all out HERE.
For me, I had never played with a physics engine before so I really wanted to learn something new, so I played with Box2D and in 9 hours I managed to crank out Gravity Vs. Ladybugs.
It doesn’t look like much, but it only took 9 hours and is completely physics based so I’m extremely happy with it! Basically, the premise is that you use your finger to create gravity wells to keep the ladybugs away from your player while he automatically seeks out the gems. Pretty simple, but sorta fun too!
Anyway, as I said, the game jam was one of the best highlights of the whole conference. The energy and the people in the room really inspired me to forge ahead and build something cool while under the pressures of a ticking clock.
The People
And last, but not least, the people at 360iDev were amazing. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, from the speakers, to the organizers and to all the attendees, were all so friendly and open. Some of the people there were genuine stars in our industry but NONE of them were hard to approach and strike up a conversation with. They let me pick their brains for advice. They shared a few beers with me. They ENGAGED in genuine conversations and genuinely wanted to help others achieve the same success as they had. It would be too hard to name them all, but I can honestly say that I am grateful to have met and made new friendships with all the people there. And I really hope that we’ll be able to maintain these great relationships going forward because I’m sure that every single person that went to 360iDev had the same experience that I did.
And that’s it, the best conference I’ve ever went to. And if you missed it, I feel for you. And if you don’t believe me that it was really THAT good, check out the links below and see what they have to say about it because I know that I’m not the only one who felt this way.
[Updated]
TouchArcade - 360iDev Game Jam: 10 Hours of Game Development Insanity
Critical Thought Games Blog - 360iDev and Apple & App Store
MobileOrchard - iPhone Game Jam report
ByteClub - Surviving the iPhone Game Jam
Riptide Games - A night to remember
