Career and Students on Dave Voyles

Tutorials: Creating your first website with Azure

Mon, 14 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0000

My Tech Evangelist colleagues, Joe Raio and Brian Sherwin, have create a great set of video tutorials on how to create your own website using Azure. This is part of Microsoft’s Choose to Code campaign, which guides your middle and high school students through a series of online tutorials walking them through the process of creating and publishing their own website.

If you are using Azure Passes, watch this video

If you are using DreamSpark, start with this video

Still need Azure? Reach out to me to inquire about BizSpark

My 10th weekly newsletter is out!

Fri, 17 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000

If you find some links that you think would be useful, feel free to share! You can always subscribe (or unsubscribe) by clicking on the MailChimp widget on the right-hand side of this page. Here’s a link to the original file.

Gaming

Game Dev

Reverse engineering Yoda Stories

VC / Startups

Nerdy / Tech

100 Technical Things Non-Technical People Can Learn To Make Their Lives Easier

HTML5

TIL: Unity has way cheaper pricing for students / faculty

Sun, 24 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

I was at Unity’s Unite conference in Seattle this week, and I learned from their education team that Unity has far cheaper licensing for students, faculty, and schools.

In partnership with Studica, Unity has discounted costs. Here’s a link to the page.

Also, Autodesk, creators of Maya, 3DS Max, etc., also have FREE versions of their tools for students. Where was this when I was in school, learning Blender? I’m turning back the clock a few years and headed back to my SUNY Oneonta days, so that I can grab some of this stuff.

BizSpark: Free software and cloud services for your startup

Sun, 17 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Jennifer Marsman wrote a great post on her MSDN blog about the benefits of BizSpark and how to get started with the program. This step-by-step tutorial can help get you enrolled as well.

Perks of the program:

http://wootstudio.ca/startups/bizspark.aspx
Windows 10 developer accounts (Xbox, Windows)
Visual Studio Ultimate licenses
Windows licenses (multiple versions)
Office 365 developer account
$150 / month Azure credits (for each dev on your team, up to 5 total, $750 value)
Website hosting, virtual machines, databases, & mobile services
Visual Studio Online (Formerly TFS)
90 Days of pluralsight + DigitalTutors training
Free marketing support with Microsoft

Who qualifies?

Actively engaged in development of a software-based app, product, or service that will form a core piece of your current or intended business. (NOTE: you must be building a product! Startups providing consulting services are not eligible.)
Your company is privately held, and in business for less than 5 years.
Makes less than US $1 million in annual revenue

Whether you are a student, startup, or an indie game developer, Microsoft views you as a welcome addition to our startup program.

Microsoft BizSpark Orientation WorkShop at City Coho Philly Nexus

Fri, 08 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Time: Wednesday August 13 2014 | 4:00pm to 6:00pm

Location: City Coho Philly Nexus http://www.citycoho.com/

CityCoHo | Philly Nexus
2401 Walnut St.

Suite 102

Philadelphia, PA 19103

Microsoft’s BizSpark is an innovative global program that unites Startups with global entrepreneurial and technology resources in one community, with a common goal of supporting and accelerating the success of a new generation of high-potential Startups.

BizSpark is uniquely designed to help Startups engaged in software development to jump-start their business, by:

Finishing the Web App template

Fri, 16 May 2014 00:00:00 +0000

You can download the app from the Windows 8 Store, for free.

In my last post, I mentioned that I began using Microsoft’s new Web App Template, to quickly and easily create an app out of my website, while using very little code. Now that my app is finished, I wanted to walk you through the steps, so that you can do the same. In total, it only took me about 2 hours to have my app created from scratch, and in the store!

Intro to the Web App Template

Wed, 07 May 2014 00:00:00 +0000

You can find Part 2 of this tutorial, here. I’ve also compiled a list of great apps published with the WAT.

On Venture Capitalist Chris Dixon’s blog, he recently highlighted the decline of the mobile web.

“People are spending more time on mobile vs desktop, and more of their mobile time using apps, not the web This is a worrisome trend for the web. Mobile is the future. What wins mobile, wins the Internet. Right now, apps are winning and the web is losing.

Professional Game Development Tools

Fri, 21 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0000

This post is part of 3 week series giving current and aspiring game devs the tools, resources, and advice they need to get started building for Windows. We also have a great video course on [game production basics](http://Game Production Basics) at Microsoft Virtual Academy.


Visual Studio Community Edition	visual-studio-logo

You need an IDE, or Integrated Development Environment, to write code for your games. Visual Studio Community edition is FREE from Microsoft, and allows you to use a multitude of languages.

Unity shmup template (JS and C#)

Sat, 15 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve been a huge fan of shmups for as long as I can remember. If it’s good, I’ve played it (and it’s probably Japanese). I wrote my last one in JavaScript using the Impact.js framework, but this time around I wanted to do it in Unity and really test the performance of the engine.

When looking for Unity shmup templates, I came across this great set of posts on the Shmup-dev website. One post includes an excellent talk on unity shmup development, with slides and source code to go along with it. It really touches on some of the basics and key points for creating a shmup, including performance considerations. Object pooling is absolutely necessary when creating a high performance game, and the author monoRAIL explains it very neatly for readers.

Start making games, even if you don't know how to program

Sat, 01 Feb 2014 00:00:00 +0000

“I want to get started with making games, but I don’t know how. Where should I start?”

It can be overwhelming when you are starting off, because there are so many options available to you. I mean just look at plethora of game making tools at Pixel Prospetor, and you’ll see what I’m talking about. If you have zero programming experience, then I’d suggest starting with Construct2.

Construct 2 allows you to create HTML5 games without ever having to write code. Everything is handled in the IDE (Integrated Development Environment) which has a GUI (Graphical User Interface) that anyone could use. You simply drag-and-drop objects into your scene, and can make changes to the objects properties by right clicking.
Even better, it’s free! There are premium versions available, but if you’re just starting off, then the free version offers more than enough to get you going.

Welcome, students of Philadelphia!

Sun, 26 Jan 2014 00:00:00 +0000

My goal right now is to build a network for students around Philadelphia to work on projects together, ask questions, and share their work.

Feel free to ask me questions. I’m here to help! Want to know how to get started with an HTML5 project, mobile apps, or how to get started in the games industry? Ask me!

I met some of you this weekend at the Global Game Jam, and others at the**Tri-Co Hackathon.** If you were interested to see what was happening at either event, click on the links above.

Indie Games Summer Uprising has a 5 page spread in Nov. 2011 issue of Game Developer Magazine

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

If you missed this summer Xbox Live Indie Games Summer Uprising, it’s not too late to catch up on everything that happened. It’s cool, I wrote a 5 page article which can be found in the November issue of Game Developer Magazine, so you can see everything you missed. I’m sure you’ve seen it because you already subscribe, right? If you don’t that’s alright too, because you can buy individual issues as well.

Indie Game Summer Uprising Post-Mortem

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

This article reflects my thoughts, and not necessarily those of the other team members for the Indie Games Summer Uprising.

EDIT: I’ve added the section “6. The Dashboard”, an intro, as well as numerous grammatical corrections throughout.

Since its inception, the Xbox Live Indie Games have been considered the red-deaded stepchild of Microsoft’s internet based LIVE platform. Hidden beneath layers of menus and triple-A titles, sales and promotions have never been outstanding for developers, unless you manage to earn a spot on the highly coveted “Top Downloads” section.

I'll be a guest speaker on the Indie's Got PR Talent – A Press Panel at GDC Europe

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

UPDATE: Thanks @BigBossBenGilbert for the photo!

Headed to GDC Europe? Why not come take a gander at the panel I’ve been invited to attend by Deejay of Indie City.

Taken straight from his page:

I’ll be hosting the Indies’ Got PR Talent panel at GDC Europe on Monday 15th August, 12:40pm. I’ll be joined by games press veterans Mike Rose, Christian Nutt and Keith Stuarterr, someone else who’s yet to be officially confirmed (That’s me!).

We’ll be going through various indie press releases, screenshots and videos, highlighting the best and worse examples. All in the format of the [INSERT COUNTRY HERE]’s Got Talent gameshow, which should add extra mirth into the mix. After dissecting each, the panel will be giving their expert opinion on how indie developers can make a better impact with their PR activities.

Interview I did with Ars Technica last week is up now

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Last week I head the pleasure of being interviewed by Andrew Webster of Ars Technica for his piece “We Band of Brothers: Developer-led Xbox Live Indies promotion returns.” In it he describes how the uprising came to be, our future plans, and lessons learned from the previous uprising.

Indie Games Summer Uprising candidates narrowed down to 25 – developers choose 8 next week

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

EDIT: To see a clearer list of the 26 (read below) entries, click here.

The Indie Games Summer Uprising list has been narrowed down from 70+ to just 25 this week. Starting Monday July 11th, developers will have the opportunity to select 8 picks to represent the platform in the Uprising. Voting closes on Sunday July 17th. Developers are to vote on a variety of factors including: Marketability, originality, appearance, entertainment, music, and gameplay. A 5 star rating system will be used, just as XBLIG tittles are rated on Live, and the 8 titles with the highest average score are selected in the promotion. A poll will be e-mailed to all XBLIG developers who have submitted candidates. Winners will be announced the following day, Monday July 18th on the IGSU home page.

The Indie Games Summer Uprising site is up!

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

We’ve finally launched the Indie Games Summer Uprising site! Josh Addison, Nathan Smith, and Chris Brousseau have all done an outstanding job with the web design, art work, and initial launch trailer. You can find more of their work at Blazing Forge Games and Game Production Studios.

In addition to the site, we’ve released the initial launch trailer and press release to a number of outlets.

Be sure to “Like” us on Facebook as well, where you will have the opportunity to vote for two additional titles that you would like to see as part of the uprising. Click through for the press release.

Death Sentence website is live!