Thomas Waterzooi
Indie Developer
Thomas Waterzooi is a game director from Brussels. He previously worked on Divinity Original Sin (Larian Studios, Baldurs Gate) and Hitman (IO-Interactive ) before becoming a solo-developer in 2018. He focuses on making accessible interactive stories and playful things driven by art, culture, society and human interest. His games are not about skills or high-scores. They are about relaxing, reflecting, playful tinkering, and being sucked into the story and aesthetics (often referred to as "wholesome" or "cozy").
Thomas Waterzooi is speaking at the following session/s
Unlocking The Power Of Paintings in ‘Please, Touch The Artwork 2’ (a double post mortem)
Solo-dev Thomas Waterzooi will explore the intersection of modern artist James Ensor’s paintings and accessible, yet deep, mobile game design. The session serves as a practical case study for game developers seeking insights into bridging traditional art with interactive experiences, but also designing for mobile. He’ll discuss and compare the different challenges faced during development of the first game versus the second game, and share things learned from his journey as a solo-developer, winning the Google Play Indie festival in 2022 and securing a Apple Design award nomination. From finding funding, game-design, PR, marketing to releasing a game on Steam, mobile, Nintendo Switch, and efforts post-release, there are lots of takeaways from this talk.
Session Takeaway
- How to stand out in an overcrowded gaming-landscape
- General insights into what it takes to be a solo-dev indie.
- Techniques to adapt public domain art into (mobile) games.
Session speakers
