Dan Jacobs

CONFETTI were pleased to welcome Author and current Games Tester, DAN JACOBS, to kick-start Confetti's aspiring gaming engineers, publishers, developers and all those in between, into the first day of INDUSTRY WEEK 2013! And I was also lucky enough to get a little insight into the music side of the gaming industry and hearing familiar names such as the delights of Sets and Nintendo; immediately taking me back to my childhood days, transmitted animated, 8-Bit signals to my 90's child memories of play on my Default Mega Drive on Sonic The Hedgehog! Hearing Dan speak of where his passion for gaming and fantasy came from made me wish I'd have brought my 3D geek glasses and my Nintendo Advance along with me!

Having that Dan has experience in working with such dealings as well-known Gaming Industries and names from Sega to Disney, he firstly spoke about business' strategies and how they can work well and also the advantages and disadvantages of this demanding and rapid developing industry. He spoke with such excitement about coming to the penultimate milestone of having the thing all Gamers dream of - the 'GAME RELEASE' of a product that you have put such hard work into.
He also spoke about some legal aspects of the Gaming Industry and how he was once involved in the termination of a release to a few games, thanks to having the stereotyped 'dream job', or so I thought!
After revealing stories about his career that brought laughter, excitement and reaped hidden sweets in the gaming industry to Confetti's driven Gaming Students. 

Dan shed light into the gaming industry and I was actually inspired by his interview, which I didn't think I'd initially enjoy. Being an outsider, more swayed over to Audio and Sound, I was captivated to see that both industries actually do cross over, opening more doors on my journey.  He inspired budding gamers to be prepared for the set backs of being a gamer and to stay focussed on getting that career. Along with this he taught how to become more appealing to gaming employers, which was both interesting and humerous to hear as he told us of the crazy lengths some had gone through along the way.

Dan wrote his book 'Cheat Mode' as a self-guide to his younger self about the industry, quoting "I always wished there was a book that was around when I was younger that taught me what I know now".
With Dan ending his lecture interacting with his crowd, answering their differenciating questions, giving sound advice and, most importantly, giving examples of his REAL Industry Experience. This seminar was a real eye-opener and has now altered my outlook on the gaming industry, as well as my possible career choices.'Cheat Mode' sounds like a great guide for a wide range of people.

By April Allwood, Level 3 Music student