Need help? Microsoft might have the answers

Without all of you amazing game developers, we wouldn’t have anything to celebrate at IMGA. For those who want to become the winners of the future IMGAs, here are some tips from Microsoft to become an award-winning developer, and being new to development might be a daunting prospect.

Microsoft is doing loads to help game developers, from online training to publishing your game. It means that whatever your skill level, there’s somewhere to start!

To learn more about basic design principles, get some potential skills training and advice on good design, these pages may be useful to you: http://dev.windows.com/en-us/getstarted. You can learn how to start from scratch by developing your existing skills, or use Microsoft’s resources to build on an existing app or code that you’ve worked on before. You can also find out about Microsoft’s publishing opportunities here, and discover their online community.

Microsoft’s virtual academy has tons of game development courses to help get started with building games for Windows PCs and mobile devices. They’ve got lots of practical demos, so they should help you get started in no time! Have a look at what’s available here.

You can even publish straight to the Xbox One with all of the capabilities of the platform, with Independent Developers (ID@Xbox) boasting free development kits and a supportive community. More information on this is available here.  So now you’ve got the tools, get developing! Maybe we’ll see you at IMGA 2016.