SESSIONS

From Bedroom Dev to Building a Studio in the Philippines

Grand Ballroom 3
2:45 pm - 4:20 pm

This talk follows the personal and professional journey of a half-Filipino developer who started creating games alone at 19 and is now building a physical studio in the Philippines, bridging years of solo development, international releases, and community experience. It begins with a look at early experiments in game development, starting with small releases, and moves into the creation and growth of Neodori Forever, a mobile arcade racer that reached over 500,000 downloads and was later released on Nintendo Switch and PC. The talk then covers the development of Neodori Infinity, a VR adaptation of the original title launched on Meta Quest. Each phase highlights how the project evolved through iteration, community feedback, platform challenges, and technical growth. The session offers practical insight into building games while balancing full-time work, handling all creative and technical aspects as a solo developer, and learning through failure and release. It also examines the strategic decision to build a physical studio in Southeast Asia, what that process involves, and why regional development is increasingly important in the global games industry.

This talk follows the personal and professional journey of a half-Filipino developer who started creating games alone at 19 and is now building a physical studio in the Philippines, bridging years of solo development, international releases, and community experience. It begins with a look at early experiments in game development, starting with small releases, and moves into the creation and growth of Neodori Forever, a mobile arcade racer that reached over 500,000 downloads and was later released on Nintendo Switch and PC. The talk then covers the development of Neodori Infinity, a VR adaptation of the original title launched on Meta Quest. Each phase highlights how the project evolved through iteration, community feedback, platform challenges, and technical growth. The session offers practical insight into building games while balancing full-time work, handling all creative and technical aspects as a solo developer, and learning through failure and release. It also examines the strategic decision to build a physical studio in Southeast Asia, what that process involves, and why regional development is increasingly important in the global games industry.