Name: Bas Bastiaans

"I choose the UvA because I already did my Bachelor degree at the UvA. Although I had a great experience at the UvA and loved the city, I did not chose to enroll into Game Studies because it was provided specifically at the UvA. What attracted me to the master was its emphasis on serious game design. I have always believed that games could mean so much more to society than only providing entertainment. I choose the Game Studies track because I wanted to learn how to apply game design to real life problems."

"During my Master thesis I looked at the role the App Store plays in business- and development practices. The App Store opened the market for independent developers, giving developers the opportunity to bypass their traditional dependency on video game publishers. However, the enormous amount of content on the App Store resulted in a highly competitive field, putting emphasis on business practices, such as external marketing. This emphasis makes video game publishers relevant again, since they generally have more expertise in business practices than game developers. After conducting a couple of interviews with Dutch mobile game developers, I came to interesting conclusion that, even though developers do believe that a relationship with a publisher could greatly benefit the financial performance of a game, developers prefer to maintain their creative freedom."

"I look back at the Master's programme with great excitement. I finally found a study that perfectly fitted both my passion and my career ambitions. The course that stood out for me was Project Game Development. Our academic knowledge was put to the test by having to design and produce a serious game in a month's time. I remember it as a competitive period, where we learned a lot about the practices of a real world game development team. Furthermore, I remember the lectures provided by several renowned persons from the game industry. Their experience, in combination with the curriculum, provided us with a detailed image of the (serious) game industry."

"It may sound pretty cheesy, but I actually met a lot of great people during my Master's. There was always room for fun in a furthermore pretty ambitious and professional environment. I loved Science Park as well, which provided students with all the equipment needed."

"My ultimate dream job would be to work at EA Sports in Vancouver. To work on FIFA. On the short term I would love to develop my skills as a game developer, game designer and game researcher, either through an internship, new study or full time job. I would also love to design games for the education of children. I believe a good game design could greatly benefit the development of a child, just as I learned a lot from games myself."