Hi, I’m Jake Birkett, Director of Grey Alien Games and Lead Programmer/Designer at Big Fish Games’ Vancouver studio (although please note that I write as myself and not as a BFG employee/representative on this blog).

In 2005, after nearly a decade of developing stock control and accounting systems for bookshops in the UK, I formed my own company in a bid to realise a lifelong dream to make games! Four years later I have six casual games under my belt including the top-selling Fairway Solitaire and Unwell Mel download titles.

Having been both an Independent developer and an employee in the casual game industry I can offer my perspective of these different approaches and am knowledgeable about running a business. Due to the small manageable nature of downloadable casual games (they typically take 6-12 months to make with only a handful of team members), I have experience with every stage of the development process from design and implementation to testing and localisation.

Like many 30-somethings I have been playing games all my life and love to put my experience to good use by making great fun casual games. As well as brainstorming new ideas with other designers I enjoy honing the fine details to give games that all-important polished feel.

This blog contains news about Grey Alien Games as well as articles ranging from game design and marketing to positive thinking and sales statistics. I hope that you enjoy reading it and are able to gain something useful from it.

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