As the voice of FLEGA we engage with #FlemishGamesIndustry on a daily basis. However, we wouldn’t be able to do this without the help of our board. So let’s put them in the limelight for a change!

Dr. Anissa All has been working as a researcher at the research group Media, Innovation and Communication Technologies (MICT) of Ghent University since 2011. She has done a lot of work in the field of educational technology, specializing in effectiveness of game-based learning during her Ph.D.

Mike Coeck is the newest addition to the FLEGA board. An entrepreneur in heart and soul, he followed his passion after a career in IT and started his own game studio upon graduating Digital Arts and Entertainment. Cybernetic Walrus has since evolved into a versatile game studio that offers enterprise services, Unity training and creates original IP, such as the upcoming Rise of Humanity.

Bernard François recently celebrated 10 years of PreviewLabs. His team has developed game prototypes for big clients such as Yale University, Walt Disney Imagineering, and Wargaming.net. In order to better reach out to international clients, he succesfully opened a US branch of the rapid game prototype company in 2016.

Kevin Haelterman has been part of the board since forever (well, at least since 2015). He’s the co-founder and CEO of LuGus Studios, a game studio founded in a time there wasn’t much of a Belgian games industry. A decade later they have built all kinds of experiences and flew their way into the heart of an entire industry with their drone simulation Liftoff. Next to a console port of their biggest hit, they’re also working on hacking RPG Midnight Protocol.

Together with two work mates from design agency boondoggle, Jeroen Janssen started making games after hours. This eventually led to the start of their game studio Happy Volcano. Primarily known for the award-winning narrative adventure The Almost Gone (which has been out for a month!), they have created numerous games for clients like Ketnet and Bebat.

Rik Leenknegt is the Master Chief at Digital Arts and Entertainment. Following his dream of building a high quality educational program for game development, he started his visionary quest back in 2006. The program spawned a host of succesful Flemish indie studios such as Pajama Llama Games and Triangle Factory. Today their campus The Level has become a hotspot for international game dev talent with numerous alumni working in big game studios all over the world.

As General Manager at Belgian Entertainment Association, Pieter Swaelens is responsible for the overall management of the association representing the movie, games en music industry in Belgium. With a background at Sony Pictures, he’s always been part of a company that lives and breathes interactive entertainment.

Timothy Vanherberghen is co-founder and managing director at Triangle Factory. Not one to give up, this DAE alumnus and entrepreneur pur sang pulled his company through a couple of tough years, only to emerge victorious on the other side. They are currently working on the mobile VR shooter Hyper Dash and recently took their relationship with The Park Playground to a new level.

After making the difficult decision to seize Curious Cats operations, co-founder Jill Vanparys is now a freelance designer and still doing what she does best: create interesting gamification experiences. The driving force behind the designs of Ava & Trix (link in Dutch) and Kr8cht (link in Dutch), she’s also voluntarily sharing her knowledge of digital media at Mediaraven (link in Dutch).

Finally, I-Illusions founder Dirk Van Welden doesn’t really need an introduction, but we don’t want him feeling left out. A legend in the VR community for creating the VR classic Space Pirate Trainer, his team is currently working on the next big VR shooter thing Space Pirate Arena and the freshly unveiled snowboard game Shredders.

We’d like to thank all our board members for their work, commitment, and support for our mission to facilitate and sustainably grow the #FlemishGamesIndustry!

And with that, it’s time for a little summer break. Back in business on August 12. Enjoy the summer and stay safe, everyone!