To celebrate my 2-year anniversary at Microsoft as a Sr. Technical Evangelist, I wanted to put my thoughts down in a blog post and discuss it in a video. This post also answers the question “Why Did I Choose Microsoft?” In today’s open-source, cross-platform world, Microsoft is becoming more and more relevant, from cloud services (hosting Windows and Linux servers) to mobile app services (supporting iOS and Android) and everything in between.

Jump to Video: https://youtu.be/bPnWf2HKVMw

 Why Microsoft?

Sometimes, people ask me “Hey, you are promoting Microsoft products just because you work for Microsoft?” I usually respond “Actually no, I joined Microsoft because I enjoy using and promoting Microsoft products.” You see, today’s Microsoft supports many operating systems, programing languages and platforms that crosses overs in way that turns competition into collaboration”

As a consumer, I started using DOS and Windows 3.1 when I first learned how to use a computer. I jumped onto Windows 95 along with the rest of the world. I picked up productivity apps like WordPerfect and Quattro Pro, but was introduced to Office products such as Word and Excel. Today, I have multiple devices running Windows 10, including my Xbox One! 🙂

As an enterprise developer, I have been using Microsoft software development tools and business applications for almost 2 decades now. My first real job was in the Summer of 1997 when I used Active Server Pages to develop database-driven web applications. Today, I’m using Visual Studio 2015 to work on everything from ASP .NET Core 1.0 web applications to Windows 10 apps/games, and even games developed in Unity. Having tried out other dev tools, I would happily admit that Visual Studio is arguably the best IDE out there. For a lighter code editor, there’s Visual Studio Code for PC, Mac and Linux users.

Screenshot of photo and caption from IGC 🙂

As an indie developer, I started making silly little games for Xbox 360 using XNA and C# within Visual Studio for Xbox Live Indie Games. I even got slayed by Indie Gamer Chick, but survived to write 2 articles for her blog (Earning Your Keep and Redefining Indie Success). I followed up my indie games with free dev tools for XBLIG developers around the world, which really got me involved in the dev community. Long before my colleague Dave Voyles and I joined Microsoft, he wrote up a couple of reviews on my dev tools (XBLIG Sales Data Analyzer and XNA Basic Starter Kit) before we had even known each other.

As a community leader, I created Facebook groups for Construct 2, Unity, and Xbox One. I wasn’t sure which would take off, but all three of them are very active today. I recently launched a new group for HoloLens, and also run a real-life Meetup group for DC/MD/VA developers using Microsoft tools, technologies and platforms. It’s great to see continued interest from my audience in everything form cloud services to game development tools.

I was even fortunate enough to get mentioned in the Official Xbox Magazine, in the same month that I was selected for the Microsoft MVP program and offered a job at Microsoft as a Technical Evangelist!

Source: Official Xbox Magazine, March 2014, Page 65

As a technical evangelist, I have been working with students, startups and developers all over DC/MD/VA, coast to coast across the US and around the world via in-person events and online videos. Looking for one of my videos? Head on over to MSDN Channel 9, where you’ll find plenty of videos for all things Microsoft and more!

My colleague James Quick and I also have 2 sets of videos on Microsoft Virtual Academy, with the 3rd set coming soon!

1. Construct 2: http://aka.ms/mva-construct2
2. Advanced Construct 2: http://aka.ms/mva-construct2-advanced
3. Windows 10 Games with Construct 2: (Coming Soon!)

So, why did I choose Microsoft? I followed my passions, and this is where it led me. 😎

To wrap things up, check out this video of me talking with my friend Frank La Vigne, a Technology Evangelist at Microsoft, on his YouTube Channel Frank’s World TV.

YouTube Video on FWTV: https://youtu.be/bPnWf2HKVMw

BUT WAIT, THERE’s MORE!!!

In my latest Channel 9 video, check out my other video with Frank where we discuss how to get started with game development!

• Blog Post: https://wakeupandcode.com/getting-started-with-game-development/
• Video: https://channel9.msdn.com/Blogs/raw-tech/Getting-Started-with-Game-Development