Andy D.

🌟 Did you know the game "Valheim" began as a passion project by two Swedish developers, Richard Svensson and Henrik Törnqvist? They started working on the game in their spare time after their regular jobs. Richard began the development alone around 2017, driven by his fascination with Norse mythology and survival games, and later teamed up with Henrik. Together, they laid the foundations for what would become Valheim. They formed the indie game studio Iron Gate Studio, which remained a small team even as the game gained traction. Their approach focused on engaging with the community from the very beginning, sharing updates, gathering feedback, and building a supportive fan base long before the game was officially released. Their dedication paid off when Valheim launched in early access on Steam in February 2021. The game quickly gained popularity due to its unique blend of survival mechanics, cooperative gameplay, and immersive Viking-themed world. Despite the limited size of their team, Valheim achieved impressive sales, reaching over 1 million copies sold within a few weeks of release. This success story highlights the power of community engagement and the potential for small indie teams to make a significant impact in the gaming industry. 🌟 And guess what? You can do that too, even if you don't know a thing about coding or creating video games right now! If you're in love with video games and want to turn that passion into a career, I’m creating an educational program just for you. In this program, I'll cover the technical skills and strategies to help you achieve your game development goals. But first, I want to chat with you! Your insights will help shape a program tailored to your needs. Let's make your game dev dreams a reality! Book your meeting through my Calendly link here. 🚀 https://lnkd.in/gPYJeadb #GameDev #IndieDev #Valheim #GameDevelopment #IndieGames #DreamBig #GameDesign #GamerLife #GameCreator #FollowYourDreams

9

Tip for publishing consideration submission to Midwest Games... tldr - Send info through our portal (https://lnkd.in/gWtKgpuU), not through email (or LI). I get that it's a little counter-intuitive...you might think you want to put your info right in front of the sourcing decision influencers' faces. But it's actually a disadvantage - especially those of you who are agents throwing multiple titles at us at once. The submission portal goes right to our database, and that database is there for a reason: to keep an organized and consistent record of all submissions in one place. I look through there all the time. I'm reminded of titles I may have overlooked or need to go back to consider as circumstances change all the time. We rarely, if ever, make immediate decisions or even quick deep review/consideration. Our factors for consideration shift regularly. I do not review your particular email regularly, or at some point even remember you sent one. I go to the database. Connection via other channels is good. Discussion about your game over other channels is good. But having your core game info in those channels is not good. Please use the submission portal!

27

3 kommentarer

Imagendary Studios, founded by former Blizzard artist Wei Wang, has unveiled a cinematic trailer for their project. Astropulse: Reincarnation is a single-player sci-fi third-person role-playing shooter, set in a distant future on a war-torn Earth. Additionally, the developers plan to release short films and comics based on their game, which will expand the Astropulse universe. The release date for the game is currently unknown. In my opinion, the trailer looks really cool! It's very much in the style of Blizzard's projects. Let's see what awaits us in the game. #Astropulse #VideoGames #Games #Gaming #GameDevelopment #Blizzard #GameTrailer

7

2 kommentarer

I've spent a large part of my career improving alignment of teams on the current reality in order to then plan "realistically" and predict a more accurate future reality. As Benjamin explains very well below, we so easily and willingly fool ourselves with wishful thinking and optimistic biases. Even if or when that bias is quelled, our different perceptions of reality can cloud judgement and lead to undesirable outcomes. We so badly want to be optimistic and have confidence in our capabilities (as well as those of our teammates)! I recently had a project scheduling discussion where someone said, to paraphrase, "yes, things are bad now, but once we get to Beta there won't be any bugs so we should be able to ship on time..." Now, giving some leeway for attempted dry humor, the fact is the intended schedule didn't change and, big surprise, milestones were missed. I have seen this kind of thinking happen all the time throughout my time as a Producer and project leader. My point is this: it is a never ending battle to assess and re-assess your team's biases and potential wishful thinking. I have many tools to fight this, but people must be willing to use them. For a few quick examples: - build in iteration time - build in bug fixing time - account for vacation and sick time - get 3rd party data to assess your current state - account for merging/build/code cleanup time - account for non-gameplay/technical certification features I could go on, but I'd rather hear from you - how do you assess your current reality and align your team toward realistic estimates which give you more accurate outcomes?

17

5 kommentarer

🎮 Want a job in the video game industry? 🎮 📅 It's July. We made it through the first half of 2024. Are you looking at your resume/skills/experience for the second half of the year and 2025? Are you bookmarking your favorite career sites in case the perfect job opens up and you're ready to apply? *cough* https://lnkd.in/gmapUg36 *cough* What skills are needed in your line of work for your next role? Are you taking any classes/courses or applying to tangentially related roles (i.e. not the dream job yet) to build those skills? In your last interview, was there a skill could you not explain to the best of your ability or are you unsure of that you could learn more about? Your dream job won't always come tomorrow, but are you preparing in case it opens in a week? A month? January 2025? Any questions? Put them in the comment section and we'll see what we can do to help. #startpreparingnow #Letsgetyouhired

142

41 kommentarer

This GDC was particularly special for me for several reasons, but the main one was that I got to meet the creator of the game I've been playing at least once a week for 17 years since I was 3. Thank you, David Mullich AKA Sir Mullich, for not only coming to the Ukrainian auction to support Ukrainian game developers but also for making so many people's week truly unforgettable. Saying that the game is a cult classic in the part of the world I am from is not strong enough. For most Eastern Europeans of my age, the term "video game" is synonymous with Heroes of Might and Magic III. Needless to say, not only do people in Eastern Europe still play the game 25 years after its release, but you can also still find fresh articles about it in resources dedicated to video games. Just weeks before GDC, the maestro behind the game's iconic music, PAUL ANTHONY ROMERO returned to Kyiv to play the music from the game once again! About a year ago, I already got a chance to meet another creator of the game, Chris Vanover AKA Sir Christian. On the way to the lunch my friend organized for me, knowing how much Heroes of Might and Magic III means to me, I had to brush up on the names of towns and creatures, as I was never exposed to the original English versions. That's why localization is so important. Without a translated version of the game existing in Ukraine, Poland, Czechia, and many other parts of the world where the game is so popular, millions of players would be deprived of so many fantastic experiences. By localizing your game, you not only tap into a bigger market for monetization opportunities, but you also contribute to the growth and diversity of the global gaming industry. I can assure you, there are numerous incredible and talented game developers from Eastern Europe who chose their career paths because they were able to play Heroes of Might and Magic III back in 2000s. In 2024, there are still very few games that have a Ukrainian version. Ukrainian language is not just a means of communication. It's a fundamental pillar of Ukrainian culture and identity. Now, more than ever, it's crucial for the world to recognize its significance.

137

9 kommentarer

🎮 Want a job in the video game industry? 🎮 Begin with the end in mind.* ➡ When you drive to work do you just turn left or right based on how you feel that day? 😅 (I hope you left extra early that day) ➡ When you gather data for a project, do you grab monthly active users, popular breakfast items and breeds of dog? 🤐 (This report might be fun but your boss will not be happy) ➡ When you schedule a doctor appointment, do you call random numbers in the phone book? 🙃 The same applies to...well...applying for jobs. ❔ Do you look at the minimum requirements for a job or do you click easy apply on cool titles? (Although, I might as well shoot my shot for Game Director) ❔ Do you update your resume with your most relevant experience when you apply? What is your desired outcome? Work backwards and you'll see at least some of the steps in a path to get there. This is not easy to do, because there is no perfect way to be the best fit for a job. Everyone's journey is different. What steps have you taken to get to your goal or how have you been successful in your journey? *One possible end goal pictured #Letsgetyouhired #RecruiterAdvice

156

15 kommentarer

🕹Today in Gaming History!🎮 20 years ago today Spider-man 2 released for PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, and Game Boy Advance from Treyarch, The Fizz Factor, Digital Eclipse Entertainment Partners, and Activision, in association with Marvel Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment. I remember being absolutely floored with this game on release, a must have! Played so much of it and the other movie games. It's great that we're still getting Spider-man games, and even more recently got another Spider-man 2 (although unrelated to the movies, aside from in-game skins) from Insomniac Games. #TiGH #GamingHistory #Gaming #History #Spiderman2 #Spiderman #Treyarch #TheFizzFactor #DigitalEclipse #Activision #Marvel #Sony #Movie #Action #Adventure #Games #Game #VideoGames #VideoGame #GamesIndustry #VideoGameIndustry

6

1 kommentar

Here's the latest video of the game Maximum Football I work on as the Principal Cinematic Artist. My job at the Maximum Entertainment is to make all the game's cutscenes, cinematic videos, unique character animations and camera animations. It was quite a challenge, even though I have a strong background in filmmaking, it was often difficult to infuse a real cinematic atmosphere into a video game. It's worth watching the whole video because Micah the Game Director is discusses the high-quality work of many people in detail. #game #cinematic #maximumfootball https://lnkd.in/duxZ9Baw

9

You asked for it! 😂 Keeping up with my Job Hunt™️, a LinkedIn Original Series. Job Hunter's Journal Week 2 🧡 ➡️ Motto: What now? This week we had to get creative. 𝑨𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒕, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒓𝒖𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒋𝒐𝒃𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓. Normally this tends to happen around week 3-5, however, the games industry is going through one of the most challenging times yet (IMO because we didn't plan our workforces carefully and conservatively the past 3 years, but no point crying over spilt milk). Being pragmatic about this, I can essentially do two things: 🟣Start fully applying for jobs outside of Games, which entails: •Figuring out which industries I feel connected to and/or would be good at. •Mapping them to understand who are the main players and main products. •Remake my job hunting documents to show my full skillset plus transferrable knowledge. •Connect with heads of people, heads of recruitment and influential people in those industries. •Apply like there's no tomorrow. 🟠Brainstorm how I can add value to people, and monetise my skillset while passively job hunting, which looks like: •Connecting with and having initial chats with different game recruitment agencies. •Writing down a few blurbs about myself (a short paragraph selling the candidate's USP) to assist those agencies. •Looking inward to assess my skill set, and past experiences, to try to come up with solutions within recruitment to common problems. •Conceptualising a product (by product, I mean something that adds value and has a monetary value, it can be a workshop, a strategic review, a consultation...) I feel confident and comfortable delivering/selling. •Making a beautiful deck for it using Canva. •Business Develop my way around town. I'm not ready to job hunt outside #GameDev just yet. So I've taken the second route. --- 🚨 While I was writing this post, I realised that many candidates aren't aware of the number of game-focused recruitment agencies out there. So, perhaps this post can serve as an introduction! ➡️ If you are a Games Recruitment Agency, raise your hand (🙋🏼) in the comment section and introduce yourself. ➡️ If you are a job hunter interested in working with agencies, comment 🆘 below (feel free to write your blurb and Sell Your Fish™️)! ➡️ If you are neither, feel free to tag, comment, repost, or do anything that helps with reach ❤️. --- 📣 Follow #RethinkRecruitment and ring the 🔔 to stay updated! ⏩ https://entrylevel.games/ 🌟 Opinions are very much my own™️ #Layoffs #Redundancies #JobHunting

93

21 kommentarer

With this week's launch of Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, learn more about the origins of the game in the short film "My Shoes, Your Feet" by Abubakar Salim in coordination with RSA Films and Surgent Studios:

20

Mini Gear Grinder... not a crazy one, just a mini one... Candidates: when replying to Posts that have jobs listed, multiple companies / Games Studios, etc. within them. A comment of "I am interested" does not do you much good. A comment of "I am interested in the following role at XYZ company" is however helpful. Seeing so many of these & I love that you're interested in the roles posted, but which ones? Help the Recruiter or the people out that are putting the resources in front of you & let them know what you're interested in. ⚙ The job? Which one, we have 5+ listed. ⚙ The company? Which one, as some of these posts list 5+ organizations. ⚙ The person posting? Let's keep it PC / PG here people, I'm not advocating for weirdness 😝 I'm referring to a conversation or asking for help where you need it potentially. Don't be creepy, please do not be creepy! ⚙ The products they make? Etc., etc. Identify a bit deeper... Help them help you! 😁 Keep fighting the good fight everyone! Enjoy the weekend & wishing you best out there! #'s for the #'s #TheMattBarney #OneLove #TheMeatballs #GearGrinder #VideoGames #PirateRecruitersUniteUnderOneBanner

94

36 kommentarer

"Required: X titles shipped" I've been involved in a few conversations lately with aspiring or junior developers who are frustrated that so many job descriptions require shipped titles. It gets even more difficult when a JD requires specific types of games shipped. These job seekers become more infuriated to find out that a lot of recruiters or hiring managers don't really count their game jam titles or solo games as "shipped" for purposes of these roles. Why is that? What exactly are hiring managers looking for here? Does it even matter? To answer that last question first: yes. It matters. First off, let's be clear on a couple of things here. As a general rule, you shouldn't be seeing shipped title requirements in true entry level positions. In those cases, any experience is better than no experience, so you should call out your jam, student, or solo games whenever you don't have anything else to show (or just call them out anyway if you're still relatively new or you're particularly proud of something you've worked on or built). But the reason you see a lot of jobs asking for shipped titles is less about the end result and more about showing that you've got experience working in a particular environment. If I'm asking, it's because I want to know that you can work on a team in the first place. You've been through the process already and have gone through the reviews and planning sessions and discussions that you simply wouldn't get building a game on your own or even in a quick jam. I've been through this a lot, with games that shipped and those that unfortunately did not. I've seen it on tiny teams where we could fit everyone in a single room and the entire schedule took months to teams which numbered in the hundreds across continents with multiyear schedules and the differences are very real. I've seen how different it can be in having to ship a boxed game through first party submissions or maintaining a liveops MMO that only existed on PC or mobile. Different processes. Different tools. Different methodologies. Different scales. I know how rough the market is out there. I know it seems hopeless at times and utterly unfair. I know it can really hurt to find a role you think you're just perfect for but then you see they want "shipped titles" experience or you need to have "worked on AAA teams" or "must have liveops experience" and it just doesn't make sense. Your challenge is in trying to show how you have the skills without the direct experience, while also competing against others (potentially dozens of others) who already have both. I wish the process could be easier for you. At the least, I hope I've added some context from the other side of the table here.

130

31 kommentarer

Do you think there’s a space for a game design agency? Let me explain. We live in a time when co-development and outsourcing are normalized in the games industry, working on problems, creating solutions and specializing skills mostly to the good. Pretty much every game developed today outside of the indie sphere is a collaborative effort. One area that’s often proved resistant to outside help, however, is game design. Many studios still do this almost exclusively internally, usually without any common standards and often making their lives harder than they should be. Game design is still treated as the most magic-beans part of the process in many ways, when doing it well is usually far more ordinary than you might think. Outside help is more usually of the consulting variety, often arriving too late to be effective. Not that many studios have a real philosophy of design, or much of a playbook, and so they often flail to explain what they want to make, even to themselves. Very often they have essentially entrusted their entire future to a couple of overwhelmed youngsters who crack under the stress. If they could just get help early, many bad decisions could be nipped in the bud and replaced with informed choices. What it comes down to is the point at which expertise is brought in to help. The chances of success in game design are 10-100X more if people who know how to do it well are brought in at the ideation phase, and able to consider all the various facets involved long before serious budget is spent. This is the sort of work that a creative agency traditionally does in most fields. And so I’m wondering whether it’s time to bring the same practice to our world. What do you think?

29

36 kommentarer

I've put together a brief comparison between large and small game development studios and provided a few tips for job searching. Current Trends in Game Development In recent years, the gaming industry has continued to grow, despite economic turmoil and the pandemic. The increasing gamer audience and rising digital sales revenue contribute to this growth. However, the industry is undergoing significant changes in structure and development approaches. Big Studios Large studios like Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, and CD Projekt Red continue to dominate the market with substantial budgets and high expectations for their projects. They can afford long development cycles, attract top-tier specialists, and use the latest technologies. However, working in such studios often comes with high levels of stress and demands to meet tight deadlines. Competition among developers is extremely high. Small Studios and Indie Developers Small studios and indie developers are becoming more prominent players in the market due to their flexibility, creativity, and ability to quickly adapt to changes. Successful projects like Hollow Knight and Celeste show that quality content and unique ideas can capture the hearts of players. Working in such studios can be less formal and more creative, but often comes with smaller budgets and income instability. Job Hunting for a Level Designer Finding a job as a level designer in the game industry can be quite a challenging process. Competition is high, and significant effort is required to stand out among other candidates. - Portfolio: Having a quality portfolio is essential. It should include projects that demonstrate experience in creating levels and understanding game design. It's important to detail your design decisions and how you implemented them. - Education and Courses: A degree in game/level design, interactive media, or computer science can provide a solid theoretical and practical foundation. Courses and certifications in Unity and Unreal Engine are also useful for validating your skills. - Studying Games: Analyzing a variety of games helps understand different design philosophies and level structures, which is crucial for creating engaging game spaces. - Participation in Game Jams: Game jams offer the opportunity to develop skills, work under tight deadlines, and add projects to your portfolio. - Networking and Collaboration: Attending game conferences and industry events helps make valuable contacts and collaborate with other professionals. - Internships and Entry-Level Positions: Internships and entry-level positions in game studios provide valuable experience and the chance to demonstrate your skills. Currently, finding a job is indeed very difficult, even with many years of experience. Several factors may have influenced this, one of which is the development of neural networks. Improvements in pipelines and tools mean that fewer employees are now needed than before.

7

I couldn't agree more with Richard Dansky message here! A key component of any company's long-term success comes from growing talent from within. This is done through PROMOTIONS and MENTORING. Without career growth charts (junior game writer - game writer - senior game writer - lead game writer - etc..) employees are lost, might lack motivation, and company/job hopping. It’s just unfortunate in this investor landscape our industry has become, and with the implementation of Ai, the role is becoming obsolete. Companies are hiring less writers, while expecting writers to fill multiple roles, and the onboarding process is almost nonexistent, let alone training.

30

🕹Today in gaming History!🎮 30 years ago today Alien vs. Predator released in arcades from Capcom #TiGH #GamingHistory #Gaming #History #AlienVSPredator #AVP #Alien #Predator #Capcom #BeatEmUp #Arcade #Games #Game #VideoGames #VideoGame #GamesIndustry #VideoGameIndustry

4

Poor management is a recurring issue I've observed frequently. Studios invest in 'senior professionals' but fail to recognize that effective management requires more than just technical expertise. They often appoint experienced game designers with no leadership or project management experience to oversee projects, leading to predictable outcomes: wasted time, energy, and resources, culminating in project failures and company collapses. The gaming industry needs to acknowledge that studios are businesses, games are products, and players are customers. It's essential for everyone involved to adopt more management best practices and apply scientific approaches to their operations to ensure success.

16

1 kommentar