Nikolaus Davidson

TOP-LIST NEWCOMERS ”ZENLESS ZONE ZERO”, “MINESWEEPER NETFLIX”, AND OTHERS. Last week was filled with new games on the top charts. 🏅 I'll talk about some of them below. ✅ “Zenless Zone Zero” by HoYoverse The developer of the big hits “Genshin Impact” and “Honkai: Star Rail” released its new action RPG for iOS, Android, PC, and PS5 last week: “Zenless Zone Zero”. As with previous HoYoverse games, ZZZ begins with incredible numbers. 🤯 In five days the game reached almost US$20MM in IAP revenue on the Apple store alone. Among the game reviews, I recommend Harshal Karvande's excellent article on the Naavik blog. 👉 🧠 ✅ “Schoolboy Runaway - stealth” by Linked Squad “Schoolboy” is a life simulator in which the player is a young man unhappy with his parents. As it says in the store description, “immerse yourself in the role of a schoolchild whom the parents punished for a bad grade at school, and try to escape from home without being noticed by father and mother.” 😕 Despite its ethical dilemmas, the game has become a trend in Russia 🇷🇺 and is spreading around the world. In the last two weeks, the game has accumulated more than 2MM downloads. ✅ “Wasteland Life: Survival Idle” by SayGames I mentioned "Wasteland” in my list of releases and transfers from the last half of May. It is an Idle Arcade with a Mad Max-style desert survival narrative. 🏜️💦 Developed by Tinkles Games, “Wasteland Life” started the growth stage on June 4th, reaching over 1MM so far. 📈 ✅ “Minesweeper NETFLIX” by Netflix Developed by Smoking Gun Interactive Inc. (a Keywords Studios company), this streaming giant's version of a classic puzzle Minesweeper📍💣 is amazing! And it wasn't just me who liked the game. 🤩 In just a couple of days since its release, the game has already surpassed 200k downloads. 📈 Swipe through the slides below and you'll find out about games from Supercent, Goodroid, Inc., Wonder Group, Fanatee, Ateam Inc.（株式会社エイチーム）, and others that are also on the rise. - X - This research was supported by Cost Center. Cost Center is a tech company that offers a powerful suite of tools for Mobile Publishers to optimize UA campaigns. 💪 Its portfolio includes amazing clients such as Amanotes and Lihuhu. 🏆 Do you like it? 🤩 Call my friend Yi Ting Ho. She'll show you a demo. 😉 #netflix #gaming #gamedevelopment #HypercasualByCarlosPereira

28

1 Comment

Some great tips from Alex Gombos on how to write a resume that helps you get past the filters of an ATS!

6

Hi all. I want to share another magic item I've created for an upcoming D&D 5th edition supplemental item module that I'm working on. This item is called Viridis, which loosely means Green, and is inspired by Emerald Dragons. Since I'm not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast, I'll be removing any Forgotten Realms lore I desribed when it's included in my upcoming module—it's just for my current campaign haha. About the weapon, I wanted to make it a Halberd because 5th Edition D&D doesn't currently have any unique magic halberds ha. I've always been interested in some of the less used weapon types in D&D. D&D Beyond Link to the item: https://lnkd.in/eex9H2mP

7

2 Comments

This is just the 12th installment of OMY@C...and I'm already phoning it in. I mean that literally...this is a scheduled post. Why? I'm camping. Will I return? 🤷‍♂️ Aside from maybe a lack of timeliness this week, it likely won't really matter. My usual process is quite simple: 1) Think something and type it (not always in that order). 2) Spend ~3 minutes editing for typos...try to make sure I didn't say anything that will get me fired or cancelled. 3) Hit post. It's my version of authenticity. If I take too long to compose something, it loses flavor. If I edit it too much, eventually it will be boring. I like to think of it as removing myself from the creative process...if that makes sense. OMY@C 🚶‍♂️ 🏃‍♀️ Spatial Awareness - Possessing a lack of it...might just be my ultimate pet peeve. It's not even a pet...it's a predator peeve. Dudes...what the ever-loving hell is wrong with you? MOVE. Costco, airports, sidewalks, escalators, the coffee machine in the kitchenette at the Amazon office...two words: OTHER FRIKKIN' PEOPLE. We're all in this together...well, I'm in it together. You're oblivious. Shape up. What does this have to do with video games? ...nothing, probably. It's not my fault you chose to commit to reading this nonsense. You've done this to yourself. Moving on... 🍄 🧟‍♀️ The Last of Us (HBO) - Showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann have said that they think the storyline from LoU2 could take 3 seasons to tell. GOOD. My only complaint about Season 1 was that they ripped right through the story. Season 2 is only going to have 7 episodes...inferring 21 total episodes for the Abby arc. Works for me. 🎮 👊 Multiversus Is Back (Player First Games, Warner Bros. Games) - I played it the first go-around, and it was a lot of fun making Velma whoop Batman's ass. It went back into dev for a spell, but the F2P fighter is back. Tom, Jerry...Rick, Morty...It's an IP-splosion in there, kids...have at it. ✍ 👫 Other People - Don't worry, this is not a reprise...I just thought...since I didn't really add much to your feed this week, I'd point you toward 3 folks who put actual thought into what they post: Ben Sarraille - Ben's posts just keep getting better and better. He's a thoughtful writer mostly covering UGC gaming and the creator economy. Always worth clicking "more" on Ben's posts. Sergei Vasiuk - I can't imagine any of Sergei's posts took less than many hours to put together. He's the anti-Bill. Day-jobs as the Director of Live Ops at Wargaming...moonlights as a very insightful LI poster. Slow it down, Sergei. Lizzie Mintus - You should really watch her interviews...just in the last few weeks she's posted talks with Alyssa Padia Walles, Bill Roper, Sarah Anderson, Perrin Kaplan, Jeri Ellsworth, Jen Donahoe...all great. ...Follow'm. I won't see (or as a result, respond, obviously) to any comments until Monday...so have at it. See y'all next week...unless the Squatch gets me.

32

10 Comments

So sorry to hear about layoffs at Modern Wolf, with 6 staff members being affected. The news broke last night, with my former CA colleague George Willard posting the news, as well as providing information about those also laid off to support re-hiring as quickly as possible. You can find that here: https://lnkd.in/eEXWSgNQ To those impacted by these layoffs, please find a comprehensive list of resources, below: 🥇First, Discipline Games Jobs Resources: Over the past weeks I have created 9 (at time of writing) Games Jobs Resources to find jobs in a wide range of disciplines: 🎨 Art, Animation, VFX and UI: This resource contains around 1,200 jobs worldwide across all links. Link: https://lnkd.in/eu2bjadW ⚙ Engineering and Programming This resource lists just over 1,900 jobs worldwide across all links. It also talks about interview tips and questions to practice. Link: https://lnkd.in/etPj22BE 🕹 Quality Assurance: This resource lists over 450 QA jobs worldwide. This post also talks about the craft of QA and contains tips and interview practice. Link: https://lnkd.in/dwwVjZuc 📑 Game Production: This resource lists around 400 jobs worldwide. It also contains info about game production as a whole and GDC talks. Link: https://lnkd.in/gxDvFM-Z 📢 Marketing & Community: This resource lists around 400 jobs worldwide. It also gives an intro into game marketing and community management. Link: https://lnkd.in/e5MuViug 🎶 Audio and Sound Design: This resource lists around 190 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/eSkPSsWf 📠 Studio Support, HR, Recruitment and BizDev: This resource lists around 290 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/ePG57_7v ⚙ IT, Helpdesk and DevOps: This resource lists around 140 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/e8ZsuiZh 🎮 Game Design: This resource lists around 480 jobs worldwide. https://lnkd.in/dCv_hQXv 🥈 Second, the Ultimate list of Video Games Career Resources: This should be your one-stop shop for all information. My dear friend Amir Satvat maintains these documents, he is a legend for doing this - please check them out: https://amirsatvat.com/ 🥉 Third, If you have worked in publishing, please message me. I am looking for quite a few roles right now! ⬅ 🎖 Finally, do not give up. Ever. No matter how dark things may look right now, I KNOW you will get through this, you have got this! 👊 Remember you are not alone. If you need help, advice, or even an ear to listen, we're here for you. Always! ➡ A request to my community, please can I ask you to repost this post to your colleagues and friends, so that we can get as many into jobs as possible! And please comment if you or your studio are currently hiring - let's help each other! Much love ❤️ #layoffs #gamesindustry #jobsingames #modernwolf

28

1 Comment

Hello friends. Last month, I was looking for more work and finally secured some on Reddit from a guy who needed help with preproduction on his Tabletop RPG / Card Battler. After a meeting with him, he showed me what he had and it was quite impressive. He had a prototype of a card-battler using a tabletop RPG battle system, but he had little to no documentation or planning—he's been chiseling away at his game for a few months in his spare time after work. I suggested that before I dive into art, we flesh out the game design and the rest of the game up to around an 80% mark and let the last 20% be changes, additions, and that sort. As your game evolves, it'll come into it's own and you'll find things that need changed or added, this accounts for that. He agreed and I asked if I could work on all this since I did that with my game Alligori and lead the team from start to finish with our vertical slice, and I know tabletop RPGs very well. He agreed and we did the whole song and dance with paperwork, and he sent over a retainer and I began work the following Monday. Three weeks go by and we're working great together. I'm fleshing out his game, adding some meat to the backbone of his prototype with classes, abilities, etc. My goal was to write out as much as possible and then trim content to fit it into a 1-year development cycle. So I flesh a bulk of his game out, and then categorize it more into a game design document that clearly conveys concepts, ideas, and mechanics. Catching up, last week was the final week of my first month and payment was due. He just up and disappears like a fart in the wind, I have no idea if he's alive, incarcerated, on vacation, or what. He didn't remove me on Discord, so I don't entirely suspect malicious intent, but he gave no notice. That's the risk you run with working 1-on-1 with a client remotely, one day they can just up and disappear. I do have paperwork, so I may pursue legal action. If he doesn't log on by Friday, I'm going to publicly release all my documentation and the GDD I wrote on here.

43

32 Comments

Creating games is very difficult. And building games is challenging. The process of build requires to compile the code and all the data required in the game in a specific sequence involving many dependencies. As such monitoring the outcome is essential, but not sufficent. What if we were able to predict the outcome of a build ? What if we were able to decrease the required computing resources while increasing our iteration capability ? #Ubisoft #Ubisoftlaforge #innovation

80

Lots of people changing jobs or on the hunt at the minute. Some useful tips to be mindful of from Amanda here. Even though you'll understandably be focused on landing the new role as smoothly as possible, these aren't unreasonable expectations at all and much easier to tackle up front than to deal with after the fact.

16

2 Comments

Staying true to its form 😅 this much anticipated DLC is locked behind one of the toughest optional Boss from the main game. This lock works and is indeed required as part of the game's story. Pretty interesting to see how this develops and how it will tempt players into defeating Mohg now. According to current data on Steam <40% of players have beaten the optional boss. Glad to say I'm one of those! Plus, staying true to what they have always been doing, the DLC will be ~x% more difficult in general than the base game. For fans of the souls series, this is exactly what they want and usually FromSoftware always delivers! Have you already defeated Mohg? #eldenring #dlc #storylock #exciting #minimumrequirements #fromsoftware

12

4 Comments

Don't want to bum you out but I know I'm not the only one who has noticed the same layoff cycle on LinkedIn over and over. I can tell your future... 1. Studio is shut down, all the devs become active on LinkedIn maybe for the first time in years and do their looking for work posts. People reach out with connections and support emojis. 2. The outpouring of thanks to the wonderful gamedev community. Amir Satvat and other full time LinkedIn influencers are tagged. 3. Nothing comes of all the LinkedIn support. Devs post frustration posts about how hard it is to be laid off and the injustice of the game industry. Many people will later delete these posts when they start to realize studios still aren't hiring them. 4. The reality step. Months pass and prominent veterans are still unemployed, let alone those "juniors" with a mere 5 years experience. At this point, people either give up and disappear, get a job and disappear (rare), or become a chronic disillusioned LinkedIn user. This last one either requires wearing a mask or ranting about capitalism more and more. 5. The laid off devs watch this cycle repeat for a whole swath of suffering people every couple weeks/days. And that's the step I've been on for a few months. But hey I've been working hard on my family and my solo projects. Magehunter coming soon, and AAA Simulator devlogs will be in production even sooner! Make art for yourself and those you love. Don't make my mistake - look for happiness outside this Microsoft product called LinkedIn.

59

9 Comments

If you are in a leadership role on a software project and you demand changes without any regard for the impact those changes have on scope or timelines or resourcing, you are not a leader. You are a difficult client. You are actively detrimental to the success of the product. Know the costs. Get involved. Don’t make your whims everyone else’s problem to straighten out.

35

7 Comments

Dave the Diver is getting a Godzilla DLC, and it is free!! This new DLC will see Dave come face-to-face with the might Godzilla himself, though in keeping with the true spirit of Godzilla you won’t be fighting the big lizard so much as helping it overcome one of its adversaries, Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, from the 1966 live-action movie of the same name. Players will need to pilot the G-Force submarine to take Ebirah on, and work alongside Godzilla to protect the planet from the mighty crustacean’s threat. You can claim this DLC right now from the below digital console and PC storefronts, and you’ll need to do so before November 23rd, 2024, because it’s only available until then. After that point it will seemingly either become a paid DLC or completely unavailable, so make sure you scoop it up: 💾 PlayStation Store: https://lnkd.in/eHPjPi4C 💾 Steam: https://lnkd.in/eFGy6_Y5 💾 Nintendo Switch eShop: https://lnkd.in/ehr7r3zH

51

3 Comments

🚀 Exciting News from OpenAI! 🚀 With the announcement of GPT-4o, a new era of interaction in mobile games seems imminent. I'm curious to hear your thoughts: How do you foresee GPT-4o impacting player engagement and retention in mobile games through personalized content generation? #OpenAI #GPT4o #MobileGaming #GameDev #PlayerEngagement

14

A lot of people have written about the devastating closures of Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, and Alpha Dog. I don't want to repeat that stuff. It's a terrible situation. As a developer, it's heartbreaking. As a player, it's even worse. I just want to say something personal about Arkane Austin, and the kinds of games they make/made, and in particular, Harvey Smith, who heads up (headed up) the studio, after Raphael Colantonio moved on to new things. The first game I really fell in love with was Half-Life. HL showed me the way forward for games, particularly first-person ones, as an expression of deep and interesting -- often claustrophobic -- exploration, combat, and puzzle solving, excellent balance, and the power of first-person interactive narrative to create super immersive worlds for players. The second game I really fell in love with was Deus Ex (Ion Storm). DX showed me the way forward for extremely systems-centric experiences. The power of player choice, experimentation, and improvisation. The promise of a more mature, sophisticated narrative than you mostly found in games of the day. The joy of a game that was responsive and adapted to your choices as a player. The freedom to contrive your own solutions to problems. These games, together, rewired my brain. DX followed the work done before it by games like Thief (Looking Glass), System Shock (also Looking Glass), and later Arx Fatalis (Arkane's first game), but really locked in on the idea of the "immersive sim" that, later on, BioShock (made by ex-Looking Glass people) would replicate. Then Dishonored (Arkane). Then the 2017 Prey (also by Arkane Austin). Other games have riffed on the formula, even when taking it in different directions. There's some DX in Far Cry. There’s some DX in Fallout. There's some DX in Stalker. There's even some DX in The Long Dark. Player freedom. Experimentation. Thoughtful narratives. World dynamism and responsiveness. Affordance of player improvisation. These are core tenets of Immersive Sims that make all games better. They've never set the market on fire. But just like there are movies for movie-makers, these are games for game makers. These are games, we as developers who recognize the alchemy and miracle behind them, stare at in awe, wondering how the creators were able to harness this black magic. That's what we lost in Arkane Austin yesterday. Harvey Smith was the lead designer on DX, and his work has always inspired me. The team there was dedicated to making these sorts of complex, wonderful experiences that we need more of. These are important games, important ideas, important ideals, and it will once again fall to independent developers to keep them alive. So be it.

427

16 Comments

This is good advice.

5

Sumo Digital announced a 15% cut in its workforce, roughly impacting 250 individuals. Among these 250 individuals was the team of Timbre Games, which also confirmed that the studio was being shut down. Timbre Games was founded in 2021 and made a part of Pipework Studios. Although Timbre had yet to launch any games, its website indicates that it was in the middle of two game projects. Unfortunately, game developers face more loss than the parent company when something like this happens. Who knows how Timbre's team might be coping after putting in millions of efforts to build the games and losing everything in a single blink? In their support, this is list 2 of some of the Timbreeos who were impacted by the closure. Every bit from the community counts, so requesting you all to help this reach recruiters and game studios currently hiring. Sophie Mallinson — In 2017, she was Arkane Studios' (Lyon) Narrative Designer who worked on Dishonored: Death of the Outsider and Wolfenstein: Youngblood. By 2019, she had become a Principal Narrative Designer for Arkane's Deathloop. It is quite interesting to note that after Arkane, she went on to work for EA on Star Wars and later for EA's own studio - Maxis Studios on The Sims Series. Nadia Lohan — With over a decade's worth of experience in Production, before Timbre, Nadia was a Producer at Blackbird Interactive and worked on Minecraft Legends. Notably, she has experience in the VFX industry and coordinated for blockbusters like Mulan, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Maleficent. Vivek Ramkumar — Here's a talented Game Designer who has worked on titles like Sleeping Dogs and Tryst, built his own first-person indie game, and has experience in LiveOps Design. Prior to Timbre, he was a senior Technical Designer for Relic Entertainment. Gerritt Turner — Before Timbre, Gerritt worked at Wizards of the Coast on a lot of Magic: The Gathering's writing, designing and overall creative. They even have an experience in Brand Writing for Hasbro. Yuliia Bocharova — Prior to Timbre, she was a Lead 3D Artist for Blackbird Interactive and worked there for 3+ years. You should check out her ArtStation portfolio: https://lnkd.in/gKEwykG5 Vincent-Gabriel Canadian — A talented VFX Artist who has worked for Studios like Frima, Behaviour Interactive, and Nesting Games. Vincent specializes in real-time VFX for video games! #layoffsupport

88

4 Comments

12 things that destroy a game voice recording session: 1. Not allocating enough time to casting 2. Not working with a casting director 3. Not sending clear instructions (call sheets) well in advance 4. Not sending scripts & character bios well in advance 5. Not having an experienced voice director 6. Trying to record too many lines in a session 7. Not taking notes / having a note taker during the session 8. Not testing a remote talent's home studio in advance 9. Having too many people on the call / in the session 10. Giving the actor a "read" 11. Having a negative attitude (cast or crew) 12. Not working collaboratively / as a team Avoid these at all costs. Genuinely would love to hear what you would add to this list.

67

16 Comments

Somewhere along the way the game producer role became a project manager role for many game studios, and no one really noticed. So what's the key difference between producer and PM? A core difference between Producers and Project/Program managers comes from the types of projects being worked on. - Soft work (creative, artistic, entertainment based) - Game content, co/full games dev - Hard work (IT, engineering based) - Optimisation, ports, eng solutions It’s common for creative teams to be motivated differently to IT and engineering teams. So accomplishing and delivering a project / product that’s primarily soft (creative) requires a different approach compared to a project that’s primarily hard (IT/engineering). Creative work more often involves non linear logic and process, where IT and engineering involves more linear/alphanumeric logic and process. Ultimately there are people who can do both, though more commonly I see people who have a preference, and what I see in the industry now is a disproportionate number of people with a preference for project management, believing it's production. Did you know Trip Hawkins (EA founder) is cited to have invented the game producer role? You can read an interesting post from his upcoming book here: https://lnkd.in/edDPzciE If you're in games, I hope you work with great producers! If you're thinking about becoming a game producer, remember it's not all about agile, scrum and the linear/alphanumeric logic that traditional PM work thrives on. #videogames #gamesindustry #innovation #bestadvice #careers

20

2 Comments