In times like this, it’s good to look back at other long-running games that still run today and how they solved (or at least pushed back on) complexity and power creep.Magic: The Gathering has been the most popular collectible card game in the world fo…
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Do you have any advice for people who are unable to put their experience on their CV because of NDAs?
You can always put your experience on your CV, regardless of NDAs. You shouldn’t talk about the specifics of the setting, characters, copyrighted stuff like that, but you should be able to talk generally about the things you did. Just write about what …
On the topic of horror, how do you make a grim subject matter feel silly spookville experience instead of actually scary? For example, the Luigi Mansion games, the Disney Haunted Mansion ride, the Medevil games, etc?
The counter to anything terrifying, off-putting, or grim is cuteness. This is done by exaggerating certain features that humans typically find endearing and downplaying the features that humans find alarming, while keeping the visual recognizable. This…
Is Gameplay Programmer some form of specialization? I always see people who work as gameplay programmer have some secondary skill, like tools, graphics, etc. In order to create a game you need these guys, but when it comes to layoffs, are they considered high-priority?
Yes, Gameplay Programmer is a specialization. Gameplay Programmers are the engineers who work directly with designers to make the designs actually work in game. This primarily means writing code to make the systems and rules that the designers come up …
Previously, you’ve explained that even with all the high-profile flops recently, lifestyle games with a big investment up-front and ongoing revenue are still the most financially viable projects. Would there be a tipping point in the market where that changes, and smaller and more experimental projects become the more viable strategy?
Sure. If spending on the smaller and experimental projects severely eclipses the spending on the mega franchises, the publishers would take notice and you’d see a lot more of the former. The gaming industry is, unfortunately, very hit-driven. The top 1…
The EU has just banned virtual premium currencies in video games that represent, requiring the games use the actual currency amounts. Thoughts on this new law?
For those who do not understand this change, in the EU any in-game purchase that can be made for paid/premium currency must display the actual cost in local currency to players. Here is my MS Paint mockup of how such a thing would look as required. The…
Does the refund windows of digital stores have any affect on the overall design of a game? If you’re expecting Steam to be the main storefront you’ll sell on is there an extra drive to hook players within the first two hours?
The main element here is that it kills short games and short form game experiences, because players can play the game through and refund it before the refund window closes. Any short form game experience like that has pretty severe pressure to increase…
Follow-up on the layoff question, how much influence, if any do devs have on which project within a company they are assigned to if things seem rocky? Say I am in a safe position working on Call of Duty, and the company wants to put me on the risky position on Project Wombat, how much say if any do I have on if I am reassigned?
In such a situation, you have a little bit of leeway (e.g. you can ask and tell your boss that you don’t want to change projects) but we’re ultimately expected to follow orders. If we don’t like our assignment, we are free to find a different job elsew…
How does a game dev become high priority /necessity to reduce chances of getting layoff axe beyond “have more experience”? Is there any specializations that are safe from the axe?
Some specializations are safer than others due to the rarity of the specialization, but the amount of control you have over your job safety is absolutely dwarfed by the number of factors outside your control.Imagine a hypothetical scenario — maybe tech…
I was recently told games user researchers are usually the first to go when it comes to layoffs since the focus tends to be on developing the game and not testing it in times of need. Is that true? x
I can really only speak to the industry here in North America. When layoffs happen, the people deciding who goes and who stays usually triage the employees — divide them by importance/necessity. This can include which project they are working on, how m…