I am not particularly worried about tariffs. Primarily, tariffs are only applied when importing physical goods — video games are heavily distributed digitally now. If you really still want physical media, then the proposed Mexican tariffs might affect …
Все записи unity
2025 Mobile Gaming Benchmarks
This report provides an in-depth analysis of key gaming metrics across different regions, genres, and platforms, offering valuable insights into player behavior and market trends, helping you understand how your game compares in key performance areas:
…
A follow up to your answer about veilguard (was really hoping you would touch on that one). Why do game companies that have a “bad” release always seem to start from the bottom of the pyramid when it comes to restructuring and recouping losses? Why fire low level devs who did their best with what they had, when the companies have people in senior positions making hundreds of thousands of dollars (if not more) that they could just cut from? Why do the trenches always get the punishment first?
The short answer is because shit rolls downhill. For a longer and more nuanced answer, there’s multiple factors to consider.The main issue is that the company is trying to cut costs immediately. This is usually for two major reasons: Reassure investor…
Thoughts on the Bioware restructuration/lay-offs?
I’ve long said that any AAA game studio, no matter how strong, is always 2-3 flops in a row away from closure. Bioware did very well with Inquisition, but Mass Effect Andromeda and Anthem’s sequential failures resulted in DA4 being their make-or-break …
Your recent reblog about game writing made me curious: how much would the skills of game TRANSLATION transfer to game WRITING. Because I’m already a translator in the games industry, and I feel like I already have to do a lot of that stuff? Dialog with multiple character voices, tutorials and tooltips with UI restrictions, working within other people’s settings obviously, etc etc. All while trying to keep things both snappy and entertaining for the players. Honestly you are making it sound like these sorts of nuts and bolts writing skills that a translator needs are more useful than coming up with ideas, which a translator does not generally do
Yes, absolutely. Localization devs do a great deal of the same kind of work that narrative designers do. The creative elements of coming up with story and narrative bits that will work within the constraints of a word budget, screen space, and even lin…
Do you know anything about breaking into the writing side of game development? Specifically what qualifications are required
Today’s reblog should get you sorted. [Link here].[Join us on Discord] and/or [Support us on Patreon]Got a burning question you want answered?Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on TwitterShort questions: Ask a Game Dev on BlueSkyLong questions: Ask a Game…
What advice do you have to someone who has several years of writing experience outside of video games (in my case, a combination of marketing, freelance tabletop RPG materials, and nonprofit grants), but is interested in transitioning their career into game writing and narrative design?
You, more than anybody, probably realize that writing for marketing is different than freelance tabletop RPG materials, which is different from nonprofit grants. Writing for games is as different from what you’ve done as the various different things yo…
Why are there games without dedicated stealth mechanics that put in random stealth sections? Theres a fair number of times those situations either lack tools for the player to properly plan their route and identify threats (lack of a proper cover mechanic/corner look for example) or they lack proper detection for enemy units leading to immersion breaking behavior (no noise detection leading to a full sprint directly behind someone not being detected) and those types of things seem integral to a stealth style of game. While they can obviously be done well when done poorly they can feel like a very frustrating or out of place moment in an otherwise very good game.
Non-stealth games put in stealth minigames for the same reason that we put in lockpicking minigames, crafting minigames, rhythm minigames, collectible card minigames, and the others. The entire reason we put them in isn’t because they’re super fun, but…
How do developers handle the removal of softlocking (I.E. the player places themselves in an inescapable position where they cannot progress in the game or backtrack to escape their situation)? Is the removal of softlocks treated the same way as glitches for developers or are they treated differently?
The situation you describe isn’t actually soft locking. What you’re describing is the player getting, to use the highly technical term, stuck. That said, there are a lot of possible situations where the player achieves a state where they cannot play th…
Do publishers have their own “quality control” standards? For example, do publishers have any “we will not release a game unless it meets X standard of quality based our own playtesters/etc” systems in place? If so, what happens when a game near release does not meet those requirements? Are games that clearly aren’t going to meet X standard usually cancelled before announcement?
Yes, most games that don’t pass muster get cancelled, and publishers cancel them as early as they can. This is primarily because development costs only grow as the project progresses. At the start, you have one or two developers who write a pitch. Real…