Originally, it is because fighting games were arcade games and the machines literally only earned money whenever somebody started a new game. In-game time limits set an upper bound on how long a single play session can last, thus freeing the machine up…
A Gamer’s Primer to the Career Meta, Part 3: When to Change Jobs?
Continuing from [A Gamer’s Primer to the Career Change Meta, Part 2: Why Change Jobs?]Unlike the binary yes/no decision of whether you should change jobs, the related question with more nuanced answers is always “when should I change jobs?” Obviously…
A Gamer’s Primer to the Career Meta, part 2: Why Change Jobs?
Continuing from [A Gamer’s Primer to the Career Meta, Part 1]…A lot of people I’ve worked with don’t like changing jobs. The process is stressful, secretive, and often feels like a betrayal of the team — especially if you’re considering leaving …
Getting Mobile Multiplayer Right (part 2): Design, testing, and scaling
As we saw in part one of our multiplayer series, the mobile multiplayer opportunity is bigger than ever. And there are a lot of reasons you should make multiplayer part of your next mobile release. But how do you get started with actually implementing multiplayer into your mobile game? There’s a lot to consider. And…
How Homa’s LaunchOps team helps you transform your prototypes into Monster Hits
Editors note: This article was written and published by Homa Games. You can find their original version here. So what exactly happens once you submit your prototype at Homa, and how does it all work? In this article, Homa’s team take you through the process and explain all the essential info you need to know…
A Gamer’s Primer to Optimizing the Career Meta, Part 1: Introduction
This blog is approaching its ninth anniversary this year. One of the things about it that I have been very proud of over the past several years is how this blog has helped young hopefuls land their first jobs and enter the game industry. I’ve receive…
Lightning Mailbag: The “I’m Really Tired Again” Edition
Questions with short answers, go!
Where does getting the age rating from rating boards like the ESRB fit into the timeline of a project?
The targeted age range is usually decided upon very early in the game’s preproduction phase but the actua…
Why some games copypaste the same boss fight over and over again?
Boss fights are typically expensive to develop. They often have unique models, unique animations, unique visual effects, unique game mechanics, unique rewards, unique cinematics, unique VO, and so on. Each of these aspects (and even more beyond what I’…
Why do veteran devs frequently create their own studios?
Most of the time, it is because they have game ideas they want to make. Game developers tend to be driven by the need to create. I got into game development because I wanted to make my own game ideas into reality. Almost every developer I know had some…
How do you make a midboss or other semi-major enemies feel more threatening/imposing without actually making them much more difficult to fight?
Honestly, all you really need to do to make a mini boss or other “strong” enemy stand out is to give them a significant boost in health. Players tend to conflate how long an enemy survives with its relative strength. The longer the foe lives, the “toug…