September 2019 How do you start a game company? That’s the question that plagued me last October when I was getting ready to spin up Scree Games. I’m detail-oriented and a little anxious by nature. My default tendency – one which I fight all the time, and a bad tendency for a budding entrepreneur – […]
My first job in the game industry – a contract assistant design position – consisted of six months of heavy crunch on a project that was overdue and over budget. It ended in a no-notice layoff that eliminated not just my position, but the entire team, including veteran producers and engineers. Welcome to the game
The Right Investment Read More »
Kids today grow up surrounded from birth by electronic entertainment of all sorts. They have a myriad of TV shows available on demand, on their schedule. They have vast libraries of music at their fingertips. With social networks and text messages, they can connect with their friends at all hours of the day. And they
Feels Like the First Time Read More »
Once you’ve been in the game industry for a decade or more, you’ll start to recognize certain patterns. In fact, at times your career can feel like you’re just repeating the same project over and over again. Never fear! You’re not caught in a weird game industry version of Groundhog Day (unless you’re working on
The Five Types of Projects Read More »
I’ve always loved open world games. The early Ultima RPGs were the first games I remember playing that gave me the thrill of feeling like I could go anywhere and do anything. Over the years, I’d feel the same way playing Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls series, the original Elite, Grand Theft Auto, and many more fantastic
Real-World Open Worlds Read More »
I’ve been making games of one sort or another since I was six years old. About a quarter century ago, people started paying me to do it. Over that time, I’ve seen a lot of former co-workers exit the game industry entirely. The largest percentage burned out after years of dealing with crunch and other
Sticking Around: Longevity in the Game Biz Read More »
Despite the title, this post is about game design, not politics. Specifically it’s about a topic I’ve spent a large portion of my career pondering: how to deliver meaningful, engaging narratives in games. For some genres the answer is clear. Linear adventure games and other experiences where narrative is the primary focus can lean on
Here’s a clickbait thesis, but I think it rings true: the majority of gaming blogs aren’t worth your time. Pick a controversial issue. A quick Google search will turn up a hundred articles treading the same ground – from the evil of loot boxes, to the cycle of regular yearly layoffs and studio closures by
Disclaimer: I’ve never climbed a real mountain – at least, not a mountain that required more than a half-day gentle hike. But – fair warning! – I like a good extended metaphor. Like any human endeavor, high-altitude mountaineering has a lot of technical terms that aren’t familiar to the layman. Most of us will never
The Scree Underfoot Read More »