Ages ago, when I was a kid growing up in New Hampshire and Maryland, summer stretched out to Labor Day. It wasn’t until September that I’d wearily trudge back to the bus stop with a backpack full of fresh notebooks and pencils. Not so for my son in Texas, who starts his school year in […]
Dog Days: Hobbies from a Game Developer’s Summer Read More »
It’s no secret that the last couple of years in the game industry have been rough. Tragic layoffs continue, though the pace has slowed compared to last year’s bloodbath. Though the indie scene is still vibrant, triple-A studios are struggling creatively. As I wrote about last week, developers have responded to the tough times with
Magic Moments: Great Things About Making Games Read More »
Unlike my typical lengthy discourses on the joys of niche games, this week’s blog is a brief one. I couldn’t let a week go by without commenting on a couple of recent industry headlines. The first stunner was word that Microsoft recognized a union formed by the staff at several Bethesda studios. The second, following
Slice of the Pie: The Game Industry Gets Organized Read More »
Back in January, I wrote about traditional wargames and their somewhat problematic nature. Still, it’s a genre I enjoy when I’m in the right mood. Digging deep into a historical battle and then re-reading a military history book to see how my experience differed from reality scratches a unique gaming itch. One of the most
Island Hopping: Three Wargames Take On the Same Conflict Read More »
Some months back, I wrote a love letter to SCS’s Euro Truck Simulator 2 – still one of my favorite relaxing gaming experiences. ETS2, which has been in active development for years, is a robust title with a ton of depth in its simulation. The various name-brand trucks feel genuinely different. They take damage in
Rich Soils: The Relaxing Joy of Farming Simulator Read More »
Over my long career, I’ve developed a short list of game development principles. The list is pretty short because one of the principles is that there isn’t a single right way to make games. The story of every great game’s development is unique. Different teams have found success with radically different approaches. Everything from team
Nuts and Bolts: Great Tools for Indie Game Developers Read More »
June marks a year since the unfortunate closure of BonusXP. For me personally, it marks a year of full-time consulting – a second go-around at dividing my time between my own solo game and work for a variety of paid clients, after my first stint back in 2019-2020. It’s no secret that the game industry
Scree Summer Roundup: Quick Takes on Hot Games Read More »
The game industry – and the world in general – continues to grapple with the implications of increasingly-impressive generative AI technology. I touched on the intersection of AI and game development in earlier articles, but since then the tech has only become more prevalent and mainstream. Chatbots are now the first line of defense for
Robot Overlords: Developing Games in a Future of Generative AI Read More »
One of the games I’ve worked on that I’m most proud of was the first Orcs Must Die! game. It was a modest title built by a small team that achieved commercial success and great user reviews. Orcs Must Die! started life as a prototype built from the bits and pieces of another scrapped project.
Once More With Feeling: Building Game Sequels and Remakes Read More »
My fourteen-year-old son just finished eighth grade, which means next year I’ll have a high schooler in the house. I’m finding the prospect hard to process. He’s no longer a kid, and he’s interesting, unique, and opinionated – rapidly becoming his own person, with his own ideas (and, in typical teenage fashion, rejecting a lot
Hot Elf Summer: The Return of Family Dungeons & Dragons Read More »