GameDev Loadout | A Game Developer Podcast

Mikolai Stroinski is a music composer that has worked on the Witcher 3, Dark Souls 2 trailer, Vanishing of Ethan Carter, and much more.

We discuss:

• Think not just as a composer but as a video game maker as well. You don't want to get too attached to your music because it might not fit the game.
• Trust your inner voice because it's a sign to either continue or stop composing.
• Study different music vocabularies and play lots of different games. Don't just study video game music.
• Be a good human being because good karma ricochets back to you.
• Don't think about just making money. Think about how you can contribute more and positively affect people's lives.
• The challenges of getting a visa in America.

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Jeremy Liu was the narrative design lead at NetEase Games, an intern at EA, and a technical designer at Rockstar Games. Titles include Red Dead 2, NBA Live Mobile, and Realm of Duels.

We discuss:

• How to get into technical design
• Why you need to study and plan ahead of time before taking action
• His worst moment of working on a game that was destined to not be a commercial hit
• Listening is a great quality of a leader
• Do power naps, 20 minutes
• How he becomes a walking exoticism in China because of his experience in the USA
• The culture shock of working in the USA and China
• Imagine ramming through a brick wall to join the game industry. You have to want it badly enough.
• Market yourself as niche as possible, show how different you are to everyone else
• Network with the people who you want to model

***

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in ranking higher.

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Gary Kings of National Insecurities is a lead game designer, writer, editor that has worked on games such as Once Upon a Crime in the West and 2000:1 A Space Felony.

We discuss:

• Get a producer to optimize teamwork and productivity.
• Before choosing a university, make sure it has the courses you want and need.
• Get better at game design - play lots of games, have outside people play your games, figure out what's have been done and what hasn't been done before.
• How Gary overcome his worst moment of not getting his game funded and his granddad passing away. He still found the motivation to make plans and finish his games.
• Don't get too excited if a publisher is excited about your game, it's not a guarantee that they will fund you.
• Take a proportional break based on your project to go on vacations, events and relax.
• Keep making plans even when the last one fails. Keep a lookout for new opportunities.
• Have an editor on board to improve the quality of writing.
• Go to game jams to network and create quick games.
• When you network, focus on making friends instead of just networking.

***

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in ranking higher.

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Ivy Dupler is a NYC-based voice actress who can be heard in video games, commercials, and cartoons. Her recent work includes voicing protagonist Special Agent Vera Englund in Whispers of a Machine (Clifftop Games/Faravid Interactive), as well as several roles in Unavowed (Wadjet Eye Games) and Lamplight City (Grundislav Games).

We discuss:

• Don't get distracted by mistakes during voice recording. Take a deep breath and wait a few seconds then just go again. Focusing on the mistake can mess up future takes and use up the studio and the audio engineer time.
• Take Improv and voice acting class.
• BE ALERT. Don't miss an opportunity or a deadline. Stay on top of your tasks.
• Change your mindset in the audition, the employer is not looking out to get you, they are looking to you as a solution to their problems. They want you to succeed to help them.
• Tips during recording: measure distance by putting your pinky on the mic and extending the thumbs towards your chin. Keep headphone volumes low to around 30 percent to avoid a sound leak.

***

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in ranking higher.

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Solo UK indie Nic Rutherford is working on a game called Fringe Plant.

We discuss:

• His decision to go full indie after having a good amount of savings
• Think about the accessibility of your games such as subtitles, sound effects, or controller inputs
• Ask questions asap to get answers asap
• External entities can be a waste of time such as responding to emails to people who never answer back or waiting on the phone
• Take some downtime as soon as you notice you are not being productive
• Stream your game development to talk to people and build a rapport
• Games are positive for the world, you are creating something for people to enjoy, relax, and feel good
• Use Twitter!

***

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in ranking higher.

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IGF-nominated narrative designer Xalavier Nelson Jr. creates a morally-complex world with human emotion at the core of every scenario, where the individuals outside your squad matter as much as the rangers you deploy on each map.

We discuss:

• How too much narrative can be detrimental to the game
• Pre-production is one of the most important part of development
• Make time for your health: spending time with loves one, exercise, eating right
• Spend less time making your games so you can start early on building your foundation

***

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in ranking higher.

Subscribe to the podcast if you felt inspired and loved this content.

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Henrique Olifiers has been in the game industry for more than 30 years working on web-based games, massive multiplayer games, and social games. He is currently the CEO of the award-winning Bossa Studios, which are the makers of Surgeon Simulator, Monstermind and I Am Bread. Now they are currently working on Worlds Adrift, a sandbox MMO with real-time physics where you band together to build sky ships and explore floating islands of a shattered world.

• Made games since he was a kid in school in a third world country. The games were in cassette tapes! I didn't know there was even such a thing.
• Do 2-day game jams every single month at his company
• There are no oversaturation of good games
• Think about marketing from the beginning
• It's not the players job to know how hard game development is
• Be wary of people that say or post something as gospel
• Excitement for AI that changes the game experience for each type of player
• and much more…

***

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in ranking higher.

Do me a huge favor and subscribe to the podcast if you felt inspired and love this content.

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Jordan Blackman has been writing, producing, and designing video games for over a decade. He is a mobile game design expert and an accomplished producer. He has designed, produced, and consulted on several 9-figure franchises for companies like Zynga, EA, and Ubisoft. Mr. Blackman brought CSI to Facebook with the smash hit, CSI: Crime City. He went on to Zynga where he led the design team on FrontierVille. Jordan has collaborated with top studios worldwide including Telltale games, Area/Code, Other Ocean, Zynga SF, Nickelodeon, EA Sports, Beeline, Facebook, Digit Games, AMC, and The Pokemon Company.

You will learn:

• You have to focus on the core loop of your game. Prioritize working on the repetitive activity that players do the most and make it meaningful.
•  If you want to land a job at a company, research what they need and learn the skills to be their solutions.
• Why you need to invest time into people who are better than you.

***

Sponsor Outstandly: Making a first great impression with your game visuals is critical. Even if the gameplay is great, if your game does not look catchy with intriguing visuals, potential buyers will not notice it or worse, never hit the buy button. If you have been listening to the podcast then you know the guests have been highlighting the importance of marketing. This is where Outstandly comes in. A creative agency that will help you create your brand identity, make engaging ads and showcase beautiful artwork. This is perfect if you are not great with artwork and need to outsource it to professionals. Focus on your strengths and let the professionals handle the rest. They are offering a bonus deal specifically to you, the Game Dev Loadout listeners. When you contact them, make sure you let them know that you heard about them from the podcast. They will offer a bonus production together with your order depending on the size. This could be extra characters/animations, user interface, user experience, and more. Go to Outstandly.com to get started on making your game look great to hook potential buyers. That is Outstandly.com.

https://www.outstandly.com/art_for_games/

***

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in ranking higher.

Do me a huge favor and subscribe to the podcast if you felt inspired and love this content.

For show notes and connect with the guest, please visit gamedevloadout.com/107

Sign up for Tony's email newsletter at gamedevloadout.com/subscribe

Follow Tony:

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Passionate about cartoons and games since a kid, Liviu Boar dreamt of making a point and click adventure game since first seeing someone play Day of the Tentacle and realizing interactive cartoons were a possibility. Twenty-odd years later, he started a studio called Stuck In Attic together with another artist and a programmer, Kickstarted Gibbous - A Cthulhu Adventure in 2016, releasing it on August 7, 2019, for PC on Steam and GOG.

You will learn:

1. Why it's important to go out and network. Liviu met his programmer through a bad but at the same time fortunate event.
2. How he humanizes the game development process by constantly talking to his backers and keeping them up to date especially after a few major setbacks.
3. Why you need to show your work to a potential audience as early as possible. Use that feedback to improve early rather than later.

***

Sponsor Outstandly: Making a first great impression with your game visuals is critical. Even if the gameplay is great, if your game does not look catchy with intriguing visuals, potential buyers will not notice it or worse, never hit the buy button. If you have been listening to the podcast then you know the guests have been highlighting the importance of marketing. This is where Outstandly comes in. A creative agency that will help you create your brand identity, make engaging ads and showcase beautiful artwork. This is perfect if you are not great with artwork and need to outsource it to professionals. Focus on your strengths and let the professionals handle the rest. They are offering a bonus deal specifically to you, the Game Dev Loadout listeners. When you contact them, make sure you let them know that you heard about them from the podcast. They will offer a bonus production together with your order depending on the size. This could be extra characters/animations, user interface, user experience, and more. Go to Outstandly.com to get started on making your game look great to hook potential buyers. That is Outstandly.com.

https://www.outstandly.com/art_for_games/

***

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in ranking higher.

Do me a huge favor and subscribe to the podcast if you felt inspired and love this content.

For show notes and connect with the guest, please visit gamedevloadout.com/106

Sign up for Tony's email newsletter at gamedevloadout.com/subscribe

Follow Tony:

Twitter: twitter.com/gamedevloadout

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LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/chantony

David Galindo is the creator of the Cook, Serve, Delicious! series.

You will learn:

1. How David used his real-life experiences as a barista to make his games.
2. Why you need to study your competitors by checking their forums and customer reviews to see how they respond to their customers and to see what customers are saying about their game.
3. How outsourcing your weakness can make a big difference in your development process.

***

Sponsor Outstandly: Making a first great impression with your game visuals is critical. Even if the gameplay is great, if your game does not look catchy with intriguing visuals, potential buyers will not notice it or worse, never hit the buy button. If you have been listening to the podcast then you know the guests have been highlighting the importance of marketing. This is where Outstandly comes in. A creative agency that will help you create your brand identity, make engaging ads and showcase beautiful artwork. This is perfect if you are not great with artwork and need to outsource it to professionals. Focus on your strengths and let the professionals handle the rest. They are offering a bonus deal specifically to you, the Game Dev Loadout listeners. When you contact them, make sure you let them know that you heard about them from the podcast. They will offer a bonus production together with your order depending on the size. This could be extra characters/animations, user interface, user experience, and more. Go to Outstandly.com to get started on making your game look great to hook potential buyers. That is Outstandly.com.

https://www.outstandly.com/art_for_games/

***

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in ranking higher.

Do me a huge favor and subscribe to the podcast if you felt inspired and love this content.

For show notes and connect with the guest, please visit gamedevloadout.com/105

Sign up for Tony's email newsletter at gamedevloadout.com/subscribe

Follow Tony:

Twitter: twitter.com/gamedevloadout

Facebook: facebook.com/gamedevloadout

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/chantony