GameDev Loadout | A Game Developer Podcast

Garry is a BAFTA-winning composer that worked on critically acclaimed games such as the 'Bioshock Trilogy', 'Dante's Inferno', 'Shadow of Mordor', and the 'Destroy All Humans Trilogy'. He is one of the most decorated composers in the industry winning numerous awards including several soundtracks of the year awards.

Writing music in games is different from other media like movies which have locked pictures. In video games, every experience will be different depending on players playstyle. Also, it helps for the company to have a clear vision of the direction of a game in order to make music that best fit that vision.

Brandon is director of indie game studio Necrosoft Games. He is former editor in chief of Game Developer magazine and occasionally writes for publications like Gamasutra.com, Zam.com, and Vice.com. He is also the adviser to multiple game conferences and competitions, including GDC, Reboot, Digital Dragons, Sense of Wonder Night, and others. Our teammates can be our greatest allies but we still must keep ourselves safe. For whatever reason, good or bad, if the team breaks apart, there should be contracts in place that clearly outline the details of the game and responsibilities. Also, don't forget you can write off your game in the taxes. Thanks Brandon for the awesome advice.

Zach has been making video games for over 12 years and also, he has been making tutorials on youtube for over five years to help us Game Devs learn how to make great games and get us motivated. His youtube name is RealTutsGML and his website is codingmadesimple.com.

In this episode, we touch upon feature creep which basically means adding new features to the game. This can be a very bad thing because adding new features means more work, time, and energy. It's crucial to stick to the original idea and finish it. Not only that, you want to work on your project with a passion, and not the feeling of being forced to work on it.

Sponsor Giveaway:

I am doing a giveaway sponsored by Game Dev Underground, a marketing and connection platform for indie developers that helps you build, finish and launch better games. The winner gets a 1-hour long indie game marketing consultation with the founder, Tim Ruswick. This is over $1,000 in value, and it can be yours! All you have to do is go to gamedevloadout.com and sign up for the email list. That's it!

Robin Arnott's first virtual reality game was a sense-depriving gas mask with a literal suffocation mechanic. Instead of the paralyzing terror of "Deep Sea," his new project "SoundSelf" aims to induce meditative bliss. Both games focus heavily on audio as the core experience. Creating games as we all know can be very challenging and time-consuming. Robin expresses his feelings and experience on his 6-year journey making SoundSelf. One key takeaway is to have a sense of why and purpose in order to maintain motivation.

Tanya is the director of Kitfox Games which made Moon Hunter, Shrouded Isle, and Shattered Planted. She handles the design, production, business development, and marketing. She is also the co-director of a non-profit organization called Pixelles that is devoted to increasing the number of women making games.There are times to disagree with someone, and then there are times where we must keep things to ourselves. Tanya tells us a story of how her disagreement didn't sit well with the executives.

Sponsor Giveaway:

I am doing a giveaway sponsored by Game Dev Underground, a marketing and connection platform for indie developers that helps you build, finish and launch better games. The winner gets a 1-hour long indie game marketing consultation with the founder, Tim Ruswick. This is over $1,000 in value, and it can be yours! All you have to do is go to gamedevloadout.com and sign up for the email list. That's it!

Adrian is one of the designers the for independent game company called D-Pad Studio. The company that made the critically acclaimed Owlboy. He helps with support, testing, setting up maps, and polishing up the game. He also writes about design on Gamasutra. He explains why it's important to think about measurements. You should think about the distance of the camera, how far something is, how long it takes to go from point to point, and more. This will help blend the game well and target your specific audience better.

Sponsor Giveaway:

I am doing a giveaway sponsored by Game Dev Underground, a marketing and connection platform for indie developers that helps you build, finish and launch better games. The winner gets a 1-hour long indie game marketing consultation with the founder, Tim Ruswick. This is over $1,000 in value, and it can be yours! All you have to do is go to gamedevloadout.com and sign up for the email list. That's it!

She is a transmedia producer and instructor at the University of Houston. A great thing she is doing at the moment is supporting and increasing the Houston video game industry. She has spoken to government officials to support video game studios and hopefully, they will soon turn heads.

We talk about why marketing is so important in order to get people attention. Actively strategize and do a lot of research before starting your game. This includes the business side too like trademarks, insurance, contracts, etc.

Sponsor Giveaway:

I am doing a giveaway sponsored by Game Dev Underground, a marketing and connection platform for indie developers that helps you build, finish and launch better games. The winner gets a 1-hour long indie game marketing consultation with the founder, Tim Ruswick. This is over $1,000 in value, and it can be yours! All you have to do is go to gamedevloadout.com and sign up for the email list. That's it!

Aki is a senior software engineer at Hypnos Entertainment and he has been in the game industry for 17 years. He worked on games such as Battlefield, Dead Space, and Fifa. We talk about why project management and planning is so important. Ask yourself "How does everything in the game fit?

Visit GameDevLoadout.com for the show notes of every Podcast episode.

Rob is a game writer, narrative designer, and creative director of Playlines. He has worked on numerous VR projects such as "The Assembly" for nDreams. Did script consultation for the Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Centre. And now is developing new ways interactive AR storytelling. How cool is it that you can customize your reality with sound, graffiti, layers, and stories through AR. The ability to shape your reality is mind boggling. Rob explains how AR can bring a new way of story telling to the world.

Sponsored Giveaway:

I am doing a giveaway sponsored by Game Dev Underground, a marketing and connection platform for indie developers that helps you build, finish and launch better games. The winner gets a 1-hour long indie game marketing consultation with the founder, Tim Ruswick. This is over $1,000 in value, and it can be yours! All you have to do is send proof that you rated and reviewed the podcast. Click here to enter the giveaway.

Visit GameDevLoadout.com for the show notes of every Podcast episode.

Stone is the lead designer for Riot Games, has worked in the game industry for over 15 years on games such as SimCity, Spore, and Diablo 3. He also teaches game design courses at Carnegie Mellon University's ETC program which stands for Entertainment Technology Center. And he runs design seminars around the world.

Stone brought up a great point which is that a great game designer doesn't need a computer to create game designs. You could use your imagination and use your surroundings. Use your pen to draw or use the objects around you as references. The point is to always be creating. Don't let the tools be your excuse to not think of designs.

Sponsored Giveaway:

I am doing a giveaway sponsored by Game Dev Underground, a marketing and connection platform for indie developers that helps you build, finish and launch better games. The winner gets a 1-hour long indie game marketing consultation with the founder, Tim Ruswick. This is over $1,000 in value, and it can be yours! All you have to do is send proof that you rated and reviewed the podcast. Click here to enter the giveaway.