The Debug Log

They’re back!

In this week’s episode, we welcome back our friends of the podcast, Will Dal Porto and Greg Anderson to talk about what makes a game a classic! We lay out some criteria on how we gauge a game (or franchise) to claim ‘classic status.’

In addition to laying out our Classic Criteria, we also review some retro — and not so retro — games of yesteryear. In the review, we highlight how these games have either maintained or failed to maintain classic status. We also take a stab at predicting whether the games of today will be able to achieve the same level of ‘classic’ as done by past titles like Super Mario Bros and Duck Hunt. So, if you love talking about the beloved games of the past, then we think you will thoroughly enjoy the show.

Thanks for joining us this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any emails with questions you may have about classic games to: [email protected]

“I am a tiny potato.

And I believe in you.

You can do the thing.”

In this week’s episode, we have the privilege of chatting with our friend and community management adept, Janine Dong, about her experiences and growth as a Community Manager. She was an absolute pleasure to interview and discuss the ever-changing, and often frenzied world of community management.

During our discussion we touch on a variety of topics, such as how one could get started in a career in community management, what tools and mindset is required to flourish as a CM, and how the role has become increasingly stigmatized. If you are interested in community development, community management, how to leverage social media outlets to bolster your community, or wanting to hear some real stories from a community manager with years of experience in the industry — then this episode is for you.

Creating original ideas for games might be a difficult process for some people and an easy ride for others. In any case, polishing that original idea takes time and discipline. That is why today we go over how we come up with new ideas for our games and how we develop them. We mention some established techniques that will be extremely helpful in this process; for example Brainstorming, MindMapping, and SCAMPER. However, you know what a crazy team we are; not all of us follow the same path or process. I had a great time listening to how the guys develop their ideas because it is a mix of the things that I do. Towards the end of the show, we had a new section that is all about motivation. We had received so many emails, tweets, and reviews talking about how inspiring the podcast is, that I just wanted to dedicate part of the show to help you keep your motivation and focus on finishing your game.

Thanks for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Contact us at: [email protected]

Welcome to our 2nd annual Holiday Special where we discuss some of the biggest games and stories of the past year. We also get a chance to revisit our game dev resolutions for 2016. Before all that, we kick off the episode with a nice positive discussion about why we choose to make games. We've spent the last two episodes highlighting the darkest sides of game development. We thought it would be nice to end the year with all the reasons you should be doing this and hopefully give a little inspiration for the year to come. Happy Holidays everybody, be safe, and we'll see you in 2017.

Thanks for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Contact us at: [email protected]

What is better than one episode about the dark underbelly of software development? Two episodes about the dark underbelly of software development! That’s right ladies and gents. It’s that time again! Put the kids to bed, grab a bottle of wine or your favorite brew, and sit back and enjoy part two of The Darkside of Development.

In this episode, Andrew and Obinna discuss company culture and competition and how they both play out in the game industry. We share some of our experiences, air out some of our grievances, and highlight some truths about the downsides to the culture of competition within the industry. We end the show with a pinch of positivity and speak on the perspective game developers should take when addressing the dark side of game development.

With all the merriment of the holiday season going on around here at TDL, we thought it appropriate (and of true ‘Troll’ fashion) to go on a series of rants about the uglier side of game development. Today’s episode is Part One of what is slated to be a two-part series, where we highlight and discuss aspects of game development that really grind our gears! Things that you don’t hear in interviews, or aren’t written in job descriptions, or in a sweet sizzler reel of your favorite game.

In Part I, we talk about crunch and its negative effects on development. We also explore avenues and ways crunch could be curtailed and/or mitigated. We also speak on the nature of crashes and bugs that surface during development and their effects on the developer. The guys avoid the “sunshine and rainbows” talk in this series — so the faint of heart beware.

Game Development has many roles: Gameplay Developer, Systems Developer, Level Designer, Character Artist, Sound Designer, Game Designer, and many more. In today’s episode, we are going to talk about the role of a Systems Developer. To do so, I have the pleasure of talking with Dayle Flowers, lead developer on Paladins at Hi-Rez Studios. Before becoming a lead developer, Dayle had several years of experience as a Systems Developer. He explains what the job of a Systems Developer is in a game studio and what mindset and skills are needed to do this job. He also clarifies the differences between a Gameplay Programmer and a Systems Developer. In addition, we talk about Paladins and its controversial similarities with Overwatch. Towards the end of the episode, Dayle shares some of the good practices that he uses to make his game development process more efficient and stay productive.

It's that time of year folks, that's right, it's time for Unite 2016! This year, Obinna, Eduardo, and I had the chance to fly out to Los Angeles and attend the event. We've been the past couple of years and had a lot of fun, but this year we decided to try something different. We grabbed a camera, a mic, and descended on Unite with the intention of talking to as many people as possible. Mission accomplished! We have about 25 interviews that you guys will get to check out on our youtube show, The Debug Lounge, over the next couple of months. In the meantime, we decided to recap everything that went on at Unite this year and give a little preview of some of the upcoming interviews.

Thanks so much for listening and we hope you enjoy the show. Please send any emails with comments, questions, or contributions regarding the episode, to: [email protected]

In this episode, we had the pleasure to talk to Ker-Chunk Games’ Co-founder and CEO Molly Proffit. She shares what motivated her to create a company that focuses on making games that empower women as players. We also discuss what the game industry can do to hire and retain more female devs.

Thanks for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any emails with comments, questions, and concerns, to: [email protected]

Free • lance -

Origin:

Early 19th century (denoting a mercenary): originally as two words.

There is honestly no substantive reason as to why I just gave you the etymology of ‘freelance,’ however Andrew thought you would enjoy it… so, there it is.

Awkwardness aside, in this week’s show we talk about and try to address some of the more common issues and questions developers start to ask themselves as they look into freelancing within the game industry. If you are a developer out there and just not sure where to begin when it comes to freelancing, this episode should help shed some light on the practice.