The Debug Log

This weekend was AWESOME. I had the pleasure to go to SIEGE (Southern Interactive Entertainment & Game Expo) for the first time. For those of you who don’t know what SIEGE is, let me give you an overview. It is a game development conference like GDC and Unite, but it is hosted just in Atlanta. Like other game dev conferences, it has talks about relevant topics in the industry, a Showroom where people can play local studio’s games, and of course, it has a big party where you can meet other devs. In today’s episode Zack and I tell Andrew our experiences in SIEGE 2016. In addition, we try a new episode format because we include some interviews that I made while I was there. The conference was extremely fun and helpful. I not only had the honor to talk to Rand Miller, but also was part of the portfolio review team, where I could help other fellow devs who recently graduated from school to find their path and prepare for future job interviews. It was certainly an unforgettable conference for me, but that was not the best part, my favorite moment was when I went to Zack’s talk about version control. I have to say that I am very proud to see The Debug Log team helping the community of game devs here in Atlanta.

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

Have you ever wanted to create hundreds of levels without the hassle of handcrafting them? Then this episode on Procedural Generation is for you. In this episode we talk about the pros and cons of using a procedural system and some best practices for creating a procedural generation system.

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]

We had the pleasure of snagging an interview with fellow TDLers, Elisabeth Heed and Stephen McCallam, from across the pond in Glasgow, Scotland. In this episode we talk about how the freemium game model, which is rapidly monopolizing the various app stores, can be seen as having very negative effects on the mobile game market, indie game developers, and the game industry at large.

Stephen and Ellie also outline some of the steps they are taking to integrate premium content in their latest title, Skorian Tales, in a less intrusive and more integrated way. We had a ‘pure dead brilliant’ time speaking with them and we hope that you enjoy it as well!

"The Art of Game Design, a Book of Lenses” is a must read book for every game developer. That is why, we wanted to bring Jesse Schell, author of this amazing book, to the show to celebrate our episode number 50. To be honest, we could make a one-hour episode per chapter of this book, however, we did not have that much time with Jesse. In this interview we ask him about the 4 elements in which he separates a game, Aesthetic, Technology, Gameplay, and Story. In addition, we mention some ways in that developers can use to balance fighting games. You know how much I like fighting games, I had to ask him about that topic. Another of the topics that was discussed in the show was the curve of interest in games; one topic that can be applied not only to games, but to any sphere where you want to entertain an audience. Andrew and I really had a great time talking to Jesse Schell in this interview and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

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

Is your app too big to install over the air? Need a dynamic content delivery system? Then streaming assets are for you! Yes friends streaming assets are a very useful tool in modern game content management. This week the gang and I explore what streaming assets are, how to build a streaming asset system, as well as some peripheral systems and gotchas that come with these systems.

Many 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]

Community is the secret sauce to any successful game. Knowing this, bigger companies often hire a community manager whose full-time job it is to build that community, running from social networks to message boards, engaging players and keeping everyone not only interested in the game at hand, but also in the future of the company. While successful, this method involves a lot of time and resources, two things indie devs have in short supply. Recently, Andrew and Eduardo had the chance to sit down with Spencer Liu, CEO of KTplay, a company attempting to solve this problem in a very interesting way.

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

Finishing your first game is certainly a tough task, but with determination and hard work you can do it. In this episode we go through my journey in the development process of “The Hangman,” which it’s released in Google Play. Today, we cover all those small design decision that can make a game succeed or fail. For instance: What platform to pick? How big will the game be? What monetization strategy are you going to use based on the chosen platform? How is the game going to look like? Should you work alone in the game? What propagation strategy do you include in your game, if any? In addition, we go through the research process before I decided to make “The Hangman,” the most challenging parts of the game, and also how to overcome those obstacles. It was an AWESOME experience and I am glad to share it with you in this episode.

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

Ever wonder how to get your enemies to find their way to you, or how to get a companion to run behind you? Then this is the episode for you. In this episode The Debug Crew discusses Pathfinding and the pros and cons of different methods commonly used. From out-of-the-box solutions to do it yourself algorithms we cover them all.

As always, many 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]

Have you ever wondered what goes into the field of QA as it relates to the game development industry? Or maybe you have been itching to know what a ‘smoke test’ is and whether you should be running these tests as an indie dev? Well, in this episode, Obinna and Andrew sit down with Lead QA developers Will Dal Porto and Greg Anderson to talk about their experiences in QA.

These two gents are a very lively, honest, and opinionated pair who don’t hold back about the intricacies of QA and the game industry as a whole. This episode is a good one with plenty of good information littered throughout!

As always, many 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]

Congratulations! You've finished your game. Time to sit back and relax knowing that players across the world are falling in love with it. *BEEP!* Ooh, your first comment!

"This game is TrAsH!!!" - @WookieeJumper69

Ok, well not what you expected, but nothing to worry about. *BEEP!* Another one...oh...they too agree the game is trash, they are just fighting over what kind. *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* Aandd several more have joined the party. They seem so angry. Now they're saying your game is a "dumpster fire", wait, now it's a "dumpster fire full of dirty diapers", one sec, now it's....ok...I'm not repeating that.

You get the point. We can't control how people react to our games. No matter how amazing it is, if you release something into the world it will receive some degree of negative feedback. Sometimes this feedback is justified, sometimes it's just a dumpster fire full of angry people.

On today's episode we talk about the different reasons for player outrage and debate about various real-world examples. We also discuss best practices in dealing with negativity related to your own games.

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]