Game Dev Advice: The Game Developer's Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Skywalker Ranch, Making Toys, Crunch Culture, Hong Kong Concerns, EA, Being an Expat in Bangkok with Chris Nicolella Oct 20, 2019

Show notes

28-year video game and toy industry veteran Chris Nicolella talks about moving from the U.S. to living in Bangkok as an expat that included some initial challenges. How he started in the video game industry working at NEC’s TurboGrafx-16, then transitioning to NuFX, which was later acquired by Electronic Arts turning into EA Chicago. Hear the challenges of game industry crunching and what it was like in the early 2000s, along with breaking into making iPhone apps on the side.

Learn how he transitioned into video game publishing to get his first job at Electronic Gaming Monthly that was like a frat house, then transitioning to the more professionally run GamePro magazine. Hear why he left the publishing business, worked briefly in Florida, plus how we worked together on projects back for Turbo Technologies Inc. and the TurboGrafx-16 consoles.

Hear what he wished he’d done earlier in his career and how it might be useful advice for you. How Nintendo was very protective of their games out for reviews and a story about Lebron James and NBA Street Vol. 2. Learn about working on best-selling toys like Giga Pet and the late ‘90s cultural phenomenon that sold 40 million units, Furby. Hear about working on toys for Star Wars: Episode I, II, and III, that included flying out on Hasbro’s jet to Skywalker Ranch and the Halo movie that never came out but had content repurposed for another movie.

Learn how in 2006 Marvel launched their own movie studio to create Iron Man film in 2008, which was controversial in some ways. Hear about traveling throughout SE Asia, sobering thoughts on the Hong Kong crisis, advice for breaking into the toy or game development industry, and how to get in touch with him, hosted by John ‘JP’ Podlasek. (See gamedevadvice.com for show links and details.)

Resources:

*@Ultimatetoy Twitter

*chris@set-to-stun.comemail

*chris-nicolella: Skype

*Chris Nicolella LinkedIn

*TurboGrafx-16 Wikipedia

*NuFX Wikipedia

*Electronic Gaming Monthly Wikipedia

*GamePro Wikipedia

*n-Space Wikipedia

*Turbo Technologies Inc. Giant Bomb

*Donkey Kong Country Wikipedia

*NBA Street Vol 2 Wikipedia

*Giga Pet Wikipedia

*The History of Furby, the Electronic Pet That Took the Late ‘90s by Storm Bustle

*Furby a Threat to National Security? CNN

*Why the Halo Movie Failed to Launch WIRED

*Iron Man (2008 film) Wikipedia

*A Troubled Actor’s Rude Awakening L.A. Times

*Giga Pets Amazon

*Hong Kong’s Troubles Are Just Beginning Forbes

*Expat Guide to Living in Bangkok, Thailand Expatolife

*Level Ex website - we’re hiring for all kind of roles!

*Game Dev Advice Twitter

*Game Dev Advice email

*Game Dev Advice website

*Game Dev Advice Hotline: (224) 484-7733

*And thanks to Charles Dike Production podcast editing

*Don't forget to subscribe and go to www.gamedevadvice.com for full show notes with links

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The World’s Biggest Arcade and More with Doc Mack of Galloping Ghost Sep 19, 2019

Show notes

25-year industry entrepreneur and designer Doc Mack of Galloping Ghost Productions talks about his game production company and working on his arcade fighting game, “Dark Presence”. How the company has mushroomed into creating the biggest arcade in the world (731 games and counting!), a reproductions company, gym and martial arts studio, automotive repair shop, and a pinball arcade. Learn about his desire to work in video games growing up and a chance encounter with a game industry legend spurred him to start the company, plus how the Galloping Ghost arcade opened in 2010 after frustration while researching the arcade market.

Hear about what he wishes he’d known when he started, along with how they’ve helped open 29 arcades. Learn how 80,000 people a year go through the arcade and how their passion for arcade records lead them to purchase the scoring house, Aurcade. Learn how he’s able to get rare games that were never commercially released, some current arcade and indie companies, and the resurgence of pinball.

Learn thoughts on the current state of arcades and how open play has changed things. Hear about outdated laws he had to overcome and ignorant perceptions proven wrong about violence and video games from examples like the Mortal Kombat “Kombat Kon” 25th anniversary event. Hear how arcades can help people with anxiety or struggling with personal challenges, plus bond as families.

Hear about the challenges for opening an arcade the right way, how location isn’t critical, along with the satisfaction of sharing player excitement for classic games with the original designers. Learn thoughts on mobile and VR games going into arcades, why arcades died off, and what game caused a couple to hitchhike from Oregon. Hear about his passion for shining a spotlight on industry people giving them credit like movies and other forms of media and how to get in touch with him, hosted by John ‘JP’ Podlasek. (See gamedevadvice.com for all the details.)

Resources:

*Galloping Ghost Productions website

*Galloping Ghost Arcade website

*Galloping Ghost Arcade Facebook

*Galloping Ghost Arcade Twitter

*Dark Presence website

*Aurcade website

*King of Kong Wikipedia

*The Spectre Files: Deathstalker YouTube

*Beavis & Butt-head Polygon

*Raw Thrills website

*Killer Queen website

*Stern Pinball website

*Kombat Kon YouTube

*The Grid YouTube

*Toru Iwatani Wikipedia

*Level Ex website - we’re hiring

*Game Dev Advice Twitter

*Game Dev Advice email

*Game Dev Advice website

*Game Dev Advice Hotline (224) 484-7733*And thanks to Charles Dike Production podcast editing

*Don't forget to subscribe and go to www.gamedevadvice.com for full show notes with links

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Headhunter To Designer, Layoffs, Self Publishing, and Scapegoating Games with John (JJ) Williams of NetherRealm Studios Sep 01, 2019

Show notes

+15-year industry veteran John (JJ) Williams of NetherRealm Studios talks about his current role as Advanced Designer at NetherRealm Studios and the challenges we had working on a Disney IP. Learn how he decided to get out of a career as a headhunter with a business degree and into game development. Hear about going back to school for an art degree and getting his first job as a freelance animator on WrestleMania 21.

Learn about his first role at Studio Gigante, then Stainless Steel Studios, and missing a job email from Harmonix because of a spam filter. How he got a job at Midway in the QA dept and all the Mortal Kombat games he tested plus working on NBA Ballers 2. How he worked in Unreal Engine building levels showed him his true passion and calling in the industry.

Hear how he got his first design role on Midway’s John Woo’s Stranglehold, then went to Vogster Entertainment, saw that close, and went to Disney Interactive’s Wideload Games. Hear about the projects he worked on at Disney including Kingdom Hearts Mobile, and another (well-handled) studio closure.

Learn about him branching out to create his own game, Pirate Blitz, with some money from a motorcycle accident, then joined the mobile team at NetherRealm Studios 5 year ago. Hear what he wished he’d known when he started and advice he shares. About the importance of getting that first job and the value of getting into QA, plus stories of working together shipping games. Hear about him branching into narrative design enjoying it. Learn ideas around game design, where to get inspiration from, and the hidden value of GDC.

Hear about his favorite projects, which include making his own indie game and the work he’s doing now at NetherRealm. Discussion about games being scapegoated for gun violence since an easy target for politicians. Learn about how the ESRB started and what it looked like from the inside. Hear funny stories about a game industry closures and them getting into an argument that broke out into laughter. Hear thoughts on VR games, the industry, and what’s lacking with AR right now. Learn what future game he’s excited about, plus the ones he’s playing now, along with how to follow him.

Resources:

*J.J. Williams Twitter

*J.J. Williams website

*Mortal Kombat: Armageddon Wikipedia

*John Woo’s Stranglehold Wikipedia

*Pirate Blitz Polygon

*Call of Cthulhu Wikipedia

*Pirate Blitz YouTube

*Cyberpunk 2077 website

*Oxygen Not Included Steam

*Level Ex website - we’re hiring

*Game Dev Advice Twitter

*Game Dev Advice email

*Game Dev Advice website

*Game Dev Advice Hotline (224) 484-7733 - give a call

*And thanks to Charles Dike Production podcast editing

*Don't forget to subscribe and go to www.gamedevadvice.com for full show notes with links

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Comics, Crazy Game Submissions, Careers, Industry Rant, and Production with Nick Laing of Amazon Games Aug 11, 2019

Show notes

Nick Laing talks about his new role as Senior Publishing Producer at Amazon Games and working before at Turn 10 Studios on the Forza series. Hear how his path diverted from following in his family’s footsteps to going to a specialized comic book artist school. Learn how in the late 90s iconic comic book companies went bankrupt or struggled to stay in business (it’s hard to believe now).

Learn how he transitioned those skills to being hired as a Concept Artist and UX Designer for his first industry role. Hear how he then got into Game Design, Lead Art, then Production. Learn about moving to EA’s Orlando studio and working on MMA, NASCAR, their incubation group, and helping on Madden during a 10-year run. Hear how after a recruiter called he moved to Seattle to work on the Forza franchise at Turn 10 Studios for 5 years. Hear what he knows now that he didn’t know when getting into the industry, along with advice for breaking in. Learn what advice he has for others looking to further their career in Production, or any field in general.

Hear about EA’s Subject Matter Expert track and how it gives a career path for high output, individual contributors. Learn why NFL Street was one of his favorite series to work on, plus MMA. Hear about work on great games that were commercial failures and how to rebound. Learn about the challenge of designing great game experiences versus using data to drive unhealthy compulsion loops. Hear about his biggest concern for our industry, along with thoughts on good and bad loot boxes. Learn the reasons why he’s bullish on the current state of VR.

Hear war stories of submitting discs to console platforms and the crazy challenges of down-to-the-wire deadlines. Hear the games he’s most excited to be playing now online, along with an accurate rant about game industry titles, especially in Production. Learn best and worst Production practices, along with how to follow or get in touch with Nick.

Resources:*Nick Laing’s Twitter*Nick Laing’s LinkedIn*Amazon Game Studios website*Lord of the Rings MMO announcement*The Kubert School website*NFL Street 3 Wikipedia*Forza Wikipedia*Beginner’s Mind Wikipedia*Buzz Monkey Software Wikipedia*EA Sports MMA Wikipedia*Level Ex website - and we’re hiring!*Game Dev Advice Twitter*Game Dev Advice email*Game Dev Advice website*Game Dev Advice Hotline (224) 484-7733 - give a call*And thanks to Charles Dike Production podcast editing *Don't forget to subscribe and go to www.gamedevadvice.com for full show notes with links

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Triple-A Art, Roots of Mocap, SonyPlayStation, Being a Problem Solver with Dwayne Mason of NXA Studios Jul 19, 2019

Show notes

Dwayne Mason of NXA Studios talks about his current role in the company and his career and entrepreneurial aspirations going back to his teens. Hear about the computer revolution while studying to be a graphic designer. How PC Paint and Corel Draw changed his trajectory and focus toward the future. Learn about a chance encounter working as a valet being a big break. Hear how motion capture data was first used for sports analysis and working as a gofer. Learn how the hustling lead to a full-time job out in California and being the first mocap specialist ever at Biovision. How that lead to working for different sports broadcasts and visiting Industrial Light & Magic.

Learn how the mocap business transitioned from sports analysis to video game platforms like the Sega Saturn. How he landed an opportunity to setup a motion capture studio for Sony Playstation San Diego in 1996. Learn how this grew into building out Sony’s central art services group over 11.5 years. Discover how setting up Domino's Pizza franchises was one of the most valuable learning experiences he’s had. Hear hard-learned advice for how to advance your career by being a problem solver.

Learn what it’s like to create kontent on the Mortal Kombat series, along with Capcom games and the Assassin’s Creed games plus others. Hear how Battlefront II is his favorite game right now. How bigger games and DLC’s longtail has improved his business’s stability and growth. Learn Dwayne’s thoughts on the future of automation and tech. Hear how the company started in China, grew to three studios in the country, plus Argentina. Hear thoughts on VR and what needs to happen for it to be mainstream. Learn his advice for anyone thinking about a video game career.

Resources:*NXA Studios website*NXA Studios Facebook*NXA Studios LinkedIn*NXA Studios Argentina Facebook*PCPaint Wikipedia*Corel DRAW website*Stargate Wikipedia*Georgia Tech website*Biovision’s BVH file format*Solaris Unix Wikipedia*Waffle House Wikipedia*Ion Storm PC Gamer*Mortal Kombat website*Speedtree website*Level Ex website - and we’re hiring!*Game Dev Advice Twitter*Game Dev Advice email*Game Dev Advice website*Game Dev Advice Hotline (224) 484-7733 - give a call*And thanks to Charles Dike Production podcast editing *Don't forget to subscribe and go to www.gamedevadvice.com for full show notes with links

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Indie Game Dev, Rick and Morty, Double Fine and Being in the Game Press with Chris Johnson of the Player One Podcast Jun 29, 2019

Show notes

Chris Johnson from the Player One Podcast talks about producing games at Adult Swim for 11 years, and how he got hired. Hear what it was like working on Flash games, the transition to mobile and console, plus working with some well-known indie studios. How moderating the Adult Swim message board in 2002 lead to getting an offer. How in high school he was inspired to create a videogame fanzine, which leads to a magazine writer role at Electronic Gaming Monthly in 1994. How videogame magazines were the go-to source for gaming information in the ’90s. Hear ideas on getting in the industry nowadays.

Hear about working on his two favorite games, “Robot Unicorn Attack” and “Headlander” with Double Fine Productions. How using build notes to reduce frustration and make Production run smoother. Hear thoughts about live service games and post-launch content. Learn opinions on the state of AR and VR, including the “Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality” game. Hear about the importance of building relationships with others in the industry. Hear a discussion about the forgotten TurboGrafx-16, the announcement of their retro console, and the idea of having a 30th-anniversary episode.

Learn about some of the challenges back when developing games on cartridges. Hear opinions on playing the games you love and not being part of all the negativity. Hear about CJ’s passion for Rare’s “Sea of Thieves” and how it evolved. Hear ideas about not having all games online so the experience can be more personal, along with a discussion about Nintendo. Learn about his podcast, the Player One Podcast, which has been going for an amazing 13 years.

Resources:*Player One Podcast website*Player One Podcast iTunes*Player One Podcast YouTube*Player One Podcast Twitter*Chris (CJ) Johnson Twitter*Adult Swim website*Electronic Gaming Monthly Wikipedia*ScreenshotSaturday Twitter*Robot Unicorn Attack Wikipedia*Headlander Wikipedia*Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality Wikipedia*Astro Bot Wikipedia*Andy Eddy Wikipedia*TurboGrafx-16 Wikipedia*Johnny Turbo Wikipedia*Sea of Thieves website*Utopia YouTube*Don Daglow Gamasutra*John Vignocchi Twitter*Level Ex Video Games for Doctors website - and we’re hiring!*Game Dev Advice Twitter*Game Dev Advice email*Game Dev Advice website*Game Dev Advice Hotline at (224) 484-7733

*And thanks to Charles Dike Production podcast editing *Don't forget to subscribe and go to www.gamedevadvice.com for full show notes with links!

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Running An Indie Game Studio, Loot Boxes, AR, Markiplier, and Producers May 12, 2019

Show notes

Tom Eastman and Ben Perez discuss their seven years of running indie developer Trinket Studios, challenges they’ve overcome, lessons learned, advice for getting into the industry, favorite projects, new technologies, loot boxes, guerrilla marketing, YouTubers, funny stories, and thoughts on game production. (See gamedevadvice.com for in-depth show notes and other details.)

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Crunch Culture and What You Can Do To Escape...Hint, It Ain't On Twitter Apr 25, 2019

Show notes

The industry’s dirty little secret is in the spotlight again (just Google “intense crunch”) and surprise, everyone’s shocked. Why? It’s been going on since games were on floppy discs. Everyone’s preaching unions. But they’re not going to be your savior, at least any time soon. So instead of waiting for the union tooth fairy, hear my advice for researching and applying to companies that take culture and work-life balance seriously. They exist. Take action and rise above the Twitter ranting. (See gamedevadvice.com for in-depth show notes and other details.)

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NBA Jam BOOMSHAKALAKA!!, Shaq, Dota, Rage 2, The Twilight Zone and Pins Apr 19, 2019

Show notes

Tim Kitzrow is a video game & pinball legend, having worked on dozens of games, including the arcade BOOMSHAKALAKA!! classic, NBA Jam. Hear how he got started in voice-over work, studied with famous comedians at The Second City, and took on EA with Mutant League Football. Learn about his work in the upcoming Rage 2 along with a special Dota Jam Announcer pack. How NBA Jam is cursed, Shaq would take an arcade cabinet on the road, and Stern Pinball is back and thriving. (See gamedevadvice.com for in-depth show notes and other details.)

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PUBG, Red Dead 2, Taking Risks, Freelancing, Game Dev, VR and a Lawsuit Mar 24, 2019

Show notes

James Brady started in 2015 and has already worked on games like Red Dead Redemption 2, PUBG, and other blockbusters. The risky decision to leave his job and pursue game dev, then later leave Rockstar. How his Silent Hill fan art went viral. The difference between U.S. & European studios. Why freelancing is safer than being an employee. What it was like experiencing PUBG’s success. Sound design’s importance, plus VR dev challenges.(See gamedevadvice.com for in-depth show notes and other details.)

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