GameDev Loadout | A Game Developer Podcast

Latest Episodes:

29: VR Can Be the Most Immersive and Interactive Experience Ever with Cortney Harding Aug 12, 2017

Show notes

Cortney Harding is a professor, author, and the founder of Friends With Holograms, an agency that helps brands, advertisers, and entertainment companies understand VR and other emerging technologies. Harding teaches a series of seminars that explain best practices for using VR, creating content, and staying up-to-date on the latest technical developments in the space. She also offers consulting for brands and agencies who want to make the leap into VR, using her deep network of connections to put them together with the best partners to make their visions a reality.

Although VR is still fairly new and early, it has the potential to be the most interactive and immersive experience ever especially in gaming. The idea of how touch, sense, sound, and movement in a virtual world brings endless possibilities. You can tell from our voices how excited we are about VR.

28: How to Build Along with the Players and Not For Them with Om Tandon Aug 11, 2017

Show notes

Om Tandon is the director of the user experience at Digit games studio. He has 12+ years of experience in building massively entertaining and monetizing experiences for 80 million+ engaged players in franchises like Disney, 20th Century Fox, and Marvel. Prior to Digit he has worked in Gameloft, and also started up a gaming studio called June Software.

We like to assume what players want but then when they test out our games, they have a completely different reaction. That constant loop with the players to get their feedback will create a game aimed at that target market. Om Tandon explains why to build a game along with the player, not for them.

27 Zachary Forcher: Three Pillars involve Time, Money, and Quality Aug 10, 2017

Show notes

He started from TimeGate Studios and now is the Co-Founder at Orb Interactive. He has over 15 years of experience in the game industry and recently released his latest game Gods of Olympus. Working on a game involves time, money, and quality. Always strive for the highest quality. Also be around people that are smarter than you. This allows for continuous improvement. Most importantly, just start building a portfolio today!

26 Bob Bates: Player Empathy - Play from the User Perspective Aug 09, 2017

Show notes

He has written, designed, produced over 45 games, with over six million units sold. He has written the book Game Design: The Art of Business of Creating Games, IGDA honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010, and he was the Chief Creative Officer at Zynga. Now he works as an independent consultant.

Player Empathy - put yourself in the player shoes and figure out what you need to tell them to play your game. It's so important to play from the user perspective. We also talk about going through hard moments, investing in yourself, and tracking your time. Time management helps to set priorities. #gamedev #podcast

25 Jeff Howard: It All Comes Down to Communication Aug 08, 2017

Show notes

He is an associate professor of Game Development and Design at Dakota State University, where he specializes in horror and occult themes and mechanics in games. He is the author of Game Magic: A Game Designer's Guide to Constructing Magic System and Quests: Design, Theory, and History in Games and Narratives. He is also the creator of Howard's Law of Occult Game Design. Yes yes, we all know communication is important but how often do we encourage it and do it ourselves. Everyone needs to have a clear understanding of the vision and their responsibilities. Asking questions should be a daily thing to find answers.

24 Francisco Gonzalez: Sometimes Taking A Big Risk Pays Off Aug 07, 2017

Show notes

He is a writer and designer at Grundislav Games focused primarily on adventure games. He worked on games such as "A Golden Wake" and "Shardlight." He is also involved as an instructor with Playcrafting NYC, teaching courses on topics such as adventure game design theory and writing interactive dialogue. I had a blast talking with Fransisco about how he got started in the game industry. He wanted to be at a job that he loves and so he took the risk of going to another city and started creating games. The important thing here is that he stayed dedicated to his dream and won.

23 Trish Rigdon: The Infusion of Media Arts and Video Games Aug 06, 2017

Show notes

Trish recently joins the game industry at the Arts Institute of Houston. Before that, she was the executive director of Houston Cinema Arts Society and Director of Theatre at Rice University. We talk about how film and video games are connected through the use of cinematics, lighting, art, and sound. Video games have come a long way.

22 Larry Hendrix: FIrst Rule of Game Design: You Do Not Fall in Love WIth Your First Idea Aug 05, 2017

Show notes

He has been in the game industry for more than 14 years. He is the owner and creative director of Fortunato7 Studios that make mobile games. He is also an instructor at the Art Institute of Houston teaching game design and character animation.

It happens to all of us. We fall in love with an idea so much that it hurts when someone says it's bad. Larry talks about the importance of knowing when to scrap a bad idea. Pivot in your vision if you have too. #gamedev #indiedev

21 Jaycee Salinas: ALWAYS ASK QUESTIONS Aug 04, 2017

Show notes

He has been in the game industry for about three years and is the creative director of Ask An Enemy Studios. He started the studio after dropping out of Full Sail University's Online Game Design program and is now working on his own game called A Duel Hand Disaster: Trackher.

I personally believe that asking questions, quality questions, is an important skill. As a big introvert myself, I take awhile to work up the nerve to ask a question but when I do, I get the answer fast instead of overthinking it. Jaycee goes over the importance of knowing what you are trying to accomplish and how asking questions will quickly get you the answers you need. #gamedev #indiedev

20 Juan Gril: Trust Your Instinct If You Believe In Your Game Aug 03, 2017

Show notes

He has been in the game industry for nearly 20 years. He was a director at Yahoo Game Studios, president of Joju Games, and now executive producer of FlowPlay. A company that specializes in multi-platform social games.

It's sometimes really hard to decide to keep developing a game or pull the plug. If you truly believe in your game, you will do what it takes to get it completed. And don't forget to constantly get that user feedback to improve your game. #gamedev #indiedev

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

GameDev Loadout | A Game Developer Podcast

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected