The Debug Log

Latest Episodes:

Episode 24: Networked Games with Eirik Pederson Mar 08, 2016

Show notes

Have you ever wondered what it would take to get a game online and accessible to individuals all across the globe? Curious as to when and how to plan for scalability and dealing with server load? For those of you out there interested in the ins and outs of networked games, this episode is for you.

Join co-hosts Andrew, Eduardo, and Obinna as they sit down with Sales Director and Co-founder Eirik Pederson of GameHosting to discuss the company and provide insight on what it takes to get a game online.

Thanks again for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any emails with comments, questions, and concerns about servers or networked games in Unity, to: thedebuglog@gmail.com

NOTE:
Ulf Magnusson of GameHosting will be in the Los Angeles area from March 28th - April 1st, 2016 to meet with any and all game developers interested in learning more about GameHosting's services.

Episode 23: Game Prototypes: What, When, Why? Mar 02, 2016

Show notes

“Will this UI work?”, “Does my inventory system make sense?”, “Will this jumping mechanic feel right?”, "Do all dog seriously go to heaven?". These are the type of questions that can arise during the game development process. Outside of a crystal ball, the only way to sufficiently answer these questions is by planning for and building prototypes. Prototypes are where the fun happens -- where imagination and experimentation can truly run wild.

This week the guys go over what a game prototype is, when is the best time to make them, and why they are essential to development. They relate some personal stories and utilize some really great sources from the dev community. As always they share some hot tips that will help you through your own prototyping adventures.

Cheers to you for tuning in to this week's episode and we hope that you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any emails with comments, questions, or concerns about game design documents or the game design process, to: the debuglog@gmail.com

Episode 22: Game Design Documents: What, When, Why? Feb 24, 2016

Show notes

So, you're scouring the inter web forums for some engineering and art help for your next, big game idea, when forum user, "xX1337ProgrammerXx" replies to one of your posts with, "Interested to help! Do you have a working GDD?" -- to which you reply with, "Huh?"

Maybe this has happened to you. Maybe not! Either way, in this episode we address the "Why," "What," and "When"s of Game Design Documents, so that the aforementioned lapse of game development know-how never happens to you.

Episode 21: Game Monetization with Oscar Clark, Unity Evangelist Feb 17, 2016

Show notes

If you’ve had the opportunity to attend Unite in the past couple of years you’ll recognize today’s guest. With his signature hat and jovial personality, he’s hard to miss. I am of course talking about Oscar Clark, another awesome Unity Evangelist.

We met Oscar at Unite 2015 in Boston and we were thrilled when he offered to come on the show. The topic of discussion we laid out for him was game monetization, but he went much deeper than that. In what turned out one be one of our longest interviews yet, Oscar shared some amazing insights, not just on monetization strategies and how to implement them in your game, but also on the underlying design principles that motivate player engagement in the first place. Lots of great actionable advice here. As always, if you have any questions for us or Oscar send them to thedebuglog@gmail.com.

Episode 20: Game Dev Resolutions Feb 12, 2016

Show notes

It's in the books! We offhandedly, randomly, and unofficially mark the end of the first season of The Debug Log with this episode. The entire five-man Debug Log crew take a moment to look back on some of their favorite episodes, interviews, tips, and games from the first eighteen episodes.

The fellas also hint at some big plans and aspirations for the new year that they believe will tickle your fancy as well as further promote community and collaboration among game developers.

Anyway, as you listen to this episode (whether you're in your car, on a jog, or sitting on the john), think about some of your game development aspirations and goals for this year. What do you want to accomplish? What aspect of game dev do you really need to improve on or learn about? Have you been too scared to try writing a shader? Try one out. Enemy AI?! Learn about behavior trees and flocking! Project management? .... no comment.

In any case, set your game development goals and tell us about them so we can hold you accountable in 2016! You can reach us at: thedebuglog@gmail.com

Episode 19: #MadeWithUnity with Unity CMO, Clive Downie Feb 03, 2016

Show notes

What do you get when you add the former VP of Marketing at EA and former COO of Zynga, an individual with a deep passion for games and gamers across the world, and a game-changing (pun intended) game development platform like Unity3D? You get Unity's Chief Marketing Officer Clive Downie and an industry-shaking initiative known as "Made With Unity."

Telling your story has never been as accessible as it is now with the advent of Unity's Made With Unity campaign - an initiative that offers game developers the power and platform to connect with their player base in a way that hasn't been possible... until now. Join Eduardo, Zack, Andrew, and Clive Downie as they discuss the inner workings of #MadeWithUnity and how it can be leveraged to amplify your voice in the game development community.

We are stoked that Clive Downie was able to sit and chat with us and hope that you all are able to benefit as much from this talk as we were. Feel free to send us any emails with comments, questions, or concerns about Unity's MadeWithUnity initiative, to: thedebuglog@gmail.com

Episode 18: A Game Tutorial Retrospective Jan 19, 2016

Show notes

For ages, developers have had the difficult task of balancing the amount of explicit gameplay tutorials with the level of player discovery that is provided in their games. Many gamers have experienced the 'overbearing developer' who forces players to endure an hour-long training sequence, while other gamers have been left bewildered in a massive and evolving game world with seemingly no direction or answers.

In this week's show, Obinna, Andrew, Zack, and Ryan discuss pros and cons to tutorials and ways in which some games deliver key game mechanics to players. The fellas have a fun round table discussion about the history and evolution of tutorials (or lack thereof) that hopefully encourages listeners to consider the many sides of game design and content delivery.

We are super excited that you're tuning in this week and we hope that you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any emails with comments, questions, and concerns about tutorials, to: thedebuglog@gmail.com

Game of the Week

Gone Home - Fulbright

Episode 17: The 4 Keys 2 Fun with Nicole Lazzaro - Part 2 Dec 08, 2015

Show notes

Part 2 of our interview with Nicole Lazzaro, the founder and President of XEODesign. At Unite 2015 in Boston, some of us got a chance to see Nicole's talk about Design Leadership in VR then we got to meet her and demo her upcoming VR game "Follow the White Rabbit". We are so glad she agreed to sit down with us and talk about the "4 Keys 2 Fun" and how to better think about some of these game design concepts when developing our own games. We also touch on designing for VR and various other topics. Be sure to look for the second part of this interview next week.

Episode 16: The 4 Keys 2 Fun with Nicole Lazzaro - Part 1 Nov 13, 2015

Show notes

Nicole Lazzaro, the founder and President of XEODesign, Inc. and has twenty years expertise in Player Experience Design (PXD) for mass-market entertainment products. At Unite 2015 in Boston, some of us got a chance to see Nicole's talk about Design Leadership in VR then we got to meet her and demo her upcoming VR game "Follow the White Rabbit". We are so glad she agreed to sit down with us and talk about the "4 Keys 2 Fun" and how to better think about some of these game design concepts when developing our own games. We also touch on designing for VR and various other topics. Be sure to look for the second part of this interview next week.

Episode 15: Networking in Unity Oct 20, 2015

Show notes

A TCP packet walks into a bar and says, "I want a beer." The bartender responds, "You want a beer?" The TCP packet says, "Yes, I want a beer."

Wow, just writing that 3-Way handshake joke hurt. In any case, you guessed it, today's show is all about Networking in Unity3D. The gentlemen talk about several networking suites that developers have created for or modified to work with the Unity game engine. As usual, in addition to reviewing a handful of networking tools, the guys highlight some of their experiences and tips while developing networked games.

Thanks again for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoyed the show! Feel free to send any emails with comments, questions, and concerns about networking in Unity, to: thedebuglog@gmail.com.

Game of the Week

Kingdom Rush - Ironhide Game Studio

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