As part of our longstanding commitment to help students prepare for careers in our industry, we had the pleasure of hosting a group from Quinnipiac University's Game Design program once again this year.
Making time to attend events like this is very important not just for students, but for active professionals, as well. Learning new things, even if it's only how other people see things, is refreshing and vital. Meeting new people is part of what I love most in the industry. Whether it's networking to try to make cool things happen, or just getting to know people and expanding your experience of your fellow developers, it's worthwhile.
And it gets you out of your head and house.
#gamedev#womeningames#networking#getoutofyourcomfortzone
🌌 Today marks the 3rd week from launch of Helldivers 2 which has been one of the most talked about titles of the year so far. We've updated our review breakdown, originally published on 15th February 2024, to see how things stand now!
The number of reviews have increased from 44 up to 142 taking the average review score up from 81 to 83, causing it to move up a position when ranked against all games released since the start of the year!
🎆 Congrats to Arrowhead Game Studios for all the positivity and support for this game, which doesn't seem to be suffering too much from the initial server issues that have occurred.
Stay tuned as we share more key findings and observations on newly released titles with you in the coming days. In the meantime, let us know your thoughts on Helldivers 2 in the comments below.
👉 Keep up to date with #GamesIndustry insights ▶ https://shorturl.at/krEN4#VideoGames#Data
In what has quickly become one of my December traditions, I watched The Game Awards 2023 yesterday with great expectations and a lot of curiosity regarding the latest world premieres and announcements from the industry.
And oh, boy, from an award perspective, they didn't disappoint. As Adam Chapman, Giselle Mendez and I accurately predicted, Baldur's Gate 3 and Alan Wake 2 took the most prizes home, with Larian Studios netting an outstanding six awards – including Game of the Year and Best RPG – and Remedy Entertainment Plc getting three of the most important trophies of the night.
Seeing this, I jumped straight on Remedy's recently released Alan Wake 2 Art Blast on ArtStation, and it's just breathtaking. I have always admired Sam Lake's writing chops and creative direction – I loved to see both of his skills getting awarded yesterday – but the level of this game's art direction is simply off the charts.
This fact should not come as surprising by any means, considering the impressive, genre-defining art direction of Control – which I still hold is Remedy's magnum opus – but it's nevertheless astonishing to see a studio knocking it out of the park with such consistency and attention to detail.
If this is the 'Remedyverse', I'll gladly live in it!
#Haptic#Friday#TheGameAwards #2023 #TGA2023#Game#Games#Gaming#GamingIndustry#GamingCommunity#GameDev#GamingDevelopers#GameDevelopers#Awards#Art#ArtDirection#GameArt#AlanWake2#Remedy#Remedyverse#TopArt#GreatArt
The Coachella of Nerds is just a week away!
It’s Morphin’ Time at #gamescom where we put our ranger suits on and power through 5 days of fandom culture at its finest. We got a few spots left to walk with you through the holy halls, have a coffee chat or battle it out in a game of your choosing.
The Megazord forms out of the Power Ranger NERDs Jonas Selzer, Martin Z.H. Zhang, Jasmin Pfeifer, Dorjee Lhamo Gerhard, Xenia Brahm, Alexandra Kaiser and Pia Lucienne Bänecke. Shoot us a message to meet up and get down in the heart of gaming.
Why we attend gamescom: the convention can only be described as a mega-melting-pot of pop-culture. It is a place that represents the physical connections between all kinds of fandom passions. For over a decade nerds proved the cultural relevance of gamescom. It is the pinnacle of the world’s greatest entertainment industry and at the same time, it is so much more than gaming. It is a place for big publishers, brands, independents, upcomers, creators and most importantly, fans.
__
#NerdCulture is #LoveCulture#CommunityCentricCreativity
The Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall - a love letter. I just watched this documentary about Bethesda and it reminded me of my first encounter with The Elder Scrolls. The year was 1998 and there was a computer shop near my violin teacher's flat. One Tuesday afternoon, while waiting for my class, I found The Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall (1994) in this shop, forgotten on a dusty shelf at the very back, still in its original packaging. The box and the screenshots on it immediately captivated me and never let go. Looking back, I'm pretty sure there was magic at work.
Even though it was a four-year-old game, it was still too expensive for me. It hurt but I had to be patient and save every bit of pocket money so that I could eventually buy it. Unfortunately, money came in very slowly back then and so the weeks went by and the tension grew: would it still be there next time? What if someone bought it? (it was kind of a unique opportunity, because old games were hard to get back then).
Finally Christmas came round and I was lucky enough to persuade my mum to buy the game and put it under the tree - that Christmas I was the happiest elf in the whole of Hamburg. For weeks I blocked the families computer, moved to Tamriel and ignored my brothers calling me - once again - a total nerd. I joined the Dark Brotherhood, bought a house, became a Lycranthrope and fought my way through endless dungeons.
As in the pen & paper games, I was completely free to make my own decisions in Daggerfall. I could go where I wanted, do what I wanted, and be whoever I wanted to be. Since then, few games have given me that feeling - even the following titles of the series felt a little limited compared to Daggerfall.
Don't get me wrong, the game was far from perfect. And of course this freedom came at a price, especially in a time when the performance and possibilities of games still depended on CD-Rom and a few megabytes of RAM (and apart from the monotonous enviroments & textures, swinging a sword in a computer game never took so long) - but it was still very immersive on the "social" level: You could be a law-abiding citizen, an outlaw or a wolf in sheep's skin. But no matter which path you took, every decision counted. People reacted differently to you, depending on their attitude and your actions, background, reputation and behaviour.
Looking back, it all makes sense: I was already looking for a playground for my own stories. No wonder I later became a storyteller & writer for films and games. And no wonder the only logical cure for my Daggerfall fever was the discovery of the Duke Nukem 3D level editor. Suddenly I could build my own dungeons full of deadly traps and hidden doors to battle my brothers and friends for days and nights at local Lan parties. But that story is for another time...
#daggerfall#elderscrolls#bethesda#duke3d#leveleditor#narrativedesign#gamedesign#videogames#rpg#openworld#tamriel#teso#adventure#fantasy#storytelling#childhoodstories#skyrim
What if we broadened our thinking about games beyond just "entertainment," and instead used them as opportunities for deliberate practice, as an environment in which young people can develop communication, decision-making, and teamwork skills?
To do that, we have to change the framing of the objective: it's not the outcome of the game that matters most; it's the process that you (and your team) used along the way.
However, that framing is unfamiliar for a lot of students, so it takes consistent messaging: "You're not here just to win a game. You're here to improve the process it takes to win any game."
Here's an example from last week.
Let's celebrate the unparalleled artistry behind cinematics (and normalize the magic of emotional reactions too) 🎮✨
In light of the layoffs in the gaming industry, I want to take some time to celebrate the work of developers and artists by talking about one of my favorite parts of any game, the cinematics.
📽 I still vividly remember the first time I watched the Diablo IV trailer. Even before diving into the game itself, I sensed the immense potential for impact not just on me but on a larger scale. It was a moment of revelation, and I knew I wanted to be part of this incredible journey.
Since then, I've shared my genuine reactions to every Diablo IV cinematic, receiving a mix of reviews. Some say my reactions are ridiculous, dismissing the relevance of emotional storytelling in games as a whole. However, I believe in the critical power of storytelling through cinematics, and here's why:
🎭 Art and Storytelling: Cinematics, to me, represent the pinnacle of art and storytelling in gaming. They set the tone for the entire gaming experience and tee-up the gameplay one is to experience. At Blizzcon I had the pleasure of chatting with Lead Game Producer Kayleigh Calder about how the Diablo IV cinematic shaped the entirety of game mood and design. It's a testament to the critical role cinematics play in our enjoyment of games.
🌟 Impact Beyond Words: My reaction videos have been labeled as "ridiculous" by some, but they've reminded others why they fell in love with games, or why they decided to move into game development in the first place. They've rekindled childhood memories and inspired people to give a game a shot that they'd otherwise overlook.
💬 Normalizing Emotional Connections: Some might say, "It's just a game," but for many, including myself, it's an emotional journey. Let's normalize the joy, excitement, and impact that game cinematics can have on us. It's okay to be invested and share those genuine reactions!
So here's to celebrating the magic of game cinematics, the success of Diablo IV as they launch Season 3, and the emotional connections we forge through gaming. Let's continue to champion the importance of cinematic art and thoughtful story development in the world of gaming! 🙌🎉
#GameCinematics#DiabloIV#GamingPassion#Storytelling#EmotionalConnections
Last night’s Super Bowl sports commentary by SpongeBob and Patrick was a major moment in entertainment history but to explain why I want to revisit a presentation I gave two years ago at the Pocket Gamer Connects Beyond Games conference in Seattle.
The presentation was called “The Real-Time Revolution” and was about how virtual production and real-time animation would unlock a new universe of entertainment possibilities.
To support this I looked at the top grossing movies of all time, virtually all of which are either animated films or rely heavily on computer animation (e.g. Avatar or Avengers).
Then I turn our attention to TV, a much bigger industry, where virtually all top programs are live — live sports, live news, live events, live talk — and which use barely any animation at all.
The discrepancy is due to the fact movies can use Hollywood’s traditional animation rendering process which can require millions of hours of rendering for a feature film, a process incompatible with live TV.
But virtual production allows for real-time rendering, which finally makes computer animation possible in live TV. As such you can now have a talk show hosted by Buzz Lightyear, or in the case of last night’s Super Bowl — live sports commentary by SpongeBob and Patrick.
Over the coming years, expect to see more and more television augmented by the use of real-time virtual production. Last night's Super Bowl was only just the beginning.
Congrats to the team at Silver Spoon and Nickelodeon for pulling it all off.
#virtualproduction#superbowl
Interaction Developer | dandylion.dev
4moDid you get to prepare them for layoffs as well?