Ben Pielstick

TONIGHT AT 6:30 PM join us for an improvised version of PVP Circuit and help us rebuild our local community brick by brick. I still can't believe I get to work in the video game industry. My 6-year-old would laugh, and then cry once she realized what it means to work in the creative technology sector. That's why IMO everyone could use some levity during these unprecedented times. Join us for a fun evening to raise funds for the Trevor Project. Event link >>> https://lnkd.in/g7tBuP6d Frequently Asked Questions: What if I can't attend the event? - If you can't make it, please consider purchasing a ticket to help us raise money for charity or get one on behalf of someone impacted by layoffs. What if I want to join but can't justify the cost? - If you want to join but find the cost prohibitive, DM me and we'll make it happen (see point above). Do I have to pitch at the event? - No, you don't have to pitch if you prefer to observe. It’s a great way to see how it's done. Will there be another event like this? - We plan to host our community again, but I can't specify if this event will be the focus. #gamesindustry #event #comedy <3

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I almost need to pinch myself… 🤩 Because Bird's Eye View, Into Games & Games Jobs Live won the big BFI and National Lottery’s Challenge Fund grant! 🎉 Over the next two years, we’ll be developing a free, accessible platform — the Games Insights Database, to equip small to mid-sized studios, solo developers, and advocacy groups across the UK games industry with the insights they need to grow and support the sector. And this is what you can expect from the #GIDB: 🟠 A searchable funding directory with all regional funding options relevant to UK games businesses. 🟡 An interactive map with regional insights, highlighting workforce size, companies, and local partners. 🟣 A public framework for career progression across games roles all the way through to principal. 🔵 Transparent salary ranges across roles to support fair hiring and career growth. 🟡 Advocacy-ready reports to empower trade bodies and government. If you’ve seen the Entry-Level Skills Hub, any of the amazing reports by Games Jobs Live, and the extensive work Into Games does, you know this is a collab to keep your eyes on. Especially because we can’t do this without you! ➡So please give Bird's Eye View a follow & help us spread the word! — ⚠️PSA: Keep scrolling if you don’t want to read my soppy reaction… But it just feels truly wonderful that bit by bit my work and anger fuelled motivation are moving things forward. My goal has always been to help to create a gaming industry where every voice has a seat at the table, and I think empowering solo, small and mid size businesses is the way to do it. I care profoundly about what I do, some would say I care too much, and it does bring a lot of grief sometimes. But it’s moments like this, after coming off a #layoff myself, that got and kept me in games. We have a long way to go, but we have everything we need. Proactive, creative and selfless people, like YOU. 𝗦𝗼 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝘀𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆! Or just follow Bird's Eye View page and get prepared to ✨serve✨ insights, because I can’t and won’t do this alone! --- 📣 Follow #RethinkRecruitment and ring the 🔔 to stay updated! 🎯 CEO of Bird's Eye View ⏩ Entry-Level Skills Hub: https://entrylevel.games/ 🔵 Bluesky: SCMachadoUK 🌟 Opinions are very much my own™️ #GameDev *The #GIDB is a collaborative project funded by the British Film Institute (BFI) & the The National Lottery Community Fund

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Games industry DESPERATELY needs to unionize. Since December my LinkedIn feed has been a sea of people looking for work because they've been laid off, due to the "business strategy" of laying people off when you want to look more profitable in Q1 of the next year, or just "trimming the fat"/ "improving efficiency". I won't say my experience was exactly like this necessarily, but I was recently laid off in January, though I haven't marked myself as looking for work due to many reasons, partly being the lack of jobs, all the bots and spam on this website, and the crushing damage to my self-confidence. Either way, NO ONE should be made to feel this way. I've even heard of people getting laid off mid parental leave, or while they're on vacation with limited internet access, THIS IS DESPICABLE. What's worse is in this industry we all experience imposter syndrome, and anytime this happens you can't help but think we're terrible at our jobs, if only you'd worked harder, spent more of your own time improving your skills, you would be essential enough to the company to keep on, but they still could let you go, so it doesn't even matter. CEOs or in general the entire C-suite of people should be held accountable and publicly shamed. If your business strategy is to hire as much talent as possible, realize you can't keep on all that talent, and then lay them off, then you are incompetent, and should not be given a pat on the back for at least giving severance, when you're just following the lowest requirements of the law. The people who you've laid off are people who have built your company and kept the lights on. You can't just use the excuse, "that's just the way the industry is", that's a weak excuse. There are industries that experience frequent lay offs but have a union and support, such as some plants in the auto industry, and the workers have fought hard for years so that they would have those benefits and salary top-ups. Of course that's not always the case and things could be better, but we shouldn't just sigh and be like "it is what it is", and keep trying to work within the system when the system is broken. I'm just mad right now, for myself, but mostly for my friends, and people I don't even know that work in this industry, because I know these devs are hard working people that are constantly learning and trying to improve, and they are now doubting all their skills and feeling like they're not good enough. As for the people who make these mass lay off decisions a regular occurrence, I would like to say something that may even hurt my career and job opportunities, but deserves to be said, and which many devs would like to say or even scream, Fuck you.

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Tip for publishing consideration submission to Midwest Games... tldr - Send info through our portal (https://lnkd.in/gWtKgpuU), not through email (or LI). I get that it's a little counter-intuitive...you might think you want to put your info right in front of the sourcing decision influencers' faces. But it's actually a disadvantage - especially those of you who are agents throwing multiple titles at us at once. The submission portal goes right to our database, and that database is there for a reason: to keep an organized and consistent record of all submissions in one place. I look through there all the time. I'm reminded of titles I may have overlooked or need to go back to consider as circumstances change all the time. We rarely, if ever, make immediate decisions or even quick deep review/consideration. Our factors for consideration shift regularly. I do not review your particular email regularly, or at some point even remember you sent one. I go to the database. Connection via other channels is good. Discussion about your game over other channels is good. But having your core game info in those channels is not good. Please use the submission portal!

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Complaining won't get you hired. Sending hundreds of applications without a reply sucks, I get it. And job hunting in game development is tough in 2024. But hear me out: No one hires out of pity. People hire because you show value. Instead of complaining about the market, focus on creating value for others: • Share common best practices • Contribute to professional topics • Create useful solutions or courses • Make a tutorial on a complex issue Or go a step further: prepare a list of recommendations for the company you want to join and send it with your CV (and also share it publicly). How so, you might ask? Do something for others for FREE? Yes, absolutely. It's called "content marketing." You create value upfront, become more recognizable, and gain a reputation. And then you get hired easily because you provided value upfront. If you're willing to spend hundreds of hours on interviews, spend some time creating value for others. It'll pay off in the long run.

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After nearly 5 years of placing people in gamedev, here are 3 surprising things I've learned along the way: 1. It was always hard to be a junior Today there are 282 vs 1777 jobs on hitmarker in favor of Mids and Seniors. But even when money from investors was flowing in ungodly amounts, studios were more inclined to hire experienced people. My conspiracy theory is that junior people had it easier back then because regulars and seniors just weren't available for studios. Sometimes because salaries were inflated, sometimes they literally couldn't land the hire, because there were multiple offers on the table for candidates.  Instead of saying it's not a great time to be a junior, we should just admit it's not a great industry to be one. 2. Most people are playing less than I expected When I started I thought everyone here played games all. the. time. And I thought I was the odd one out with my heavily limited playtime. Turns out there are more people like me, who are just playing a couple of hours per week or sometimes not at all. There are of course the opposites who wish they played more (looking at you Michal Witkowski 😎) 3. You kinda need to be into games Even if your role has nothing to do specifically with production, having an interest in games or playing them in your own time it's ALWAYS a green flag. I knew it might be the case, but what was surprising is that it's true for literally every role in a studio. It's not like not playing them eliminates you from getting the accountant job. It doesn't (I hope). But the topic "What are you playing" somehow always finds its way and sneaks into the conversation. What are your surprise learnings?

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News: Hiring Market Update - June 24 (Games & Tech) I pick up where we left off in March and cover off the rise in solo game devs along with the latest tech funding news and implications for the wider job market. You can also get the latest on the projects I'm working on. Studio Vision Podcast

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Update: Sony did the right thing and you won’t need PSN to play Helldivers2 on PC. This is a win for consumers and also devs I am sure internally it was a war brewing! Good job all who spoke up! One battle won for all, now billions more issues like better equity, stability, and equallity. This is how we get something done we make it hurt at the wallets if only we could all stand up to microtransactions and paywalls and do not act like lemmings when buying the next hot game. https://lnkd.in/dHeV7wW3 Old post below for history of this! I’ll keep it short. The Helldivers 2 situation is why people who do not understand the consumer base needs to be replaced by actual developers who make the games. Give a chance to game directors or leaders within the trenches to run these decisions. Sony is losing a lot by just not getting it. This is not ageism this is people at top just not being video game players anymore or ever. Time for things to change. Helldivers 2 losing trust because of Sonys executives decisions that can be reversed right now if they had any sense. This is not complex guys! Aplogize that an error was made and that they promise to not mess around with what works. #sony #helldivers2 #psn games flourish when you have passionate people who actually like making games and playing them. To add to this if you are going into the game industry and you do not play games imo you should not be part of it. From the ground up people in the game industry need to play games if not find something else honestly. No this is not gating. Imagine going to the medical profession, but not actually really liking it or practicing or informing with yourself of products of others. In the medical field it is called malpractices yet in games it is just a pay day or stuborn decisions for or from shareholders. This is insane and we allow these people to manage us. This needs to stop now!

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Know anyone that might know someone? Asking for a friend 👀 https://lnkd.in/g44DSCP8 #'s for the #'s #TheMattBarney #VideoGames #GameJobs #GameDevJobs #Unreal #UnrealEngine #GameEngineer #PrincipalEngineer #RemoteJobs #RemoteEngineeringJobs #RemoteEngineer

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🎮 Want a job in the video game industry? 🎮 📅 It's July. We made it through the first half of 2024. Are you looking at your resume/skills/experience for the second half of the year and 2025? Are you bookmarking your favorite career sites in case the perfect job opens up and you're ready to apply? *cough* https://lnkd.in/gmapUg36 *cough* What skills are needed in your line of work for your next role? Are you taking any classes/courses or applying to tangentially related roles (i.e. not the dream job yet) to build those skills? In your last interview, was there a skill could you not explain to the best of your ability or are you unsure of that you could learn more about? Your dream job won't always come tomorrow, but are you preparing in case it opens in a week? A month? January 2025? Any questions? Put them in the comment section and we'll see what we can do to help. #startpreparingnow #Letsgetyouhired

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Welcome to Game Testing Services! Link : https://lnkd.in/gYTG8Fsq Before Placing an Order: Please reach out to me beforehand to prevent any misunderstandings or cancellations. Thank you. Services Offered: I provide game testing services for platforms including Steam, Epic Games, Itch.io, and PS4. What I'll Test: User Experience Performance Guidance/Plot Mechanics Interaction Environment Suggestions for Improvement: I offer insights and suggestions for improving: User Interface Mechanics Interaction Environment Let's Elevate Your Game Together! Testing Type: I specialize in: Beta Testing Bug Discovery Gameplay Loop Analysis Load Testing Usability Testing Narrative Feedback Audio & Sound Review Platform: I test games for both Playstation and PC. Specialization: I work with a range of games, including: Indie Games AAA Games Single Player Games Game Stage: I'm available for testing at all stages, including Beta, Alpha, and Early Access. Format: You'll receive a comprehensive written summary. #GameTesting #BetaTesting #QAEngineer #GameFeedback #GameAnalysis #BugHunter #IndieGameTester #AAAGameTester #PlaystationTester #PCTester #UserExperienceTesting #GamePerformance #GameMechanics #UsabilityTesting #NarrativeFeedback

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You wanna know what really Grinds my Gears? What really pisses me off? When someone reaches out to me that I've never met or spoken to asking for help & I reply to them the best that I am humanly possibly able to, only for them to come back with 13+ messages berating me for their situation: ⚙ Holding me responsible for decisions a former employer of mine have made or how said former employer may have treated them ⚙ For a lack of open headcounts in their very specific / niche area ⚙ For them being 'black listed' from Games ⚙ For comparing Games & people such as myself to those that ran concentration camps Look, in my 40 years, I've accrued enough of a foul language repertoire that could make a Construction worker cringe, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN I AM GOING TO ATTACK SOMEONE & SPEW ALL OF IT AT SOMEONE FOR THE DIFFICULTY OR SHORT-COMINGS I AM FACING IN THE MARKET. I will always try my best to help, but a lot of the times, there's nothing I can do. That doesn't give you a green-light to attack me because you're struggling. If this is you, look in the darn mirror for crying out loud & own up to yourself vs. blaming me. Spew that hate message to the Recruiter that didn't reply. Reach out to those you have such a problem with & want to rant on me about where I literally have no idea what you're talking about. Seriously, you want to attack those helping you, get lost! Just get lost! Will this deter me from helping anyone that contacts me? Absolutely not, but my goodness, if someone can't help you right now / today it's not okay to attack & berate them! That's it, I'm done. TGIF / happy Friday. Be nice, don't be a jerk to those that actually care about the people in this Industry! I didn't layoff thousands of people. I am, but nay a humble Pirate Recruiter who's Gears are so Grinded by the 13+ attack messages I just received that I'm breaking my own rules of Gear Grinding messages! #TheMattBarney #BeNice #DontBeAJerkToThoseHelpingYou #BeRealistic #GearsAreGrinded

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Come learn about Xsolla's strategies to improve your mobile games revenue.

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𝐀𝐰𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐭 - shares appreciated (they REALLY DO help) - my door is open for casual chats or intros on this role. Recently re-titled so please check out the JD even if you've seen it already. 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐥 𝐕𝐅𝐗 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭. (ignore the link title of Lead, it hasn't pulled through yet). 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨 Spliced Inc. - fully remote role but our 𝐚𝐰𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 studio is located in the heart of Altrincham. Be as hybrid, onsite or remote as you want. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐢𝐠 - You're either already a principal, want to be a principal or you're happy to sidestep from a lead into this role. Regardless, you'll be a part of a small team (+1) that sits in our Tech Art org and have access to some of the best talent the industry has to offer. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞 - you thought I was going to spill the beans? 🤣. AAA, stylized, UE5, Houdini/Embergen, Blueprints. That's your lot but, will tell more once you're in process, of course :). 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭? - Either apply or simply message me with your interest. We have 5 steps but don't let that put you off, we can crank through them in a week or so. You'll get a solid feel for our vibe and people and you'll get to meet our founder who will personally take you through the game at the end of the process. Click below for a glimpse of your [potential] future 💚. #vfx #splicedinc #neteasegames #welovejobs

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"Required: X titles shipped" I've been involved in a few conversations lately with aspiring or junior developers who are frustrated that so many job descriptions require shipped titles. It gets even more difficult when a JD requires specific types of games shipped. These job seekers become more infuriated to find out that a lot of recruiters or hiring managers don't really count their game jam titles or solo games as "shipped" for purposes of these roles. Why is that? What exactly are hiring managers looking for here? Does it even matter? To answer that last question first: yes. It matters. First off, let's be clear on a couple of things here. As a general rule, you shouldn't be seeing shipped title requirements in true entry level positions. In those cases, any experience is better than no experience, so you should call out your jam, student, or solo games whenever you don't have anything else to show (or just call them out anyway if you're still relatively new or you're particularly proud of something you've worked on or built). But the reason you see a lot of jobs asking for shipped titles is less about the end result and more about showing that you've got experience working in a particular environment. If I'm asking, it's because I want to know that you can work on a team in the first place. You've been through the process already and have gone through the reviews and planning sessions and discussions that you simply wouldn't get building a game on your own or even in a quick jam. I've been through this a lot, with games that shipped and those that unfortunately did not. I've seen it on tiny teams where we could fit everyone in a single room and the entire schedule took months to teams which numbered in the hundreds across continents with multiyear schedules and the differences are very real. I've seen how different it can be in having to ship a boxed game through first party submissions or maintaining a liveops MMO that only existed on PC or mobile. Different processes. Different tools. Different methodologies. Different scales. I know how rough the market is out there. I know it seems hopeless at times and utterly unfair. I know it can really hurt to find a role you think you're just perfect for but then you see they want "shipped titles" experience or you need to have "worked on AAA teams" or "must have liveops experience" and it just doesn't make sense. Your challenge is in trying to show how you have the skills without the direct experience, while also competing against others (potentially dozens of others) who already have both. I wish the process could be easier for you. At the least, I hope I've added some context from the other side of the table here.

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More shocking news this evening with two more studios being shut down. I will do a post for each of them, since their contributions have been profound over the years. Ready At Dawn Studios had been one of the reasons I got into game development and bought a PSP, with the studio's credits include PSP games Daxter, God of War: Chains of Olympus and God of War: Ghost of Sparta, while its last PlayStation exclusive was 2015’s PS4 title The Order: 1886. Since then, it has developed well received VR games including Lone Echo and Lone Echo 2. Today, it was shut down by Meta, with an attempt to keep as many people as possible within Meta as possible. Those of you who are affected by this, please make use of my resources below: 🥇First, reach out to us at People Can Fly Studio, we have many roles open right now in Canada, the UK, Ireland and Europe, please check them out here: https://lnkd.in/eWpV5PbA 🥈Next, Discipline Games Jobs Resources: Over the past months I have created 9 (at time of writing) Games Jobs Resources to find jobs in a wide range of disciplines, and I would urge you to check them out, if anything just to see what would be available to you: https://lnkd.in/eWvkdYjk You can find over 6,000 jobs there. 🥉 Third, the Ultimate list of Video Games Career Resources: This should be your one-stop shop for all information. My dear friend Amir Satvat maintains these documents, he is a legend for doing this - please check them out: https://amirsatvat.com/ I urge you to check out the areas in particular about CV support and mentoring, as these will help you no matter what industry you are hailing from or are looking into going next. 🎖 Finally, do not give up. Ever. No matter how dark things may look right now, I KNOW you will get through this, you have got this! 👊 Remember you are not alone. If you need help, advice, or even an ear to listen, we're here for you. Always! ➡ A request to my community, please can I ask you to repost this post to your colleagues and friends, so that we can get as many into jobs as possible! And please comment if you or your studio are currently hiring - let's help each other! Much love ❤️ #readyatdawn #layoffs

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Horrible news today with nDreams conducting a round of layoffs that could impact 17.5 percent of employees. The company said a "challenging VR games market" requires a "renewed strategic focus" that will result in job cuts. nDreams operates four studios and is known for working on titles like Far Cry VR, Fracked, Phantom: Covert Ops, and Synapse. According to the nDreams website, it currently employs over 250 people across a variety of hybrid and fully-remote roles. To those impacted please check them out here: 🥇First, reach out to us at People Can Fly Studio, we have many roles open right now in Canada, the UK, Ireland and Europe, please check them out here: https://lnkd.in/eWpV5PbA 🥈Next, Discipline Games Jobs Resources: Over the past months I have created 9 (at time of writing) Games Jobs Resources to find jobs in a wide range of disciplines, and I would urge you to check them out, if anything just to see what would be available to you: https://lnkd.in/ePywd2kq You can find over 6,000 jobs there. 🥉 Third, the Ultimate list of Video Games Career Resources: This should be your one-stop shop for all information. My dear friend Amir Satvat maintains these documents, he is a legend for doing this - please check them out: https://amirsatvat.com/ I urge you to check out the areas in particular about CV support and mentoring, as these will help you no matter what industry you are hailing from or are looking into going next. 🎖 Finally, do not give up. Ever. No matter how dark things may look right now, I KNOW you will get through this, you have got this! 👊 Remember you are not alone. If you need help, advice, or even an ear to listen, we're here for you. Always! ➡ A request to my community, please can I ask you to repost this post to your colleagues and friends, so that we can get as many into jobs as possible! And please comment if you or your studio are currently hiring - let's help each other! Much love ❤️ #ndreams #layoffs

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How to accelerate your career in game development? Think "one level higher." 🔹 If you're a junior or mid-level:  -- Consider how your task affects the team's work. 🔹 If you're a lead or senior:  -- Focus on how your team's work impacts the entire project. 🔹 If you're a producer, director, or PM:  -- Think about how your project fits into the company's strategy. 🔹 If you're a CEO or executive:  -- Ensure the company's results align with stakeholder interests. 🔹 If you're a stakeholder:  -- Align your assets with market interests. Always try to understand the bigger picture.

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For the past couple years or so, I've been hosting a Game Industry Coffee Chat most mornings. We'd started up on Clubhouse (where we still maintain most of the chats) due mostly to stubborness and because it's where so many of the original folks who'd come together managed to find each other in the first place. On any given morning, we've got serious vets from around the industry, representing a variety of types of studios, disciplines, and experience - from multiple studio heads and execs to recruiters and subject matter experts to aspiring students and those merely industry-curious. Whether we're talking through the pros and cons of AI in games, the evolution of different styles of production processes over the past few decades, the current state of the market and where it's headed, or just helping introduce people to one another, it's cemented itself as a must if you're looking to meet people in the industry who've been there and can tell you all about it. I've recently begun a new Discord where we've brought in a small group (a hundred or so) of the more active participants and we've been working on getting it set up for more folks ever since. I think we're ready now. So if you're interested in joining a relatively relaxed community of game news wonks and process nerds who are constantly diving into the topics and themes of the week, drop on by. We have forums and channels dedicated to the latest industry news as it happens, new roles getting posted, discipline channels, and areas to get immediate assistance for everything from resume reviews to mock interviews. Either way, the coffee's always freshly brewed. https://lnkd.in/gXmDBmnS #GICC #GameIndustry #Community #GameDev #Hiring #OpenToWork #CoffeeChat

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