Ben Phongluangtham

Bit late talking about this one but huge news coming from 343 Industries, both a re-brand to Halo Studios and confirmation that they are switching development to Unreal. 🗞️ This comes off the back of 343's struggles with development of Halo: Infinite. We've seen many other studios move away from their own engines to Unreal, notably CD Projekt Red! Are proprietary engines going out fashion? 🤔 For those who have worked on both proprietary engines and Unreal, what have you found to be the key advantages of working with Unreal? #gamedev #unreal #halo

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In line with yesterday's post about good ideas, once you'd identified a "good idea", what do you do with it? I was thinking about a quote I've heard attributed variously to Rodin or Michelangelo. There is a probably apocryphal story that Michelangelo was asked how he would carve an elephant. He replied that he would take a large block of stone and carve away everything that was not an elephant. There is another relevant quote by one of my favorite historical figures, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: "Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." There's also Gall's Law: "A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked. A complex system designed from scratch never works and cannot be patched up to make it work. You have to start over, beginning with a working simple system." Keep It Simple, Stupid. My natural instinct is to make systems as I envision them, because until the system exists there is nothing. I tend to make too many parts to a system initially, but I've learned to document all those parts as possibilities for the future and to isolate the core, simplest expression of the system. I find this prioritization crucial for rapid iteration success. I usually use a very simple of prioritization for early concept, design, and prototyping: must have, important to have, and nice to have. Seems pretty clear right? Must have is obvious, the feature just won't work without this. What about important to have? Well, the feature will work, but it will be lacking quality in some aspect if this isn't included. Maybe it's an innovation; maybe it's a level of UX polish; but these kinds of things are important for increased odds of success. Nice to have? Well, that seems pretty clear too - it's something you'd like to have, but you're pretty sure there's no time to do all of these things, so you might get a couple if you're lucky. If I've solved for the design space correctly, the simplest core expression of a successful feature is found in the "must have" category and we have more than enough time to accomplish the prototype and evaluate it.

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Lots of people changing jobs or on the hunt at the minute. Some useful tips to be mindful of from Amanda here. Even though you'll understandably be focused on landing the new role as smoothly as possible, these aren't unreasonable expectations at all and much easier to tackle up front than to deal with after the fact.

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Hello friends. Last month, I was looking for more work and finally secured some on Reddit from a guy who needed help with preproduction on his Tabletop RPG / Card Battler. After a meeting with him, he showed me what he had and it was quite impressive. He had a prototype of a card-battler using a tabletop RPG battle system, but he had little to no documentation or planning—he's been chiseling away at his game for a few months in his spare time after work. I suggested that before I dive into art, we flesh out the game design and the rest of the game up to around an 80% mark and let the last 20% be changes, additions, and that sort. As your game evolves, it'll come into it's own and you'll find things that need changed or added, this accounts for that. He agreed and I asked if I could work on all this since I did that with my game Alligori and lead the team from start to finish with our vertical slice, and I know tabletop RPGs very well. He agreed and we did the whole song and dance with paperwork, and he sent over a retainer and I began work the following Monday. Three weeks go by and we're working great together. I'm fleshing out his game, adding some meat to the backbone of his prototype with classes, abilities, etc. My goal was to write out as much as possible and then trim content to fit it into a 1-year development cycle. So I flesh a bulk of his game out, and then categorize it more into a game design document that clearly conveys concepts, ideas, and mechanics. Catching up, last week was the final week of my first month and payment was due. He just up and disappears like a fart in the wind, I have no idea if he's alive, incarcerated, on vacation, or what. He didn't remove me on Discord, so I don't entirely suspect malicious intent, but he gave no notice. That's the risk you run with working 1-on-1 with a client remotely, one day they can just up and disappear. I do have paperwork, so I may pursue legal action. If he doesn't log on by Friday, I'm going to publicly release all my documentation and the GDD I wrote on here.

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Small productivity hacks for employers: when planning capacity for a new project, factor in "shrink." Shrink is a common operational / call centre metric that basically allows you to account for all the expected(and unexpected) unproductive time when a service rep won't be available to take calls - think: training, lunches, breaks, headaches, random things that come up but you can't think of right now. I hope managers never assume someone will be productive 100% of the time. So you figure out what 100% output would look like and then deduct shrink from that. Doing that gives you a more accurate sense of what you can accomplish with your bandwidth without setting false expectations and burning out your team. It creates a buffer in your operations. It also creates a sense of trust with your team, which will see you as a leader who really cares about them. Because now they know: - they can take care of their sick child,  - or they can go to the vet with their pet, - or they can even study new things that help them evolve professionally or personally, and still get their things done great, on time and schedule. If you want productivity, you must first understand people. Real leaders know that goals are hit when people are happy. They prioritise people over profits. This means you need to: - create a safe work environment  - respect their personal life - build a growing context - offer flexible work - give a fair pay. In other words, you need to step up for them. And you know who will benefit the most from this? Working Parents. #whatifthingsgoright

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So sorry to hear about layoffs at Modern Wolf, with 6 staff members being affected. The news broke last night, with my former CA colleague George Willard posting the news, as well as providing information about those also laid off to support re-hiring as quickly as possible. You can find that here: https://lnkd.in/eEXWSgNQ To those impacted by these layoffs, please find a comprehensive list of resources, below: 🥇First, Discipline Games Jobs Resources: Over the past weeks I have created 9 (at time of writing) Games Jobs Resources to find jobs in a wide range of disciplines: 🎨 Art, Animation, VFX and UI: This resource contains around 1,200 jobs worldwide across all links. Link: https://lnkd.in/eu2bjadW ⚙ Engineering and Programming This resource lists just over 1,900 jobs worldwide across all links. It also talks about interview tips and questions to practice. Link: https://lnkd.in/etPj22BE 🕹 Quality Assurance: This resource lists over 450 QA jobs worldwide. This post also talks about the craft of QA and contains tips and interview practice. Link: https://lnkd.in/dwwVjZuc 📑 Game Production: This resource lists around 400 jobs worldwide. It also contains info about game production as a whole and GDC talks. Link: https://lnkd.in/gxDvFM-Z 📢 Marketing & Community: This resource lists around 400 jobs worldwide. It also gives an intro into game marketing and community management. Link: https://lnkd.in/e5MuViug 🎶 Audio and Sound Design: This resource lists around 190 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/eSkPSsWf 📠 Studio Support, HR, Recruitment and BizDev: This resource lists around 290 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/ePG57_7v ⚙ IT, Helpdesk and DevOps: This resource lists around 140 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/e8ZsuiZh 🎮 Game Design: This resource lists around 480 jobs worldwide. https://lnkd.in/dCv_hQXv 🥈 Second, 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/ 🥉 Third, If you have worked in publishing, please message me. I am looking for quite a few roles right now! ⬅ 🎖 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 ❤️ #layoffs #gamesindustry #jobsingames #modernwolf

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I think one of the things that's so frustrating about Xbox's recent studio closures is that it is stark contrast to the things they *say*. They say they want original, interesting games, but then they shutter Tango. They say they want to take big swings at live service stuff, but then release Redfall in a disastrous state and don't have the bottle to fix it before shuttering the studio. They say they want interesting, original content, but then close studios working on original content to bolster Call of Duty. Xbox needs platform-defining exclusives. But they've also shown they don't have the understanding to ship stuff that can legitimately compete with what Sony's doing with Playstation's first parties. What happened to Starfield? Redfall flopped. Halo Infinite's SP "infiniteness" faceplanted. Halo Infinite's multiplayer took years to sort out a fatally awful progression system, and it still mostly sucks, but who cares because no one's playing it. Forza Motorsport bombed. Where is Gears? Where is the next thing from id? From MachineGames? When it's one studio flailing around, maybe it's the studio. When it's ***everything*** under the Xbox Game Studios banner, it's a different situation entirely. What the hell are they doing over there? But the point is, when you see closures of studios when the platform is totally failing to deliver anything of meaningful, differentiating value to players... it's time to call it. Phil Spencer's driven the Xbox into irrelevance. How you could spend hundreds of millions of dollars to achieve *so little* is genuinely shocking to me.

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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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Okay, about to share some 🌶️ hot takes🔥, but the 2024 GOTY nominations are annoyingly disappointing to me. If I can’t vote for the games I think should win, I just won’t vote or watch. 1. Where is Warhammer on this list? Because that’s my #1 pick. Not even in the top 6?! Seriously!? Okay, then I’ll vote for my runner up, Helldivers 2… it’s not here either!?!? 🤬 2. I cannot get into Balatro🃏. I forced myself to play for ~6 hours to participate with a workgroup gaming club, and it seriously felt like I wasted the precious little game time I can scrounge as the parent of a 2 year old. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an interesting game. But I do not understand how it can capture as devoted of fans as it has. It feels about as captivating as pinball. And while I might have wasted time in my youth on such things, it’s not something I find value in now. Very subjective, but I hate the theme, it just makes me want to play actual poker. And I do like rogue-likes, but generally ones with a character, some rpg elements, etc. Nothing against the devs, it’s just not for me; and I’m surprised by how small this camp is. 3. Astro bot, FF7 Rebirth, Metaphor: Refantazio …huh? You found spots for these but not Warhammer Space Marine 2 OR Helldiver’s 2? I get that The Game Awards is global 🌎, and there are plenty of Asian gamers, but did these titles really make that big a splash in those jurisdictions and this small a splash in the west that they weren’t even on the radar? And reverse that regarding HD2 and WH? I just don’t get it. 4. The way the Game Awards only gives the audience 10% of the final tally, is frankly BS. And there’s no 📝 write-in votes, so just their hand-selected nominees. Feels very behind-closed-doors kinds of scummy. As an industry, I think we should hold this event to a higher standard. Verdict: ⚖️ I’m not participating. I’ve boycotted things harder to avoid than this for less.

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At Uncapped Games I'm helping to develop my favorite game I've ever worked on professionally by far... and surprisingly it's an RTS. This is surprising because I (unlike nearly the whole team who are RTS powerhouses), have basically no RTS experience at all. Fire up Super Smash Bros and I may have a shot to impress, but RTS has been a huge - and fun - mental shift for me! ...and somehow, I've gotten pretty good! (At our game at least 😅). Very excitingly, we're on the schedule to say more about our game at SGF ( https://lnkd.in/e5uDTwZp ) in June, but now, kicking things off so to speak, we've put out a really cool documentary that explains some of our philosophies, hopes, and goals. If you're an RTS nerd - or just curious to learn more, check it out: https://lnkd.in/eQpxP3WZ

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Creating games is very difficult. And building games is challenging. The process of build requires to compile the code and all the data required in the game in a specific sequence involving many dependencies. As such monitoring the outcome is essential, but not sufficent. What if we were able to predict the outcome of a build ? What if we were able to decrease the required computing resources while increasing our iteration capability ? #Ubisoft #Ubisoftlaforge #innovation

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Wow, note to self and anyone that follows me. It’s bad enough how one feels when you get laid off and need to find another position. You don’t deserve to be preyed upon by vultures and scammers. LinkedIn has a suggestion to use a ‘opentowork’ hashtag posting to help boost your profile. Don’t do it. You will immediately be preyed upon by Nigerian scammers using bots. The profiles are fake, most of them say Human Resources for Fivr or Michigan state university with no activity, no posts, and no recommendations. The profiles themselves will read from Nigeria or even American Somoa. Don’t get scammed folks. Don’t give them your resume and don’t pay them money. And #linkedin you need to do better to keep your members safe.

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Another stack of resources and layoff support compiled by the incredible Mayank Grover! If you need support or have some to offer, connect and boost that vis so every ship can benefit from the tide. 🙌🌊🙌 #gamedev #games #layoff #support #job #resources #mentors

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Crunch is not "passion."  Pay to win is not "engagement."  Shiny trailers are not "success."  Success in gaming is:  - Designing experiences that players truly connect with. - Fair monetization that values your audience.   - Work environments that sustain creativity and well being.  In other words:  - A game that players talk about a decade later.   - Microtransactions that feel like a choice, not a necessity.   - A team that loves the work because they’re treated with care.  Gaming isn’t about grinding hours or glossy trailers. It’s about how you make people feel.  PS. What do you think? What’s one gaming experience you’ll never forget?

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If you are in a leadership role on a software project and you demand changes without any regard for the impact those changes have on scope or timelines or resourcing, you are not a leader. You are a difficult client. You are actively detrimental to the success of the product. Know the costs. Get involved. Don’t make your whims everyone else’s problem to straighten out.

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Over the past few weeks, I’ve been working on a game design document for a new DLC chapter for Elder Scrolls Online called Conquest. I wasn’t asked to do this—honestly, I doubt anyone at ZeniMax Online Studios even knows I exist, haha. But I’m passionate about the game, having played since beta, and with my background in game development, albeit as a lead 3D artist, I felt inspired to create something that could enhance the player's experience in an impactful and meaningful way. ESO’s PvP system is incredible—some of the most engaging combat since Funcom's Age of Conan—but two major issues stand out: Lack of PvP zones and options: Outside of Cyrodiil, Imperial City, and Battlegrounds, there’s a shortage of varied PvP content. The potential for expanding the system feels huge but underutilized. Conquest introduces a new (optional) PvP zone (In Hammerfell) where players can flag themselves for world PvP (on and off switch while in town), inspired by Blizzard Entertainment's Diablo 2s' hostile mechanic. It’s an optional experience that brings new incentives for both solo players and guilds to participate in PvP. This isn't meant to be a quick fix, but rather a revitalization of the existing systems, giving guilds more reason to engage together, and providing meaningful rewards for PvP participation. One of the core focuses of the design of this DLC chapter is to incentivize group play—especially within guilds. Guilds often have limited in-game reasons to interact beyond chat and trading, and running a trial (raid). My design offers new systems and incentives for guilds to run content together, utilizing existing mechanics like the Housing system to create features such as Guild Halls that further encourage community-driven gameplay. I know ZeniMax’s team is full of incredible talent with no shortage of amazing ideas. Conquest is simply a labor of love, aimed at addressing some of the game’s current issues, and introducing new, exciting content. I now release the document with the hope that they see value in it. Please be kind, I haven't shared my work with anyone before. Thank you for your time! https://lnkd.in/e3gfr2g9

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One of the biggest hiring mistakes: Assuming that work experience at a top company equals a top specialist. This isn't true. Top companies employ tens of thousands of people. Statistically, most are decent, but not exceptional, as HR often assumes. Small, successful startups are more interesting. They can't afford mediocrity. They need true talent to thrive. So, the likelihood of finding top-tier talent from a small startup is much higher than from a big company.

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My heart tonight goes out to the Archiact team, shut down after over a decade, and the 5 folks affected at Payload Studios. Both instances were reported by the companies themselves. There is not an official estimate for cuts at Archiact but a trusted industry source, Obsidian Game Industry Layoffs, suggested this number might be around 35. --- FOR THOSE AFFECTED - WELCOME TO AMIR SATVAT'S GAMES COMMUNITY We will not rest until every gamer is employed. OUR TOOLS WORK - We reach over 400,000 unique viewers monthly and nearly 4,000,000 unique viewers annually across all platforms. - Our games community has facilitated over 2,400 jobs and 45,000 coaching conversations, the largest impact of any games individual or community in the universe. - Our data shows that we can double your job-seeking success from 6% to 12% on average for those who engage with all our tools over a multi-month period. - Over 20% of all trackable games jobs found touch some part of our community. - Always free (nothing wrong with those who charge; just our choice), always with love, and always without ulterior motives. AMIRSATVAT.COM - Our main hub offers 18 resources for games employment assistance with an uplifting, easy-to-use design. - Use our template for Games Org Support Posts (Category 4, Resource 10) to maximize the visibility of those affected at your games company. We have completed 105 posts highlighting over 2,500 candidates. Discord - Join us at discord.gg/amirsatvat, a complementary, live, games career support community with over 5,000 members. Currently open to new members. LinkedIn - Follow me and join the discussion here on LinkedIn, with over 94,000 members and 1-3 daily posts providing support and career assistance in the games industry, the largest Top Voice games community on the platform. How the Games Community Can Help - Spread the Word: Reshares and comments increase resource visibility. - Join Our Movement: Choose one or several of the 16 ways to help gamers on AMIRSATVAT.COM under "How You Can Help," or provide advice on Discord.

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[10/09 - edited for flow] Very few things have annoyed me as much as "bad data comparisons". Just the other day, I saw an image where someone broke down [the most used retention mechanics]*, and in it, they had grouped "limited time rewards" alongside things like "treasure hunt" and "puzzles" (and others) in separate categories.** Now, I don't know if this was some attempt to rile up people like me so that they'd end up buying the report or sharing the post, but I certainly had questions - Were there no puzzle-based time-limited events found in their research/survey? Alternatively, if a game mechanic featured both, did they count them twice or err to the side that had lower representation? This may seem like an argument in semantics, but when looking at data, being unable to tell when you're comparing apples to oranges is the gateway to bad conclusions. The report neglects to differentiate between a "content distribution system" and an actual "mechanics"; while the differences may seem small, the conclusions you can derive from them are very different. Worth mentioning as well, the post neglects to acknowledge the effort needed to develop/produce each of those mechanics, or the suitability of those mechanics as tools for engagement for the games' target markets; as an example, would a daily login system that provided tickets to access a time-limited puzzle game work to help engagement/retention for an FPS like CounterStrike? Without being able to identify the contributors to the data, it makes the posts' conclusions little more than a nifty bit of industry trivia at best, and discussing it as anything but is painfully counter-educational. Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below! *The data was sourced from a paid report, so I don't have access to it. Can't seem to retrace my steps to find it again either. :( **Paraphrased.

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