Brian Raffel

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

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Amir Satvat's Games Community Support Content - Upcoming Schedule All Resources Cited Available @amirsatvat.com 11/8 - Helping Hands  (Resource #4) Spotlight on community members who have been searching for a job for over a year. 11/9 - New Games Jobs Update  (Resource #11) I've held off on loading new roles for a few days due to everything happening in the world, but expect hundreds of new roles to be available for application soon. 11/9 - Full Weekly Update (Resources #1, #2, #3, #5, #6, #7, #8, #16) Full refresh of all resources on the community website. 11/10 - Creator Partner Program Interest Check (Resource #18 - TBA) I will solicit participation interest in our new proposed Creator Partner Program for Amir Satvat's Games Community, highlighting those offering free games support to the community - based on your 94% / 6% in favor community vote. 11/11 - A BIG, BIG, BIG Surprise for Our Games Community Also Coming Soon   - A full study on job cuts by location (and more) from 2022 to 2024 YTD. - A concise one-page reference for all our key games job insights and stats. - Started a full update of the Games Jobs Directory (Resource #10)

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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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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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You know what's better than one #NickyHilton game? TWO #NickyHilton games!! 🎮 In today's SECOND "Our Love Language is Bite-Sized, Branded Video Games" post 💖 👗 We created a fan game for Nicky and Kathy Hiltons' Printfresh holiday PJ's collection!! 👚 Join the festive fun with these adorable Christmas pajamas from the exclusive Printfresh x The Hiltons collection. ⚡ The game was created on Breshna.io's template "Bounce Pounce" with no-code and in 45 minutes! Breshna.io (by GRID) Playable game link in comments ⬇ 🎮 CPG brands are using Breshna to create snackable video games for enhanced user engagement, attributable conversion and lead generation. 🎮 Breshna games can be fully customized with brand IP and embedded into social media posts, websites, apps & QR codes on physical products as simple URLs. Hope you're game: Leo Voloshin Amy Voloshin - we're hiring Kristin Weber Eliza Reinhardt Molly McNamara Alayna Giovannitti Perry Zavetz Mo Karimi

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Today I want to tell a story. I've been holding onto it for a specific circumstance, but in case that doesn't happen, forgive the rough edges. For the longest time, I wanted to be a games journalist. I've known how to play games and deconstruct their mechanics ever since I spent many school summer holidays playing the same Playstation games over and over. I would be the kid that would read games magazines, mostly for the cheat codes, on occasion spotting an article about the next Pokemon game that I just had to tell my friends about. I was never taught or told that being a "critic" or "journalist" was a career, let alone in games. Media Studies wasn't even a subject my high school taught until sixth form options, so I'd have to get by with learning how to deconstruct the written word - often Shakespeare or "Of Mice and Men" - in English Literature class. Jump forward to 2014/5. I was in University, with the freedom to learn about "the media" and online video (YouTube) as I had experienced through college. Despite being on a TV Production course, and though we students all knew the influence social media was going to play in our careers, games were still part of my plan. Through friendships and unsuccessfully trying out for the Student Union's monthly news series as a "games correspondent", I was able to work on a project with a criminology student who also liked games. He ran his own YouTube channel, as I had done under many brands and guises over the years, but he was more consistent. I came on board as his camera operator during EGX Rezzed and we made a few interview videos together. One of which I want to bring to the attention of Hyper Luminal Games. Yes, happy birthday Hyper Luminal! 🎉 We've both changed since this video about Big Crown Showdown! Congrats on releasing Pine Hearts - a wholesome cosy game that is a love letter to the simple life in Scotland. I can't wait to play the full thing - Melissa kindly showed me it at WASD this year, it really was charming! Things have a weird way of coming back around. I don't believe in karma, but I've been watching the work of many studios that I admire and wondered where I fit, thinking maybe there are some answers in my previous work. So, this little story is tale of never forgetting your roots, and celebrating them where you can! Also, if I may be a bit cheeky: If you ever have the availability Hyper Luminal, I would love the chance to join your team! I can assure you my on-screen presence and ability to manage events & communities is far better than what I could manage 10 years ago. I'm happy to work on a relocation plan up to Dundee, be that to work for the core studio under Melissa's expert & bubbly guidance, or having the opportunity to scout for Little Nook's next great wholesome story to share. Here's to both our next chapters! Video:

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The recent Steam update is part of Valve's ongoing efforts to support the game development community and provide a richer experience for players. Key features include better visibility and discoverability for demos, as well as new tools for developers to gather feedback and analyze demo performance. Btw, it's important to stay cautiously optimistic and monitor how these updates perform over time. The new era of demos is coming 👹 https://lnkd.in/duqiuei7

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Hello.   I've been looking at the studios shutting down and the layoffs and wondering what on Earth my contribution to help amongst all the chaos could be. The only thing I can really offer is my experience and enthusiasm around all things game production and operations. I set up game-production.com some years ago and occasionally splurge articles and YouTube learning vids on it, but if there's sufficient interest, I'd be happy to kick off a weekly or monthly Q&A session one evening (UK evening that is). I can try and help with any questions, issues etc around game production. I'm also happy to invite others to come and present their own perspectives.   If you would be interested, could you let me know? A simple Yes response would be awesome, or you could let me know what areas would interest you, or if there's specific questions or help required. I could prepare beforehand a little bit then ;)   The format would probably be me chatting with Miro open so we can map out some stuff, recording the session and sharing to YouTube afterwards along with any output material.   I can cover (or ask others to come help): game production, leadership, portfolio and program management, risk and issue management, estimating work, kanban vs scrum vs waterfall vs hybrid, interviews, general experience of leading teams, what it's like to need to look after multiple studios vs best ways of handling remote teams. Anything really. I can talk about my little kids for hours too if you just want light relief, or delve into the world of Don Reinertsen and the origins of lean product management. Whatever you want! I could even shut up and let others speak too, you never know.   So there it is, let me know your thoughts - or just reply YES. Don't feel you have to tell me NOs! (You can sign up to my newsletter to keep informed of this sort of stuff in the future)   Thank you.   Liam

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Rev up your engines! The Need For Speed Unbound Vol. 9 update is here, bringing fresh gameplay experiences and enhancements to your favorite racing game.

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Awful news today with Skydance Interactive having gone through a round of layoffs last week. My dear friend Scott Fine announced the news today, sharing the news and the profiles of those affected in a heartfelt post: https://lnkd.in/ex4BnyrX To those impacted please check out the following resources: 🥇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/epvmzDW6 You can find over 6,300 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 ❤️ #skydanceinteractive #layoffs

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Worried your voice casting is slowing down production and falling flat? Do this: Work with vendors who deliver speed, quality, and a personal touch. Too many game producers rely on large agencies with overbooked studios and slow communication. The result? Frustration, delays, and missed opportunities. Instead, choose partners who: Plan proper setup time so sessions run smoothly. Offer direct, responsive communication—no layers of PMs. Provide scalable options, like a studio network for flexible booking. The right approach saves time, avoids headaches, and creates unforgettable performances. Struggling with voice casting? Let’s talk.

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ICYMI Tales of Kenzera: ZAU received a patch that includes a couple accessibility improvements. Additional difficulty options are available and can be adjusted at any point, and players can skip chase sequences. Check out the Electronic Arts (EA) Accessibility Portal to learn more. Proud of game developers at Surgent Studios for considering accessibility often. It's a journey where there is always room for improvement. Let's keep making games more accessible together 🤟❤️ #GameAccessibility #InclusiveDesign #AccessibilityMatters https://lnkd.in/gpqGw8XB

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Amazing list of practical game design principles from Warren Spector, one of our industry's great. Appreciate how he frames some of the magic we feel playing his games. Can't wait to play his next one! Wonderful peek into Warren's design mind. His Deus Ex is stuff of legends. While I'll argue that there are operable definitions of fun (humbly suggest The 4 Keys to Fun ;) I agree wholeheartedly that a team needs more than a single word "make it Fun" to guide the design. In fact that's kind of the whole point. In our extensive player research players favorite games support multiples of their favorite play styles. From a Psychology perspective it's vital for an exceptional game to offer players new playstyles. The exploration of novelty, cause and effect relationships, and especially new kinds of strategy to get to a goal are vital to what human beings (and all mammals) call play. Definitely worth a read! Here's a list of company values for Warren's company Other Side also worth a look https://lnkd.in/gpq-qusR

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Exciting news from Runway! They've just introduced Advanced Camera Control for their Gen-3 Alpha Turbo model, enhancing our ability to direct AI-generated videos with greater precision. 🎥✨ This new feature allows creators to specify both the direction and intensity of camera movements within their scenes, enabling more intentional and dynamic shots. Whether you want to execute horizontal pans to arc around subjects or apply zoom effects to unveil new contexts or narratives, the control is now in your hands. Plus, you can combine various camera movements and adjust speeds to create truly engaging and customized video outputs. Keep in mind, Advanced Camera Control is exclusive to the Gen-3 Alpha Turbo model. To access this feature, you'll need a subscription to Runway's Standard plan, priced at $12 per month. This is a game-changer for anyone looking to elevate their AI-generated content! 🚀

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Have you seen the multi-team staffing diagram where the timing between projects is lined up just right? It is the one where teams ramp up and down between pre-production, production and post-production to keep everyone assigned. When I ran my own studio, I planned out scenarios just like this. In thirty years, I’m uncertain whether I’ve ever seen one play out that way. A project often takes 3+ months longer to sign than your worst case – if it gets signed at all. Even with an internal dev team, management may change strategy or be unable to initiate a project for a myriad of reasons. Then there is the drumbeat of project cancellations that rumbles just below the surface of our industry… there are a thousand reasons a game might not reach release. For those games that make it to launch, it is unlikely the gold date resembles what was written on the whiteboard in the original greenlight meeting. And if you cannot properly predict when a game starts, ramps or ships, then this efficient team diagram is only a goal… not a plan. And so, we can continue to handle team staffing as has been commonly done for decades and see the cycle of ramp ups, layoffs, closures, restarts, rehires, strategy changes, more layoffs and closures endlessly repeat. When a full team is carried, the difference between the staffing goal on the diagram and the executed reality is paid in forced decisions of taking any work possible and an elevated risk of losing it all.  No one knows the count of digital tombstones in the video game studio graveyard. The human damage is massive and the turmoil chases talent out of our industry. Changing jobs, moving, losing healthcare in the US… the impact is severe. An alternative is to hire only the core team and become experts at bringing professional consultants and co-dev partners in and out as needed. Sometimes they cost more than equivalent employees in the same territory, but you will not be responsible for their burn when they are not on the project. Thanks to the pandemic we now have the tools, tech, knowledge and industry expertise to properly manage remote team members. Who is core? Only you can answer that. Employ those who together can create magic, who have the skills and disciplines that make you stand out, and who are central to maintaining learnings from project to project. Contract everyone else. I realize there are exceptions, but often, hiring only a core team provides you with a better culture, a nimbler footing and an extended runway to handle what this crazy industry is going to throw at you next. Plans will go awry one day and the key to better options is to have the time to maneuver. Without a wider embrace of the core team concept, the industry devastation we witness around us right now, which is in no way new, will repeat for the next thirty years.

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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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Back in the Red Storm days, I spent several years as the manager of the Game Design department. In that capacity I did a lot of hiring, and I did my best to develop my team professionally. One of those folks enjoyed working at RSE, but his dream was always to work for the studio that made his favorite game. But, despite all his efforts, he was repeatedly turned down when he applied. I didn't want to lose this designer, but a dream's a dream. So I asked him to show me his latest application before he sent it in. He handed over the application and his answers, and I read. It took half a minute to figure out the issue. I asked him, "What are they asking for in question 1?" He told me. I then asked "What is your response to question 1?" Again, he told me. And finally I asked "Does your response actually answer the question in any way, shape, or form?" He stared at me for a minute, then he looked at his answers, then he looked at me again and said "No." Because instead of answering the question, he had run off detailing something he thought was cool and was enthusiastic about, which, as anyone who has done interviewing will tell you, is a big red flag. Fortunately, after a little explaining, the designer was receptive to the idea of rewriting everything to actually answer the questions at hand. He got hired at dream studio very shortly thereafter, and has had a long and fruitful career in the industry. The lesson here is simple: Answer the question you're given. That especially holds for narrative deliverables. A proper narrative deliverable should fulfill the requested purpose - no more, no less. It should answer the question, not raise new ones, not ignore the original one to tackle other concerns, not bury the original concept under a mountain of additional material. It is sometimes hard for narrative folks to rein themselves in when asked to pitch stories or characters or whatever. Good narrative types have a gift for holding the whole kit and kaboodle in their heads. They see the gestalt - where it starts, where it goes, and what's potentially going to be needed down the line that no one else is thinking about. But that can lead to producing additional work that seems logical, but that no one asked for and no one wanted yet. Often that work strays outside the lines of what is useful. This can have deeply negative consequences. Surprise presentations of unrequested work can blindside requestors and put them on the defensive. It can be seen as staking out territory that is deliberately undefined at this point, an attempt to claim others' creative space. And if it's not up to snuff, it can have long-lasting repercussions for both individuals and teams. So, answer the question. If you think more needs to be said, keep the "more" in your back pocket in case it gets requested. Don't jump the gun, don't try to steal a march, even if you think it's good or necessary. It isn't, and you're not doing yourself or your team any favors by doing so.

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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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Do you love Autochess? Of course you do. Do you love Arkanoid / Brick Breaker? Rhetorical question, everyone loves those games. Now what if someone were to combine those two things? Well I did that and it was pretty cool. BRKRX combines the shop mechanics of autochess, the physics gameplay of arkanoid, and some JRPG influences into a unique roguelite experience. Read the full design breakdown of the prototype, and try it out yourself, at the link below. https://lnkd.in/gr824QPq

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