Christine Lai

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

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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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💡There's undeniable merit in the idea that employees who don't live in fear of layoffs are far more likely to excel compared to those who lack job security or access to transparent leadership. 🤔 At this precarious time of layoffs and studio closures… it is a tough market to enter as a new startup. Simply Sweet Games is being bootstrapped, and supported literally through the generous contributions of Women in Games International (WIGI) and Amazon Games, advisors and our community! We’re honoured to receive invitations to meet at events and to gain mentorship and opportunities to passionately pitch our vision. It will take more than the industry's challenges—like widespread layoffs, inflation, poor leadership, and corporate greed—to deter our mission of inclusivity and sustainability. We are going to persevere! Best of luck to everyone who is going to Gamescom! Be safe and have fun, keep your eyes peeled for Tina Merry 🔜 Gamescom, Joanie Kraut 🔜 Gamescom and many more fantastic leaders! 📢 Lastly, please join us later this month to support SSG’s mission of fostering inclusive teams and sustainable game productions. It’s not only beneficial for our industry's businesses but is, in my opinion, the right thing to do. I am grateful for the privilege to help lead in this space and to witness the rise of many inspiring indie developers emerging in the wake of numerous layoffs. There is a better way forward. Let’s get it done. 😊 P.S. Check out our website (www.simplysweetgames.ca) for more details or DM me for an invite! #Equity #Inclusivity #WomenInGames #Startup #Founder

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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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At the heart of EVERYWHERE is ARCADIA! ARCADIA is our building tools, self-publishing system, and library of assets and community-made content. Check the basics of building in ARCADIA out in the video below! #gamedev #UGC #gamedevjobs

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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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It is awful. Truly awful. Around 15% of Intel Corporation's staff (meaning over 15,000 people) are facing layoffs this year. I want to provide as much support as I can about this happening. I know that Intel is not a games studio, but the amount of support they are giving games studios is not to be under-estimated. When I worked at other games studios in the past, we had wonderful working relationships with them, getting support through driver optimisations, supporting technical tests, even offering to feature our games on their network and providing exclusive access to gamers to our closed alpha or closed beta tests. This kind of relationship was special. Regardless of which areas of Intel are going to feel layoffs, with 15% of the workforce, that will be felt everywhere in the organisation. Those of you who worked even remotely in gaming, 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 ❤️ #intel #layoffs

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👶 Game producers = great parents… ? 🎮 Problem-Solving: Working with different partners/audiences with varying comm methods. 💬 Empathy/Sympathy: Seeing the world through other viewpoints. Interpreting signals! 🧘‍♂️ Stress Management: Resilience in the face of constant pivots & uncertainty… Are you a creating clarity or chaos when having to clean 💩? 📅 Organization: Scheduling routines and adjusting when your plan goes south. Have a mitigation? That helps! Game production = solid parenting prep! 🌟👾🍼 #parenting #chaos💩 #empathy

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A few westerners asked me to elaborate on my perceptions of Chinese gaming today. As caveats, my experience is limited to two companies (though big ones: NetEase and Tencent), and I do not speak the language and have never lived there. I hear about a lot of these games secondhand because they are not localized for English. Finally, Chinese culture evolves pretty quickly, likely faster than many westerners perceive. (Example: You pay for everything on your phone, even ordering and paying in dine-in restaurants, and increasingly credit cards aren’t useful.) Chinese video games are almost always free to play and often mobile (but not exclusively) but never console. P2W is losing favor, especially among younger players who just want to hang out with friends. There is almost no such thing as a single-player narrative game with a box cost, like say Horizon or Assassin’s Creed. Chinese devs typically have no reference for those. The microtransactions might be used to pay for cosmetics, or access to new content, or there is still some notion of purchasing progression just to skip over the “boring parts.” This isn’t pay to win in the sense of buying the best sword to win PvP… as much. Gacha, like Genshin, where you essentially pay to reroll to get the best version of something, is also common. Chinese MMOs spend a lot of energy on player customization (e.g. eyebrow height and length), and strive for a beautiful aesthetic in general, often anime, wuxia or just general photorealism with supermodel character, often influenced by Chinese mythology or Journey to the West. Many systems are heavily inspired by WoW, but have added or streamlined features that can make our 10-20 year old MMOs feel quaint to them. For example it’s common to be able to skip over the return travel to turn in a quest (not saying I like this, but it’s common). They often still emphasize PVE progression in order to be competitive in a PVP endgame, since PVP provides such limitless content. Our game, Ghost, doesn’t follow any of these paradigms really. We, along with other studios, are trying to give NetEase a western-styled game. But it is interesting when we run into assumed differences about how modern MMOs should be designed. Hope this was helpful to someone.

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Shin chan: Shiro and the Coal Town is out on Steam and Nintendo Switch, hope you enjoy this new cozy and beautiful adventure! Published by Neos Corporation and developed by h.a.n.d., Inc. the game was released earlier this year in Japan with a great reception and even became the second best rated game of the month by Famitsu. Players will experience a new relaxing adventure with Shin chan as he travels in two different realities: his daily life visiting the town of Akita and discovering the mysterious Coal Town with many different mini-games. EARLY PRESS RECEPTION - 5 PREVIEW HIGHLIGHTS - "It’s a game that encourages you to slow down and appreciate life without rushing." (Rayan Sayyed, IGN India) - "Shin Chan: Shiro and the Coal Town expands the exploration of ordinary life into a mysterious and intriguing Coal Town." (Rebecca Phillips, TheGamer) - "It once again feels like Shin-chan: Shiro and the Coal Town could turn out to be one of those incredibly soothing games." (Jenni Lada, Siliconera) - "Shiro and the Coal Town’s introduction was constantly giving me something new to appreciate, and it kept the experience fun and engaging." (Justin Mercer, Gamer Escape) - "I think Shin chan: Shiro and the Coal Town has a lot to offer; it feels like an odd mix of Animal Crossing and the anime sprinkled with a shot of adventure." (Violet Plata, GameGrin) #ShinchanShiroAndTheCoalTown #NintendoSwitch #cozygame #shinchan #adventuregame #wholesomegames

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Happy Wednesday everyone! Hope everyone had a relaxing and restorative weekend. It was a long weekend for me so that was appreciated. Here's you're round-up for the week so far. 1. Kicking things off with a review of mine, I got to play "Thank Goodness You're Here!" and my goodness this game is hilarious. If you like British humour I can't recommend it enough. https://lnkd.in/g7FCPd38 2. This is going to be a lot wrapped in one but THQ Nordic hosted its annual digital showcase and revealed a lot - like a new "Darksiders" game coming, gameplay for the "Gothic Remake" and the premiere of "Wreckfest 2," to pick out a few announcements. https://lnkd.in/gCHn4exq 3. I'm absolutely and terribly saddened to report, as you've likely already heard, that Game Informer is gone. It's incalculable to say how big a hole this leaves in games journalism. I still can't believe it, but I can believe how vile GameStop has been throughout this. It only took me half a year of working at an EB Games to have a bundle of stories about how awful GameStop management is with their retail workers, I can't imagine what GI had to deal with. A sad and unceremonious end to a publication and the talented team behind it that deserved so much better. https://lnkd.in/gf847N8W 4. More on Bungie's layoffs, they were reportedly going to happen whether or not "The Final Shape" was a runaway success. https://lnkd.in/gw7zuWSZ 5. "Chivalry 2" developer Torn Banner is moving on to its next project in the Chivalry franchise, and has ceased content development on C2. https://lnkd.in/gvDgR-mk 6. Warner Bros. is reportedly considering selling a stake in its games business. https://lnkd.in/gGw_x5RR 7. Filming for the "Until Dawn" movie has kicked off. https://lnkd.in/g9bfyPNg 8. Lastly for now, WolfEye Studios is set to reveal its next project very soon, like maybe the end of this week soon. https://lnkd.in/gGSDN6iz Until the next one!

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I am currently on the waiting list for layoff. Almost the entire development team has been laid off, and I will be working part-time for a few more weeks. This is not a gamedev, just a huge company that has been on the market for more than 30 years. Well... I think now is the time to devote more attention to my projects and network development. Let me tell you a little about myself. I have been in IT professionally for 20 years and in software development for more than 10 years. During this time, I have participated in various projects as a tester, developer, and manager. I've worked on software for processing geolocation data from a professional navigator, a bug tracker, a personnel and resource management system for a global enterprise, software for a restaurant chain... In all these places, my team and I created products that had no analogues in quality and functionality. I am fortunate to have great colleagues, and at work, I manage to tackle interesting tasks and solve unique problems. I really enjoy solving problems. It's fascinating. This is why I have documents of my own projects on Google Drive, which I came up with when encountering problems in life. For example, I lost a week trying to call the plumbers to my apartment and discovered that they use a phone and a notepad to fulfill orders. Following this, I created a prototype of an application acceptance and execution system in Google Sheets and wrote the primary documentation for implementing a full-fledged management system. I submitted the document to the service company and offered development cooperation. It turned out that only online job accounting had already improved the work several times, and the director of the company did not want to spend money on further development. So, OK. My neighbors and I now receive service that responds to requests within hours, not days. That's great! Among other things, there are several game projects in my portfolio that I would like to implement. I'm working on one of them right now and hope I'll have something to show the public soon, but it's too raw for now. Why am I doing this? If you have a desire to chat or discuss any problem, feel free to contact me, and we will find time to talk about it. I have very diverse interests. I still remember that you need to check the master/slave jumper on hard drives depending on the order in which you connect them. I've given lectures on the mathematics of quantum computing and made wooden furniture and toys with my own hands (and with CNC too). Welcome in DM and comments!

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I've had a difficult time readjusting to PT since returning from Guangzhou 2 weeks ago...and since I'm up early, I'm trying to devote the very quiet morning hours to some learning! :D I've been thinking about the state of the gaming and tech industries, and related to this, the success or lack thereof of recent products. In my early morning explorations I stumbled across this video, and - until the interviewer asks a dumb mundane question that derails him (you can see he loses his train of thought, it seemed like he still was going somewhere else) - Steve has some insights into a problem he'd witnessed in product development. https://lnkd.in/g-xh4pKD Fascinating to think about. It's unlikely that there's ever just one problem and one correct solution when things go horribly awry, but reducing the number and severity of problems and improving the odds of success are an imperative for a long-term successful business. I worked for Amazon for a couple of years and I loved learning about the leadership principles - the most important of which was "Customer Obsession". The customer (or someone representing the customer's needs) must be present when product strategy decisions are being made. Have you observed or had an experience where you thought that the expertise of the product craftspeople was ignored or the customers were not properly represented in decision making?

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Here at the NetEase Games Licensed Games Studio Group we continually encourage and support our designers to pursue new knowledge of design areas outside of their current role's domain. We call this "cross-functional learning" and have made it into one of the capabilities of our design career plan, which means that all designers can create learning goals for themselves, set aside time to work on them, and have their progress count for their semi-annual performance evaluations. This quarter, I have decided to educate myself on Game Economy Design, which is a fascinating topic that I have not studied in depth before. During my research I have come across an outstanding article by Alexei Karpenko, which I highly recommend to anyone interested in the principles of functional in-game economies. You can find a link in the comments. Cheers! 🥂

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🌟"Games should be fun, simple, and easy to use." – Yaoqi Guo, CEO of Top Games Inc. While Evony remains the flagship product, Top Games is expanding its horizons 🌍. They’re diving into new game genres to meet the evolving demands of both hardcore and casual gamers alike. 🎯 🎉 Evony: A Global Hit, Loved by Fans ❤️ More than just a game, Evony has become a worldwide sensation! With its unique blend of strategy, history, and real-time multiplayer action, millions of players are hooked. Its constant adaptation to market trends is a testament to Guo’s unwavering focus on the player experience. 🕹️ 🏆 In 2022, Evony proudly took home the NYX Silver Award for excellence in game design. It was also crowned Best MMO in Samsung’s Best of Galaxy Store Awards. These accolades showcase Top Games Inc.'s dedication to delivering an engaging and immersive gaming experience. 🎮✨ #MobileGaming #GameDevelopment #Evony #TopGames #PlayerExperience #GamingAwards #GameDesign #MMO #Innovation #GamingCommunity

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Not mentioned in this post, but you could also not ask for a better manager and advocate than Emily!

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It’s here folks!!! Check out the teaser for Mafia: The Old Country

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With a snap of the Infinity Gauntlet, Tencent dominates another category. This time, ‘shooter/platformer.’  Economy designers, take notes! Feature scope and production values are as eyebrow-raising as we’d expect from TC. In April ‘23, Metal Slug Awakening’s CN release immediately took the market-leading position from Contra (2017, NetEase). Then in July ‘24, it finally released worldwide. Retention is on-par with Contra, but the post-IDFA handicap is a significant headwind. Looks like a $200-$250M product given this trajectory. Not bad for a platformer / run n’ gun.

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Marvel Rivals is going to be a goldmine for NetEase Games 💥 With less than 30 characters, it showcased how a 6v6 open role queue game can achieve near-perfect balance (yes, almost) during its closed beta test. What Overwatch has been struggling to deliver, Marvel Rivals has already nailed. 🚀 I checked the SteamDB charts, and to my surprise, the game had a peak of 52,671 players during its short stint, with nearly 20,000 playing till the very end. Even at the last minute, matchmaking was quick, showing just how enthusiastic players were. I played until the server shutdown kicked me out. 📊 Interestingly, I saw multiple posts on the subreddit and Facebook groups mentioning how addictive the game is. From my experience, I can see it disrupting players' lives (in a good way, of course). 💌 Since Hi-Rez Ventures' Paladins in 2017, this is the first arena shooter that truly hooked me, even in its closed beta. I never imagined I'd spend so much time (~50 hours, nearly 250 matches) in a game where progress would be wiped out when the CBT ended. Big thanks to Dominik Graner for the key. 😉 At first glance, the game may seem like an Overwatch clone with Marvel heroes. But it delivers so much more. The well-thought-out character designs, music, voice lines, and gameplay demonstrate the absolute craftsmanship NetEase Games has achieved under Danny Koo's leadership. 📈 Most characters resemble their original comic book origins, and signature moves like Hulk Smash, Thor's God of Thunder etc are a pleasure to watch. The video in this post features Punisher's ultimate - Judge, Jury, Executioner. 🔥 While the game didn't reveal much about monetization, the demo battle pass hints that it will rake in money like crazy when it launches globally. I hope the game will not go toward pay-to-win mechanisms. 💸 I was also impressed with how stable the game is, at least on consoles. As an Xbox user, my default server was Virginia, and even with over 200 ping, the game ran seamlessly. I had tons of fun playing Marvel Rivals, and I can't wait to see how the game shapes up when it launches globally. Hopefully soon.

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