Gabe Amatangelo

In today's little bit of progress, we're working with a little bit of music and setting up some Enemy Animation Blueprints- just with patrolling and idling for the time being. These are called Agonized Hunters and probably for good reason. Lore is so fun to come up with, by the way. I suppose all the stories I started to write even as a kid should've been a grand sign towards my liking of storytelling, but I definitely know about it now. I thought it would be a nice touch for the light to turn red/add in some invincibility frames when the player comes in contact with them, as well as adding in a sliiiight distinction between the breakable platforms and the ones you can walk on regularly. On a semi-related note, something I only learned fairly recently: the Nav Mesh Bounds Volume in Unreal only registers traversable ground. That's why it's only the ground that turns green when you preview it and not the air that the volume may also be in contact with. If you're working with flying enemies you won't want to rely on those or the functions related to them (like GetRandomReachablePointInRadius and co.), since they will bring those flying guys right to the ground at best. You'll want to look into the Math function RandomPointInBoundingBox instead. ✨

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A lot of people have written about the devastating closures of Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, and Alpha Dog. I don't want to repeat that stuff. It's a terrible situation. As a developer, it's heartbreaking. As a player, it's even worse. I just want to say something personal about Arkane Austin, and the kinds of games they make/made, and in particular, Harvey Smith, who heads up (headed up) the studio, after Raphael Colantonio moved on to new things. The first game I really fell in love with was Half-Life. HL showed me the way forward for games, particularly first-person ones, as an expression of deep and interesting -- often claustrophobic -- exploration, combat, and puzzle solving, excellent balance, and the power of first-person interactive narrative to create super immersive worlds for players. The second game I really fell in love with was Deus Ex (Ion Storm). DX showed me the way forward for extremely systems-centric experiences. The power of player choice, experimentation, and improvisation. The promise of a more mature, sophisticated narrative than you mostly found in games of the day. The joy of a game that was responsive and adapted to your choices as a player. The freedom to contrive your own solutions to problems. These games, together, rewired my brain. DX followed the work done before it by games like Thief (Looking Glass), System Shock (also Looking Glass), and later Arx Fatalis (Arkane's first game), but really locked in on the idea of the "immersive sim" that, later on, BioShock (made by ex-Looking Glass people) would replicate. Then Dishonored (Arkane). Then the 2017 Prey (also by Arkane Austin). Other games have riffed on the formula, even when taking it in different directions. There's some DX in Far Cry. There’s some DX in Fallout. There's some DX in Stalker. There's even some DX in The Long Dark. Player freedom. Experimentation. Thoughtful narratives. World dynamism and responsiveness. Affordance of player improvisation. These are core tenets of Immersive Sims that make all games better. They've never set the market on fire. But just like there are movies for movie-makers, these are games for game makers. These are games, we as developers who recognize the alchemy and miracle behind them, stare at in awe, wondering how the creators were able to harness this black magic. That's what we lost in Arkane Austin yesterday. Harvey Smith was the lead designer on DX, and his work has always inspired me. The team there was dedicated to making these sorts of complex, wonderful experiences that we need more of. These are important games, important ideas, important ideals, and it will once again fall to independent developers to keep them alive. So be it.

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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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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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What do Lethal Company, Skyrim, Helldivers 2 all have in common? They are designed to be broken. Dig into what this even means in my recent video, which you can find on my channel here: https://lnkd.in/gDPk_8E6

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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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Field Day Lab is compiling an exhaustive list of classroom-ready learning games and could use your help in finding them. Specifically we need to find every game that meets the following requirements: - Grade 3 through 20 - Free or at least a demo - Playable on a chromebook - Designed to teach a specific subject, or has materials that translate the game into classroom subjects We’ve found all the games that used to be on gameUP, and some of the bigger collections like icivics. Do you have any other lists or game titles we should include?

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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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In the past, I've often seen PvP projects developed by teams that typically use ELO as their primary matchmaking solution.📝 This always seemed a bit as a risky choice because ELO is certainly a great system, but it was created for other purposes. 🌟First of all, good things about it (in games): — It can work and cover a couple of MM basic requirements — For games with 1vs1 PvP, with some custom adjustments, ELO can work really good But in my opinion when MM systems are going to design & development phases, it should be built based on detailed requirements from the game perspective. Otherwise it may be hard to adapt games and ELO to each other, to make it work really well. 🔖What else is important to consider when there is a task to make ELO-based MM (or similar system): — If the game is about a bigger format than 1vs1, it should be handled in some way by additional logic (e.g. based on weighted averages). — Some calibration mechanics can be useful. Because some players can be very good from the start or learn to be that way very fast. — Rating “degradation” through inactivity time could be handy. Some players may leave the game with a high rating and return to it when they forgot how to play at the same level. — Some kind of “Seasons” with rating downscaling at the start (in proportional way) may be useful. — Custom rules for onboarding of new players. For example, average rating gain at the start could be higher than zero. It will help to differentiate layers with players of different skill levels. — If the game is based not only on the skill, but on the power progression as well, it also should be handled (e.g. in the form of the gearscore, affecting the ELO rating in direct or indirect form). ⚒️At the end of design, it is helpful to ask yourself: is the final system transparent and flexible enough? Is it easy to operate? After reflection about these questions some simplification needs could appear in your head. Or some other rating systems may be taken into consideration.

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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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What to do if your game has low retention? I teamed up with Mykola Veremiev to make a decision tree for your game. If your game is struggling, ask these questions:  1. Is the FTUE completion rate high?   2. Are players engaged with the core loop?   3. Are paywalls causing drop-offs?   4. Are there difficulty spikes?   5. Is the player funnel strong?   6. Is the game technically stable?   7. Do players have clear long-term goals?   8. Are players pursuing those goals?   9. Is feedback on gameplay positive?   10. Does your team still believe in the vision?  Depending on the answers, you have 3 paths:  • 🔁 Iterate: Minor fixes can boost retention.   • ↩ Pivot: Core gameplay has potential but lacks depth.   • ☠ Kill: Systemic issues with no clear solution.  Use data to guide your decisions. Iterate, pivot, or cut your losses. And if your studio needs help testing or scaling the next game idea, feel free to DM Mykola!

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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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Check out my latest video showing how to use COPA Gaming’s Quest System Starter Pack!

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Hopefully this is the first time you're seeing modular control rig working inside #uefn. I saw the hidden menu for making modular control rigs during #unrealfest and tried migrating all the modules over. Not without its kinks, we now have working modular control rigs and modules on the otherside. If people are interested in this process, I'll consider making a longer form tutorial. In the meantime, what should we rig up with the modules in UEFN?

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