Next up we will be talking to Ahmed Ashour, Senior Site Reliability Engineer at Microsoft and Julien Sirocchi, SaaS Cloud Security Director at Oracle. Both guests are experts in their domain. Together we talked about the different challenges software engineers encounter when working on small to large-scale development projects. From keeping the team in sync to mundane tasks such as debugging and working with a diverse team, we covered it all.Welcome to "Software@", on Design Talk.Aradhika : My name is Aradhika Franziska : And my name is Franziska Franziska: And today we are chatting with Ahmed Ashour and Julien Sirocchi. Aradhika : Ahmed, could you say a few words about your background and experience?[Ahmed …] Franziska : (Thank you very much) Julien, could you tell us a little about your background and experience?[Julien …] Aradhika: First question: you are both software engineers with a lot of experience designing and developing software.             If you were going to be the founder of a start-up digital service… what do you think is the ideal team to create a product from scratch? Franziska: What approaches have worked well for sharing or improving the knowledge and skills of people on teams you’ve worked with? Aradhika: Could you talk about things you would do to help improve the environment in teams, focusing on the organisational or professional culture aspects of working in software? Franziska: Has the software industry completely shifted away from the Project Development Lifecycle or waterfall, towards Agile and Scrum? Surely there are some systems or projects that need the control and rigor of waterfall methods. Aradhika: Big companies often encounter challenges in having many different teams in different locations, perhaps in the same buildings, or different sites, or even different countries. How do you keep teams synchronised, on the same page, and collaborating rather than conflicting with each other? Franziska: Not all software design work is cool. Do people avoid dealing with the more mundane parts like bug fixes and administrative tasks? Do we need to make this part of digital more important, more appealing or not?Aradhika: So, on that note…I would like to thank you both for taking the time to talk with us today.And for sharing your knowledge and experience reflecting "Software@".Thank you for listening. And thank you to the production team:Fitzpatrick ConorFreidel FranziskaKornilov VladimirNigam AradhikaSteiner Christof AcknowledgementsMusicTitle: BeebopArtist: Jason ShawSource: https://audionautix.comLicense: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (Creative Commons Music by Jason Shaw on Audionautix.com) Cover Art Title: Agile vs. TraditionalArtist: Composition by Vladimir Kornilov using an original image by Markus Spiske (https://www.pexels.com/@markusspiske/ - graphic used with permission under Pexels “Legal Simplicity” license https://www.pexels.com/license/) and graphic design elements from Canva.Sources: https://www.pexels.com/photo/coding-script-965345/License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0LicenseDesign Talk (dot IE) is released under the “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike version 4.0 creative commons license aka CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 This license can be viewed at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next up we talk with Aleks Dzans and Komal Karir for Software@ on Design TalkWelcome to "Software@", on Design Talk.Kat : My name is Kat .Gaz: And my name is Gary.Gaz : And today we are chatting with Aleks Dzans and Komal Karir.Kat: Komal, could you say a few words about your background and experience?[Komal…]Kat: Aleks, could you tell us a little about your background and experience?[Aleks…]Gaz : Okay, and then we already had a discussion on this topic, and we'd like to discuss usable usability evaluation in the workplace? Do you use it at every stage of development? Who makes the final decisions?Kat : When you come up with an idea about a product with conflicts between innovation and profit, how do you rectify these conflicts?Gaz : You're working in a large company, you find much conflict with the other departments, like what would it be, what difficulties do you encounter when working with people from different departments?Gaz: And just in general, how many projects would you guys be working on at a time? Would it be multiple or just one at a time?Gaz : So just shifting to another question, what approaches do you think have worked well for sharing or improving the knowledge and skills of people on teams you’ve worked with?Kat: So how are you making up for that, like to share knowledge with these junior developers during the pandemic?Kat : So going back to going back a little bit. Has the software industry completely shifted away from the Project Development Lifecycle or waterfall, towards Agile and Scrum? Surely there are some systems or projects that need the control and rigor of waterfall methods.Kat : So, what’s next for you? -----CLOSING-----[Gary ]So, on that note…I would like to thank you both for taking the time to talk with us today.And for sharing your knowledge and experience reflecting on "Software@".AcknowledgementsMusicTitle: Ambient Light (Main)Artist: GoodBMusicSource: https://pixabay.com/music/beats-ambient-light-main-7229/ License: "Pixabay License" (https://pixabay.com/service/terms/#license)Cover Art Title: Adapted Macbook Pro KeyboardArtist: eGuidry adapted by Nathan SummersSource: https://www.flickr.com/photos/40082898@N00/4010965162 License: "Macbook Pro Keyboard" by eGuidry is licensed with CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/Design Talk (dot IE) is released under the “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike version 4.0 creative commons license aka CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 This license can be viewed at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0By taking part you give permission for your voice to be recorded, for the recording to be edited, and for it to be posted and published as a podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host(s): Paliwal NitishZhang XinFei YifeiGuest(s): Jason (Zhengzhang Lu)Martin PerryFlorin SaboWelcome to Software@ on DesignTalk.Today we are talking with: Jason, Martin and Florin. Shall we start by introducing yourselves? Talk about software career paths: service engineer, DevOps, software engineer, product owner / project manager?What kinds of skills are required to work in software?What about culture differences in teams, working in a foreign country, language barriers…? How important is human connection on the outcome of a project? How do you deal with turnover on a project? What has challenged your skills and pushed your creativity? What advice would you like to give to students who are preparing to join the job market next year? Audience, any questions to our guest. -----Thank you for listening.The production team was:Paliwal NitishZhang XinNotes:AcknowledgementsCover Art Title: Talking TeamsArtist:  nightcafe AI Art Generator (https://nightcafe.studio) & Allen Higgins (graphic design)Source: TalkingAboutTeams.jpg ​License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0Podcast LicenseDesign Talk (dot IE) CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 The license can be viewed at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0By taking part you give permission for your voice to be recorded, for the recording to be edited, and for it to be posted and published as a podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this chat, Kieran Cox takes the spotlight, talking about the role of Ireland’s National Standards agency, the NSAI.Q: First question Kierán, should we spell standarisation with an "s" (CEN/CENELEC) or a "z" (ISO)?Q: With all the institutional involvement would you say that Standards processes are legal, or political, or scientific?Q: What is standarisation good for?Note: An example of old-style thinking which uses a standard to limit access to a market.Q: What does the NSAI do and who are the other standards organisations?Q: What are standards?Q: How many standards are there?Q: What types of things to standards cover?Q: Why do markets for goods and services actually require standards to operate?Q: How are international standards named?Q: Is it easy to learn the ‘insider language’ and terminology? Is it a barrier to getting people involved? -----CLOSING-----Thank you very much Kierán for giving us this overview of standards for organisations and businesses in Ireland, Europe and Internationally. But more importantly, highlighting the role of everyday people, for professionals, in contributing to the ongoing development of standards.AcknowledgementsMusic Title: Jumper.mp3Artist: Jason ShawSource: https://audionautix.comLicense: CC BY 4.0 (Creative Commons Music by Jason Shaw on Audionautix.comCover Art Title: The Cubotahedron from NSAI with Talking StandardsArtist: Allen HigginsSource: Various: NSAI logo with permission; Modern Love Grunge font used.License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0Design Talk (dot IE) is released under the “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike version 4.0 creative commons license aka CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 This license can be viewed at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0By taking part you give permission for your voice to be recorded, for the recording to be edited, and for it to be posted and published as a podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“In this episode Ben Curran and I talked with Caroline Fox, an independent game designer and the person behind Picture Points. The episode was recorded on April 15th, 2021.”-----Hosts: Allen HigginsBen CurranGuest: Caroline Fox (Game designer, illustrator)-----OPENING -----[Ben]Welcome to Game Chats on DesignTalk.We’re very pleased to have Caroline Fox in to chat with us today, to talk about paths to publication, from paper to production.To start off with Caroline, tell us about the last couple of games you designed?(The one that got over the line and one that didn’t)-----•What was the inspiration for Picture Points?•https://picturepointsgame.com•The publisher - Moses Verlag https://www.moses-verlag.de - Bücher, Spiele und Geschenke für Groß & Klein•How did you establish its fun value and playability? •In terms of elements and mechanics, would you recommend using modelling engines like Machinations to better understand and balance the game? •Did the design undergo thematic pivots, even before the publisher applied their own treatment?•Along the way you must have had to master a range of skills and knowledge; legalities, printing, assembly, packaging, shipping, import/export, pricing, the retail trade… Are they distractions from design or necessary parts of the process?•Reflecting on your involvement in videogames, boardgames and tabletop, have you a sense of a repeatable design process, that you would use for your next project?•The growth in boardgames and tabletop over the last decades has been phenomenal, even with the vast video games industry grabbing the attention. Why do you think tabletop has kept, even grown, its appeal?•The subtitle for today’s game chat is “Paths to publication, from paper to production”. Do you have any advice on self-publishing versus finding a publisher? What do publishers bring to the party?•Does the pitch evolve over time?•How do you find and pitch to publishers these days? Particularly in the era of lockdowns and remote work?•Which country would you say is an ideal launch market?•The Essen Spiel, and Gamescom in Köln seem to be must-visit events if you’re a designer living in Europe, or even just into games… The same for E3, PAX in the US and others around the world. Is it necessary for designers to attend gaming conventions and trade events?•One of our listeners has asked “I imagine that game design is very different from playing a game. For you, as a designer who also plays games, can you talk about the difference between playing and designing.”•What, for you, are the stand-out games of recent years? Is there one game you consider a masterpiece of design? [Ben]Thank you, Caroline for taking the time to give us your insights on creating games and the business of game design.We hope you enjoyed the podcast too.Thank you for listening to the Game Chat on Design Talk (dot ie)AcknowledgementsMusic Title: The GreatArtist: Broke For FreeSource: https://bit.ly/18ThHDvLicense: CC BY 3.0Cover Art Title: Title Page - The Hand: Pattern Fill, OrangeArtist: Allen HigginsSource: GameTalk_Fox_InstaSQR.jpgLicense: CC BY-NC-SAThe `Design Talk (dot IE)’ podcasts are released under the “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike version 4.0 creative commons license aka CC BY-NC-SA 4.0By taking part you give permission for your voice to be recorded, for the recording to be edited, and for it to be posted and published as a podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Show-notes “From Game-Play-Community to Game Development with Joe Neary” Podcast 08-04-2021 – 10.00 amTitle: 0086 – From Game-Play-Community to Game DevelopmentSubtitle: Talking with Joe Neary about "finding your niche in games"Link:Season: 5Episode: 86Preamble[Allen Higgins]“In this episode of The Game Chat we talked with Joe Neary, a Senior QA/Tester at, Romero Games on the journey from Game-Play-Community into Game Development”-----Hosts: András PappRuth CampionGuest: Joe Neary (QA and Testing, Romero Games)-----OPENING -----[Ruth]Welcome to the Game Chats series on Design Talk.I am Ruth Campion[Allen]I am Allen Higgins-----[András]And I am András PappAnd today we are chatting with Joe Neary, QA Manager at Romero Games, based in Galway, Ireland.Welcome Joe. First, could you talk a little about your own background and how you got drawn into the game development?[Some discussion points]●We have seen steady quiet growth in boardgames and tabletop over the last decades, in parallel, even symbiotically with the video games industry… there does seem to be more room for people playing games together in-person?●Where do LARPs fit in the game ecology? Somewhere between RPGs and theatre?●As you have been active in organising community activities in the tabletop and game-jam scene, in Galway... Among agencies and others there seems to be an assumption that simply creating these spaces and events is sufficient to incubate new game ventures; is it enough?●Game Testing and QA seems like a dream job; what does QA and testing involve?●What are the advantages and disadvantages of systematic testing and the ad hoc approach? Which is a better way to deal with bugs and different problems?●Does testing and QA feedback act as a path for new design elements in a game?●What would you consider to be good or best practices for development teams to follow? Stand-up meetings, brains trust, playtesting (some of these practices from Agile software methods, some reported by Pixar in CGI, film and animation industry…)●How have Covid lockdowns changed the way these practices work? What changes would you keep, what would you go back to in the future?●Does the atmosphere of a game design team need to be playful and full of games itself?●What is the ideal environment for this work? (Rooms full of props? Out of hours game-fests? Playful challenges? Games your team plays as a group?)●Does the influence of such a big publisher as Paradox have an impact on the work environment? Does it change the dynamics of a team?●What, for you, are the stand-out games of recent years? Which video game will you consider a masterpiece? -----CLOSING-----[András]Thank you, Joe, to taking the time to give us your insights into games and the work of game QA and testing.AcknowledgementsMusic (CC-BY-NC-SA license) Title: “Synth Beat Echo Intro”Artist: “András Papp”Source: “Podcast Intro Song.wav”License: “CC BY-NC-SA”The `Design Talk (dot IE)’ podcasts are released under the “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike version 4.0 creative commons license aka CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 This license can be viewed at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0By taking part you are giving permission for your voice to be recorded, for the recording to be edited, and for it to be posted and published as a podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the Game Chats edition of Design TalkWe are delighted to welcome Robin David today.Robin is a multi-published multi-award-winning game designer, with a portfolio of games across a number of genres; narrative, interactive fiction, puzzle solving, word games, and RPGs.Robin, could first tell us a little about yourself and your path to game design?[Hugh and Allen will chip in comments questions as/when timely/appropriate]When you reflect upon your personal design process, from conception to completion, would you say you have hit upon a repeatable process?I have been impressed by your commitment to feedback, using print and play, downloadable versions and opening your designs to playtesters...Having successfully released at least 13 titles over the last six or so years, (perhaps more) and assuming you have many other ideas at various stages of completion, encompassing interactive fiction, games and game expansions. Are you now designing at an optimal pace or are you finding yourself increasing the rhythm at which you develop and publish new games?We have seen steady quiet growth in boardgames and tabletop over the last decades, in parallel, even symbiotically with the video games industry… is it co-equal coexistence; is it either-or, or yes-and; is there a shift with people preferring being together in-person…)?Some think that achieving the goals of a Kickstarter funding campaign is the end goal, but the truth is that in many ways it is just the start of the work isn’t it. Reaching your first Kickstarter goal was just the end of the first phase, the beginning of the second part of the story…What for you are the benefits/pitfalls of using a crowd funding platform to support your publishing goals?Why would a designer go the free-to-download print-and-play route?Is, having released print-and-play, a disincentive to signing a publisher later on?https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/81485/robin-davidAcknowledgementsMusic Title: Juno her Artist: Uncle MilkSource: https://bit.ly/2Ox3uMLLicense: CC BY 4.0Cover Art Title: “Reusable Type” + Algerian + Engravers MTArtist: Allen HigginsSource: GameChat_RobinDavid_InstaSQR.jpgComposite image credits: Tiffany Moon + British Library (https://flic.kr/s/aHsjP5Gnq9 as Public Domain https://bit.ly/3mr6IAO)License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0Podcast license:The `Design Talk (dot IE)’ podcasts are released under the “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike version 4.0 creative commons license Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the Game Chat series on Design Talk.Our guest today is Paul Conway from Spooky Doorway.Spooky Doorway is a team of Irish developers with a unique style of engaging, interactive storytelling. Their Darkside Detective series is a point-and-click puzzler with an occult-comedic feel.Paul, could tell us a little about yourself and your path to game design? How did you know you wanted to go into this industry? And What are the most challenging/rewarding parts of your job?The Eldritch House page on Steam https://steamcommunity.com/app/1395520/The elevator pitch is “Hellboy meets Agatha Christie”.“Eldritch House is a first-person narrative adventure which blends genres and is presented in a 3D comic book style. Players must investigate the strange occurrences of the remote Blake Manor. Ghosts both literal and personal haunt its denizens’ lives. Can you unearth its secrets?“Does the pitch evolve over time?Well, there is a lot we can learn from your experience and success in growing a community around the Darkside Detective, and in building the Spooky Doorway brand.And not to forget the future with the growing buzz surrounding your new game #EldritchHouse.AcknowledgementsMusic Title: Tempting FateArtist: Jason Shaw on Audionautix.comSource: https://audionautix.comLicense: CC BY 4.0Cover Art Title: Spooky Head + text in Magneto + RavieArtist: Allen HigginsSource: SpookyHead_Coverart.jpg - composite image, credit: Spooky Doorway [www.spookydoorway.com]License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0The `Design Talk (dot IE)’ podcasts are released under the “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike version 4.0 creative commons license Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shownotes “Sara’s Game Art Book Wish”Podcast 4-3-2021 – 10.00amTitle: 0083 – Sara’s Game Art Book WishSubtitle: Talking about creating art for video gamesLink:Season: 4Episode: 83Hosts: Kellie Donnelly [co-host]Allen Higgins [co-host]Guest: Sara Mena (www.doodliostudio.com)The talk was recorded on March 4th 2021.[a note about the revised title: about half-way through the chat, Kellie and Sara talk about things we'd like to see happen in the video game industry]-----OPENING -----Welcome to the Game Chat series on Design Talk.I’m Allen Higgins. In this episode Kellie Donnelly and I talk with Sara Mena, the artist behind Doodlio Studio, about creating art for games.[Kellie]Sara Mena is our guest today.Sara is a visual artist and has worked on a variety of projects from small indie board games to large mobile titles to movie festivals, (as she says) getting much-needed experience. She started Doodlio Studio and creates art and user experiences for all kinds of uses.First, Sara, could you tell us a little about yourself…-----Discussion touching on:●As an artist, can you talk about the experience of working with game designers?●Onikira is a visually stunning game and it’s mentioned you drew inspiration from Japanese Ukiyo-e style paintings. Where did you actually find the paintings that inspired you? ●What are the most challenging/rewarding parts of your job?●How did you know you wanted to go into this industry? ●Do you find it hard to work in this industry as a woman? Or do you think it’s an open-minded field to work in? ●If you had unlimited time and funds for a passion project, what would you design? ●If you could, what changes would you make within the industry? ●What is your favourite thing you have ever created, and why? ●What was the most challenging project to work on?●If you could go back and re-do a project, which one would you choose? ●The interactions between artists, designer, level designers, narrative/writing.●Comment on the flow between art, the narrative, the game, the levels, the feel?●As a one-person studio, running your own business, aside from needing to make an income do you find yourself constantly spending on software and technology to keep up with the expectations of your clients?-----CLOSING-----…So, on that note…We would like to thank you for making time in your schedule to talk to us today…And for sharing your knowledge and insights into the Art of Game Design.AcknowledgementsMusic Title: “Juntitos”Author: “Andre Jetson”Source: “https://bit.ly/2QcysGv”License: “CC BY”Cover Art Title: “The Game Chat with Sara Mena”Author: “Allen Higgins”Source: “DesignTalk_Mena_InstaSQR.jpg”License: “CC BY-NC-SA 4.0”The `Design Talk (dot IE)’ podcasts are released under the “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike version 4.0 creative commons license aka CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 This license can be viewed at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0By taking part you give permission for your voice to be recorded, for the recording to be edited, and for it to be posted and published as a podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

[Sergi] Welcome to the Game Chat series on Design Talk.Our guest today is Sean O'DonohoeSean is a Senior Level Designer at Black Shamrock - a Virtuos Studio.Among the titles he has worked on “The Outer Worlds”, an action RPG by Obsidian Studios, stands out perhaps as one of his most formative project experiences.First, Sean, does everyone want to be the designer? Sean, we’ve been asked before; What does a game designer do? I mean, isn't it obvious? Aren't they artists or coders? Don't they write and 'design'?Could you share your thoughts on the role of the game designer as distinct from coders, artists, writers?Perspectives on documentation, the game bible, the design-development pipeline, design aesthetics of dungeon/level design.Linking dungeon design with world design.Micro/macro, game narrative and the larger story.The links between a conceptual whole and the gritty detail.Do you ever find yourself thinking "this is too complicated"? How do you manage the tension between complexity and simplicity? Which is the worst part about designing a game?Talking about the placement of design assets and making the in-game play believable. Doors, kitchens, toilets... Does Liz England’s post on the Door Problem (on the Gamasutra blog) still hold? (where she illustrates the role of the game designer with Doors as the metaphor. The designer takes ownership of the holism of the game, from the very big to the very small, from excruciating detail to the whole sense of the world, that it makes sense.)Does the atmosphere of the team change in the build-up to a release?Do you usually play the games you design? Which video game will you consider a masterpiece from the point of view of a game designer?How has the image of game designers changed?The music used was “Spliff and Wesson” by AirglowFor more details see the show-notes and acknowledgements.AcknowledgementsMusic Title: Spliff and WessonArtist: AirglowSource: https://bit.ly/2uR5um8License: CC BY 4.0Cover Art #2Title: Beam me up. I saw this person just standing on a hill while our train was paused between Prague and NürnbergArtist: Joel Bedford Source: flickr - https://bit.ly/3sK4KNnLicense: CC BY-NC-ND 2.0Cover Art #1Title: Triptych for the Game Chat on Design Talk (dot IE) with Sean and Sergi. (Composite image + Magneto font)Artist: Various Source: GameChat_SeanODonohoe_InstaSQR-3.png License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 for composite image from multiple sources – video + Wikipedia https://bit.ly/3zgRCBJPodcast license:The `Design Talk (dot IE)’ podcasts are released under the “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike version 4.0 creative commons license Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.