Game Dev Advice: The Game Developer's Podcast

Dwayne Mason of NXA Studios talks about his current role in the company and his career and entrepreneurial aspirations going back to his teens. Hear about the computer revolution while studying to be a graphic designer. How PC Paint and Corel Draw changed his trajectory and focus toward the future. Learn about a chance encounter working as a valet being a big break. Hear how motion capture data was first used for sports analysis and working as a gofer. Learn how the hustling lead to a full-time job out in California and being the first mocap specialist ever at Biovision. How that lead to working for different sports broadcasts and visiting Industrial Light & Magic. Learn how the mocap business transitioned from sports analysis to video game platforms like the Sega Saturn. How he landed an opportunity to setup a motion capture studio for Sony Playstation San Diego in 1996. Learn how this grew into building out Sony’s central art services group over 11.5 years. Discover how setting up Domino's Pizza franchises was one of the most valuable learning experiences he’s had. Hear hard-learned advice for how to advance your career by being a problem solver. Learn what it’s like to create kontent on the Mortal Kombat series, along with Capcom games and the Assassin’s Creed games plus others. Hear how Battlefront II is his favorite game right now. How bigger games and DLC’s longtail has improved his business’s stability and growth. Learn Dwayne’s thoughts on the future of automation and tech. Hear how the company started in China, grew to three studios in the country, plus Argentina. Hear thoughts on VR and what needs to happen for it to be mainstream. Learn his advice for anyone thinking about a video game career. Resources:*NXA Studios website*NXA Studios Facebook*NXA Studios LinkedIn*NXA Studios Argentina Facebook*PCPaint Wikipedia*Corel DRAW website*Stargate Wikipedia*Georgia Tech website*Biovision’s BVH file format*Solaris Unix Wikipedia*Waffle House Wikipedia*Ion Storm PC Gamer*Mortal Kombat website*Speedtree website*Level Ex website - and we’re hiring!*Game Dev Advice Twitter*Game Dev Advice email*Game Dev Advice website*Game Dev Advice Hotline (224) 484-7733 - give a call*And thanks to Charles Dike Production podcast editing *Don't forget to subscribe and go to www.gamedevadvice.com for full show notes with links Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chris Johnson from the Player One Podcast talks about producing games at Adult Swim for 11 years, and how he got hired. Hear what it was like working on Flash games, the transition to mobile and console, plus working with some well-known indie studios. How moderating the Adult Swim message board in 2002 lead to getting an offer. How in high school he was inspired to create a videogame fanzine, which leads to a magazine writer role at Electronic Gaming Monthly in 1994. How videogame magazines were the go-to source for gaming information in the ’90s. Hear ideas on getting in the industry nowadays. Hear about working on his two favorite games, “Robot Unicorn Attack” and “Headlander” with Double Fine Productions. How using build notes to reduce frustration and make Production run smoother. Hear thoughts about live service games and post-launch content. Learn opinions on the state of AR and VR, including the “Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality” game. Hear about the importance of building relationships with others in the industry. Hear a discussion about the forgotten TurboGrafx-16, the announcement of their retro console, and the idea of having a 30th-anniversary episode. Learn about some of the challenges back when developing games on cartridges. Hear opinions on playing the games you love and not being part of all the negativity. Hear about CJ’s passion for Rare’s “Sea of Thieves” and how it evolved. Hear ideas about not having all games online so the experience can be more personal, along with a discussion about Nintendo. Learn about his podcast, the Player One Podcast, which has been going for an amazing 13 years.Resources:*Player One Podcast website*Player One Podcast iTunes*Player One Podcast YouTube*Player One Podcast Twitter*Chris (CJ) Johnson Twitter*Adult Swim website*Electronic Gaming Monthly Wikipedia*ScreenshotSaturday Twitter*Robot Unicorn Attack Wikipedia*Headlander Wikipedia*Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality Wikipedia*Astro Bot Wikipedia*Andy Eddy Wikipedia*TurboGrafx-16 Wikipedia*Johnny Turbo Wikipedia*Sea of Thieves website*Utopia YouTube*Don Daglow Gamasutra*John Vignocchi Twitter*Level Ex Video Games for Doctors website - and we’re hiring!*Game Dev Advice Twitter*Game Dev Advice email*Game Dev Advice website*Game Dev Advice Hotline at (224) 484-7733*And thanks to Charles Dike Production podcast editing *Don't forget to subscribe and go to www.gamedevadvice.com for full show notes with links! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tom Eastman and Ben Perez discuss their seven years of running indie developer Trinket Studios, challenges they’ve overcome, lessons learned, advice for getting into the industry, favorite projects, new technologies, loot boxes, guerrilla marketing, YouTubers, funny stories, and thoughts on game production. (See gamedevadvice.com for in-depth show notes and other details.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The industry’s dirty little secret is in the spotlight again (just Google “intense crunch”) and surprise, everyone’s shocked. Why? It’s been going on since games were on floppy discs. Everyone’s preaching unions. But they’re not going to be your savior, at least any time soon. So instead of waiting for the union tooth fairy, hear my advice for researching and applying to companies that take culture and work-life balance seriously. They exist. Take action and rise above the Twitter ranting. (See gamedevadvice.com for in-depth show notes and other details.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tim Kitzrow is a video game & pinball legend, having worked on dozens of games, including the arcade BOOMSHAKALAKA!! classic, NBA Jam. Hear how he got started in voice-over work, studied with famous comedians at The Second City, and took on EA with Mutant League Football. Learn about his work in the upcoming Rage 2 along with a special Dota Jam Announcer pack. How NBA Jam is cursed, Shaq would take an arcade cabinet on the road, and Stern Pinball is back and thriving. (See gamedevadvice.com for in-depth show notes and other details.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Brady started in 2015 and has already worked on games like Red Dead Redemption 2, PUBG, and other blockbusters. The risky decision to leave his job and pursue game dev, then later leave Rockstar. How his Silent Hill fan art went viral. The difference between U.S. & European studios. Why freelancing is safer than being an employee. What it was like experiencing PUBG’s success. Sound design’s importance, plus VR dev challenges.(See gamedevadvice.com for in-depth show notes and other details.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hear how CTO Dave Grace was hired as an audio engineer. What it was like working on Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX. How he formed his own company. Worked at Square Enix on Final Fantasy XV. Advice for getting in the industry plus what careers are always in demand. Learn the importance of reputation. Worked on Sly Cooper, Spyro 3, and other games. Challenges around unionization. Tax breaks for studios in Canadian and the U.S. Opinions on current game industry trends. (See gamedevadvice.com for in-depth show notes and other details.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hear how 3D artist Humberto (Tito) Gamboa was hired. How schools often teach outdated tech. Working at a small game studio. Thoughts on online communities & industry events. Why you need to learn beyond school. The value of Twitter, Discord, ArtStation & 80 Level. Tips for applying to game studios. Ideas on learning different art tools. Discussion on unionization. Strategies on being prepared for a layoff. Thoughts on VR and great audio design. Opinions on past and current game industry trends. (See gamedevadvice.com for in-depth show notes and other details.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-Hear from developer & CEO Patrick Curry who talks about his company, FarBridge. -Learn about his early career in web dev and transitioning to game dev. -Learn about the early days of mobile phone game dev. -Hear ideas on how to improve as a designer. -Learn about working on games like Stranglehold & Guilty Party. -Hear how a previous company was acquired by Unity. -Hear a funny story about going to Shanghai. -Hear opinions on the current state of the industry, including AR, VR & streaming consoles. (See gamedevadvice.com for in-depth show notes and other details.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-Part 2 of 2 w/Mike Antonicelli who shares how to expand your skills as a freelancer -Learn how he works remotely from locations like Brazil and Chile -Hear freelancer work methodologies that can also be applied as a remote employee -Learn how to get an advantage when applying for jobs that most people don’t do -Hear what other developers look for when hiring freelance talent -Learn perspectives on the state of freelancing in today’s game industry -Ways to get in touch with Mike about his services. (See gamedevadvice.com for in-depth show notes and other details.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices