PinnedMember-onlyBetter Reviews in Game DevI’ve been to a lot of review meetings. It’s a huge part of my job to play [game] and give notes, feedback, and help with tasking. …Game Development5 min readGame Development5 min read
PinnedMember-onlySupporting leaders that report to youI’ve been a director in video games for a few years now. I have had my share of “learning opportunities” along the way (this is code for: I have made mistakes). …Leadership5 min readLeadership5 min read
Mar 20, 2022Storytelling for Level DesignersDepending on where you work, the job of level designer can be a very big role. LDs collaborate with artists, writers, techs, and the rest of their team to build player experiences, and this can make it hard to remember that story delivery is a part of Level Design. I…5 min read5 min read
Feb 12, 2022Pandemic Gamedev TipsSo, probably like everybody else who kept working during the last couple years, I have learned some stuff. So, in no particular order: here’s a bunch of tips for game dev in zoom times. Let People Work However They Want. Especially Yourself. Obviously let people work from home when they want. But also: let people turn off their…3 min read3 min read
Jun 13, 2021Collaborating with People Is The JobI’ve had #gamedev jobs since 2007, which seems like a long time now. I am not an indie developer, I work mostly in AAA game studios, and thus much of my professional experience focuses on building games with large groups of people. I got my first director role in 2011…Game Development5 min readGame Development5 min read
Apr 21, 2019Safe-feeling teams can be brave about riskVideo games as an industry frowns upon “playing it safe”. We are expected to compete on a high level, and the word safe is associated with not being competitive, or not trying new ideas. …Leadership4 min readLeadership4 min read
Dec 2, 2018Shaping Your Personal Brand in #GameDevAt some point in my career as a game developer, I realized that I have a ‘work brand’ or identity, and that people I work with have an image of who I am and what I represent as a coworker, leader, or competitor. Your brand (ideally) is you on your…Game Development8 min readGame Development8 min read
Nov 26, 2017Delegation Done WrongI have been misunderstanding “delegation” for most of my career. Most leaders in my industry have some sense of the value of delegation. Large game projects call for mountains of work; it takes a big team to address the hundreds of tasks that need to be completed. You can’t do…Leadership4 min readLeadership4 min read
May 27, 2017Communication is a game design skillThe video game industry is starting to mature. We have a better understanding of how to do the work we do. Game studios tend to realize that pizza and free soda are not all that is required to build culture. …Game Development2 min readGame Development2 min read
Sep 4, 2016The Last Mile is Hard. #GamedevBig video games take forever to make. In the time it takes to start and finish a AAA project, you can get a university degree, or make a baby and watch it grow and start walking. In that same amount of time, people can gain or lose 200 lbs, or…Game Development4 min readGame Development4 min read
