In Part 2, we focused on the reasons why games are sometimes canceled, and why they might not ever ship. Today we’re going to review one of the most commonplace realities of the game industry; crunch time, and then for a change of pace, we’ll get further into the most…

In Part 1, we went over about how likely it is that you’ll get to be the Creative Director (hint: you probably won’t) and how sometimes (or even a lot of times), you won’t get to work on your dream game. Today things are going to ratchet up a notch…

The video game industry is truly an amazing place to work. It’s creative, fun and fulfilling, taking a seed of an idea and working with a team to turn it into a fully realized game that potentially millions of other people can enjoy. But like anything else in life, there…

Author’s Note (April 2021): Hey y’all. Even though this article is years old at this point, it still gets a lot of views. Despite it’s age, much of it might still be valid and help you find the data you’re after. If you decide to read it, know that it…

I still have the Nostalrius WoW shortcut on my PC desktop. I just can’t bring myself to delete it, even though the server has been inactive for almost two weeks now. In April 2016, the dedicated team behind Nostalrius complied with a cease and desist order from Blizzard Entertainment to…

Last month I met up with a friend who had just finished his first week at a new job. We sampled some craft beers while he filled me in on the company, the product, and how he was feeling about his new role. He sounded very excited as he explained…

Without a doubt, the most common question I get about working in the game industry is: “How can I get a job in games?” Truthfully, I’ve never found it an easy question to answer because it’s not an industry that has a defined, linear path to follow, and most of…

If you’re a game designer, you’ve probably done your fair share of brainstorming. Level design ideas, content design ideas, or even full game concepts often find their beginnings in a brainstorming meeting. You get the design team in a room, give your team sugary drinks and don’t let them out…

I finally got around to watching the film Indie Game: The Movie over this past weekend. The film focuses on the ups and downs of a few indie game developers as they work towards launching their games. Different personalities, different life circumstances, very different games, but the same end goal…