Episode 116: Game Industry Downturn?

The boys are back! In this week's episode, the gang reunites and catches up on what everybody has been up to over the past couple of years. We also address the ongoing layoff crisis in the game industry. What does it mean for the future of AAA and indie game development. We hope you enjoy the show!

We all have to start somewhere. If you are interested in game development and hope to get started soon, you've come to the right place. On today's episode, the guys begin with a discussion of their origin stories and how they each got into game development. From there, they discuss how different the landscape is today and what things they would do if they were just getting started in 2021.Thanks for joining us this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to contact us with comments about the latest news at: [email protected]

This week we have a classic game industry news round-up. Ryan and Obinna explain Roblox to Andrew while the whole gang tries to understand the weird new world of NFTs. We've been off the news beat for awhile so we touch on a variety of other topics before finally wrapping up with a deep dive into the Cyberpunk drama that has played out over the past few months.Thanks for joining us this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to contact us with comments about the latest news at: [email protected]

So after a long, hard talk with a couple of GenZ-ers, we decided to move from only-audio podcasts to both audio and video podcast recordings! This episode marks the first video edit of The Debug Log. Our goal is to post both the audio and visual versions of each episode on our various streaming services (i.e. Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and now YouTube).We look forward to diving deep into this new medium and hope you all bear with us as we evolve and refine our video podcast format.In this week's episode, we are talking about the challenges and best practices we've picked up while working remotely in game development. Ryan, Andrew, and Obinna explore some of their key learnings in remote game development in their first video show. We hope you enjoy it!Thanks for joining us this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to contact us with comments about working remotely while developing games: [email protected]

From patches and updates to seasonal content and daily challenges, the ubiquity of live games has grown exponentially in the internet age. What started as an easy way to fix a released game, has grown into 50GB day-one patches and years of expanded content. While the promise of an ever-changing game can be enticing, not all live games are created equal. On today's show, we discuss the evolution of technology, commerce and art that have allowed live games to rise in dominance over the past decade. We also wax nostalgic over a simpler time when the game you bought was all the game you were ever gonna get.Thanks for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to contact us with comments: [email protected]

Clash of the Titans! Not only is it an objectively great 80's movie, it is also what you could call the current climate between Apple and Epic. Platforms are a tricky business. You need developers making software for your platform to make money, but you also need the developers to be happy with the platform and make money. So, what happens when one side messes with the other side's money? You get litigation! A lot of legal punches have been thrown between these technology giants and this week on The Debug Log we are going to attempt to give you a blow by blow and our analysis of the situation.Articles mentioned in the show: https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/13/21366438/apple-fortnite-ios-app-store-violations-epic-payments https://www.macrumors.com/2020/08/24/apple-epic-court-battle-august-28-removal/ https://www.macrumors.com/2020/08/28/apple-terminates-epic-games-developer-account/amp/ https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/6/21357771/apple-cloud-gaming-microsoft-xcloud-google-stadia-ios-app-store-guidelines-violations https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/5/21356274/microsoft-xcloud-ios-apple-iphone-ipad-testing-ends-apple-app-store-policies Thanks for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to contact us with comments: [email protected]  

Pandemics go beyond just disease and viruses. They have the capacity to sneak into the core of our being, society, and yes -- our game industry. The pandemic of racial inequality is at the forefront of the discussion today, which comes at the heels of the latest surge of the Black Lives Matter movement. We would be doing our Debug Log community a disservice if we did not talk about the current political and cultural stage as it relates (and has influenced) the game industry.In this episode we check-in we each other and discuss the various ways this pandemic of racial inequality and protests have affected the game industry at large.  Stay safe out there.PS5 Delays$1M Humble Bundle Fund$8.1M Itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice & EqualityGithub Language ChangesPS5 ExpoEA Play ExpoFirst FDA-Approved GameThanks for sitting in with us this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to contact us with comments: [email protected]

It's not very often that one is aware they are living through history as it happens. 2020 will always remembered as the year we all went into quarantine. Covid-19 has swept across and countries and cultures, changing our lives in ways we could not have imagined just a few months ago.In this episode we check-in we each other and discuss the various ways this pandemic has affected the game industry at large. This episode was recorded relatively early in this process and it will be interesting to see how the things we discussed evolve over the next few months. Stay safe out there.Thanks for sitting in with us this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to contact us with comments: [email protected]

Like the complexities of for loops, switch statements, and allocating memory? Or, do you fancy getting the pixels to look just right on screen? Can't choose?! Well, lucky you, this episode and interview with Technical Artists Andrea Bobick and Razvan Luta is tailor made for you!In this episode we break down what technical art is, what Technical Artist do in their day-to-day, and how the role has evolved in the industry over the years.Thanks for sitting in with us this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to contact us with comments about technical art: [email protected]

In this week's episode, we talk to Mira Marquez and Kenneth Woodruff about designing for VR and AR applications! Our guests join Ryan and Obinna to talk design for this new medium. The group jumps into discussions that dive into the challenges associated with designing for VR/AR as well as offer some insights into the future of design as it relates to mix reality applications. Thanks for joining us this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to contact us with comments about designing for VR/AR applications: [email protected]