🕹 One of the best parts about landing an interview in the game industry is that I get to play a bunch of the studio’s games as prep.

How to structure your day as an unemployed game developer

Unemployed as a game developer? Here’s how I’m staying on track and keeping my spirits up.

I’ve crafted a simple daily routine that’s been essential for my mental well-being and productivity during this period.

  • Morning: Create 🎨
  • Midday: Connect 📨
  • Afternoon: Contribute 🙌🏽

Create: This is all about building skills and creative growth. While the timing of my next opportunity is uncertain, I’m making the most of this time by exploring new technologies, building games, and honing my craft.

Connect: This phase is all about maximizing opportunities. Whether it’s reaching out to my network, applying for roles, or sharing my latest work, I’m just trying to keep the momentum going.

Contribute: Giving back to the community is key. Whether it’s helping others in their job search, collaborating on indie projects, or participating in game jams, assisting others is how we’re all going to get through this.

And here’s one last bonus…

  • Evenings: Community

Evenings are dedicated to recharging with loved ones. It’s my time to unplug, rest, and cherish moments with friends and family.

I’d love to hear what strategies have been working for you as you navigate your job search. Drop a comment below and let’s support each other!

Cheers and happy Friday everyone!

🕹 Last week I released Hell Dev.

  • Made in around 10 hours over the course of a month in my spare time.
  • It turned out “ok”
  • All-in-all it was a fun project that got me through my first week of unemployment

#gamedev community, I’d love to hear from you!

What’s the most fun you’ve ever had working on a game?

  • What were you working on?
  • What made it made such a fun experience?
  • When was the last time you felt like that?

🕹️ Game dev should be fun and creatively fulfilling!

If you feel burnt out or disillusioned, think about treating yourself to a small game project that’s just for you.

  • 🗓️ Make it in a month.
  • ⏱️ Work on it for 1-2 hours a week.
  • 🔥 Don’t crunch. Cut scope instead.
  • 😊 Make whatever brings you joy.

🎮 A massive problem in the game industry is morale.

Developers aren’t having a good time making games because we’re focused on trying to survive. This is not sustainable.

The industry needs happy and fulfilled developers to make great games for players to enjoy.

If you’re just starting out in game design, I recommend doubling down on making games that are easy to understand.

It’s a skill that will never go out of style.

It took me way too long to learn that clarity is fundamental to design and all good things arise from a clear and accessible experience.

My toddler’s activity of choice this morning was to randomly throw my shoes around the house… and after seeing how much fun he was having, I joined in.

The kid makes a good point. Throwing shoes is fun as hell.

As I become another game developer affected by layoffs, I’ve realized that I’m terrified of what’s next and what I want from a career in games.

The scariest thing is admitting to yourself what you actually want. Especially when it runs counter to everything you’ve told yourself and believed.

Panic time!

I’m coming up on the remaining days of the jam and I still have nothing as far as gameplay. I’ve tried out a few things, but nothing seems to be sticking.

I need to pivot to something and fast. It seems like the best possible strategy I can do is SIMPLIFY, SIMPLIFY, SIMPLIFY.

Game design is great because you can make the tiniest victories feel major with enough positive reinforcement.

Games can help people feel joy from their smallest actions and I just love that.

A great way to procrastinate working on your game is to work on the title screen instead. Here’s my first stab at the cover art for Hell Dev.

🕹️ Today, was more art exploration for the game jam.

I also set up the two main resources.

The player will be managing Health and Glitches.

  • Health is simple. If it reaches zero: game over.
  • Glitches are meant to be collected. Collect enough glitches to escape the video game you’re trapped inside.

🕹️ Just joined the Decker Fantasy Camp 2024!

I just dropped everything to join the Decker Fantasy Camp 2024 and I have 22 days to finish a game.

I’m a little late to the party, but I wanted to contribute something to the Decker community… because they’re awesome!

Here’s my game idea:

  • Survive being trapped in your own video game while finding a way out.
  • The game will be a Choose Your Own Adventure style game with some random elements and resource management.

Start With Art

One of my weakest areas of game development is art, so that’s where I wanted to focus my attention for this jam.

I want to focus on developing my own style over the course of the jam. That means making a lot of art and also throwing away a lot of art.

You can see some of the exploration I’ve done already.

To keep myself accountable, I also want to produce frequent dev logs as the jam progresses.

I hope that showing my process will encourage others to also make their own games.

If you want to receive updates on how I’m developing the game, you can follow along by subscribing to my newsletter.

Happy 4th everyone!

May your grills stay hot and your beers ice cold!

And I wish you sweet victory in lawn games against your friends and family! 🇺🇸🍻🎆

🕹️ New prototype in development!

While looking for my next job opportunity, I want to work on a new game project for my itch page.

Goal: Make a chill first-person platformer

So far, I’ve implemented:

  • Trenchbroom geometry pipeline into Godot
  • Quake style FPS movement
  • Sprinting
  • Misc. shader fun

🙌🏽 I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the game development community.

With Paradox Tectonic’s closure, I’ve begun exploring new opportunities. But, I haven’t been alone in this journey.

In the past week, the outpouring of support from fellow game developers has been overwhelming. I’ve received job leads, encouragement, and invaluable connections.

This support has made all the difference.

The industry’s current state has only strengthened the bonds among us game developers.

I’m committed to paying it forward. If there’s any way I can contribute or support you in your game dev journey, please let me know.

Thank you!

Today I found out the studio I work at is shutting down and that layoffs are on the way.

There’s a lot of studio closures and layoffs in the game industry. It can feel like we’re yet another headline in a sea of headlines.

So, while the attention is on the Tectonic studio, I wanted to say my piece.

Here goes:

🙏 TO THE TEAM

Thank you to all the teammates I worked with in the trenches at Tectonic. Thank you for teaching me patience and resilience.

Thank you for sending flowers when a loved one passed and celebrating with me for the birth of my child. It meant the world to me.

Thank you for teaching me hard things. Thank you for fixing my messy scripts. Thank you for giving me feedback and critiques.

Thank you for showing me better ways to do things.

Thank you for supporting my ideas and allowing me to collaborate on yours.

Thank you for continuing to work on the game, even on this day.

🙌 TO THE PLAYERS

Thank you for supporting Life By You.

Thank you for your direct and honest feedback. It changed the game for the better, when our voices alone couldn’t.

Thank you for all of your input. It helped us advocate for the changes we believed in.

Thank you for welcoming us into the Life Simulation community with open arms. What a beautiful and diverse group of fans.

Thank you for giving us the chance to build this game for you. I hope that one day you will get to experience it for yourself.

If you need great talent to join your game studio, look no further than the fine folk at Paradox Tectonic.

Thank you!

Just discovered my favorite UI principle.

Act on press.

Why it matters: When interactions “do the thing” when the input is pressed, instead of on-release, the interaction feels more responsive.

Deeper Dive: See John Carmack’s thread.