The Debug Log

They’re back! In this week’s episode, we welcome back our friends of the podcast, Will Dal Porto and Greg Anderson to talk about what makes a game a classic! We lay out some criteria on how we gauge a game (or franchise) to claim ‘classic status.’ In addition to laying out our Classic Criteria, we also review some retro — and not so retro — games of yesteryear. In the review, we highlight how these games have either maintained or failed to maintain classic status. We also take a stab at predicting whether the games of today will be able to achieve the same level of ‘classic’ as done by past titles like Super Mario Bros and Duck Hunt. So, if you love talking about the beloved games of the past, then we think you will thoroughly enjoy the show. Thanks for joining us this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any emails with questions you may have about classic games to: [email protected]

“I am a tiny potato. And I believe in you. You can do the thing.” In this week’s episode, we have the privilege of chatting with our friend and community management adept, Janine Dong, about her experiences and growth as a Community Manager. She was an absolute pleasure to interview and discuss the ever-changing, and often frenzied world of community management. During our discussion we touch on a variety of topics, such as how one could get started in a career in community management, what tools and mindset is required to flourish as a CM, and how the role has become increasingly stigmatized. If you are interested in community development, community management, how to leverage social media outlets to bolster your community, or wanting to hear some real stories from a community manager with years of experience in the industry — then this episode is for you. Thanks for joining us this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any emails with questions you may have about community management to: [email protected]

Creating original ideas for games might be a difficult process for some people and an easy ride for others. In any case, polishing that original idea takes time and discipline. That is why today we go over how we come up with new ideas for our games and how we develop them. We mention some established techniques that will be extremely helpful in this process; for example Brainstorming, MindMapping, and SCAMPER. However, you know what a crazy team we are; not all of us follow the same path or process. I had a great time listening to how the guys develop their ideas because it is a mix of the things that I do. Towards the end of the show, we had a new section that is all about motivation. We had received so many emails, tweets, and reviews talking about how inspiring the podcast is, that I just wanted to dedicate part of the show to help you keep your motivation and focus on finishing your game. Thanks for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Contact us at: [email protected]

Welcome to our 2nd annual Holiday Special where we discuss some of the biggest games and stories of the past year. We also get a chance to revisit our game dev resolutions for 2016. Before all that, we kick off the episode with a nice positive discussion about why we choose to make games. We've spent the last two episodes highlighting the darkest sides of game development. We thought it would be nice to end the year with all the reasons you should be doing this and hopefully give a little inspiration for the year to come. Happy Holidays everybody, be safe, and we'll see you in 2017. Thanks for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Contact us at: [email protected]

What is better than one episode about the dark underbelly of software development? Two episodes about the dark underbelly of software development! That’s right ladies and gents. It’s that time again! Put the kids to bed, grab a bottle of wine or your favorite brew, and sit back and enjoy part two of The Darkside of Development. In this episode, Andrew and Obinna discuss company culture and competition and how they both play out in the game industry. We share some of our experiences, air out some of our grievances, and highlight some truths about the downsides to the culture of competition within the industry. We end the show with a pinch of positivity and speak on the perspective game developers should take when addressing the dark side of game development. Thanks again for listening in this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any emails with questions you may have about culture or competition — or if you just want to join us in our rant about game development. Contact us at: [email protected]

With all the merriment of the holiday season going on around here at TDL, we thought it appropriate (and of true ‘Troll’ fashion) to go on a series of rants about the uglier side of game development. Today’s episode is Part One of what is slated to be a two-part series, where we highlight and discuss aspects of game development that really grind our gears! Things that you don’t hear in interviews, or aren’t written in job descriptions, or in a sweet sizzler reel of your favorite game. In Part I, we talk about crunch and its negative effects on development. We also explore avenues and ways crunch could be curtailed and/or mitigated. We also speak on the nature of crashes and bugs that surface during development and their effects on the developer. The guys avoid the “sunshine and rainbows” talk in this series — so the faint of heart beware. Thanks for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any emails with questions you may have about crunch or crashes -- or if you just want to join us in our rant about game development. Contact us at: [email protected]

Game Development has many roles: Gameplay Developer, Systems Developer, Level Designer, Character Artist, Sound Designer, Game Designer, and many more. In today’s episode, we are going to talk about the role of a Systems Developer. To do so, I have the pleasure of talking with Dayle Flowers, lead developer on Paladins at Hi-Rez Studios. Before becoming a lead developer, Dayle had several years of experience as a Systems Developer. He explains what the job of a Systems Developer is in a game studio and what mindset and skills are needed to do this job. He also clarifies the differences between a Gameplay Programmer and a Systems Developer. In addition, we talk about Paladins and its controversial similarities with Overwatch. Towards the end of the episode, Dayle shares some of the good practices that he uses to make his game development process more efficient and stay productive. Thanks for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any emails if you have more questions about with comments, questions, and concerns, to: [email protected]

It's that time of year folks, that's right, it's time for Unite 2016! This year, Obinna, Eduardo, and I had the chance to fly out to Los Angeles and attend the event. We've been the past couple of years and had a lot of fun, but this year we decided to try something different. We grabbed a camera, a mic, and descended on Unite with the intention of talking to as many people as possible. Mission accomplished! We have about 25 interviews that you guys will get to check out on our youtube show, The Debug Lounge, over the next couple of months. In the meantime, we decided to recap everything that went on at Unite this year and give a little preview of some of the upcoming interviews. Thanks so much for listening and we hope you enjoy the show. Please send any emails with comments, questions, or contributions regarding the episode, to: [email protected]

In this episode, we had the pleasure to talk to Ker-Chunk Games’ Co-founder and CEO Molly Proffit. She shares what motivated her to create a company that focuses on making games that empower women as players. We also discuss what the game industry can do to hire and retain more female devs. Thanks for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any emails with comments, questions, and concerns, to: [email protected]

Free • lance - Origin: Early 19th century (denoting a mercenary): originally as two words. There is honestly no substantive reason as to why I just gave you the etymology of ‘freelance,’ however Andrew thought you would enjoy it… so, there it is. Awkwardness aside, in this week’s show we talk about and try to address some of the more common issues and questions developers start to ask themselves as they look into freelancing within the game industry. If you are a developer out there and just not sure where to begin when it comes to freelancing, this episode should help shed some light on the practice. A huge thank you for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any emails with comments, questions, and concerns about freelancing, to: [email protected]

This weekend was AWESOME. I had the pleasure to go to SIEGE (Southern Interactive Entertainment & Game Expo) for the first time. For those of you who don’t know what SIEGE is, let me give you an overview. It is a game development conference like GDC and Unite, but it is hosted just in Atlanta. Like other game dev conferences, it has talks about relevant topics in the industry, a Showroom where people can play local studio’s games, and of course, it has a big party where you can meet other devs. In today’s episode Zack and I tell Andrew our experiences in SIEGE 2016. In addition, we try a new episode format because we include some interviews that I made while I was there. The conference was extremely fun and helpful. I not only had the honor to talk to Rand Miller, but also was part of the portfolio review team, where I could help other fellow devs who recently graduated from school to find their path and prepare for future job interviews. It was certainly an unforgettable conference for me, but that was not the best part, my favorite moment was when I went to Zack’s talk about version control. I have to say that I am very proud to see The Debug Log team helping the community of game devs here in Atlanta. Thanks for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any emails with comments, questions, and concerns about game dev interviews, to: [email protected]

Have you ever wanted to create hundreds of levels without the hassle of handcrafting them? Then this episode on Procedural Generation is for you. In this episode we talk about the pros and cons of using a procedural system and some best practices for creating a procedural generation system. Thanks for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any emails with comments, questions, and concerns to: [email protected]

We had the pleasure of snagging an interview with fellow TDLers, Elisabeth Heed and Stephen McCallam, from across the pond in Glasgow, Scotland. In this episode we talk about how the freemium game model, which is rapidly monopolizing the various app stores, can be seen as having very negative effects on the mobile game market, indie game developers, and the game industry at large. Stephen and Ellie also outline some of the steps they are taking to integrate premium content in their latest title, Skorian Tales, in a less intrusive and more integrated way. We had a ‘pure dead brilliant’ time speaking with them and we hope that you enjoy it as well! Thanks for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any emails with comments, questions, and concerns about the freemium game model in the game industry to: [email protected]

"The Art of Game Design, a Book of Lenses” is a must read book for every game developer. That is why, we wanted to bring Jesse Schell, author of this amazing book, to the show to celebrate our episode number 50. To be honest, we could make a one-hour episode per chapter of this book, however, we did not have that much time with Jesse. In this interview we ask him about the 4 elements in which he separates a game, Aesthetic, Technology, Gameplay, and Story. In addition, we mention some ways in that developers can use to balance fighting games. You know how much I like fighting games, I had to ask him about that topic. Another of the topics that was discussed in the show was the curve of interest in games; one topic that can be applied not only to games, but to any sphere where you want to entertain an audience. Andrew and I really had a great time talking to Jesse Schell in this interview and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Thanks for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any emails with comments, questions, and concerns about game dev interviews, to: [email protected]

Is your app too big to install over the air? Need a dynamic content delivery system? Then streaming assets are for you! Yes friends streaming assets are a very useful tool in modern game content management. This week the gang and I explore what streaming assets are, how to build a streaming asset system, as well as some peripheral systems and gotchas that come with these systems. Many thanks for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any emails with comments, questions, and concerns, to: [email protected]

Community is the secret sauce to any successful game. Knowing this, bigger companies often hire a community manager whose full-time job it is to build that community, running from social networks to message boards, engaging players and keeping everyone not only interested in the game at hand, but also in the future of the company. While successful, this method involves a lot of time and resources, two things indie devs have in short supply. Recently, Andrew and Eduardo had the chance to sit down with Spencer Liu, CEO of KTplay, a company attempting to solve this problem in a very interesting way. Thanks for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any emails with comments, questions, and concerns about game dev interviews, to: [email protected]

Finishing your first game is certainly a tough task, but with determination and hard work you can do it. In this episode we go through my journey in the development process of “The Hangman,” which it’s released in Google Play. Today, we cover all those small design decision that can make a game succeed or fail. For instance: What platform to pick? How big will the game be? What monetization strategy are you going to use based on the chosen platform? How is the game going to look like? Should you work alone in the game? What propagation strategy do you include in your game, if any? In addition, we go through the research process before I decided to make “The Hangman,” the most challenging parts of the game, and also how to overcome those obstacles. It was an AWESOME experience and I am glad to share it with you in this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any emails with comments, questions, and concerns about game dev interviews, to: [email protected]

Ever wonder how to get your enemies to find their way to you, or how to get a companion to run behind you? Then this is the episode for you. In this episode The Debug Crew discusses Pathfinding and the pros and cons of different methods commonly used. From out-of-the-box solutions to do it yourself algorithms we cover them all. As always, many thanks for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any emails with comments, questions, and concerns, to: [email protected]

Have you ever wondered what goes into the field of QA as it relates to the game development industry? Or maybe you have been itching to know what a ‘smoke test’ is and whether you should be running these tests as an indie dev? Well, in this episode, Obinna and Andrew sit down with Lead QA developers Will Dal Porto and Greg Anderson to talk about their experiences in QA. These two gents are a very lively, honest, and opinionated pair who don’t hold back about the intricacies of QA and the game industry as a whole. This episode is a good one with plenty of good information littered throughout! As always, many thanks for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any emails with comments, questions, and concerns, to: [email protected]

Congratulations! You've finished your game. Time to sit back and relax knowing that players across the world are falling in love with it. BEEP! Ooh, your first comment! "This game is TrAsH!!!" - @WookieeJumper69 Ok, well not what you expected, but nothing to worry about. BEEP! Another one...oh...they too agree the game is trash, they are just fighting over what kind. BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP Aandd several more have joined the party. They seem so angry. Now they're saying your game is a "dumpster fire", wait, now it's a "dumpster fire full of dirty diapers", one sec, now it's....ok...I'm not repeating that. You get the point. We can't control how people react to our games. No matter how amazing it is, if you release something into the world it will receive some degree of negative feedback. Sometimes this feedback is justified, sometimes it's just a dumpster fire full of angry people. On today's episode we talk about the different reasons for player outrage and debate about various real-world examples. We also discuss best practices in dealing with negativity related to your own games. Thanks for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any emails with comments, questions, and concerns, to: [email protected]

If you get easily distracted from working on your game and you struggle to get things done, no worries, we got your back. This episode will help you increase your productivity. We cover three main areas that will make you more productive: Organization, Focus, and Time Management. To improve your organization, we suggest you have your project well documented and have at least one to-do lists to help follow the steps you need to complete your project. If your problem is that you cannot stay focused, we mention a technique that can help you. It is called: Pomodoro. In addition, you could eliminate main sources of distractions like your cellphone by just muting it and putting it away. Time management is my favorite part because one of the things that we recommend is to listen to audiobooks or podcasts in your commute time. Having said that, click in the play button and enjoy this episode. Thanks for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any emails with comments, questions, and concerns about game dev interviews, to: [email protected]

Just a quick reminder this week that our new video series "The Debug Lounge" has been released. Allow us to set the scene… That sound you hear? Those sounds are the sultry voices of hosts Andrew, Obinna, Zack, Ryan, and Eduardo. That lingering smell you smell? Well, that is just a healthy splash of Sex Panther™ cologne. The ‘who and what’ you see will vary from week to week — but the sole purpose of the Lounge remains the same: ​The Debug Lounge​ aims to help provide for a more engaging and interactive atmosphere for game developers and their respective communities. It is meant as a platform from which members of the game development community can speak about their growth as developers as well as the games they have created and/or aspire to create. Regardless of where you find yourself in your career as a game developer, the interviews in The Lounge are sure to provide some value. So, sit back, grab your favorite drink, and enjoy the show.

Xbox? Xbox One? PS3? 4? Wii? Steam? Android? iOS? WebGl? Windows Phone? PC? Mac? Android TV? Apple Tv? That’s just to name a few. With so many available platforms to release your application or game on, it is becoming increasingly important to carefully consider your options before beginning development. In this episode, Ryan, Andrew, and Obinna gather ’round the perverbial campfire and discuss some key considerations you should have when picking the perfect platform for your game. Thanks so much for listening and we hope you enjoy the show. Please send any emails with comments, questions, or contributions regarding the episode, to: [email protected]

In this episode, the guys take a look at the many aspects of the Portal franchise that make them so darn funny. With the popularization of comedic games and the ever popular narrative driven games, this episode bodes to be extremely relevant. Also the guys bring back everyone’s favorite segment. That’s right, Game Of The Week is back with Overwatch! Thanks so much for listening and we hope you enjoy the show. Please send any emails with comments, questions, or contributions regarding the episode, to: [email protected]

Members of the Debug Lounge, TDLers, our handful of Google+ followers, and my fellow game developers: This episode marks The Debug Log's inaugural State of the Game Dev Union. On today's show, Obinna, Andrew, Zack, Ryan, and Eduardo discuss things concerning the current state of the game development industry as well as what we envision for its future. We also outline a few key aspects, such as: why our field is so important to our society, and how, in the game development industry, we feed off, what we call "Competition's Causal Relationship." Throughout the episode we maintain the perspective of 'you,' the game developer, while discussing all of this. More specifically, we attempt to address the age-old question of just where -you- fit into this evolving and growing industry of Game Development. Thank you for tuning in and we hope you enjoy the show. Please send any emails with comments, questions, or contributions regarding the union address, to: [email protected]

E3 is in the books! Annnnd, WWDC happened too. In this episode, the guys huddle up by the warmth of what was a pretty exciting conference and talk about some of the key takeaways and things you all should be looking forward to in the coming months. The industry is being shaken up constantly with the coming and going of conferences like E3 and GDC, and staying abreast with the happenings around the game development industry is a necessity for innovation for all developers -- both indie and AAA. Thanks so much for listening and we hope you enjoy the show. Please send any emails with comments, questions, or contributions regarding the episode, to: [email protected]

Being a good leader is a difficult task. Therefore, The Debug Log team couldn’t let go a topic like this. It is our duty and pleasure to help you become a better leader for your team and share our experiences with you, so you don’t make common management mistakes that could cost you the lost of good team members. In addition to helping you manage your team better, we mention some of the differences between managing a local and a remote team. It is a loooot different when you have to deal with team members in others parts of the world. Fortunately, we got you covered. Could you guess what else we have in this episode? Yes, tools and methodologies that will help you immensely to communicate with your team and to have all projects organized. Thank you very much for listening to the show and for being part of this amazing TDL community. We hope you like … no, you LOVE this episode. If you don’t LOVE it, it is Zack’s fault. Jajaja, just joking. Well, that’s it guys. If you have any comments or questions about this episode feel free to email us at [email protected]. Have an AWESOME day.

In this week's episode Andrew, Obinna, Eduardo, and Ryan talk about one of the most important topics when it comes to finishing your game, scope. Instead of taking the traditional approach to scoping a project which involves taking away from an already complete game design, the guys dive into what you can do before development begins. This is not just about considering your limitations, it's about using those limitations as a creative catalyst to fulfill all of your development goals. As always the guys wrap up the show with some best practices to help you get started. Thanks so much for listening and we hope you find the show as entertaining to listen to as we did to record it. Please send any emails with comments, questions, or contributions regarding the episode, to: [email protected]

That's right folks, it's time for another edition of "Rapid-Fire Roundup". This week Ryan talks new Xbone rumors, Obinna Daydreams with Google, Eduardo goes full-on moneyball with the VR marketplace, and Andrew envies a monumental success. All that and more on this episode of The Debug Log. Thanks for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any stories you want to hear us cover in the next "Rapid-Fire Roundup", to: [email protected]

In this week's episode Andrew, Obinna, and Ryan explore the evolution of the first person shooter. We examine its contributions to gaming from both a technical and gameplay perspective. Even if the FPS genre isn't your cup of tea you may be surprised at its many contributions to gaming. Time to get knee deep in the dead. Thanks so much for listening and we hope you find the show as entertaining to listen to as we did to record it. Please send any emails with comments, questions, or contributions regarding the episode, to: [email protected]

Cheater, cheater, pumpkin-eater; Had a game but couldn't beat her; He got a GameShark in the mail,; And then he beat it very well! We all know them very well. Hell, sometimes when pushed against a wall (or die one too many times while playing GoldenEye 007), we become them. Cheaters. There are countless reasons as to 'why' people cheat, as well as 'how,' and in this episode the hosts touch on a few of them. During the show, Zack, Eduardo, Ryan, Obinna, and Andrew really zero-in on a developer's approach on how to handle cheaters in games. Thanks for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to send us any questions or comments to: [email protected]

In this episode the fellas sit down and talk about best practices for maintaining motivation for your project during the game development life cycle. No matter where you may find yourself in your game dev career, whether you're brand new to game development or a seasoned vet, this episode is sure to leave you with a few nuggets of wisdom that you can apply. Cheers for tuning in this week and we hope that you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any emails with comments, questions, and concerns about maintaining motivation in game dev, to: [email protected]

Increasing player acquisition, retention, and optimizing development time are three of the top priorities for most game developers. In this episode we bring you a solution to help you solve the aforementioned problems, in addition to allow you to save player's progress in the cloud and make your game multiplayer. It sounds great, right? Well, it is. This week we are talking about Google Play Services. This extremely useful suite of services allow you to have global and social leaderboards in your game, and make it easier for players to invite their friends to play. It also offers a very straightforward way to create challenges and quests that will keep players engaged and coming back for more. In this episode we not only explain Google Play Services’ features and benefits, we take it a step further, and talk about some of the game design decisions that you will have to make when integrating these services into your game. Thanks for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to send us any questions or comments to: [email protected]

The holy grail for any iOS game developer is have their game featured on the front page of the App Store. Whether it's in a coveted "Best of.." spot or as a deeper cut in a creative sub-category, App Store attention converts to downloads. Downloads convert to dollars. It's not a coincidence that the most successful games in App Store history have all been heavily featured. This week on the show we talk about an incredible reddit post we found by Amir Rajan, the developer of the iOS port of "A Dark Room". In the post, Rajan lays out a step-by-step guide to help give your game the best chance for being featured in the iOS App Store. I know iOS might be a bad word for some of you, but fear not; Rajan's post, and this episode, are chocked full of so much great, general game development advice that you might not be able to handle it. Thanks for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to send us any questions or comments to: [email protected]

That's right folks, it's time for another edition of "Rapid-Fire Roundup". This week Eduardo gives us the skinny on Unity's in-development input system, Zack dives deep into the differences between two of his favorite games, Obinna tells all about the latest in pizza ordering AI technology, and finally Andrew wraps up the discussion with a collection of stories including one about a game jam on a train. All that and more on this episode of The Debug Log. Thanks for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any stories you want to hear us cover in the next "Rapid-Fire Roundup", to: [email protected]

Getting a job in the game development industry is a dream for many people, a challenge for others, and a fulfilled goal for some lucky ones. This episode is about helping you get the job that you are looking for and to help you become a game developer. This time the team gives tips, do’s and don’ts that will help you master a job interview in the game development industry. Of course, we speak from our experience, there is no formula that you can follow to get a job. However, there are many best practices that can help you through the interview process. Thanks to Ryan and Obinna, we were able to speak not only from the point of view of the interviewee, but also from an interviewer stand point so, check out The Debug Log Episode 29. Thanks for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any emails with comments, questions, and concerns about game dev interviews, to: [email protected]

Introducing first... from the rich, ruby red corner. Weighing in at $1.5+ million dollars. He hails from the beautiful, but volatile Silicon Valley. With over 52 published games, five top grossing, and only seven defeats! He IS the former heavyweight champion of the world, TRIPLE-A GAME DEVELOPMENT! In the broke, blue corner. Weighing in at $200 and a gift card to GameStop. Hailing from a hot, two-car garage in the middle of nowhere. With a pixel perfect game in its alpha stages, a monthly subscription to Lynda.com, and a successful Kickstarter in the works! He IS the challenger, a.k.a Señor Success, a.k.a the Voice of the People... INDIE GAME DEVELOPMENT! Let's Get Ready To Rumble! In this episode, the guys sit down and discuss the pros and cons to both AAA and Indie game development. There are a lot of great nuggets strewn throughout the discussion, so we're sure you will enjoy! Thanks for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any emails with comments, questions, and concerns about AAA and/or Indie game dev, to: [email protected] Check it Out Brace for Impact: The Crashlands Story Kickstarter Crashlands - Butterscotch Shenanigans

Bugs?!?! Ewwwww, gross! It's no secret that most people are not overly fond of bugs. If bugs happen to invade your home you can always call the Orkin Man, if they invade your game, however, you have to take care of them yourself. Debugging is something every developer has to come to terms with. From the beginning of a project to well after the game is released, debugging is something we do almost everyday. The Debug Crew does it so much, in fact, that it even inspired the name of this podcast. On today's episode we break down what a bug actually is, the tools you'll need to take them on, and best practices that'll make your debugging process as efficient as possible. Cheers to you for tuning in to this week's episode and we hope that you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any emails with comments, questions, or concerns about game design documents or the game design process, to: [email protected] Game of the Week: Piloteer - Fixpoint Productions Resources: The Developer's Guide to Debugging: 2nd Edition

Ahhh GDC. A magical time where game developers gather from across the land to share their ideas, innovations, and a few drinks. Or perhaps several drinks. In the year of VR it has been a noteworthy conference. Join us as we discuss the interesting news from Unity and the rest of the game industry. If you'd like us to discuss something in particular in the coming month, send us an email at: [email protected] and we will be sure to work it into our next episode of Rapid-Fire Roundup. Game of the Week: Her Story - Sam Barlow

You’ve sent letters! You’ve emailed! You’ve snail-mailed! You’ve smoke-signaled for it! You’ve asked, and we’ve delivered! Actually, you did none of the above… but we are adding a brand new podcast segment entitled, “Rapid-Fire Roundup” where the hosts collect a handful of the latest game dev articles as well as questions from the TDL and game development community at large and talk shop. What’s the latest in Unity’s newest patch? What are the must-attend game developer conferences this year? What VR/AR headset should I invest in? These are some of the rapid fire discussions you can expect to happen during this brand new segment. If you’d like us to discuss something in particular in the coming month, send us an email at: [email protected] and we will be sure to work it into our next episode of Roundtable Rapid Fire. Game of the Week: SUPERHOT – SUPERHOT Team

Have you ever wondered what it would take to get a game online and accessible to individuals all across the globe? Curious as to when and how to plan for scalability and dealing with server load? For those of you out there interested in the ins and outs of networked games, this episode is for you. Join co-hosts Andrew, Eduardo, and Obinna as they sit down with Sales Director and Co-founder Eirik Pederson of GameHosting to discuss the company and provide insight on what it takes to get a game online. Thanks again for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any emails with comments, questions, and concerns about servers or networked games in Unity, to: [email protected] NOTE: Ulf Magnusson of GameHosting will be in the Los Angeles area from March 28th - April 1st, 2016 to meet with any and all game developers interested in learning more about GameHosting's services.

“Will this UI work?”, “Does my inventory system make sense?”, “Will this jumping mechanic feel right?”, "Do all dog seriously go to heaven?". These are the type of questions that can arise during the game development process. Outside of a crystal ball, the only way to sufficiently answer these questions is by planning for and building prototypes. Prototypes are where the fun happens -- where imagination and experimentation can truly run wild. This week the guys go over what a game prototype is, when is the best time to make them, and why they are essential to development. They relate some personal stories and utilize some really great sources from the dev community. As always they share some hot tips that will help you through your own prototyping adventures. Cheers to you for tuning in to this week's episode and we hope that you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any emails with comments, questions, or concerns about game design documents or the game design process, to: the [email protected]

So, you're scouring the inter web forums for some engineering and art help for your next, big game idea, when forum user, "xX1337ProgrammerXx" replies to one of your posts with, "Interested to help! Do you have a working GDD?" -- to which you reply with, "Huh?" Maybe this has happened to you. Maybe not! Either way, in this episode we address the "Why," "What," and "When"s of Game Design Documents, so that the aforementioned lapse of game development know-how never happens to you. Cheers to you for tuning in to this week's episode and we hope that you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any emails with comments, questions, or concerns about game design documents or the game design process, to: the [email protected]

If you’ve had the opportunity to attend Unite in the past couple of years you’ll recognize today’s guest. With his signature hat and jovial personality, he’s hard to miss. I am of course talking about Oscar Clark, another awesome Unity Evangelist. We met Oscar at Unite 2015 in Boston and we were thrilled when he offered to come on the show. The topic of discussion we laid out for him was game monetization, but he went much deeper than that. In what turned out one be one of our longest interviews yet, Oscar shared some amazing insights, not just on monetization strategies and how to implement them in your game, but also on the underlying design principles that motivate player engagement in the first place. Lots of great actionable advice here. As always, if you have any questions for us or Oscar send them to [email protected].

It's in the books! We offhandedly, randomly, and unofficially mark the end of the first season of The Debug Log with this episode. The entire five-man Debug Log crew take a moment to look back on some of their favorite episodes, interviews, tips, and games from the first eighteen episodes. The fellas also hint at some big plans and aspirations for the new year that they believe will tickle your fancy as well as further promote community and collaboration among game developers. Anyway, as you listen to this episode (whether you're in your car, on a jog, or sitting on the john), think about some of your game development aspirations and goals for this year. What do you want to accomplish? What aspect of game dev do you really need to improve on or learn about? Have you been too scared to try writing a shader? Try one out. Enemy AI?! Learn about behavior trees and flocking! Project management? .... no comment. In any case, set your game development goals and tell us about them so we can hold you accountable in 2016! You can reach us at: [email protected]

What do you get when you add the former VP of Marketing at EA and former COO of Zynga, an individual with a deep passion for games and gamers across the world, and a game-changing (pun intended) game development platform like Unity3D? You get Unity's Chief Marketing Officer Clive Downie and an industry-shaking initiative known as "Made With Unity." Telling your story has never been as accessible as it is now with the advent of Unity's Made With Unity campaign - an initiative that offers game developers the power and platform to connect with their player base in a way that hasn't been possible... until now. Join Eduardo, Zack, Andrew, and Clive Downie as they discuss the inner workings of #MadeWithUnity and how it can be leveraged to amplify your voice in the game development community. We are stoked that Clive Downie was able to sit and chat with us and hope that you all are able to benefit as much from this talk as we were. Feel free to send us any emails with comments, questions, or concerns about Unity's MadeWithUnity initiative, to: [email protected]

For ages, developers have had the difficult task of balancing the amount of explicit gameplay tutorials with the level of player discovery that is provided in their games. Many gamers have experienced the 'overbearing developer' who forces players to endure an hour-long training sequence, while other gamers have been left bewildered in a massive and evolving game world with seemingly no direction or answers. In this week's show, Obinna, Andrew, Zack, and Ryan discuss pros and cons to tutorials and ways in which some games deliver key game mechanics to players. The fellas have a fun round table discussion about the history and evolution of tutorials (or lack thereof) that hopefully encourages listeners to consider the many sides of game design and content delivery. We are super excited that you're tuning in this week and we hope that you enjoy the show! Feel free to send any emails with comments, questions, and concerns about tutorials, to: [email protected] Game of the Week Gone Home - Fulbright

Part 2 of our interview with Nicole Lazzaro, the founder and President of XEODesign. At Unite 2015 in Boston, some of us got a chance to see Nicole's talk about Design Leadership in VR then we got to meet her and demo her upcoming VR game "Follow the White Rabbit". We are so glad she agreed to sit down with us and talk about the "4 Keys 2 Fun" and how to better think about some of these game design concepts when developing our own games. We also touch on designing for VR and various other topics. Be sure to look for the second part of this interview next week.

Nicole Lazzaro, the founder and President of XEODesign, Inc. and has twenty years expertise in Player Experience Design (PXD) for mass-market entertainment products. At Unite 2015 in Boston, some of us got a chance to see Nicole's talk about Design Leadership in VR then we got to meet her and demo her upcoming VR game "Follow the White Rabbit". We are so glad she agreed to sit down with us and talk about the "4 Keys 2 Fun" and how to better think about some of these game design concepts when developing our own games. We also touch on designing for VR and various other topics. Be sure to look for the second part of this interview next week.

A TCP packet walks into a bar and says, "I want a beer." The bartender responds, "You want a beer?" The TCP packet says, "Yes, I want a beer." Wow, just writing that 3-Way handshake joke hurt. In any case, you guessed it, today's show is all about Networking in Unity3D. The gentlemen talk about several networking suites that developers have created for or modified to work with the Unity game engine. As usual, in addition to reviewing a handful of networking tools, the guys highlight some of their experiences and tips while developing networked games. Thanks again for tuning in this week and we hope you enjoyed the show! Feel free to send any emails with comments, questions, and concerns about networking in Unity, to: [email protected]. Game of the Week Kingdom Rush - Ironhide Game Studio