Game Dev Podcast | Coffee with Butterscotch

In this episode, we discuss time perception, time estimation, and time reality. During game development, there are deliverables set on a timeline. People’s perceptions of time are notoriously inaccurate, which means that estimations of how long something will take are usually wrong. Instead of focusing on estimating time, ask yourself how long your timeline is and what can realistically be accompl...

This week, we talk about the meaning of exploration, the need for a third place, and making the work visible. You can’t solve a problem that you can’t see. If you don’t have a clear mental model of ALL THE THINGS and how they interact with each other, you can’t make decisions about the next steps. That’s where great tooling comes in! 00:20 Intro 02:13 Thanks to our supporters! ( https://moneygrab....

In this episode, we discuss technical gains, inventory management, and game loops. No game is perfect. You need to identify the things that players can’t forgive versus the things they can forget. With thousands of other choices out there, keeping players hooked into your game requires a good loop. 00:20 Intro 01:04 Thanks to our supporters! ( https://moneygrab.bscotch.net ) 04:24 CL2 Technical Ga...

This week, we talk about management no-nos, government restrictions, and developer limitations. A responsive, immersive world is a game developer’s dream, but when you build tons of AI and add large numbers of things to the game, optimization becomes a nightmare. You have to ask yourself, are we looking at the right problem? The most powerful lever to pull is a good design. 00:21 Intro 00:43 Thank...

In this episode, we discuss air travel, corporate greed, and the Twitterverse. A CEO is like the wind, either guiding a company in the right direction or smashing it on the rocks. Visionary leadership that lacks context, nuance, or an actual vision isn't really visionary. Or leadership for that matter. Even if you're officially bluecheck mark verified. 00:26 Intro 02:00 Thanks to our supporters! (...

This week, we talk about conflicts of interest, typing speed, and a living hell. Doing new things is good and cool! But it’s important to understand that the context you’re coming from and the one you’re going into are different. Assuming expertise in one field just because you’re an expert in another can be costly. That cost is mostly paid in failure. The question is, who’s paying for it? 00:00 I...

In this episode, we discuss hitting stuff with other stuff, gameplay archetypes, and decoupling. The hard part of everything is integration. With the right tools, making the thing becomes easy, but figuring out where it fits into the world and how it works with everything else is tricky. But at least that means that it’s the difficult thing that’s actually difficult now! 00:00 Intro 01:30 Buffs an...

This week, we talk about being your own Petri dish, the explore/exploit model, and lunch debt. Institutions ossify over time and end up more interested in preserving their own existence than fulfilling their original purpose. Similarly, if you don’t design for human interaction right from the beginning, it’ll be much harder to change that community culture later on. The result is a lot of wasted h...

In this episode, we discuss metaverse, deep fakes, and the displacement problem. What it means to make and consume art has always changed as technology advances. With the arrival of AI art generators, that change might be more aggressive than anyone can anticipate. Change isn’t inherently bad, except we live in capitalism. So…universal basic income? ## Summary: 00:35 Intro 02:54 Thanks to our supp...

This week, we talk about working on legacy games, the power of success, and the business of education. There's no single right path for getting into the games industry. Everyone’s needs are different! The one thing that is guaranteed to help you make games is making games. Approximate knowledge of A WHOLE LOT of things doesn’t hurt either. 00:22 Intro 01:40 Thanks to our supporters! ( https://mone...

In this episode, we discuss perceived problems, invisible hand-holding, and playtesting hijinks. The most sensitive part of the game experience is onboarding, so testing that onboarding is important! To get the most out of it, you need to understand the context your testers bring along with them. Otherwise, it’ll be impossible to analyze the results. Even if the rest of your game is spectacular, a...

This week, we talk about flying spoons, spooky season, and handy checklists. Before adding an ingredient to a recipe, you need to know what you’re making and what that ingredient does. Similarly, adding a new enemy to a game requires understanding what kind of game you’re making and how the addition will change the player experience. As we always say, context is everything! (But having some checkl...

In this episode, we discuss memoizing, robomancing, and masterminding. The emotional roller coaster of excitement, frustration, annoyance, relief, and joy is part and parcel of running a game studio. From a game’s concept to its release, you have to manage So. Many. Logistics. Mastering that art is how the battle is won… or lost.  00:34 Intro 01:16 Thanks to our supporters! ( https://moneygrab.bsc...

This week, we talk about sleep science, meaningful death, and cultivating self-compassion.  It’s common to doubt your abilities and feel like a fraud in your work life. But thinking “It’s only a matter of time before people realize I’m not that good at what I do” will only make you doubt every action you take. Being honest about what you know and don’t know is crucial for clarity, but should come...

In this episode, we discuss Thor’s Bifrost, gravity indifferent walls, and designed experiences. How do you construct a unique player experience and actually deliver that intended experience using the tools you have? Do you create a procedurally generated world or intervene and do it yourself? Well, that depends on the scale of the game and what kinds of story moments you want the player to have!...

This week, we talk about captive audiences, synchronized teams, and the no code revolution.  As tools get better and require less expertise to use, a whole new world is opening up to people who didn't have access before. The problem is when you run into the limitations of the tool you're using -- anything the tool can't do, you can't do. You want the shortest learning curve with the most design ex...

In this episode, we discuss sacrificial lambs, interface crash testing, and bumper savings. Building tools to automate repetitive tasks not only saves time in the long run but also helps with frustration management. Creating an enjoyable work environment and prioritizing the work experience are ridiculously important if you want to deliver your goods real good. 😉 00:00 Intro 00:53 Thanks to our s...

This week, we talk about optimal stickiness, quest concepts, and brain sharing. Pair programming is like piloting a Jaeger. Drifting off each other’s brain powers makes the process of extra-dimensional creature conjuring easier and quicker. Warning! So much brain power in one place may result in brain pain. Proceed with caution! 00:00 Intro 01:22 Thanks to our supporters! ( https://moneygrab.bscot...

This week, we talk about voice software, creating a shared experience, and game sequels. Context is everything: yelling at computer screens in an open office setting is rude whereas yelling in your home studio with voice software is sorcery! Do what you must to make work fun and easier, or DON'T. We aren't your supervisors! 00:00 Intro 00:51 Thanks to our supporters! ( https://moneygrab.bscotch.ne...

In this episode, we discuss breakfast, intent vs balance, and survivorship bias. Game design is about finding the balance between the emotion you want to deliver and the experience the player feels. The important thing is not to focus on what the experience should be, but to tune into what the actual experience is. 00:00 Intro 03:17 Thanks to our supporters! ( https://moneygrab.bscotch.net ) Quest...

This week, we talk about doing cat stuff, microdefects, and context specificity. Workflow is about smoothing the path between Knowing and Done, so the Doing needs to be as easy as possible. Solving one problem can create other problems, but hey, you can’t find opportunities without a little chaos. This week’s podcast is sponsored by Favro! It’s our workflow management tool of choice because we do...

In this episode, we discuss ankles, Newton’s third law, and high leverage experiential time spend. Everything we look at is through the lens of survivorship bias. After all, what we see is what’s already happened; you don’t see the things that don’t happen. But something not happening can be as impactful as the thing that happened. To get the whole picture, you have to look at what you’re leaving...

This week, we talk about what we did during our Bscotch summer break! Mostly, V Rising, Hench, and Crashlands 2. (That last one might sound like a work thing, but hey, you aren’t our supervisor.) What nails it? What whiffs it? After all, your disliking something doesn’t make that thing bad. Sometimes things aren’t to your taste, and that’s okay! The real question is, does The Thing do The Thing it...

In this episode, we discuss the secret to cooking, overcoming tedium, and frustration thresholds. During the course of your work, you’ll run into small things that are annoying. You might even run into some of them repeatedly. But those things aren’t IN the way; they ARE the way. So why not work on making the way better? When everyone around you is in the same pot of hot water, you need a new frog...

This week, we talk about meeting your adventure quota, experienced goods, and cinematic feels. When you’re making a sequel, there are a lot of expectations to manage. While you need the excitement, concern can absolutely kill, so there’s a delicate balance to strike. How do you make something that’s the same but completely different at the same time?  00:00 Intro 00:45 Thanks to our supporters! 02...