GameDev Breakdown

Original Air Date: Jul. 31, 2020 - In this episode of GameDev Breakdown, Clinton Keith calls in ahead of his GDC 2020 presentation on project management to discuss the crises facing game development, the strategies in his latest book, Agile Game Development: Build, Play, Repeat (2nd Edition), and how to recapture the fun in making games. Clinton has collaborated with many of the industry's most le...

Original Air Date: Jul. 25, 2020 - Last week's discussion of https://codewriteplay.com/2020/07/17/streaming-and-community-management-talk-with-matt-hill/ with our friend Matt Hill spun off some great discussion around other promotional topics. Although it's https://codewriteplay.com/2018/01/08/gamedev-breakdown-podcast-promoting-game/ we've explored the optimal role of a website in your ongoing cr...

Original Air Date: Jul. 17, 2020 - When we last checked in with Matt Hill, he was growing a thriving community around his Mixer channel and optimistic about the future. Then Microsoft killed Mixer. In this episode, we discuss the state of streaming, including a look back at the good things Mixer tried to do, what went wrong, and the first https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-07-13-phil-spen...

Original Air Date: Jul. 12, 2020 - Here are highlights from this week's news roundup: • Our new Discord server is really taking off! https://discord.gg/auVvvK3, won't you? • You can now download the free https://channelstore.roku.com/details/594217/gamedev-breakdown on Roku! • You can text the show or call to leave a voicemail at (812) 682-0336. We may use it on the show! Please note: This is not...

Original Air Date: Jul. 3, 2020 - For those new to Mat Bradley-Tschirgi's work, here are a few things you should know: he may be the leading authority on the work of notorious video game filmmaker Uwe Boll, he's an accomplished game development educator, and he's a prolific interviewer. During this episode, we follow up to hear about how readers responded to The Films of Uwe Boll Vol. 1: The Video...

Original Air Date: Jun. 13, 2020 - Todd appears on The Dialog Tree with Roger Reichardt to discuss industry event cancellations and other challenges facing developers amid the Coronavirus pandemic. Roger's Links • https://www.gamerheadspodcast.com/gamerheadspodcastnetwork • https://twitter.com/Gamerheadspc • https://www.gamerheadspodcast.com/If you enjoy GameDev Breakdown • Sign up for our https:/...

Original Air Date: Apr. 17, 2020 - Salvatore Pane calls in to talk about his work for the upcoming release of RetroMania Wrestling. We discuss his work as a Boss Fight Books author (Mega Man 3), his focus as a university professor, and the trouble with bite-sized physical video games. Sal's Links • https://twitter.com/salpane • https://twitter.com/RetrosoftStudio • https://salvatore-pane.com/ • ht...

Original Air Date: Mar. 6, 2020 - Since I started podcasting somewhere around 2013, I've spoken with a lot of people who passed on appearances simply because they didn't think they could do a good appearance. I haven't been doing this so long that I've forgotten having that feeling as well, so the last time I heard this concern I decided to do this primer on all aspects of PR interviews and appear...

Original Air Date: Mar. 3, 2020 - A pro FIFA player loses a qualifier over a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. EA's response is...surprising...we discuss the takeaways for anyone developing a potential eSports game. If you enjoy GameDev Breakdown • Sign up for our https://codewriteplay.com/newsletter/! • https://codewriteplay.com/the-gamedev-breakdown-podcast/ to the podcast on the platform of your c...

Original Air Date: Feb. 29, 2020 - GDC 2020 is postponed as COVID-19 becomes a real concern in the US. Several organizations have stepped up to support indies impacted by the change. Here's the scoop on what's happening and how you can get involved. Show Links • Official news at https://gdconf.com/ • The https://www.wingsfund.me/gdcrelief • GameDev. World's upcoming https://gamedev.world/relief/If...

Original Air Date: Feb. 18, 2020 - Some devs have all the fun. Aaron Clifford is the head AR/VR developer for KOVR, a new VR division of video production company, KO Group. He's a FLASH game dev from back in the day--all of us cool kids were--and managed to leverage his experience into cool projects like the Dragon Age: Inquisition web-based party builder that launched along with the proper game....

Original Air Date: Jan. 30, 2020 - Learn the tools of the storytelling trade from one of western culture's greatest story analysts. We'll examine the findings of the late screenwriting expert, Syd Field, and look at how collected writing wisdom from outside games translates to our area of expertise. Relevant Links • https://www.amazon.com/Screenplay-Foundations-Screenwriting-Syd-Field/dp/038533903...

Original Air Date: Jan. 17, 2020 - Reyan Ali returns after the launch of NBA Jam from Boss Fight Books to weigh in on Cowboy vs. McGregor, Smash Bros. headlines, the Aaron Hernandez documentary, how to cover up an R. Kelly tattoo, and making loved ones eat just a small, supermarket-sized sampling of crow. Reyan's Links • https://bossfightbooks.com/products/nba-jam-by-reyan-ali from Boss Fight Book...

Original Air Date: Jan. 10, 2020 - I met David via Twitter while freelancing for Zam.com (now Fanbyte). Beyond writing the definitive unofficial book on Roblox, David has picked up bylines at Forbes Games, IGN, Vice, Polygon, and other outlets. He now juggles tasks as a senior editor at UploadVR and trust me when I say his work in the virtual reality space has been a boon to developers and enthusi...

Original Air Date: Dec. 18, 2019 - Todd heads to the post office to record the pre-Christmas mailbag episode. Chaos ensues. Despite this episode's misadventures, Eggnog Games' Leaving the Tree box set arrived and it's incredible, check it out!https://twitter.com/mechatodzilla/status/1207413888628727809?s=20If you enjoy GameDev Breakdown • Sign up for our https://codewriteplay.com/newsletter/! • ht...

Original Air Date: Dec. 9, 2019 - We all hear about the importance of non-disclosure agreements, particularly in the game industry. Should we take them seriously? Is anyone ever truly held accountable for breaking one? We explore the topic on this episode of GameDev Breakdown. If you enjoy GameDev Breakdown • Sign up for our https://codewriteplay.com/newsletter/! • https://codewriteplay.com/the-ga...

Original Air Date: Dec. 5, 2019 - A developer asks the community: How do you maintain the motivation to finish projects? It's a simple question, but what lies beneath the surface? In this episode we discuss both the simple answer to this question, and what is usually the deeper, more scientific answer. If you've ever heard of concepts like "self-sabotage" or "self-handicappi...

Original Air Date: Dec. 2, 2019 - Welcome back! This time on GameDev Breakdown we're discussing the finer points of tutorials in games, and yes, whether or not they even have a rightful place in them. That idea may surprise you, unless you spend any time talking about development on Twitter where it's become oddly commonplace. This idea comes from a well-intentioned place. As games and players hav...

Original Air Date: Nov. 27, 2019 - A viral tweet suggests coding isn't hard, developers are just gatekeeping. Yikes. If you enjoy GameDev Breakdown • Sign up for our https://codewriteplay.com/newsletter/! • https://codewriteplay.com/the-gamedev-breakdown-podcast/ to the podcast on the platform of your choice • Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/gamedevpod, http://twitter.com/codewriteplay, h...

Original Air Date: Nov. 21, 2019 - This time on GameDev Breakdown, as promised, Todd runs through his prototyping process, start to finish. This episode makes heavy mention of https://codewriteplay.com/2019/06/28/gamedev-gains-bitbucket-trello/. Todd's https://toddmitchell.itch.io/game-design-document is available at Itch. If you enjoy GameDev Breakdown • Sign up for our https://codewriteplay.com/...

Original Air Date: Nov. 18, 2019 - Are "small content creator" support communities really something we should want? In this episode of GameDev Breakdown I take a look at the latest in a trend of proposals (or actual initiatives) to connect small devs, artists, authors, content creators, etc. to support and promote one another. It sounds nice, but 1.) Is it good for us as creators, and 2.) Is it ev...

Original Air Date: Nov. 11, 2019 - Twitter reacts to a doomsday proclamation about indie development, but there are a few problems with the message.

Original Air Date: Oct. 10, 2019 - Fresh off of his contributions to Borderlands 3, Gearbox senior VFX artist Ash Lyons calls in to talk about the post-release mood, parenting in the triple-A development space, and his long road to Borderlands. I first connected with Ash over Twitter around the time I put out my https://codewriteplay.com/2019/04/21/gamedev-breakdown-podcast-joshua-davidson-of-gear...

Original Air Date: Oct. 7, 2019 - Game development and its specialties have a ton of potential for remote work, which is awesome, but has a unique set of challenges only you can solve for yourself. Do you have to agree to sit on calls with clients? How do you navigate project changes? How can you avoid conflicts? In this episode of GameDev Breakdown we'll drill down deep based on real world trial...

Original Air Date: Oct. 3, 2019 - Todd provides an update on the studio, the state of the podcast, and thoughts on managing gaming's impact on our attitude. This is a shorter episode while I finish reconstruction on the studio and set up the next set of interviews. More great stuff is on the way!