The Debug Log

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...

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 difference...

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...

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 w...

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...

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 fe...

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 ho...

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 Servi...

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 t...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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: thedebu...

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 t...

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 P...

“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 -- w...

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," &quot...

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 mone...

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 fa...

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 ac...

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...

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...

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...

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...