Tutorials, tips, and text in Unity
A tutorial on coding text and tips that aren't obtrusive: "any text or tips appear or disappear from non-intrusive areas of the screen at various times, and will never pause or slow down the game."
Honey, we need to discuss your persona problem
"In short, personas create a more accurate picture of a subset of the audience. Demographics are the broad strokes, while personas are the finer details."
When quality comes before making money: Developing Monument Valley
Monument Valleycreator UsTwo is primarily a UI and design firm, working for clients. They don't usually make games. But
Monument Valley, the company's third game, sold over 1 million copies.
Google Play Games SDK adds local multiplayer
Google's game development tools get an upgrade for local matchmaking -- across all platforms supported by its tech.
Get a job: Crystal Dynamics is hiring a Senior VFX Artist
The developer of the
Tomb Raider reboot is looking to hire an experienced visual effects artist to work on AAA projects in a leadership role within its Redwood City, CA studio.
Looting game design gold from Sid Meier's Pirates!
"I glibly wrote that
Pirates! could be the most important game ever made... and at first, I felt this was a ridiculous thought. Later on, I realized that may be right after all!"
New Hampshire indies team up to build a local game dev incubator
A group of New England indie developers are working to open
Game Assembly, a co-working space and incubator program for game developers in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Don't Miss: John Carmack on engineering Rage
In this extensive interview conducted while he was at id, legendary programmer John Carmack reflects on the id Tech 5 engine and his mistakes regarding the evolution of console and PC games.
Video: Indies, resist the urge to 'juice it or lose it'
Independent game maker Folmer Kelly explains why developers might want to avoid the temptation to "juice up" their games, especially when it comes at the expense of player immersion.
What we can learn from teens making games
"It is clear to us at foundry10 that game creation holds incredible value to students, if done right. But what is 'right' when each learner is different?"
Four lessons for building a better community
A look back at a game festival from its organizer, Jaime Woo: "I want to use this space to share four key lessons I learned throughout the process of crafting and shaping Gamercamp."
Obituary: Planetside 2 artist John Roy
Gamasutra has learned that John Roy, a veteran artist at Sony Online Entertainment who worked on projects like
Star Wars Galaxies and
Planetside 2, has passed away this week.
Reminder: IGF 2015 Main Competition deadline ends on Wednesday!
Don't miss the IGF deadline! Submissions for the 2015 Independent Games Festival Main Competition entries are due October 22, and Student Showcase Entries are due October 31.
Randomness and game design
On
not introducing randomness into your game's design: "I believe the current assumptions with regard to randomness in strategy games are largely wrong."
The level design of a Zelda dungeon
"The following is the result of a study that I made a while back after playing multiple
Zelda games in order to better understand the patterns and design decisions of a
Zelda dungeon."
Indie game analytics 101: Intro to terms
"Game analytics are vital on both a business and creative perspective. I’ll cover the top 5 most important terms and offer insights to allow future conversations or research."
The charming heart of darkness: Former Spec Ops team's Curious Expedition
Former
Spec Ops: The Line developers are building a charming roguelike hybrid about the great explorers of the 19th century -- and building an indie game is a new adventure for this former AAA team, too.
Smash Bros. sells 705k in two days, boosts U.S. 3DS sales
The latest in the popular fighting franchise is off to a strong start in the U.S., as it sells through hundreds of thousands of copies out of the gate.
Making sense of complexity
"An overly-ambitious project can end a small studio or an emerging indie career. Having a measure of the complexity of what wish to create can help us plan accordingly and recruit the help and support we need."
Get a job: Telltale Games seeks a Senior Character Modeler
The house that built
The Walking Dead is hiring a senior character modeler to with significant experience to work alongside the team in Telltale's San Rafael studio.
Don't Miss: Why ethical free-to-play game design matters
"Consider: Would you rather work for a company that has loyal fans eager to play your game, or a company that assumes games are disposable trash, and players, marks to be fleeced?"
Apple's latest iPads are minor improvements on last year's models
Apple trotted out a lineup of new devices today, including a slightly-upgraded version of the iPad that is better equipped to run CPU-intensive games.
Blog: In production, trust is stronger than control
"Making software is hard. Making games is damn near impossible. The things where we usually make mistakes are not the ones that following a processes will solve."
Demand for educational tablet games drives $12M in VC for Osmo maker
Tablet game/toy firm Tangible Play has drummed up major funding on the back of orders for its Osmo kit, suggesting there's demand for devs to make kid-friendly tablet games for use in teaching.
Google enters the microconsole market with $99 Nexus Player
Back in June, Google debuted Android TV in an effort to push its OS into the living room. Today it revealed the box it'll come in: the Nexus Player, a $99 microconsole with its own separate gamepad.