devsgames

[devsgames]

I'm causing problems on purpose

#dragon's dogma 2 #dragon's dogma #i love this video game #video games #video game #devplays

[devsgames]

There was 20 things on here this morning.

Me: I feel like I'm at a standstill in production. I haven't done almost anything in a week. I'm so useless, why am I even working on this game. It's never going to be finished. There's so many little things I have to work on.

Me the next time I'm checking my remaining tasks: oh wait oh shit all of these are actually finished I have nothing left on my plate right now

#centauri dark #thoughts

[devsgames]

Me: I feel like I'm at a standstill in production. I haven't done almost anything in a week. I'm so useless, why am I even working on this game. It's never going to be finished. There's so many little things I have to work on.

Me the next time I'm checking my remaining tasks: oh wait oh shit all of these are actually finished I have nothing left on my plate right now

#burnout on this project has been so bad I can't even tell how well production is going lmao #but its good when I have passively finished like 100 things I planned to do #task a day keeps the doctor away #gamedev #game dev #game development #indie games #indie game #gamedevelopment #indiegames #indiedev #indie dev #centauri dark

[devsgames]

#power move tbh

[devsgames]

This is huge for a ton of people! Estimates are that ~18% of US workers are barred from finding work via non-compete clauses, including game devs.

Non compete clauses are out for the vast majority of game devs (everyone except people in policy-making positions who make over $151,164 per year)! This is fantastic news! It means that a lot more devs can start their own companies or go to work for indy companies ^_^ this should spawn more indy games by like, a lot.

Now they they need is a union.

^_^

#this is VERY GOOD news for a LOT of people!!

[devsgames]

announcing HOTBRAIN, a new independent game studio founded by @maxschwartz, @winterkwinters, utilitylimb and nattie winters.

you may be familiar with our members' previous works - WE KNOW THE DEVIL, HEAVEN WILL BE MINE, and GOBLET GROTTO.

join our mailing list at hotbrain.land for updates on our first project

#very excited for whatever will come of this

[devsgames]

Hey folks!

Money has been tighter than I'd like lately so I'm opening up commissions again. Please reach out to [email protected] for inquiries if you're interested. Shares are greatly appreciated - thanks y'all! :)

A bunch of my other illustration work under the break:

[devsgames]

Artist Showcase: Stellarbunn

Here's just a few awesome pieces made in Bombing!! 2: A Graffiti Paradise by community member Stellarbunn!

Buy the game here!

[devsgames]

Swapped out some assets and added some doors. They actually pose a really interesting challenge because they obscure camera points, which thereby challenge you to unlock a path to them.

#gamedev #game dev #game development #gamedevelopment #indiedev #indie dev #prototype #game design

[devsgames]

that's uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh normal right

#gamedev #game dev #game development #indie dev #indiedev #prototype

[devsgames]

Addendum: If you do make a portfolio, try and put some elbow grease into it. Don't just upload your games to a Google Drive. Don't post a single resume on a website. Don't link to your Itch page that has no context and expect the viewer to 'just get it'. Don't make a single Word Document to send to people. These are all examples of things I have seen, and they are not replacements for a portfolio.

Make it somewhere that is consistent in its presentation, gives enough space for you to speak to your work, and flexibility that allows you to change it up as you go. Make it a website or something equivalent. Reference the websites other people of your disciplines have made (they're out there, go look for them!).

You'll need it if you're applying for a job. You'll need it if you're advertising yourself. You'll need it for networking. You'll need it for a lot of things, so don't phone it in because it's worth putting in the work.

PSA: MAKE A PORTFOLIO

I feel like every day I see juniors posting about how they're a really amazing creative who has an excellent body of work working on cool little games, and how you should hire them because of that.

They'll mention the independent projects they've worked on by name (which only a handful of their close circle people would ever likely have heard about), and then tack on "by the way I'm looking for work and you should hire me", and then they don't provide any form of contact information or even a portfolio where anyone can learn more or take action to hire them.

I cannot stress enough: make a portfolio. You want a source you can link someone that concisely compiles the work that you have done, overviews the projects you have contributed to, and outlines the expertise you have. If you don't have a portfolio it's incredibly unlikely you will find work just shouting into the void about how good you or your work is. No one will implicitly know you, and no one can implicitly be expected to know the games you have contributed to.

Sorry like...that's just where we're at. If you want work, you need to make yourself a portfolio. You need a place where someone who might be hiring and happens to come across you can visit and say "oh I can actually view what you're talking about and it sounds like you do know what you're doing". If you don't have an avenue to do that then there's very little point in advertising yourself in the first place, because you're just making people jump through hoops to try and hire you. Make it dirt simple and as easy as possible to show off everything you've done.

People don't just make portfolios for fun; they make them because they work.

#please please please #I've seen this type of thing every day this week #and I feel like it just is a point that needs to be really hammered home

[devsgames]

PSA: MAKE A PORTFOLIO

I feel like every day I see juniors posting about how they're a really amazing creative who has an excellent body of work working on cool little games, and how you should hire them because of that.

They'll mention the independent projects they've worked on by name (which only a handful of their close circle people would ever likely have heard about), and then tack on "by the way I'm looking for work and you should hire me", and then they don't provide any form of contact information or even a portfolio where anyone can learn more or take action to hire them.

I cannot stress enough: make a portfolio. You want a source you can link someone that concisely compiles the work that you have done, overviews the projects you have contributed to, and outlines the expertise you have. If you don't have a portfolio it's incredibly unlikely you will find work just shouting into the void about how good you or your work is. No one will implicitly know you, and no one can implicitly be expected to know the games you have contributed to.

Sorry like...that's just where we're at. If you want work, you need to make yourself a portfolio. You need a place where someone who might be hiring and happens to come across you can visit and say "oh I can actually view what you're talking about and it sounds like you do know what you're doing". If you don't have an avenue to do that then there's very little point in advertising yourself in the first place, because you're just making people jump through hoops to try and hire you. Make it dirt simple and as easy as possible to show off everything you've done.

People don't just make portfolios for fun; they make them because they work.

#gamedev #game dev #game development #indiedev #indie dev #gamedevelopment #game design #blog

[devsgames]

Pssst hey I've also been building a Neocities page for my full commission terms if you wanted more samples and information.

I'm basically open for art commissions on a recurring basis so please reach out if at all interested! :)

Hey folks!

Money has been tighter than I'd like lately so I'm opening up commissions again. Please reach out to [email protected] for inquiries if you're interested. Shares are greatly appreciated - thanks y'all! :)

A bunch of my other illustration work under the break:

#commissions #art #illustration #my art

[devsgames]

Picked up this little control icon pack on itch.io and used it to help smooth out some of my tutorial areas. Still some work to do but it immediately feels better than the text I had been using before.

#gotta change that floor though...it's so bright #gamedev #game dev #game development #indie games #indie game #gamedevelopment #indiegames #indiedev #indie dev #centauri dark #mech #mecha #game design

[devsgames]

German dev support *tröt*

A friend and his team released their new game yesterday. If you enjoy Factorio, this could be a thing for you, sources say! Would mean a lot of you could take a look. Thanks!

[devsgames]

It's nuts that Itchio doesn't have a way to just search your library for games, and hasn't for years now. Like I'm trying to find a button UI icon pack I used a couple years back and it's just completely impossible to find outside of manually scrolling through my entire library. Why???

#adds it to 'the list of gripes i have with itch' #thoughts #gamedev

[devsgames]

Referring people to other games that are similar to yours is a useful shorthand for people who might struggle to understand your concept the first time, but I'm of the opinion that it's generally bad practice to use them as part of your pitch or when introducing your game to people.

"My game is a narrative platformer like if Undertale met Super Mario Brothers Wii"

This type of description almost sounds like you're comparing your game directly to its competitors and inspirations, which is not only a tall order but can also downplay the uniqueness of what makes your game yours.

Moreover, this description leaves too much room for interpretation by the reader: How is it like these games? In what way? Does it have the art style of Undertale or Mario? Is it like Mario in that it's really video-gamey? Or just that it's fun and lighthearted? What's the tone? If I don't know what the reference points you're referencing here then how does this description help me? If I don't like these games are you saying I won't like yours? It just leaves more questions than it solves

What I find works better is to focus on the verbs and adjectives of what makes up your game - you may find these are smaller parts of inspiration you're pulling from those titles, rather than the entirity of the game itself. "Tonally like Undertale" is already leagues better than "Like Undertale".

And remember that you're allowed to be a little verbose in describing the experience of your game.

"My game is a challenging, narrative-driven platformer where you play as a character trying to rescue your friend from an sinister mirror world"

Hey, better! Good even! I know the genre, gameplay, and premise, and it's not distracting from itself by namedropping existing titles.

I'll only reference other titles if someone is really not understanding my premise from the inital pitch and maybe needs some reference points to help latch onto, but I never feel like a pitch should open with them.