Indie publisher Versus Evil has shut down
Game Developer
DECEMBER 22, 2023
Indie publisher Versus Evil reportedly laid off its entire staff as the holidays have begun, closing its doors after ten years in operation.
Fri.Dec 22, 2023
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Wrapping up 2023 • Celebrating the life and works of solo developers
PreMortem.Games
DECEMBER 22, 2023
Here at PreMortem.Games we have a great admiration for developers that go through a complete development cycle alone. Because, let’s be honest, creating games is hard. And it takes a special kind of developer that wants to fly solo. This year we featured over 20 brave game creators in our solo developers-series and we like to share some highlights. It took solo game developer Graham Reid great effort to finish his game.
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Tumultuous MMO The Day Before will shut down next month
Game Developer
DECEMBER 22, 2023
With Fntastic now closed down, its recent (and final) release The Day Before will remain playable for the next month before it's fully shut down and delisted.
China Massively Disrupts Game Industry Monetization
Game From Scratch
DECEMBER 22, 2023
GameFromScratch.com China Massively Disrupts Game Industry Monetization The Chinese government have just announced new regulations that will have a MASSIVE impact on the world of game development. It immediately resulted in huge stock market losses for China’s two largest gaming companies Tencent and NetEase. The announcement is a crackdown on “gacha” style monetization strategies, loot boxes and … China Massively Disrupts Game Industry Monetization Read More The post Chi
Insomniac responds to "extremely distressing" company hack
Game Developer
DECEMBER 22, 2023
With so much personal data exposed and a playable build of Marvel's Wolverine in the wind, Insomniac affirms its "resilience" in the wake of everything.
Jill Braff named head of studio for Bethesda and ZeniMax
GamesIndustry.biz
DECEMBER 22, 2023
Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox Jill Braff has been appointed as head of studio for ZeniMax Online Studios and Bethesda Game Studios. As reported by The Verge , her appointment was a part of the leadership changes shared with the news of Bobby Kotick's departure next week as CEO of Activision Blizzard.
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Versus Evil shuts down
GamesIndustry.biz
DECEMBER 22, 2023
Versus Evil announced its own closure on social media today. "Today is a sad day," the company said. "After 10 wonderful years, Versus Evil is shutting its doors. We've loved bringing you the best indie games we could find & sharing so many happy memories with you all, our amazing community! From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU for everything!
Dark Souls II's PS3, Xbox 360 servers are shutting shut down in March 2024
Game Developer
DECEMBER 22, 2023
With Dark Souls II and Armored Core: Verdict Day both hitting 10 years old, FromSoftware is pulling the plug on the servers for their original console releases.
China to ban some monetization and engagement tactics in games
GamesIndustry.biz
DECEMBER 22, 2023
China today announced a series of planned restrictions on video game monetization and engagement tactics, according to Reuters. The National Press and Publication Administrations released new draft rules that will ban a swath of common mechanisms in games, including daily log-in rewards, bonuses for first-time spenders, and incentives to spend repeatedly on a game.
China targets in-game spending, daily rewards in new game regulation rules
Game Developer
DECEMBER 22, 2023
If China has its way, games released in the country will have to greatly overhaul their design and monetization practices.
Tearing up the pea patch | This Year in Business
GamesIndustry.biz
DECEMBER 22, 2023
There's a Cantonese saying I've been looking for an excuse to use in one of these columns for months, and with the year drawing to a close, I'm going to drop it here as a little present to myself. "Sik see sik zoek dau." It means "finding a pea while eating poop," being in the middle of a distinctly unpleasant task and stumbling onto something that is almost pleasant by comparison.
Year 10 of the Cogmind
Grid Sage Games
DECEMBER 22, 2023
Well then, we’re well into Cogmind’s 10th year now xD It’s kinda hard to nail down a clear “ten-year” mark, since we could measure Cogmind’s age from its birth as a 7DRL nearly 12 years ago, or when I started working on it full time in mid-2013, or its first commercial release in May 2015, but anyway yeah this is my 10th annual review , a thing I started doing every year since I decided to build this world of robots in full.
Firewall studio First Contact shuts down
GamesIndustry.biz
DECEMBER 22, 2023
First Contact Entertainment has announced its closure. The Los Angeles-based studio shared a statement on social media , citing a "lack of support for VR within the industry" as the main reason for closing its doors. "As an AAA VR game developer, we are just not able to justify the expense needed going forward," the studio said. "[We] are extremely proud of the team and grateful to our investors, our partners, and of course our community of dedicated and passionate players.
Space & Sci-Fi and DragonSan Studios Bundles
Game From Scratch
DECEMBER 22, 2023
GameFromScratch.com Space & Sci-Fi and DragonSan Studios Bundles There are a pair of Humble Bundles for game developers, the Unreal Engine Space & SciFi Mastery Kit and the Unity DragonSan Studio Flash Sale. The DragonSan Flash Sale bundle only lasts a few days and consists of the following tiers: 5$ Tier Loot Icons Herbs Icons 10$ Tier Dwarves … Space & Sci-Fi and DragonSan Studios Bundles Read More The post Space & Sci-Fi and DragonSan Studios Bundles appeared first on
Epic Games Store to host blockchain games, they will be rated Adults Only
GamesIndustry.biz
DECEMBER 22, 2023
Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox The Epic Games Store has made an exception for games rated Adults Only; it only applies to titles that use blockchain technology. The update still notes that these games must comply with its blockchain and general guidelines. Games, for example, cannot facilitate gambling and link to NFT marketplaces.
Fan Collective Unimatrix 47: Christmas in the Star Trek Universe
Game Industry News
DECEMBER 22, 2023
We’re coming up on the Christmas holiday for those celebrating, and as it’s such a cultural phenomenon in the West, I thought it might be interesting to see what the far future has to say about whether we celebrate and if we still do. Star Trek has portrayed, at least as far as its human characters are concerned, almost completely secular societies.
GTA 6 hacker receives indefinite hospital order
GamesIndustry.biz
DECEMBER 22, 2023
The 18-year-old responsible for last year's Grand Theft Auto 6 hack has been sentenced to an indefinite hospital order. As BBC News reported, a judge said the GTA 6 hacker posed a "high risk" to the public. A mental health assessment found that they "continued to express the intent to return to cyber-crime as soon as possible." Rockstar Games claimed that the hack cost the company $5 million in damages.
Let’s say someone becomes a game developer, but realizes the gaming industry is not for them for whatever reason. What opportunities there for game developers, particularly designers, outside of the video game industry? I imagine one of them is your former job at the gambling industry.
Ask a Game Dev
DECEMBER 22, 2023
You are correct in that it is possible to transfer that body of knowledge over to the other gaming industry that is casino machines. Beyond that, here are some other roles that game design skills could transfer to. Tabletop, board, or card game design. It's still game design, just not in video games. UX design. Crafting experiences is a useful skill for any user-facing applications.
3 Great Gift Ideas For Your Brainbox Buddies
Game Wisdom
DECEMBER 22, 2023
3 Great Gift Ideas For Your Brainbox Buddies Josh Bycer josh@game-wisdom.com Christmas is just around the corner, so it’s time for last minute shopping. It’s time to get the little bits of Christmas food, the few presents you forgot about in time for the big day, and then the late nights … The post 3 Great Gift Ideas For Your Brainbox Buddies appeared first on Game Wisdom.
I just found out that the vast majority of my department is getting laid off in the next couple months and I’m not sure what my next steps are from here… With the field being extremely competitive to begin with, and it also being the worst time of year for job postings/hiring, do you have any advice for someone who’s been laid off in this industry? (I only have just under a year of official experience here) I’ve updated my resume, networked with others, working on my portfolio…anything else that you’d recommend? Thank you ??
Ask a Game Dev
DECEMBER 22, 2023
You really need to read my [ Gamer's Primer to Practically Dealing with Job Loss ]. It's a good breakdown of the kind of tasks you need to do and when you should prioritize doing them. Read it now. If you need assistance with resume or interview prep, I highly recommend joining our [ discord server ]. There are many tech and game industry professionals there with a lot of experience able to help.
How to Spend a Weekend Without Worrying About Work
Game Wisdom
DECEMBER 22, 2023
How to Spend a Weekend Without Worrying About Work Josh Bycer josh@game-wisdom.com Spending a weekend without the shadow of work looming over you can seem challenging, especially in a world where the boundaries between professional and personal life are increasingly blurred. However, with some planning and intentional actions, you can create a … The post How to Spend a Weekend Without Worrying About Work appeared first on Game Wisdom.
Godsworn - End of the year devlog
Indie DB
DECEMBER 22, 2023
A development log about the progress we have been making on Godsworn.
Shifting styles and patterns in code development
Digital Ephemera
DECEMBER 22, 2023
If someone were to closely study my major public projects like Extwee , Twine Space , and Snowman over multiple years of their development, they would see distinct software patterns. When I was first working on Extwee in 2019, for example, my dominant pattern was to use JavaScript classes. 1 Every operation required a separate instantiation of its base class.
[WIP] Voxel World Engine (Minecraft-like world generation)
Cocos
DECEMBER 22, 2023
A bit without time to code in the holiday season with in-laws at home ( ) But today I am playing around plotting more chunks on the fly based on player position
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