Sandy Petersen

Another stack of resources and layoff support compiled by the incredible Mayank Grover! If you need support or have some to offer, connect and boost that vis so every ship can benefit from the tide. 🙌🌊🙌 #gamedev #games #layoff #support #job #resources #mentors

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Dear Stretch Network Partners, Please allow me to inform you about additional changes that will take place in the global network on July 8. 🍀 All Heads-up tables will be removed 🍀 Badugi cash tables will be removed 🍀 Sonic cash tables will become 6-max 🍀 The minimum buy-in for Sonic Omaha cash tables will be 20 BB 🍀 Sonic Omaha 7 card cash tables will be added These changes apply only to cash tables and only to our Global Network. In your local networks, you decide your product strategy, but we would be happy to assist you in managing your local networks as well. If you need our help, please contact us. The above-mentioned changes are part of the new strategy for the Stretch Network Global Network, which prioritizes the comfort of novice players and casual traffic to maintain the proper balance of our ecosystem between amateurs and professionals. Caring for the ecosystem of the Global Network is our priority. The changes we are implementing now and will continue to implement will significantly improve the user experience for your players, extend their LTV, ARPU, and, of course, Revenue.

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Sumo Digital announced a 15% cut in its workforce, roughly impacting 250 individuals. Among these 250 individuals was the team of Timbre Games, which also confirmed that the studio was being shut down. Timbre Games was founded in 2021 and made a part of Pipework Studios. Although Timbre had yet to launch any games, its website indicates that it was in the middle of two game projects. Unfortunately, game developers face more loss than the parent company when something like this happens. Who knows how Timbre's team might be coping after putting in millions of efforts to build the games and losing everything in a single blink? In their support, this is list 2 of some of the Timbreeos who were impacted by the closure. Every bit from the community counts, so requesting you all to help this reach recruiters and game studios currently hiring. Sophie Mallinson — In 2017, she was Arkane Studios' (Lyon) Narrative Designer who worked on Dishonored: Death of the Outsider and Wolfenstein: Youngblood. By 2019, she had become a Principal Narrative Designer for Arkane's Deathloop. It is quite interesting to note that after Arkane, she went on to work for EA on Star Wars and later for EA's own studio - Maxis Studios on The Sims Series. Nadia Lohan — With over a decade's worth of experience in Production, before Timbre, Nadia was a Producer at Blackbird Interactive and worked on Minecraft Legends. Notably, she has experience in the VFX industry and coordinated for blockbusters like Mulan, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Maleficent. Vivek Ramkumar — Here's a talented Game Designer who has worked on titles like Sleeping Dogs and Tryst, built his own first-person indie game, and has experience in LiveOps Design. Prior to Timbre, he was a senior Technical Designer for Relic Entertainment. Gerritt Turner — Before Timbre, Gerritt worked at Wizards of the Coast on a lot of Magic: The Gathering's writing, designing and overall creative. They even have an experience in Brand Writing for Hasbro. Yuliia Bocharova — Prior to Timbre, she was a Lead 3D Artist for Blackbird Interactive and worked there for 3+ years. You should check out her ArtStation portfolio: https://lnkd.in/gKEwykG5 Vincent-Gabriel Canadian — A talented VFX Artist who has worked for Studios like Frima, Behaviour Interactive, and Nesting Games. Vincent specializes in real-time VFX for video games! #layoffsupport

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PSA: The hype cycle is only applicable to technologies that will eventually be adopted.

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Curious how we used the 🐙 Octopus Paradigm in redesigning the Puzzling Places interaction for reduced complexity on the Apple Vision Pro and why? Check out my conversation with Gabriele Romagnoli 🥽 on the the XR AI Spotlight Podcast!

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Look what I found for sale on a game assets website: If you're going to sell your terrible AI assets, can you at least remove the EXTRA LEGS first??? 😂 As obvious as *these* assets are, there were plenty of assets on that site that were NOT so obvious. It's going to be increasingly difficult for creators to know if assets they purchase/license/download are made with AI or not. This is why I'm uncomfortable with AI "tags" and "bans" being imposed on games...especially without guidance or context. I don't want to see some indie team have to take down the dream game they've worked on for 5 years because the asset store sold them an art pack that may have included AI-generated textures. 😰 #gamedev, #gamedesign, #art, #AI

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Such a sad situation for Arkane Studios Austin. No team deserves to be shutdown like this. I played a lot of Redfall and enjoyed it. This isn't all corporate greed and stock prices; we as fans have a role in this as well. I'm not saying that we shouldn't critique or call out unkept promises during development. Far too often when we criticize, we lose the human element behind these large projects. Those at Arkane, Bethesda Game Studios, タンゴゲームワークス（Tango Gameworks）, this is not your fault. This situation does not define you or your talents. Move forward when you are ready, and let's help you find your new home. We are stronger together! https://lnkd.in/gjyF6F6t - Unknown Worlds https://sds.com/careers - Striking Distance https://lnkd.in/gmjKux5M - KRAFTON and PUBG #myplesha #gamedevjobs #KRAFTON #gamesindustry #hiring

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Some great tips from Alex Gombos on how to write a resume that helps you get past the filters of an ATS!

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excellent insights

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Dave the Diver is getting a Godzilla DLC, and it is free!! This new DLC will see Dave come face-to-face with the might Godzilla himself, though in keeping with the true spirit of Godzilla you won’t be fighting the big lizard so much as helping it overcome one of its adversaries, Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, from the 1966 live-action movie of the same name. Players will need to pilot the G-Force submarine to take Ebirah on, and work alongside Godzilla to protect the planet from the mighty crustacean’s threat. You can claim this DLC right now from the below digital console and PC storefronts, and you’ll need to do so before November 23rd, 2024, because it’s only available until then. After that point it will seemingly either become a paid DLC or completely unavailable, so make sure you scoop it up: 💾 PlayStation Store: https://lnkd.in/eHPjPi4C 💾 Steam: https://lnkd.in/eFGy6_Y5 💾 Nintendo Switch eShop: https://lnkd.in/ehr7r3zH

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12 things that destroy a game voice recording session: 1. Not allocating enough time to casting 2. Not working with a casting director 3. Not sending clear instructions (call sheets) well in advance 4. Not sending scripts & character bios well in advance 5. Not having an experienced voice director 6. Trying to record too many lines in a session 7. Not taking notes / having a note taker during the session 8. Not testing a remote talent's home studio in advance 9. Having too many people on the call / in the session 10. Giving the actor a "read" 11. Having a negative attitude (cast or crew) 12. Not working collaboratively / as a team Avoid these at all costs. Genuinely would love to hear what you would add to this list.

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What it means is that these first parties are becoming publishers with a platform and these games are becoming transmedia franchises. And Simon Pulman is right - games have an advantage in that generally speaking, they own all their own rights. Film & TV properties even today are papered without full rights to talent likeness, music, or even sometimes the underlying IP, which makes exploitation difficult. If you go back to some of these 80s IPs, they can’t even find all the deals sometimes or have owners that need to be cleared that you can’t track down anymore - it’s a mess! The franchise strategy Simon is referring to here is called “complimenting” and it’s how we used to think building out a toy line. For a brand like Star Wars, you have Hasbro as your core toy partner doing action figures which appeals to both boys and collectors but you compliment that with Lego in construction which hits older boys, and maybe Fisher Price in preschool. So you have different segments each with product targeted at a different buyer. Lego Horizon on Switch is pure brand expansion - it’s not going to cannibalism PS5 sales and if anything, it will create new Horizon fans who grow into the main product as they age. Cc Phillip Black

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The Cost of Games layoffs. - The Human. How many more people must be displaced into a place of fear, worry and economic hardship? These aren't just numbers on a spreadsheet. Each person has had the same diverse, variety of life as the other. - The Creative. Huge amounts of work, effort and imaginative thought will be buried under red tape and NDAs, never to see the light of day. The "lucky" devs will be the ones who are allowed to show/talk about it. Creative energy for many is sapped. - The Reputational. The Games Industry is bleeding, while it certainly won't be going anywhere. It will have lost valuable developers to other industries, potentially forever. Perhaps it has also scared away incredible new talent too. How many of them could have brought about significant progress and innovation? It's easy to feel hopeless. The hard choice is to believe in things getting brighter. That's why the community of those who help galvanizes me everyday. Light in the darkness if we want to get poetic with half remembered fantasy quotes. I urge you to use the fantastic resources available below. Every step you take toward helping yourself and others, is a step toward us getting through together.

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Horrible news today, with Bethesda Game Studios having announced that Arkane Studios Austin, タンゴゲームワークス（Tango Gameworks）and Alpha Dog Games | Bethesda are being shut down. Roundhouse Games is being merged into ZeniMax Online Studios, and staff of some of the affected studios will be moved into other studios, where possible. To those affected by these closures and reshuffles, please find a comprehensive list of resources, below: 🥇First, Discipline Games Jobs Resources: Over the past weeks I have created nine Games Jobs Resources to find jobs in a wide range of disciplines: 🎨 Art, Animation, VFX and UI This resource contains around 1,300 jobs worldwide across all links. Link: https://lnkd.in/eu2bjadW ⚙ Engineering and Programming This resource lists just over 1,700 jobs worldwide across all links. Link: https://lnkd.in/etPj22BE 🕹 Quality Assurance This resource lists over 440 QA jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/dkiEy8da 📑 Game Production This resource lists around 400 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/d9qfQ5tg 📢 Marketing & Community This resource lists around 380 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/dc-PVb3h 🎶 Audio and Sound Design This resource lists around 180 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/dU8t6Esq 📠 Studio Support, HR, Recruitment and BizDev This resource lists around 300 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/dMdWv4xN ⚙ IT This resource lists around 100 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/df7d-KkR 🎮 Game Design This resource lists around 600 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/d2kKaw95 🥈 Second, the Ultimate list of Video Games Career Resources: This should be your one-stop shop for all information. My dear friend Amir Satvat maintains these documents, he is a legend for doing this - please check them out: https://amirsatvat.com/ 🥉 Third, If you have worked in publishing, please message me. I am looking for quite a few roles right now! ⬅ 🎖 Finally, do not give up. Ever. No matter how dark things may look right now, I KNOW you will get through this, you have got this! 👊 Remember you are not alone. If you need help, advice, or even an ear to listen, we're here for you. Always! ➡ A request to my community, please can I ask you to repost this post to your colleagues and friends, so that we can get as many into jobs as possible! And please comment if you or your studio are currently hiring - let's help each other! Much love ❤️ #layoffs #gamesindustry #jobsingames #arkaneaustin #roundhousegames #tangogameworks #alphadoggames

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TOP NEW CREATIVE “STAR WARS: HUNTERS” BY ZYNGA The competition for IPs remains fierce in the mobile games market. The latest initiative comes from Zynga, with the Star Wars franchise. 🌌🎖️ The game is a hero shooter focusing on player versus player (PvP) combat, featuring 3D stylized art and a core gaming experience. ⚔️ The game includes various Star Wars characters, allowing players to engage in strategic team-based multiplayer battles. It features multiple game modes and leverages the Star Wars license to create an immersive environment that appeals to fans of the movies and the shooter genre. 🤩 Two weeks ago the game began its growth stage and has reached 2.5MM downloads and US$740k in IAP revenue so far. 📈 It's no surprise that to achieve this result, the Star Wars IP is central to the UA strategy. 🎯 Drawing on a stylized cartoon, the flagship creative video does not make direct reference to the gameplay. So much so that one wonders: is this an ad for a game or a movie? 🤔 Created on June 6, the creative video has achieved over 6.7MM impressions to date. Of these 48% are in 🇨🇦 and 40% in the 🇺🇸 . The source of the impressions is 100% Mintegral. The apps with this creative are "Paper .io 2" by Voodoo (15%) and "Piano Tiles 2" by Kooapps (9%). 👇 Take a look below and I'll show you the creative video and some information about it. 👇 For this research, we have used the following AppMagic tools: Top Soft Launches, Ad Intelligence, and AI Magic Helper. - X - This research was supported by Cost Center. Cost Center is a tech company that offers a powerful suite of tools for Mobile Publishers to optimize UA campaigns. 💪 Its portfolio includes amazing clients such as Amanotes and Lihuhu. 🏆 Do you like it? 🤩 Call my friend Yi Ting Ho. She'll show you a demo. 😉 #marketing #gaming #gamedevelopment #HypercasualByCarlosPereira

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Lots of people changing jobs or on the hunt at the minute. Some useful tips to be mindful of from Amanda here. Even though you'll understandably be focused on landing the new role as smoothly as possible, these aren't unreasonable expectations at all and much easier to tackle up front than to deal with after the fact.

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