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Documents
Thomas Brush9 min
A DAY IN THE LIFE of a Game Developer (THE TRUTH!)
Game development involves a repetitive, often frustrating cycle of technical troubleshooting and asset integration, particularly when working within the Unity engine.
- Independent game development is defined by a repetitive cycle of technical troubleshooting, specifically managing complex interactions between triggers, colliders, and physics-based movement within the Unity engine.
- Developers maintain project momentum by frequently pivoting between debugging code, consulting documentation, and utilizing external tutorials to resolve unexpected object behavior.
- Production efficiency is achieved by sourcing low-poly models and down-rezzing textures from free asset libraries, which allows for cost-effective environment population.
Thomas BrushOct 2021
Game Developers Conference30 min
Google Maps, Not Greyboxes: Digital Location Scouting for 'Untitled Goose Game'
The development of Untitled Goose Game relied on a shift from abstract, conceptual level design toward a methodology rooted in digital location scouting.
- To achieve spatial authenticity for 'Untitled Goose Game,' the developers abandoned traditional 'greybox' level design in favor of digital location scouting using Google Maps and Street View to study real-world British villages.
- The team used specific real-world locations like the village of Orford to inform level layouts, finding that basing designs on actual geography provided a logical, consistent, and 'grounded' world that enhanced the game's comedic tone.
- By treating real locations as primary source material, the developers could quickly populate levels with authentic props and geometry, such as fruit stands, hand trucks, and benches, sourced from historical Street View imagery dating back to 2009.
Game Developers ConferenceOct 2021
Thomas Brush16 min
Unity Animation Rigging Tutorial (Super Easy In Just 10 Minutes!)
This tutorial outlines a streamlined workflow for creating 2D skeletal animations in Unity using assets prepared in Adobe Photoshop.
- Unity’s 2D Animation package enables the transformation of static images into fully articulated, bone-driven characters using a streamlined skeletal rigging workflow.
- Assets must be prepared in Adobe Photoshop by segmenting single-layer images into individual limbs and body parts, filling gaps to ensure visual continuity during movement.
- Saving segmented assets as Large Document Format (PSB) files is required to preserve the necessary layer structure when importing into the Unity engine.
Thomas BrushSep 2021
Game Dev Unchained65 min
14 Years Development on Hanoka with Matt Canei | Game Dev Unchained Episode 284
The development of Hanako: Honor & Blade serves as a case study in the endurance required for long-term indie game production.
- The 14-year development of Hanako: Honor & Blade required a total labor investment equivalent to only 14 to 18 weeks of work for a 100-person studio, demonstrating the efficiency of a volunteer-driven, methodical approach.
- The project successfully navigated major technical shifts, including migrating the entire game from Unreal Engine 3 to Unreal Engine 4 while adapting to evolving market trends like the rise of battle royale games.
- By positioning the project as a mentorship platform for junior developers to build professional portfolios, the team effectively mitigated the impact of high turnover over the project's decade-plus lifespan.
Game Dev UnchainedSep 2021
Game Developers Conference66 min
Automated Testing of Gameplay Features in 'Sea of Thieves'
Developing and maintaining a live-service, open-world title like Sea of Thieves requires a robust automated testing framework to replace inefficient manual processes and mitigate the risks of regression.
- By implementing automated testing for 'Sea of Thieves', Rare reduced the time required to verify game builds from two weeks to approximately 1.5 days.
- The studio successfully reduced its manual testing team from 50 people on 'Kinect Sports Rivals' to 17 on 'Sea of Thieves' by automating repetitive checks.
- Rare utilized a continuous integration system via TeamCity to run automated tests on a build farm of PCs, averaging a full test cycle every 20 minutes.
Game Developers ConferenceSep 2021
Thomas Brush10 min
I'm A Full Time INDIE GAME DEV And STUPID...
The development process for independent games often involves a chaotic, iterative workflow characterized by technical experimentation and unconventional design choices.
- Independent game development is characterized by a non-linear, iterative workflow where technical experimentation and trial-and-error cycles are essential to the creative process.
- Even with fifteen years of professional experience, developers frequently encounter unpredictable behavior and bugs within standard game engines like Unity, particularly regarding physics triggers and animator controllers.
- Rapid prototyping using custom assets, such as bounce pads and environmental textures, is a critical method for testing gameplay loops and refining mechanics.
Thomas BrushSep 2021
Deconstructor of Fun48 min
We just raised $100M - here's what's next with Ian Proulx, CEO of 1047 Games
The success of the arena shooter Splitgate stems from a disciplined, data-driven development philosophy that prioritizes long-term user retention over immediate commercial release.
- 1047 Games secured $100 million in funding to scale operations and transition from a single-product studio to a multi-game organization.
- The studio plans to expand its workforce from 35 to 100 employees by the end of the year, prioritizing executive hires including a Chief Revenue Officer, Chief Product Officer, and Head of People.
- Development of Splitgate utilized a two-year iterative refinement period following a 2019 soft launch, focusing on improving onboarding, matchmaking, and tutorials to balance accessibility with a high skill ceiling.
Deconstructor of FunSep 2021
Thomas Brush9 min
MY NEW CHANNEL
The expansion into short horror filmmaking serves as a strategic pivot to combat creative stagnation within the game development industry.
- Professional longevity in the game industry requires periodic, intentional deviation from established, profit-driven career paths to prevent creative stagnation.
- Diversifying into secondary creative pursuits, such as the creator's $10,000 investment in the short horror film 'The Unlocking,' provides cross-disciplinary insights that enhance primary work in interactive media.
- Publicly committing to a new professional identity serves as a mechanism to overcome the fear of judgment and break the restrictive comfort of established routines.
Thomas BrushSep 2021
Game Developers Conference31 min
30 Minute Steam Page Makeovers
Steam page optimization serves as a critical bridge between development and commercial success, requiring a strategic shift from passive presentation to active, data-driven marketing.
- Prioritize custom-illustrated capsules over raw screenshots to signal high production value and overcome the market stigma associated with low-quality shovelware.
- Replace dense, text-heavy descriptions with animated GIFs and consistent art direction to communicate gameplay depth and genre identity to prospective players instantaneously.
- Align game metadata with the Steam algorithm by modeling tags after top-performing titles within the same genre to ensure accurate categorization and audience reach.
Game Developers ConferenceSep 2021
Jonas Tyroller19 min
Spending $20,000 On My Indie Game! (XXL Devlog)
This report details the development progress and financial challenges of the indie platformer Will You Snail, a solo project spanning three years of development.
- The developer incurred $20,000 in direct expenses and $85,000 in foregone salary, bringing the total three-year investment to $105,000.
- With a net profit of $4.30 per unit, the project requires 24,400 copies sold to reach the break-even point.
- Failure to secure formal licensing agreements for community-sourced translations resulted in the loss of hundreds of hours of work, forcing a complete restart of the localization process for 50 languages.
Jonas TyrollerSep 2021
Thomas Brush10 min
I Made A 3D Game And EVERYTHING BROKE
The development process of 3D character modeling and implementation serves as the primary focus of this technical demonstration.
- The development workflow relies on an iterative cycle of building, breaking, and refining assets within Blender and Unity to overcome technical hurdles.
- Common technical challenges in 3D indie development include resolving script inheritance errors, managing complex mesh modifiers, and troubleshooting animation behaviors.
- Real-time audience interaction during live-streamed development sessions serves as a critical feedback loop for design choices and debugging efforts.
Thomas BrushSep 2021
Thomas Brush13 min
Playing My Students' Game Jam Games (Theme: The Golden Rule)!
This summary examines the outcomes of a private game jam conducted for the Full-Time Game Dev community, which serves over 2,500 students globally.
- The 'Full-Time Game Dev' community, comprising over 2,500 global students, utilized a game jam centered on the 'Golden Rule' to test rapid development strategies.
- The winning entry, 'Get Yeetin,' demonstrated that minimalist art and humor can effectively communicate complex themes by mechanically linking player actions to direct consequences.
- The second-place game, 'Are You Human,' utilized a creative captcha-style UI and shared damage mechanics to integrate its thematic puzzle elements directly into the user experience.
Thomas BrushAug 2021