Game Designer or Game Producer: Which Career Path is Right for You?

Over the last twenty-five years, I’ve been fortunate enough to tackle both design and production roles. Both are important to the success of a game, but they are very different from each other. It’s easy to explain what artists and programmers do on a project. Their work is front and center in the game itself. […]
What are Game Design Pillars? How to Apply It Without The Downside?

In the past, game design documents would spiral out of control and no one would read them. As a result, all the different people involved in development would have their own vision of the game, making conflicting choices about how to implement different parts. Modern AAA Games tend to solve this problem by following an approach […]
Best Game Engines for Beginner Game Developers in 2023

In game development, choosing a game engine that matches your project, team, and scope is vital. Using an incompatible game engine can cause hiccups resulting in a delayed release (or even shelving the project indefinitely). The problem is that there are so many types of games, programming languages, and platforms that it can take time […]
How to Adapt to a Game Dev Leadership Role | Nathan Tiras | #12

Funsmith Fireside Chats Episode #12 Guest: Nathan Tiras We had the honor of speaking with Nathan Tiras, a unique and thoughtful game tester and manager with one fantastic career! His lessons from past work and insights on being the best manager are priceless for anyone trying to succeed in the video game industry. Starting at […]
How to Be a Video Game Tester in the Game Dev Industry | Rian Trost | #11

Funsmith Fireside Chats Episode #11 Guest: Rian Trost Rian Trost is a veteran of video game QA from Sony to Blizzard, he’s helped make some of your favorite games work. If you ever wanted to build a career in testing and QA, you don’t want to miss this! Rian offers great insight for anyone interested […]
How to Remake A Nintendo Classic Better? | Milton Guasti | #7

The Funsmith Fireside Chats #7 Guest: Milton Guasti You might know him as Doctor M64 or as the creator of “Another Metroid 2 Remake.” – Milton Guasti (Currently at Moon Studios) gives us a play by play of the process of redesigning one of Nintendo’s classics, from changing the map and character art to fit […]
How to Effectively Lead a AAA Game Development Team | Barry Hawkins | #5

Funsmith Fireside Chats Episode #5 Guest: Barry Hawkins Barry Hawkins is a product development consultant with experience in orchestration at scale for lean, agile teams that practice iterative development. He has done this with software product development companies ranging from 5-person start-ups to hundreds of team members practicing distributed development within loosely-coupled, cross-functional teams. In […]