News

Defiance 2050 developer Trion Worlds lays off 15 staff
Defiance 2050 developer Trion Worlds lays off 15 staff
Trion Worlds, known for multiplayer online games like Rift and ArcheAge, has laid off 15 developers, seemingly across multiple disciplines.
July 20, 2018
The challenge of designing Overwatch maps when players can get 'literally everywhere'
The challenge of designing Overwatch maps when players can get 'literally everywhere'
In an interview with VG 24/7, Overwatch lead designer Geoff Goodman looks back to early conversations he had with the team about designing future-proof levels.
July 20, 2018
Valve bans over 90,000 Steam accounts in one week
Valve bans over 90,000 Steam accounts in one week
Valve has its sights firmly set on cheating Steam players, with the Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC) system banning over 90,000 accounts this week.
July 20, 2018
Keywords acquires Canadian developer Snowed In Studios
Keywords acquires Canadian developer Snowed In Studios
International game service provider Keywords has acquired Ottawa-based developer Snowed In Studios for an undisclosed fee.
July 20, 2018
Understanding the human cost of creating No Man's Sky
Understanding the human cost of creating No Man's Sky
"I remember getting a death threat about the fact that there were butterflies in our original trailer, but there weren't any butterflies in the launch game."
July 20, 2018
Learn how Osmo found success with mixed-reality educational games at XRDC
Learn how Osmo found success with mixed-reality educational games at XRDC
At XRDC this October, designer Tony Aube speaks frankly about some of Osmo's early game prototypes and why they failed, as well as what decisions helped the mixed-reality edugame platform succeed.
July 20, 2018
Textual Procedural Generation and Narration: Generalities, Opinions, Tips and Perspectives.
Textual Procedural Generation and Narration: Generalities, Opinions, Tips and Perspectives.
After reviewing basic techniques for narrative writing in games and less basic ones, such as the use of AI, we propose the idea of a narrative and lore design emerging from the actions of the players.
July 20, 2018
Level design: Tricks of the trade
Level design: Tricks of the trade
In this post, I look into some of the various level design techniques that can be used during the level creation process, that can help to communicate your design intent and direct the player through a level.
July 20, 2018
The Appeal of the Shop Simulator Genre
The Appeal of the Shop Simulator Genre
The Shop Simulator Genre has grown among Indie and Mobile developers over this decade, but many designers still fail to understand what makes the genre's mix of combat and shop management so endearing that we still remember Recettear.
July 20, 2018
Building a Home: How to Construct a Card Game
Building a Home: How to Construct a Card Game
With a card game set featuring anywhere from 80 to 200+ cards, documentation and organization is incredibly important. In this article I explain what a card file is and provide an outline of the card game development process.
July 20, 2018
A Safe Space – Bring Your Special Kids to Work Day
A Safe Space – Bring Your Special Kids to Work Day
Cisco is a safe place for employee Nurit H. and her son Noam as they attend Cisco's Bring Your Special Kid to Work Day.
July 19, 2018
Redefining Data Center Security: Deliver Effective Workload Protection in a Multicloud World
Redefining Data Center Security: Deliver Effective Workload Protection in a Multicloud World
For most businesses, the rapidly changing nature of the modern data center poses a significant security challenge. The data center remains the heart of digital enterprises, and IT departments are...
July 19, 2018