Category: News

Andrée Cossette, managing director of Ubisoft Québec, is departing the studio in the midst of a wave of allegations of abuse emerging from across Ubisoft’s many studios.

Cossette’s departure is oddly timed. For her part, a post on social media seems to indicate that the exit isn’t tied to the numerous allegations about life at Ubisoft, but rather a normal departure after 22 years with the company.

The truth seems far more complex. It’s worth reiterating that across the numerous stories we’ve reported on Ubisoft, the pattern of abuse not only encompasses employees who treated other Ubisoft developers like sexual objects or emotional punching bags, but a culture in management that allowed abuse to take place as long as the games shipped on time.

Among other issues, Ubisoft Québec is one studio where developers fought “tooth and claw” to get playable female characters like Evie implemented in their games while facing intense pushback from Ubisoft leadership. It’s a far less egregious offense than the abuse of employees, but it’s one notable incident that allegedly took place under Cossette’s watch.

Ubisoft has released a statement stating that Cossette’s departure is not timed to the allegations. By their account, it’s perfectly normal for studio leadership to leave the company in the midst of an international crisis.

Hey game makers, just a quick update that the online platform Game Developers Conference organizers are using to host next month’s all-digital GDC Summer has been updated with full scheduling details for all announced talks!

That means that if you’re registered to attend you can now log into the platform to start building your GDC Summer schedule. This is key to getting the most out of the event, because when you register to attend a session it will be added to your schedule and you’ll get a notification 10 minutes before the session starts.

You’ll get a similar notification on your mobile device if you choose to download the GDC Mobile app on iOS or Android; once the app is updated it will sync with your GDC Summer profile to help you stay on top of your schedule while you’re away from your desk. 

This is the first all-digital GDC event, and the first time GDC is being hosted on the Swapcard virtual event platform, but the process of building out your GDC schedule is still straightforward.

Simply log into the platform (all registered attendees should have received an invite via email; make sure to whitelist “[email protected]“) and navigate to the “All Sessions” tab, where you can filter all available GDC Summer talks by topic and time.

When you find a session you’re interested in attending, hit the calendar icon to add it directly to your schedule, or click on the title to see a full description of the talk.

From each individual talk page you can also hit the big green “Register” button to add it to your schedule; you’ll also see a recommended list of other talks you might like, and a speaker bio you can click on to jump directly to the speaker’s profile, where you can request to connect and propose available meeting times.

It’s an all-new way of gathering the GDC audience together from around the world, and organizers are excited to see what attendees do with the unique interactive content and networking opportunities available at GDC Summer.

If you haven’t signed up for the event yet, you can still find full details on what’s available in the GDC Summer session schedule, so take a look and see what you’re getting when you register to attend!

For more details on GDC Summer, scheduled to take place virtually August 4th through the 6th, visit the show’s official website, or subscribe to regular updates via Facebook, Twitter, or RSS.

Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent company Informa Tech

Students and would-be game devs, take note: when you log on to attend GDC Summer next month, there will be an entire channel of learning opportunities tailored specifically for your needs!

This is a unique strength of the virtual platform we’ll be hosting GDC Summer on August 4th through 6th, and anyone looking to advance their game dev career or quickly learn new skills is invited to check out some of the cool content you’ll find in the GDC Summer Student Channel.

Anyone with a GDC Summer Student Pass or higher will have access to the Student Channel’s talks and interactive sessions, all of which address common concerns of junior and aspiring game makers. It’s all part of the GDC Summer Student Program, a full Thursday (August 6th) of lectures, interactive sessions, and group discussions designed for aspiring devs and seasoned professionals seeking new opportunities and career advice!

Phoenix Labs’ Garrett Fredley will be there to deliver a talk on “Increasing the Interview Odds Through Skill Set Diversification“, for example, and it promises to be a practical talk aimed at helping students, grads, and experienced devs diversify skills and demonstrate enough prowess to clinch that next job interview.

Don’t miss it, because you can expect to walk away with practical advice for avoiding skill set pitfalls, converting secondary skills into highlight strengths, and maximizing the chances of that next interview!

Plus, “Ask Me Anything: Whiteboard Interviewing Q&A with Ellen Beeman & Cal Reinhard” is a great opportunity for junior and would-be game devs to ask questions about the dreaded white board tests that are part of many game industry interviews. Together, Ellen Beeman from DigiPen and Cal Reinhard from Popcap Games will talk through the principles of what interviewers are looking for in these sessions and how to answer them, including the “Ask, Talk, Test” approach that Ellen has used to successfully mentor over a hundred DigiPen students!

Or check out “Pixel Art and Animation in the Hi-Bit Age“, in which experienced game artist Tyriq Plummer (Catacomb Kids) will go over some techniques and best practices for approaching pixel art and animation for contemporary games.

He’ll also explore some of the tools that are available to artists, and discuss some of the more innovative ways pixel art can be incorporated into games with a modern bent. If you’re at all interested in learning pixel art or 2D game art, check it out!

More details on these sessions and many more are available now in the GDC Summer session schedule, so take a look and register to attend if you haven’t already!

For more details on GDC Summer, scheduled to take place virtually August 4th through the 6th, visit the show’s official website, or subscribe to regular updates via Facebook, Twitter, or RSS.

Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent company Informa Tech

The following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutra’s community.
The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company.

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(This is an interview conducted on the Game Dev Unchained podcast, an audio podcast that has been transcribed into written form. Please forgive and assume anything written that seems off to be completely my fault and not of the guest. Thank you!)

Sometimes I think  ‘What have I got myself into?’ Like after the second studio shut down… I came out really stressful, but unfortunately, game dev is so fun to do and I love doing it so much.”
– RANDY FORSYTH (CHARACTER ARTIST)

Randy Forsyth gives us his true family and parenting stories as a stay at home professional full time game developer. The Dev Dad himself lays out what you’ll expect and need to do in order to function both as an employee and a parent simultaneously from the comfort of your own home.

Randy has since become a Senior Character Artist at Epic Games working on Fortnite after the interview was conducted. The world is facing a huge amount of uncertainty in result of the pandemic and more game devs are forcibly working remotely than ever before. Additionally, before COVID-19, many developers were making the move to Texas to chase after the next tech space. Therefore, there are some timeless lessons here that readers can learn from to help cope with the changing landscape and perhaps more permanent ramifications due to current events.

Randy, before working at Epic Games, was living in Texas with his family working remotely as the Lead Character Artist for Iron Galaxy Studios working on Killer Instinct: Season 3. He occasionally takes on freelance and you can see his work in Lawbreakers as well. His past work also includes Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Planetside 2, TNMT Out of the Shadows, Duke Nukem Forever, and Neverwinter Nights 2.

Living in Texas

Randy has spent his career split between living in California and Texas working at several different studios. His family is based in California and the majority of his wife’s family lives in Texas. In recent years, game developers moving to Texas has become a common trend by not only game developers, but also other tech industry veterans. These individuals, and therefore companies, are attracted to affordable housing and overall quality of life. It’s no secret that California residents, on average, are faced with higher mortgage and rental expenses and are often struggling with living from paycheck to paycheck.

Randy: “There’s a lot of a lot of cool sh*t to do out [in Texas]. It’s nothing like this ‘crazy foreign land.’ I mean, growing up in California, [Texas] sounded like this big crazy faraway place. It’s not. It’s pretty awesome. So yeah, it’s a lot more open. It is definitely different. But it’s a cool place to live. I mean, this is my second time coming back and living in Texas. I had been out here for some years ago and then went back to California when I was working with at Sledgehammer Games. After that, I came back out the second time.”

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The first time Randy lived in Texas was when he was working on a little infamous game that is ironically titled “Duke Nukem Forever.” For awhile, Duke Nukem was plagued with development horror stories of how it suffered from various developmental delays and was handed off to multiple studios to attempt at finishing the game.

“My first jump out to Texas was actually to work at 3D Realms. I worked there, in Dallas, on the infamous Duke Nukem Forever at the tail end of it. Did that, for three plus years.”

Relationship Tester

The game industry is a volatile place and on top of trying to stay financially stable, it stress-tests any relationship. Especially when a relationship is at the early stages. Luckily, Randy went through this early on in his career, between his wife and him when they started dating.

“I met her in Dallas. I was working at the time at 3D Realms and we actually met playing on an adult kickball league up there. It was like six months after 3D Realms shut down so we were pretty early on in the relationship. She got quite the taste of some game dev shenanigans, like how turbulent this industry can be.”

To add on to that trauma, Randy shares that surviving shutdowns together was a theme early on in his relationship with his wife.

“In our first three, four years of our relationship, I went through two studio shutting down and two times of major crunch. So, I mean, she was definitely in it for the long haul.”

Despite going through some life-altering career changes, he still is very optimistic and doesn’t see himself ever doing anything else, especially now. The places Randy have worked at use to make decisions for him, but they were hard lessons that he learned from to stay a step ahead by rolling with the punches.

”I love this job. There’s always a fear of ‘Oh sh*t! How long is this gonna last?’  kind of thing and trying to reevaluate for my family and myself, what’s the best path to take, longevity-wise. Where is the industry gonna go? That’s a testament, hopefully, how my wife trusts me. I’m getting us moving in the right direction. The same reason why we moved back here, in Texas, was so she could get into nursing school and give our family a little bit of more stability with dual income. I think that’ll help us out in the long haul. But it’s kind of crazy for her to go through these things and stick with it. I think she have seen the nature of the beast.  I really love what I’m doing and she’d never say ‘You know… maybe you should change careers.’ I don’t think she’d be telling me to do that. Maybe, she might be thinking it, but she wouldn’t say that. I think it would be understandable. Sometimes I think about like ‘Fck! What have I got myself into?’ After the second studio shut down… I came out stressful, but unfortunately, it’s f*cking fun to do game dev. And yeah, I love doing it.”

Working from Home and Family Life

Randy have seen his fair share of successes and pitfalls working in the industry and his career have taken him across multiple states. So it was a relief to learn that Randy has found a home in Texas and works remotely from his home office after years of commuting and being away from his family and newborn.

“It has worked out pretty great! Now I’m working at a studio called Iron Galaxy. They’re based in Chicago but I’m working from home in my office right now. So it’s pretty great! Eventually we’re gonna be moving down to Austin when she finishes up school.”

Larry adds that:

“It is really interesting to see a lot more companies embracing the idea of hiring the artist who’s working from their home. They have a lot more faith in the in-sourcing, I call it. It is like outsourcing, but still domestic. So it’s just a little moniker.”

Randy responds…

“Oh, more people are into this and it’s pretty great! Especially with a kid, I get to see him come home every day. He goes to daycare right now, but overall a great experience for a full-time working dad. I would love to see more studios doing this kind of stuff.”

The ability from home is a luxury that most developers would love to do. However, there is still a very low amount of blueprints to actually get to that point. Randy luckily, shares his experience for the transition and how it sort of fell on his lap.

“Iron Galaxy Studios had people doing it remotely. They have students in Chicago and Orlando and the big draw is getting back to Texas. It is still kind of crazy having people spread out but it was the main deal maker that Texas is affordable. We were able to come back here and buy a house that wouldn’t have been an option. If we went to the other places we woudn’’t be around any family. I think it was more a huge selling point coming back here and my wife being close to her family, get into nursing school right away, and be working from home. Yeah, I got a perfect deal. It’s pretty great so far.”

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Although, working from home is obviously a step up, there are some office perks that Randy misses.

“I do miss all the office shenanigans and stuff that goes on being in an office setting. Taking breaks at lunchtime to play football right after the team meetings or whatever. Throw my arm out every day. Basketball and stuff, you know, boxing and other things with colleagues is always fun. But hey, I wouldn’t trade my situation for anything right now. This, is pretty pretty pretty good. What I’ll say is, as much as I love and respect my coworkers I would be down on myself if I miss my child throwing a football and be a more active parent.”

When asked about what a typical day working from home looks like Randy answers,

“ I come in around 9:00 AM and a lot of times that’s pretty early. I stopped by the bathroom, once in a while and take care of business. I get my son ready and drop him off for daycare. When I usually take him out to school, it is likely my only chance to get outside the house for a little bit.

Get him ready. Get him off. Come back. Lots of work, we’re Skyping, we’re having a lot of meetings with many people going over tasks and art direction and stuff like that.”

There are challenges getting use to working from home and Randy wasn’t shy about sharing that experience. We asked about productivity and efficiency and he says

“I definitely feel super productive because there’s really no distractions. I’m in a bit of a vacuum. I think it took me a little bit of time to kind of get into the swing of things with working at home. Like, how’s the overtime work? But once I hit my rhythm, it was great! It’s better food. No long lunches. Just all around efficiencies.”

“Overall, raising a family in Texas has been very fruitful and affordable. It’s nice having a little bit of a room to breathe. We wouldn’t have had a second kid in California. We simply couldn’t afford a minimum three bedroom house in the Bay Area. In Texas, I have a dedicated office. The kids have their own rooms. Day care out here is crazy cheap compared to the Bay Area. I was looking into how much full-time day care was in Texas compared to the Bay area. It’s like a quarter of the price it would have been and it’s just a really nice daycare. They give him two meals a day. He gets both breakfast and lunch there and if he wants to take swim lessons and all this stuff… That would be like some high-end like daycare place in the Bay, but here in Texas, it’s a quarter of the price of anything we were looking at in the Bay Area.”

[this is a repost from www.gamedevunchained.com– the original article can be found here with resources and links]

The Gamasutra Job Board is the most diverse, active and established board of its kind for the video game industry!

Here is just one of the many, many positions being advertised right now.

Location: Burbank, California

Insomniac Games’ Character TDs are responsible for creating character setups, including the rigging of various heroes, enemies, weapons, vehicles and props, and support Animators and other developers with scripts and tools. This talented person will contribute to the design, implementation and maintenance of the animation and rigging pipeline. Also, our Character TD’s develop scripts in support of the art pipeline. Read on for more details, as we are looking for a creative Character TD:

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following:

• Creates high quality animation rigs, systems, setups, and workflows
• Sets up technical animation/simulation setups for things such as hair and cloth for real-time in-engine or for animation within Maya
• Writes and maintains scripts using Python and PyMel.  General scripting duties include developing systems and workflows for animating and rigging characters, expediting the character setup and animation process, and writing scripts to aid the art team when required
• Possesses a comprehensive understanding of animation techniques for the purpose of proactive problem solving and trouble shooting
• Creates Maya tools and improves the art pipeline between the game engine and Maya
• Contributes to the design and improvement of the character set-up process
• Acts as an intermediary between the animation and technical teams to elucidate the workflows, needs, and terminologies of each team
• Understands (and assists when needed) the entire process of creating cinematics including set construction, camera setup, character blocking, character animation, motion capture, cloth simulation, animation troubleshooting, and ensuring that scenes run properly on the real-time game engine
• Creates simple Entity animations for the purpose of testing new and existing systems, and animates cameras and simple Entities for gameplay and cinematics as necessary
• Edits and improves existing character animation systems, including facial setups and animation transfer tools
• Solid understanding of UI design using PyQT and Python
• Other duties may be assigned

Education/Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree (B.A.) from a four-year college or university; or two to four years related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience
• One to four years of experience in character setup, MEL, Python, and PyMel scripting and a comprehensive understanding of all technical aspects of Maya animation
• One to two years of animation training covering all basic animation principals
• Strong knowledge of Maya and a working knowledge of Microsoft Word and Excel
• Strong working knowledge of MEL, Python, and PyMel scripting as it applies to character setup and animation
• Basic knowledge of DOS

Other Skills: The ability to articulate thoughts and ideas effectively both verbally and in writing.   This position may be required to help evaluate new technical tools, and make suggestions in either the implementation or practical uses of said tools.

If this sounds like the opportunity that you have been looking for- please use the link below to apply.  Please also include your updated reel – thanks!

Interested? Apply now.

Whether you’re just starting out, looking for something new, or just seeing what’s out there, the Gamasutra Job Board is the place where game developers move ahead in their careers.

Gamasutra’s Job Board is the most diverse, most active, and most established board of its kind in the video game industry, serving companies of all sizes, from indie to triple-A.

Looking for a new job? Get started here. Are you a recruiter looking for talent? Post jobs here.

Going into the next console generation, Xbox has led with the promise that its first-party studios won’t lean into next-generation exclusives right away to avoid making players feel pressured to jump from One to Series X.

But, as spotted by The Verge, it looks like that pledge might not cover every first-party release headed to the Xbox Series X over the next few years as previously thought.

During today’s Xbox Game Showcase, a couple of first-party reveals only noted future Xbox Series X and Windows PC releases, leaving out any mention of the current generation Xbox One. Forza Motorsport, Fable, and others lacked an Xbox One mention on their title cards, while other first-party games like Halo Infinite and Psychonauts listed all three of Microsoft’s platforms.

A simple explanation could be that those Xbox Series X and Windows only titles are launching further down the line, and wouldn’t fall under the rough “next couple of years” window Microsoft has previously toted for a cross-gen first-party lineup.

In a vaguely worded statement sent to The Verge on the disconnect, a Microsoft spokesperson said that platform compatibility could vary from game to game, but doesn’t explicitly mention its first-party studios.

“Our future Xbox Game Studios titles are being developed natively for Xbox Series X. We will continue to invest in tools for devs to scale across consoles,” reads that statement. “Which consoles each Studio/game can support will be based on what’s best for their game and their community at launch.”

The issue is made all the more confusing by the fact that Xbox reiterated its plans for cross generation launches as recently as last week, and in no uncertain terms. From last week’s Xbox Wire post: “We want every Xbox player to play all the new games from Xbox Game Studios. That’s why Xbox Game Studios titles we release in the next couple of years—like Halo Infinite—will be available and play great on Xbox Series X and Xbox One. We won’t force you to upgrade to Xbox Series X at launch to play Xbox exclusives.”

In this GDC 2018 developers Mohen Leo, David Collins, Judah Graham and Camille Cellucci discuss the future potential in immersive entertainment, including in-home and location-based experiences being developed at ILMxLAB.

It was an intriguing discussion with lots of practical examples from the speakers’ careers, most notably The Void immersive experience Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire that opened in 2018.

Didn’t catch it live? No worries; now you can watch this talk and many others completely free over on the official GDC YouTube channel!

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its accompanying YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC or VRDC already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page.