Skip to content

Category: Opinions

I don’t want to specialize

Published by Paolo on 30/05/2022

I work as a game designer and I don’t want to specialize. The Industry is constantly looking for high specialization, but if I imagine myself blocked in a specific role I can easily out of video games.

When I meet some people who wants to join the industry and asks me for an advice, I translate this way of thinking to my mentorship to. Don’t try to specialize.

To me, game designers are a kind of designers. Game design is already a specialization. I am in the f2p sector because it is very common to be there in Europe. Someday, I would love to work on AAA or Indie games, too.

I like everything in game design: the narrative, the system, the level and the gameplay design. I like all their branches. And my dream is to work on a little bit of everything. That’s what motivates me, in the end.

If you are new, do not think in specialization. Start by picking a field, instead. Imagine you pick level design.

Then scan all the companies you would like to work for someday and make some specific level design for one of their titles. Iterate and take notes on every problem faced. Share only the best things. Build your portfolio like that!

Start by picking a specialization, then try to go general!

Boiling the Ocean

Published by Paolo on 26/05/2022

I was talking with a LinkedIn contact I made recently and he told me that his company is working on a specific platform for a specific place in the US. I asked him why to target just a specific location instead than a broader region. He told me that he wants to build something very innovative and meaningful. It is not necessary to boil the Ocean, he added.

This man is completely right. We often fall into the trap of thinking too big. We know that videogames can become huge and scale tremendously. We often start to argue on scalabilty and growth before of even produce the very first demo. That attitude brings a lot of cursed design problems.

Best games start from the will to deliver the best possible gameplay to the smallest possible audience, many times. Before of 2012 very few realities were thinking in serving mature women with their games. Then the thing became huge. The games of that time scaled. It was because they were very well made.

They weren’t trying to boil the ocean.

Homa Games and Popcore cherry picking in Spain

Published by Paolo on 12/05/2022

I notice that the companies Homa Games and Popcore are recruiting many talents who have worked for years in large multinationals. Especially people from King and Scopely are migrating massively there.

If these corporations stopped inventing job titles to try to gratify their most bored staff.
And maybe stopped sending unnecessary technical tests to candidates and focused on finding and growing their talent.
And if they published the salaries with their job offers, to prove that they really are the professional organisation they claim to be.
If they stopped thinking about growth in the early stages of pre-production and focused on finding new winning formulas.

If all of this were satisfied, I’m sure, people wouldn’t move from there! The salaries are good, the colleagues certainly smart and experienced.

When I see so many people migrating to unknown companies, the conclusion I have is clear.

Be ready for no-internet scenarios

Published by Paolo on 25/02/2022

In my dayjob I use a lot: Google Suite, Unity3D, Python, Github (and git in general) and a bunch of tools more such Slack, Discord or Machinations.

I work into the cloud, so that every document and every simulation or concept or prototype I produce is instantly available from everywhere.

Those are strange times, anyway. We cannot take the Internet for granted forever.

What if tomorrow you cannot access to the GDD you were workin on? What if you cannot pull the last commit from your devs? Can you work offline for, let’s say, a week?

Probably it’s time to return back to the Office Suite too…

What I see in the Supercell’s CEO message

Published by Paolo on 17/02/2022

I read the last message left by the CEO of Supercell on their official website. I really liked three things:

  1. The CEO recognizes that luck is part of the equation, when we look for the reason of success of certain games
  2. The CEO recognizes publicly his mistakes, being a true leader and also a shield for his teams
  3. The CEO still has the mentality of “be bold, take risks” needed to start a project. Also if experts say that, at some point, you should go conservative.

I don’t know this guy, I have only met him once in a fair here in Barcelona years ago. I remind a simple person. That doesn’t make a complete judgement, but messages like this I believe that improve the industry.

Experts may say that Supercell YoY growth has been seriously going down in the last 3 years, but from the other side: the industry needs boldness, the industry needs humbleness and the industry needs honesty.

World of MMO is changing and I have to accept it

Published by Paolo on 15/02/2022

When I was a young player I used to play a lot to Ultima Online. I played in an Italian shard, with real life friends. Good old times.

You started as a simple peasant with a class and lot of illusion. Then you set your goals. Most of the time I was interacting with other people. That was very interesting to me. Being able to play with a 56k connection. Good old times.

I downloaded yesterday Lost Ark from Smilegate. I don’t know if the product will be successful, but:

  • Loading time is extremely long and the game is extremely heavy.
  • You already have demonstrated (according to the story) that you are the hero. During the tutorial some god says that you are the chosen one.
  • Characters are hyper-sexualized
  • Combat system is all about crowd control, which is cool but you put let’s focus on the beauty and nobility of each monster
  • You have a mount from the very first moment you join the others in the server

Before you had to sweat to get things, now you have just everything. Or, at least, that is the feeling. In fact, it is a free-to-play game and I guess they will cash at some point. For sure mounts, pets and cosmetics.

My trouble is with the game experience itself. You are not the small fish trying to become a hero and then a semi-god. You are already the hero, the chosen one. What are you trying to achieve, apart from showing-off your combos and powers?

Vampire Survivors – Small game, well made

Published by Paolo on 11/02/2022

I am completely engaged to Vampire Survivors. Made by few people, it’s a game about power creep. I am totally engaged. Here my last gameplay:

The goal is to collect experience and level up, becoming stronger and unlocking new characters and scenarios.

Tower of Wants

  • I want to kill monsters to get experience
  • I want to get experience to unlock the next power
  • I want to unlock the next power so that I can survive more time
  • I want to survive more time to get more gold
  • I want to get more gold to unlock more characters
  • I want more characters to have new play styles
  • I want new play styles to unlock more achievements
  • I want to unlock more achievements to complete the game

It’s a simple idea, built around a retro theme (Castelvania). I admire people who build this kind of things. It is so smart and make me always thing: why didn’t I made this?

Are prizes good for young game designers?

Published by Paolo on 03/02/2022

My social networks are filled with celebrations and local prizes given to people at their first experience. Then I look for the game itself and sometimes I find a demo on itch.io. Some other a bad rated game on Steam.

I lived that. You feel like the new Hideo Kojima for a minute or two and then? Then the reality returns back and you have nothing really. Wouldn’t be better to work for a company learning from people better than you?

Some reality is hard, videogames are hard to make. But you should focus on making games and avoid feeding your ego the best you can if you want a bright future. A prize is a cake for the ego.

Local communities want to foster their local talent, I get it. But is give a small statue the right way of doing that? Should they expect for some kind of return in terms of visibility or actual game revenue first?

Often happens that there are people getting prizes and other making a good career and eventually earning money.

Is it really worth to get a prize?

I sell you this cloud!

Published by Paolo on 01/02/2022

I am selling you this cloud. Do you want it? 100 euros, please.

Your for 100 euros

What can you do with it? You can look at it, you can photograph it and maybe use photography to create an image. You could use this image as a desktop background. Or you could choose to use it as a profile picture on your favorite social network.

Fast, now! The opportunity is passing by. Do you want it?

What is it for? Well, obviously a cloud is for the nature to keep working as it should. A cloud could generate water for the world. A cloud is good for the World. And this cloud can be yours.

Then does it disappear? Well, sure, but in the meantime it’s yours and yours alone. You can also sell it to other people. I will only take 5% commission as the issuer of the cloud ownership contract.

Don’t you understand? Come on, but it’s the future! Are you really not able to understand the future? Ok, come on there. But buy it, it’s 100 euros. Then you will understand what it is for. A Filipino lady earned $ 1 million on a cloud last week. What are you doing, are you missing it? You would be the only fool, I can assure you.

Me? I have many. And with that lady I earned 50,000 euros. The lady helped improve the world, that cloud of hers probably generated good drinking water. The lady can now be rich with her family.

And then the cloud disappeared.

(This NFT business story reminds me a lot of the casino business. I remember the words of an old boss I had: The best way to win at the casino? Open a casino!)

What is Talent exactly?

Published by Paolo on 27/01/2022

A definition of talent is people or a person with a natural ability to do something well.

Companies are looking for Talents. Recruiters are posting messaging on the importance of finding the right talent. Coaches and leaders are repeating how is important to keep the Talents.

Natural ability. Let’s explore this concept.

What is a natural ability? An ability that’s inherited. Aptitudes that stabilize around age 14, that make certain tasks or activities easy to complete, and that require relatively less time, effort, or energy to perform. When we operate in an environment where we can employ these Natural Abilities, we are happiest and perform our best.

Is it possible to develop a natural ability? Skills are learned and don’t always come easily and take relatively more time, effort, or energy to complete. Natural abilities are just inherited.
According to the experts, you may have or not talent. You can put the effort you want to grow your skills.

Companies and leaders are looking to find and keep the talent. To test your talent they test your skills instead!

You may or may not have the talent, the natural ability. It is not your choice. You may be able to spot your talent and bet on it. You may be able to grow the proper skills and become a skilled talent.

Or you may never discover your talent. I would be a super talented technical artist, who knows! I work as a game designer. Am I a talent? I don’t know. My mother says I am!
You have your passions! So that you are growing your skills to nurture your passions. Still, you have not discovered your talent in this scenario.

You have your job! working everyday you are growing your skills for your job. Also here, it is very possible that you still didn’t discovered your true talent. You would be a tremendous guitar player.

You can think that you have talent in something, but you are just skilled enough to do your job above average.

It is good for our mental health to stop showing off our natural abilities, since those are there. Focus on grow our skills everyday, instead. Because it is the only thing we can actually control.