Osama Hussain

My second #GDC2024 talk is now on the Vault. Emma Varjo and I discuss 'deceptive design' in video games: how interface and system design can influence player behaviour toward unexpected and unwanted outcomes. And what does it mean for a game to be 'deceptive' anyway? Link to the talk (requires Vault access): https://lnkd.in/dt38hGiZ #gamesUR #UX #gamedev

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The Sumo Group closures really have broken me a bit, and I need to rant about the state of things. I'm sorry if it seems I'm glossing over all the closures before this one, but so many ex-students went there, so many ex-colleagues passed through there, and so my timeline is just filled with people looking for work. We keep talking and talking about the economic factors involved, Brexit and Covid and this and that ... the thing I can't stop thinking of is that in my life I've watched the world slowly pitch into a place of despondent capitalism. Art has become more about making stars and fame than helping people escape and reflect. A drive for "truth" and objectivity has resulted, paradoxically, in people putting more stock in spreadsheets and numbers than people. I can't help but feel that if you're bleating about finance and trade deals and business decisions, you're ignoring the fact that general support for artistic and creative endeavours has declined sharply and is still declining, even in the so-called "art world". Games are ultimately always going to be the first to fall in a culture war against creativity, because games are ultimately and profoundly pointless things. That's the whole majesty of the medium: they make us feel profound feelings, they help us explore our existence by being separate from reality, but to do so they MUST bring us nothing tangible in return. The truth is that our industry will probably bounce back to some degree, but it's not any financial structures or cost systems that will save game development as a medium and an art form - it's a cultural shift to recognise the importance of expressive and explorative subjective art in the world today, and the need to support creative endeavours without the pressure of financial recompense.

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If #gamesrecruitment was a MOBA/MMO 🎮 Internal teams are Tanks – big damage soaks constantly attacked on all sides. HR OPS/People are support classes – keeping everybody going. A GOOD Agency recruiter are high DPS/Rogue types – very targeted, very effective when used properly. A bad agency? See below… #Thursdaythoughts #GamesIndustry

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The hiring problem in games. Yes there really is one, and it's probably not what you think it is. Many studios over hire. I've seen this in tools businesses, game studios and publishers. The default seems to come from a need arising, then the assumption that to fulfil the need a person/s is required. I've seen this first hand, where instead of defaulting to the question 'how can we do this with who we have, without adding extra time and pressure to current staff?'... ...the default is usually 'how can we grow the team to do what we need?' Those businesses who default to evolving methods, processes, utilising generalists etc. before hiring...they're the ones who'll likely be winning over the next 5 years. They won't be laying people off when projects shutdown. They won't be laying people off when investors ask for lean, as they'll already be lean. And they won't be laying people off to follow industry trends, as they'll already be a leader in industry trends. This is even more pertinent with upcoming AI solutions coming to market. I hope if you're hiring, whatever the industry you're in, you're hiring for the long term and not just for the need you have right now. #management #hiringandpromotion #careers #technology #startups

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This is a solid example of why I dislike the term of “narrative wrapper”, as I posted in response to Richard’s prior post. In entertainment, the push and pull between the upbeats and downbeats determines the depth of the emotional experience. The basic mental processes that drive us to enjoy games require that gameplay and narrative work harmoniously to achieve a proper connection. Cognitive fatigue is real, and it is one of the reasons UX has emerged as a distinct discipline over the years. How much friction does it take to sever the connection between product and player, and how can we minimize that friction? A constant onslaught of tense gameplay can stop the landing of an otherwise appealing emotional beat. Similarly, too much exposition between moments of play can dilute the player’s connection to the core gameplay loop. If a team wishes to maximize the appeal of their product, they must cater to the player fantasy, and that requires meeting consumers at the intersection of their biological and behavioural realities.

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Want to learn how we took our card and set design process from months to hours? You should check out this webinar with Jessie Hughes from Leonardo Ai!

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Rishi Sunak’s plan to cut "Mickey Mouse" degrees has me thinking about how many of those degrees he deems worthless may be in fields crucial to video game development - like art, animation, and writing. One of the things that makes working in games such a rewarding career is the blend of creativity, innovation, and technical skills required to make the best games. Reducing support for these creative subjects could slow down the growth of the industry in the UK – even more so when considering the proposal to raise the salary threshold for a Skilled Worker visa to £38,700. The video game industry's success in the UK shows how tech and creativity work so well together. Let's keep that balance strong. #gamedevelopment #gamedev  #creativeindustries #videogamedevelopment

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Contractors: Gaming's future or a temp fix? (contractors will never replace permanent staff) For the past 6 years I've mainly hired for permanent roles, but things have changed. Recently, I've noticed an increasing demand for contractor roles and would like to share my view. Permanent Staff Advantages: Stability, deep team integration, strong company culture, and consistent development processes. Permanent Staff Challenges: Higher overhead costs and long-term employment obligations. Contractor Benefits: Flexibility, quick scaling for specific projects, fresh perspectives, and specialized expertise. Contractor Challenges: Lack of team connection and continuity, with less integration into company culture. I that that long term commitment and financial risks push companies to seek contractors. What do you think will be the preferred model in the long run? #contractors #gamesindustry #recruitment #hiring #jobs

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Two weeks ago, I attended Interactive Futures, a computer games outreach event held in Leamington Spa, UK. It changed the way I use AI in my workflow. Despite spending over 20 years in the industry, five of them locally, this was my first time at the event. I’m glad I went and I thoroughly enjoyed it. There were several highlights worth mentioning: * A great introduction to the vibrant games community around Leamington Spa and the West Midlands. * Opportunities for real, practical conversations with games industry professionals. * Engaging panel talks on industry hot topics. Of these, the panel talks stayed with me the most. I was particularly interested in the discussions on the future of games, especially the role that AI will play (many thanks to Clare Green, Laura Steel, 🕹️Csaba Berenyi, James Norris, Hernan Polloni) Over the years, I’ve attended many talks on AI and have a reasonable understanding of the subject. However, one comment seemed to challenge me directly: how much have I integrated AI into my workflow? The truth was, I hadn't—at least not to the extent I could. I knew of tools, the usual suspects, but they weren’t genuinely part of my workflow habits. Not as much as they might be. Since then, I've started to recognise and integrate the practical power of current generative AI tools, which feels like the sweet spot for my personal use. I’m now incorporating AI more into my daily routine—as a sounding board, a visualiser, a time-saver, and a productivity booster. This shift has led me to rethink how I view AI right now, even if my grander hopes for the possibilities remain. Initially, I saw AI as a grand intellectual game-changer, something that would mark a paradigm shift in how we perform jobs, but essentially unfinished and kept at arm's length. It might still be that huge leap in the future, but for now, for me, it’s more of a practical tool that I can weave into my approach rather than something that completely transforms the game. From a workflow perspective, it’s less like moving from two-dimensional to three-dimensional chess, and more like the introduction of metal rackets in tennis, DRS in Formula One, or VAR in football. The game remains fundamentally the same but, to play it well, you need to understand the changes, even if they aren’t immediately apparent on the surface. Because before the huge change, as is common, there will be a number of incremental changes for those who are looking. My goal now is to ensure I’m really looking. If you are interested in further insights into AI’s impact on tools, as well as the possibilities in the future, I'll include some links in the comments.

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🛟GAME INDUSTRY RESOURCES🛟 Another week, another round of layoffs and people affected by them. The amazing Mayank Grover compiled this list of people who post game industry resources, and I have to say he’s one of them! He and his company Outscal provide so much information, funding, knowledge, courses, support, and opportunities for so many. Also follow these people: Amir Satvat - The video game community legend with a giant treasure of resources dedicated to helping a game dev in every possible. From resources that can help you find work to posts that can help you get visibility, you should definitely make use of www.amirsatvat.com Caitlin Cooke - Always provides a list of game jobs as soon as they open up! Latest Resource: https://lnkd.in/gGHxufpY Alexander Rehm - A frontline warrior who compiles and provides video game career resources for almost all the disciplines of game development Latest Resource: https://lnkd.in/gRsYe5iG Jordan Mazer — He looks out for the community with his best-in-class tips on building portfolios and performing well in interviews. Latest Resource: https://lnkd.in/gcP2Rm5n Ruty Rutenberg - Shares and compiles almost every resource that the game community forerunners upload. Has a list of important individuals to follow if you are a game developer trying to become a part of this community. Latest Resource: https://lnkd.in/gzBKRTNC (He listed me) Kelly Bender - An expert Narrative Designer who provides detailed Narrative Design tips, templates, insights, and information. Latest Resource: https://lnkd.in/gdbpvDjx Ali Farha - Helping the community understand video game tech better Latest Resource: https://lnkd.in/gMY4ZSig Willem Delventhal - Indie Game Academy founder, who runs this gamified online school for game developers! His latest resource is on how to break into the games industry. Latest Resource: https://lnkd.in/gDT28p2u Alex Gombos - Her most recent thread on game marketing jobs! Latest Resource: https://lnkd.in/gBiDsnmq Kat Craig - Her Latest UI/UX and Visual Design games job resource. https://lnkd.in/gu_VtnZP Ash C. - This is her latest post in support of Sumo Group and Timbre Games. https://lnkd.in/gmXjdT7Z

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Complaining won't get you hired. Sending hundreds of applications without a reply sucks, I get it. And job hunting in game development is tough in 2024. But hear me out: No one hires out of pity. People hire because you show value. Instead of complaining about the market, focus on creating value for others: • Share common best practices • Contribute to professional topics • Create useful solutions or courses • Make a tutorial on a complex issue Or go a step further: prepare a list of recommendations for the company you want to join and send it with your CV (and also share it publicly). How so, you might ask? Do something for others for FREE? Yes, absolutely. It's called "content marketing." You create value upfront, become more recognizable, and gain a reputation. And then you get hired easily because you provided value upfront. If you're willing to spend hundreds of hours on interviews, spend some time creating value for others. It'll pay off in the long run.

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Now that Timbre is officially closed -- and my heart goes out to all those affected -- I think someone should ask WTF Sumo Digital Ltd was thinking in making this drastic cull. You have a team of about 100 folks who -- just based on the outpouring of support and collective love between them; I know nothing about the studio itself -- seem to have been a high-functioning group of developers who had worked together for up to 2 years (obviously some of them were newish, as the median time employed was about a year; I saw some layoff notices from people who'd been hired within the past 2-3 months, so this suggests the leadership team had no idea the closure was coming, unless they are just evil...). Anyone who has built a team understands the value of having folks across many different disciplines who work well together. There is significant value in this, and you don't just throw it away. I understand Sumo decided they needed to make 15% cuts to save costs, but then why not cut 15% uniformly (more or less) across all your studios and the parent org? If you are cutting 250 people worldwide across multiple studios (I count 14 studios: https://lnkd.in/gxmRTJcz), why then cut 100 of them in one place? 250 people across 14 studios is less than 20 people per studio (some of the Sumo studios have 100s of people). You could have cut 15 from Timbre and kept 85 employed. Could they not have sold the studio to another publisher? Or found a buyer from outside games? Both Relic and Phoenix were bought by non-game buyers (private equity in Relic's case, a blockchain company in Phoenix's case), so there's clearly money from outside the industry looking to invest and own a piece of the games business, even in super expensive Vancouver. This doesn't seem like just another "oh whoops we overhired during COVID" story. What, did you set up an entire new studio from scratch and hire 100 people between 2022 and 2024 by mistake? Tencent bought Sumo a while ago. Tencent has more money than anyone. Did Tencent not want this studio? They could have spun it out from Sumo. Microsoft? Ubisoft (they used to have a Vancouver studio...)? Anyone? Nobody out there wanted a team of 100 folks who knew how to work together and had built some amount (maybe a lot?) of a game together before they were unceremoniously shut down? No publisher wanted to pick up the game and continue to float the studio until it shipped? There's been a lot of love being generated from the demise and aftermath of this studio. But where's the rage?

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Customise your #csi investigation inside Virtual Reality! This demo was on Meta Quest 3. To have a demo please email us info@RiVR.uk #Forensic #CSI #Police #Crimescene #Investigation #VRTraining #Crime #Immersive #Learning #ImmersiveLearning

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𝐀𝐰𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐭 - shares appreciated (they REALLY DO help) - my door is open for casual chats or intros on this role. Recently re-titled so please check out the JD even if you've seen it already. 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐥 𝐕𝐅𝐗 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭. (ignore the link title of Lead, it hasn't pulled through yet). 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨 Spliced Inc. - fully remote role but our 𝐚𝐰𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 studio is located in the heart of Altrincham. Be as hybrid, onsite or remote as you want. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐢𝐠 - You're either already a principal, want to be a principal or you're happy to sidestep from a lead into this role. Regardless, you'll be a part of a small team (+1) that sits in our Tech Art org and have access to some of the best talent the industry has to offer. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞 - you thought I was going to spill the beans? 🤣. AAA, stylized, UE5, Houdini/Embergen, Blueprints. That's your lot but, will tell more once you're in process, of course :). 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭? - Either apply or simply message me with your interest. We have 5 steps but don't let that put you off, we can crank through them in a week or so. You'll get a solid feel for our vibe and people and you'll get to meet our founder who will personally take you through the game at the end of the process. Click below for a glimpse of your [potential] future 💚. #vfx #splicedinc #neteasegames #welovejobs

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https://lnkd.in/eFu3ATPr hi this is Steven Moore no way I repeat no way children and kids cannot play the superhero horror game called Blade in 2000 that's why the computer game called Blade is Rated M because that's why the computer game called Blade has too much violence too much blood and gore too much language that's why the computer game called Blade is Rated M for PlayStation 1 that's why children and kids cannot play the computer game called Blade because that's why the computer game called Blade has too much violence too much blood and gore too much language that's why the computer game called Blade is Rated M for PlayStation 1 from Steven Moore

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How we helped Hexworks earn serious fan praise for Lords of the Fallen's voice acting. ... and saved them 100's of hours of internal time and resources. In 2014 the original LOTF game was released. - 8/10 for story - 2/10 for voice acting Based in Spain, Hexworks knew it would be hard to cast and produce the English VO by themselves... - Lack of in house resources - Already super busy - no time to take on the casting and VO production - Didn't have the contacts, connections or experience to voice produce in English They reached out to us when one of their team members recommended us from a previous project. - We provided a small, dedicated VO team. Everybody was contactable. Fast - We provided 'multi-location' casting. Working with actors across the globe - Cast a variety of diverse, authentic and interesting talent - We handled all project management - Client focused on their most important work / tasks Hexworks got instant access to our Producer, Editor & Casting / Voice Director. Nice & easy. The result was an outstanding cast assembled from all over the world. Each actor bringing their own unique story, background and lived experience to their role. This is where the magic happens. And the fans loved it. The voice performances received glowing reviews on forums. All because Hexworks decided to: - Go where the talent is and not just base casting in one studio / city - Work with a smaller, story driven partner whose owners are hands on each project "Yeah but not all game devs want to record remote sessions". But remote doesn't = home studio. When we prioritise incredible casting in multi locations. We... - Record in our own studios. - Record with our in market partner studios / facilities. - If home studio is only option and approved. We test, test & test again. - Send all sessions to our post team in Glasgow for edit / Mastering / QC For this to work: - We only take on clients who believe in quality & creativity over convenience - Focus on problem solving for our clients rather than maximising profits - Prioritise innovation and creativity during casting If you want to protect your team's time and get more interesting results with your casting, DM me and I'll send you our latest studio deck. P.S. Full transparency - we're not the cheapest. We tend to charge a little more as our service requires a higher level of project management. But it's worth it. I like to think we're reassuringly expensive. #GameDev #VoiceActing #GameAudio

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Hey folks ! I've been putting in place a small proof of concept / example on how you can use the Python remote execution in Unreal, to link a DCC ( in that case, Houdini ) and Unreal. 🎞 Here is the video: https://lnkd.in/eKir8JyC In this example, I apply a very simple hda on a selected asset(s) in the content browser directly (no Houdini engine involved here). It runs a hython session under the hood to process the hda, spawn an UI blueprint widget to show the progress of the process and automatically closes it when done. See a quick summary of the pipeline in the attached picture 😊. I'm thinking about maybe doing a in depth tutorial on how to do it with a more complex example, how to set up the pipeline as well as customizing the command and its parameters. If you'd be interested in that, let me know in the comments !😊 ⬇ #unreal #python #pipeline #videogamedev #houdini

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