Black Shell Media Blog
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Business | Developer Spotlight | Game Design | Game Development
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Check out the Indie Insider podcast for interviews with industry veterans and experts!
5 Conversations Indie Devs Should be Paying Attention To
It can be easy to get caught up in your own project when you're up to your knees in concept art and code. And there's nothing inherently wrong with that. Losing yourself in the world of your own game is one of the best parts of being a game dev, after all. That said,...
What’s in It for Me: Why Should Anybody Buy Your Game?
This article by Steven Long originally appeared on the author's Patreon page. Why should anybody buy your game? In marketing and sales, we have a nifty acronym that pretty much sums up the customer’s thinking: WIFM. That’s pronounced like, “whiff ‘em,” as in, “Are...
Indie Insider #47 – The Road to Play NYC, Week 3
Guests: Robert Canciello, Founder of Eos Interactive Jane Friedhoff and Andy Wallace, Developers and Art Makers Dan Butchko, CEO of Playcrafting Topics discussed: Robert's thoughts on project and team management How a varied background (such as one in theatre)...
The Best and Worst Game Mechanics Ever
Throughout the evolution of video games there have been major milestones with the development of game mechanics. As video game development progressed, developers would emulate, tweak and refine mechanics other developers used. This is nothing to frown at as some might...
A-Life: An Insight into Ambitious AI
The S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game series developed by GSC Game World is somewhat of an underrated gem with a global cult following. They are a trilogy of games that take on the role of depicting an alternate history. Within this world, the Chernobyl Incident occurs twice,...
Is it Worth Making an HTML5 Web Game?
Recently, we wrote about the future of HTML5 games and discovered that prospects for success are perfectly attainable for the average HTML5 developer. This kind of statement, of course, is always met with a few incredulous stares, since these games tend to be swept...
4 Highlights from ChinaJoy 2017
The 15th ChinaJoy event was held at the Shanghai New International Expo Center July 27th through the 30th. Nearly a thousand exhibitors and gamers around the world gathered in about 430,500 square feet to see the latest in game business and joint development. ChinaJoy...
The 6 MMO Quest Types and How they Work
Recently, I started playing Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn after years of a personal grudge against Massively Multiple Online games. The quests of this game have made me realize how, over the years, the MMO genre has been changing. My MMO experience bounces between...
Feeling Lost When Putting Scrum into Practice in Your Dev Project? This Story Can Help You!
Ready to start working on a new video game development project? Great! But not everything is about coding. In fact, the most difficult part comes when several people have to work together towards the same goal and without a way to visualize all the to-do's things can...
After Twitter Teasers, Derek Yu Announces UFO 50, a New Project Coming in 2018
UFO 50, a new collaborative project between Derek Yu, Ojiro Fumuto, Jon Perry, Eirik Suhrke, and Paul Hubans, has been officially announced. It will feature 50 games with familiar 8-bit design and modern game design staples. It popped up weeks ago under the hashtag...
Indie Insider #46 – The Road to Play NYC, Week 2
Guests: Joe Tringali, Director of Digital Continue Josh DeBonis, President of BunbleBear Games Zac Dixon, Creative Director of IV Studio Kati Nawrocki, Art Director of Computer Lunch Dan Butchko, CEO of Playcrafting Topics discussed: Joe's insight into...
Mini-Guide: How to Contact the Press and Get Noticed
The fastest way to grow your fanbase is to get in front of someone else’s audience. Getting featured on Polygon, a decent review on TouchArcade, or even a mention by GiantBomb can have people flock to your game. Getting the press to pay attention to you is getting...
Pumpkin Spice Plotte: Writing Heroes and Plots
“A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on [their] fellow man.”...
Community Building: Understanding Players And Focusing On Interaction
With the ever-increasing numbers of people playing games, there is an increasing number of players who want to start a discussion in relation to those games, and open discussion forums and social platforms make that easier than ever. In a public forum, you have the...
The Lazy Dev’s Guide to Staying Sharp And Avoiding Procrastination
Staying sharp and being productive are two common complaints for everyone, but more so for the lazy developer. Most have day jobs, get home tired, and still need to make dinner, clean up a bit, and make time for the family before finally curling up on the couch to...
We’re All in This Together: How to Build a Cohesive, Collaborative Team
Developing a great game can be quite a challenge nowadays, because there are many things you have to take into account. One of these things is your team. Let’s be real, there’s no such thing as the "perfect" game development team. Your goal should be realistic: Put...
Learning From Joel: A Dissection of Successful Character Design
For the sake of background and proving the strength of my argument, let me begin this article by saying I have an unending love for stories. The way they weave together, the way the characters become these...either likable or detested people in our real lives. It's...
Indie Insider #45 – The Road to Play NYC, Week 1
Guests: Nick Fortugno, CCO of Playmatics Rebecca Bennett, Marketing & Community Manager of Dreamsail Games Lawrence Mascia, Owner of Goodnight Games Ben Miller, Lead Designer of Fabraz Dan Butchko, CEO of Playcrafting Topics discussed: Nick's guide to...
5 Customer Service Tips You Need to Sell Your Game Without Steam
Did you know that Steam handles 60,000 refund requests per day? That’s a whopping 10,000 more daily refunds than they handled back in May 2017. Some days, the spike goes up to 100,000 or more, but 9-12% might not be addressed immediately. And despite this, the digital...
How to Market Your Indie Game: A Comprehensive Overview by Epic Games
This guest post first appeared on the Unreal Engine blog. Thanks Jess for letting us share it here. If you want to contact Jess about working in Unreal, email her: jess.hider [at] epicgames [dot] com! INTRODUCTION Hi! Jess here, European Community Manager for Unreal...
Are Distributors the New Publishers?
There is always something going on in the video game industry, and constant change is one of them. As such, the roles of journalists, developers, and players have all been altered in one way or another and will continue to change. But the roles that have changed the...
Balancing Act – Gameplay and Story in Roguelikes
Stories within video games are an element that takes up a decent amount of what a player will experience. Developers design gameplay to support a story while others will do the opposite, sacrificing the story instead. A middle-ground would be to find a balance between...
How to Better Serve Users By Providing Multiple Payment Methods
PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, and other alternative payment methods. It seems they’re accepted everywhere, both online and in brick and mortar stores. It should be no surprise: after all, over 80 percent of online shoppers report that they have used an online alternative...
Indie Insider #44 – John Master Lee, Product & Brand Executive
This week's guest: John Master Lee, a veteran product and brand executive in the video game industry. Topics discussed: How the Lean Startup Methodology can help optimize your life and work Whether or not your geographical location impacts your ability to...