Justin Baker

🌟 Big reveal time once again 🌟 It’s shaping up to be an exciting week as we unveil another lineup of amazing Mini Dapps that’ll soon be live on LINE NEXT Inc. Messenger—all exclusively powered by Kaia Chain! 💚 Exclusively powered by Kaia Labs Limited, the Dapp Portal (@dapp_portal) is your gateway to Mini Dapps, connecting millions of users across Asia through LINE Messenger. 🚀 Here’s the latest lineup to get hyped about (featuring their X (formerly Twitter) tags—follow them for updates!): 🎮 Axolt's Escape // @AxoltsEscape 📈 IX Swap // @IxSwap 🐉 Lair Finance // @LairFinance 😺 Meowtopia // @meowtopiagame 🏓 Ping Pong Parade // @PingPongParade 🎮 Retro.fun // @retrodotfun ⚔️ Sid Eternal // @ZatteraProtocol 🤳 Social.Meme // @SocialMeme2024 🌌 Televerse // @TeleverseXYZ ✨ Wonderbits // @wonderbitsio Which one are you most excited to try? Let me know in the comments, and let’s gear up for an incredible wave of innovation! 🌊 #JBlaze #KaiaMiniDapps #LINEKaia #BlockchainInnovation #Games #Apps #Kaia #LineNext #ThinkGrowth

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Tag along on our journey to create the next generation of virtual reality experiences🚀 #gamedevs #montreal #canuko #canukogames

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Freedman Design Institute (FDI) is addressing a key challenge in Alberta's growing esports and gaming community: the lengthy and complex game development process. By narrowing its focus to game designers, FDI is helping them overcome the hurdles of launching their games in just four months, accelerating their path to success in this competitive industry. As an Alberta Catalyzer Velocity alumnus, Founder Matt Freedman was working through how to structure the business and identify customers. The resources, coaching, and pitching opportunity provided by the program were game-changers, giving him a clearer understanding of his customer base and how to approach marketing—crucial elements for FDI's success. "Pitching at the Velocity Showcase was transformative. It taught me the importance of being specific about what your business does and tying your message to that", he explains. Add FDI to your startup watch list. Read more in this Taproot Publishing Inc. article https://lnkd.in/g-xTZfeb

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Another week, another round of layoffs, another studio closure, and another blow to the Vancouver game dev scene. Game development in Vancouver has been on life support for the past few years, and what a shocking fall from grace in comparison to how things looked in the early to mid-2000s where you couldn't throw a BC roll (sushi reference) without hitting a triple-A studio! You can blame more favourable tax credits in other Canadian provinces (which doesn't help!) but that's not the real reason for the decay, is it? We're not really competing against other provinces within our country, we're competing with a global talent market and a shift to remote work that has driven game development to lower cost regions that can produce stuff that's just as good as anything we can make. It's a shock and a wake-up call, perhaps too late. Everyone is on survival mode right now and there are still rough waters ahead. Today doesn't seem to be the day for big-picture industry analysis, but when the dust settles and the pain of layoffs is not so fresh for people, it'll be time to sit down and ask ourselves some tough questions about how we got here. I'm getting tired of saying it, but my heart goes out to all those affected by the current round of layoffs and closures. 💔

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🎙️ New Series G podcast episode: Featuring Raphael van Lierop - CEO and Founder of Hinterland, the Vancouver-based studio behind the brilliant survival game "The Long Dark". ⭐ This discussion features topics including: - The early stages of building Hinterland as a company and studio - Managing Early Access expectations with the game community - Building a company culture that promotes studio longevity Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gabUNB-g YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gmbNJsxJ Here's a short clip from the episode where Raphael discusses how the team decided upon The Long Dark's Steam description:

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🎮 Introducing Given Labs: Where Blockchain Gaming Meets Canadian Innovation 🍁 At Given Labs, we’re on a mission to redefine gaming with Crypto Teens—a cutting-edge, 3D Action-Adventure RPG that’s as bold and innovative as the people behind it. Based in Toronto, Canada, our indie studio is combining decades of game development expertise with the power of blockchain to deliver a gaming experience like no other. Built in Unreal Engine, Crypto Teens brings together thrilling gameplay, breathtaking visuals, and a future-focused narrative—all while empowering players to own their in-game assets and contribute to real-world impact. But what truly sets Given Labs apart? Our Team. We’re a passionate group of creators, coders, artists, and visionaries, bringing a fresh perspective to both gaming and blockchain. Meet the people making Crypto Teens a reality: Leo Barbe – Chief Executive Officer/Founder Moji Obadimeji - Chief Operations Officer Christopher Mifsud– Studio Advisor Mihir Mehta – Art Director/Environments Shravan Anarase – Lead Animator Sanzhar Ualiyev – Lead Programmer Parth Naik – Environment Artist Shahid Afridi – Programmer Alessio Conte – UI Artist Katerina Nizola – 3D Artist Chantelle Ouano – Community Manager Crypto Teens isn’t just another blockchain game—it’s an experience inspired by the greats: ✨ Hidden learning like Assassin’s Creed ⚔️ Smooth combat and movement like Jedi Survivor 🌎 Immersive worlds like Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom 🏞️ Stunning environments like Horizon Zero Dawn 💡 Futuristic vibes like Cyberpunk 2077 And the best part? It’s proudly Canadian-made 🍁 We’re not just building a game; we’re creating a new benchmark for blockchain gaming. Over the coming months, we’ll be sharing exclusive updates, behind-the-scenes content, and ways to get involved. Whether you’re a gamer, a blockchain enthusiast, or just curious, we’d love to have you join us on this incredible journey. 👉 Follow us to stay connected and learn more about the future of gaming! #BlockchainGaming #CryptoTeens #GameDevelopment #CanadianInnovation #IndieGames #UnrealEngine

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Games24x7 announced the elevation of Tridib Mukherjee to the position of Chief Data Science & AI Officer. In his new role, Tridib will continue to drive Games24x7's data-centric approach, leveraging his extensive expertise in data science and artificial intelligence to drive innovation and enhance user experiences. Read more👇 https://lnkd.in/d8TVHRa4 #digitalmarketing #marketing #socialmedia #business #entrepreneur #branding #socialmediamarketing #contentmarketing #growthhacking #marketingstrategy #growthmindset #leadgeneration #sales #engagement #communitybuilding #influencermarketing #results #impact

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GTA VI is launching in Fall 2025! (Fall 2025 = 2026? ... Sorry, I’m joking 😂) This franchise is vital to my gaming past. No game has risen like this one over years. I wish R* a smooth launch and success! Take-Two earnings call highlights: • GTA 6 confirmed for Fall 2025 release. • Rockstar confident in Fall 2025 release. • Take-Two confident in GTA 6's success. • GTA 5 has sold 200 million units total. • GTA series has sold 425 million copies. • Expect more GTA Online DLC & events. • GTA Online sales down, GTA+ revenue up. What is your all-time favorite GTA game? Choose your reaction or share your own. My top pick? GTA V. ❤️

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Friends, our weekly community impact update for June 7th! This week, I'm so proud that we added Hailey Rojas' #opentonetwork resource as our 16th community offering. I thank Desirée R. also for her help with that content and design leadership this week as well. Haven't signed up yet for our community badge rewards for being a member and participating in community coaching? Register here: https://lnkd.in/evQpQDfd Our Four Headline Stats First (as always), straight from amirsatvat.com: - Job Placements: We've successfully facilitated over 2,000 job placements. - Advisory Chats: Our community coaches have engaged in more than 37,000 free advisory chats - We added 808 members to our LinkedIn community (88,973 total). - We added 336 members to our Discord community (3,735 total). JOIN OUR DISCORD COMMUNITY HERE: discord.gg/amirsatvat Resource Updates: - Hiring Visibility: Our community now includes 7,501 job seekers, with 70 new candidates joining recently. - Coaching: The number of coaches has risen to 2,228, thanks to 19 new volunteers offering support across our four services. - Role Listings: There are now 13,783 job opportunities across 3,616 organizations. Providing a full update on this is my top priority. - Career Planning: Both our General Planning Resources and our Early Career Pack are now live. Please submit any additional contributions you may have! - Games Org Support Posts: We have highlighted 98 individuals affected by programmatic layoffs. - Free LinkedIn Premium Trials: This week, we provided 20 new 2-month LinkedIn Premium trials to gamers, bringing the total to 370. - Ticket To Ride: We have given out 370 free tickets to gamers across 5 events, thanks to 29 generous sponsors. - Weekly Community Spotlight Posts: We have posted 8 spotlights, allowing community members seeking work to highlight themselves. How You Can Help: We have a page (https://lnkd.in/dY9KQ5a3) detailing 14 ways to contribute, highlighting areas of elevated and highest needs marked in yellow and red. This Week’s 8 New Mentors, 6 New CV + LinkedIn Reviewers, 3 New Mock Interviewers, and 2 New Art Portfolio Reviewers are in the comments! Thanks for your support and let's continue changing gamers' lives together! Super Amiro

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🎉 The Dapps Are Coming, Powered by Kaia! 🟢 Big things are in store as we introduce the Mini Dapp Launch Day Lineup on the Dapp Portal, exclusively powered by Kaia Labs Limited on LINE NEXT Inc.'s Messenger. 🌟 Take a look at the game covers in the preview—some might feature characters you recognize! (I’ve already spotted a few of my favorites, like Crayon Shin Chan and Captain Tsubasa 😉). We’re committed to bringing you only the best of the best Mini Dapps, and I can’t wait to try them out myself 🎮 Kicking off in January 2025, we’re launching with 20 handpicked Mini Dapps featuring hyper-casual games, iconic IP experiences, and more. And this is just the beginning—by mid-year, over 150 Mini Dapps will be available, creating a vibrant ecosystem for users and developers alike (woohoo) 😁 Curious to learn more about what’s coming your way? Check out the full details here 👉 https://lnkd.in/ggjxSTm9 #JBlaze #Kaia #Web3 #MiniDapps #Innovation #GamingEcosystem #LineNext #Dapps #Games #Tools #Innovation #KaiaKaia

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Another update 🤯, two in one week! Mark your calendars: we're also heading to XDS Spark in Vancouver from September 3-6. We're solving UI/UX challenges to help you deliver a seamless experience for your players. Join us at XDS to explore how we support your development needs and build something AMAZING together! #XDS2024 #GameDevelopment #UXUI #gamedev #xdsspark #xds

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Small productivity hacks for employers: when planning capacity for a new project, factor in "shrink." Shrink is a common operational / call centre metric that basically allows you to account for all the expected(and unexpected) unproductive time when a service rep won't be available to take calls - think: training, lunches, breaks, headaches, random things that come up but you can't think of right now. I hope managers never assume someone will be productive 100% of the time. So you figure out what 100% output would look like and then deduct shrink from that. Doing that gives you a more accurate sense of what you can accomplish with your bandwidth without setting false expectations and burning out your team. It creates a buffer in your operations. It also creates a sense of trust with your team, which will see you as a leader who really cares about them. Because now they know: - they can take care of their sick child,  - or they can go to the vet with their pet, - or they can even study new things that help them evolve professionally or personally, and still get their things done great, on time and schedule. If you want productivity, you must first understand people. Real leaders know that goals are hit when people are happy. They prioritise people over profits. This means you need to: - create a safe work environment  - respect their personal life - build a growing context - offer flexible work - give a fair pay. In other words, you need to step up for them. And you know who will benefit the most from this? Working Parents. #whatifthingsgoright

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It seems like only last week that myself, Rik Alexander and Ryan Woodland hit up Develop, but we're now just 2 weeks away from External Development Summit (XDS) in Vancouver! 🙌 I'll be downloading the XDS Connect app later today, and look forward to meeting with lots of Studios to discuss how we can help put their Unreal projects on turbo charge! We've seen very common requests from Studios we met at Develop, and have spoken to since, mainly around Unreal Engine performance issues. If you have queries around; -debugging and tracing -profiling and analysis -asset loading /dependency issues then we should talk ☺ I believe our CodeDev (Unreal Engine Experts) team is World-class when it comes to Unreal Engine- we'd love the opportunity to show you we know what we're talking about... I've been very quiet away at Disney with the family (purely research purposes, of course) and catching up since, but in case you were wondering, Tron 👇 at Magic Kingdom is different level ;)

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🎯 Today’s Betting on Tech’s Best Bet Company Showcase 🚀 🦖 Tiny Rex Games 🐲 Tiny Rex Games has made quite the impression in the gaming world since launching in 2020 in the vibrant city of Vancouver. TinyRex Games was founded by industry veterans Ella Harris, Kenny Huang, and Ernest Chan, Leveraging their extensive experience and passion for gaming, they are committed to creating engaging and immersive experiences that captivate players. Tiny Rex Games has quickly garnered attention for its unique approach to integrating social features with gaming mechanics, making their titles not only entertaining but also highly interactive. As they navigate the iGaming space, we are thrilled to shed light on their journey, especially as they are currently in a period of rapid growth, expanding their portfolio and exploring new opportunities to innovate within this competitive market. https://lnkd.in/eYGWyPqM #Gaming #VideoGames #GamerLife #PCGaming #ConsoleGaming #GamerGirl #Gamestagram #GamersOfInstagram #PlayStation #Xbox #Nintendo #EpicGames #GameDevelopers #RPG #FPS #MMORPG #Esports #TwitchStreamer #Gameplay #GameReview #IndieGames #GameArt #GamingCommunity #GamingNews #RetroGaming #VirtualReality #GameDeveloper #OnlineGaming #MobileGaming #ProGaming

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If you want to know why Take Two is cutting staff, they had an opportunity to buy Gearbox on the cheap in 2024 from Embracer after already overextending with Zynga in 2022. In the long run Gearbox (Borderlands) becomes as much a crown jewel of 2K Games as Visual Concepts (2K Sports) and Hangar 13/2K Czech (Mafia) were, and as much as Irrational Games (BioShock) was supposed to be before it imploded. The opportunity cost of purchasing Gearbox for 1/3 the price that Embracer paid 3 years earlier PLUS purchasing Zynga at a premium in 2022 PLUS the delays on GTA6 --> have led to Take Two slashing costs and studios in other areas (Private Division, and a few dev studios) as well as cancelling external published projects and contracts. This is how the game publishing sausage is made. ----- GameDeveloper: "Take-Two narrows GTA VI release window, records $3.74 billion annual loss. The company also cancelled 'several' unannounced projects as part of an ongoing cost reduction program." At a Glance --Take-Two recorded annual net bookings of $5.33 billion, an increase of 1 percent year-over-year. --The company's GAAP net revenue remained flat at $5.35 billion. --Recurrent consumer spending increased by 2 percent year-on-year and accounted for 78 percent of total net bookings. Grand Theft Auto maker Take-Two Interactive has narrowed the release window for GTA VI to Fall 2025 and reiterated its belief the title will be an "unparalleled entertainment experience." The company shared the news in its fiscal report for the year ended March 31, 2024, where it revealed that annual net bookings increased by 1 percent to $5.33 billion and GAAP net revenue remained flat at $5.35 billion. Breaking down those figures, Take-Two said net bookings from recurrent consumer spending increased by 2 percent year-on-year and accounted for 78 percent of total net bookings. The largest contributors were NBA 2K24, Grand Theft Auto Online and Grand Theft Auto V, Toon Blast, Empires & Puzzles, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Read Dead Online, Words With Friends, and Merge Dragons!. The company recently purchased Borderlands developer Gearbox from Embracer for $460 million. Shortly after, it announced plans to reduce its headcount by 5 percent to "identify efficiencies across its business." Those cuts are part of an ongoing cost reduction program that could eventually cost the company up to $200 million. Take-Two lauds 'positive momentum' despite layoffs and project cancellations "Our outlook reflects a narrowing of Rockstar Games' previously established window of Calendar 2025 to Fall of Calendar 2025 for Grand Theft Auto VI. We are highly confident that Rockstar Games will deliver an unparalleled entertainment experience, and our expectations for the commercial impact of the title continue to increase," said Zelnick. GameDeveloper: https://lnkd.in/gfymQPpf #gameindutsry #gamepublishing #taketwo

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Roblox Developers Conference 2024 just wrapped up and Roblox announced some of the largest and most meaningful features that you may have missed👀 The one that I believe will be the most impactful is the Shopify partnership! At RDC, Roblox announced that it is partnering with Shopify to allow developers, creators, and brands to sell physical items directly within their Roblox games without ever needing players to leave the Roblox platform. This is going to be massive for Lootbloc. Lootbloc uses Shopify, and already has existing partnerships with the largest games on the Roblox platform such as Catalog Avatar Creator and Flee the Facility, so unlocking the ability to sell directly within these games will make it even easier for fans to purchase their favorite games' merchandise. Lootbloc is a Roblox merchandising company that specializes in bringing IP on Roblox into the real world through plushies, apparel, and more. If you own a Roblox game or brand and you haven't capitalized on the world of physical goods feel free to reach out to me at [email protected] and we can work with you to make it happen! Beyond merchandise, the rumor is that, in the future, outside brands will be able to sell their products directly inside of games as well, turning Roblox into a brand new sales channel for any brands looking to sell to Roblox's massive audience. Only time will tell, Roblox and Shopify have said that they will be launching a beta among a select group of partners in early 2025, with the larger launch coming later. What do you think? #Roblox #Shopify

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Understanding the Kahnawake #gaming license Process, Costs & Nuance ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gSFTqSYW #gambling #gaminglicense #igaming #Kahnawake #Canada #crypto

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Understanding the Kahnawake #gaming license Process, Costs & Nuance ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gSFTqSYW #gambling #gaminglicense #igaming #Kahnawake #Canada #crypto

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