Catarina Macedo

Horrible news to hear about KeokeN Interactive having laid off their entire team today. In a statement published on X, CEO Koen Deetman and managing director Paul Deetman said the Netherlands-based studio was forced into the decision after exhausting all possible options for completing planned projects or taking on other work. To those affected, please find a comprehensive list of resources, below: 🥇First, Discipline Games Jobs Resources: Over the past weeks I have created 9 (at time of writing) Games Jobs Resources to find jobs in a wide range of disciplines: 🎨 Art, Animation, VFX and UI: This resource contains around 1,000 jobs worldwide across all links. Link: https://lnkd.in/eKAHK7VF ⚙ Engineering and Programming This resource lists just over 1,800 jobs worldwide across all links. It also talks about interview tips and questions to practice. Link: https://lnkd.in/eYdxANFM 🕹 Quality Assurance: This resource lists over 450 QA jobs worldwide. This post also talks about the craft of QA and contains tips and interview practice. Link: https://lnkd.in/dwwVjZuc 📑 Game Production: This resource lists around 400 jobs worldwide. It also contains info about game production as a whole and GDC talks. Link: https://lnkd.in/gxDvFM-Z 📢 Marketing & Community: This resource lists around 400 jobs worldwide. It also gives an intro into game marketing and community management. Link: https://lnkd.in/e5MuViug 🎶 Audio and Sound Design: This resource lists around 190 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/eSkPSsWf 📠 Studio Support, HR, Recruitment and BizDev: This resource lists around 290 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/ePG57_7v ⚙ IT, Helpdesk and DevOps: This resource lists around 140 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/e8ZsuiZh 🎮 Game Design: This resource lists around 440 jobs worldwide. https://lnkd.in/dCv_hQXv 🥈 Second, the Ultimate list of Video Games Career Resources: This should be your one-stop shop for all information. My dear friend Amir Satvat maintains these documents, he is a legend for doing this - please check them out: https://amirsatvat.com/ 🥉 Third, do not give up. Ever. No matter how dark things may look right now, I KNOW you will get through this, you have got this! 👊 Remember you are not alone. If you need help, advice, or even an ear to listen, we're here for you. Always! ➡ A request to my community, please can I ask you to repost this post to your colleagues and friends, so that we can get as many into jobs as possible! And please comment if you or your studio are currently hiring - let's help each other! Much love ❤️ #layoffs #gamesindustry #jobsingames #keokeninteractive (source: https://lnkd.in/eWK2PgvX)

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Lots of people changing jobs or on the hunt at the minute. Some useful tips to be mindful of from Amanda here. Even though you'll understandably be focused on landing the new role as smoothly as possible, these aren't unreasonable expectations at all and much easier to tackle up front than to deal with after the fact.

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A simple observation about voice production for games: It pays to embrace sourcing diverse talent early on. You’ll be much better prepared than if you rely on the same talent pools every time. Casting characters is sourcing diverse talent. Building believable worlds is sourcing diverse talent. Creating unique game experiences is sourcing diverse talent. When you’ve worked through finding fresh, diverse voices and know that challenge well? The process of building a truly immersive world becomes a lot easier.

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Hi all. I want to share another magic item I've created for an upcoming D&D 5th edition supplemental item module that I'm working on. This item is called Viridis, which loosely means Green, and is inspired by Emerald Dragons. Since I'm not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast, I'll be removing any Forgotten Realms lore I desribed when it's included in my upcoming module—it's just for my current campaign haha. About the weapon, I wanted to make it a Halberd because 5th Edition D&D doesn't currently have any unique magic halberds ha. I've always been interested in some of the less used weapon types in D&D. D&D Beyond Link to the item: https://lnkd.in/eex9H2mP

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Over the past few weeks, I’ve been working on a game design document for a new DLC chapter for Elder Scrolls Online called Conquest. I wasn’t asked to do this—honestly, I doubt anyone at ZeniMax Online Studios even knows I exist, haha. But I’m passionate about the game, having played since beta, and with my background in game development, albeit as a lead 3D artist, I felt inspired to create something that could enhance the player's experience in an impactful and meaningful way. ESO’s PvP system is incredible—some of the most engaging combat since Funcom's Age of Conan—but two major issues stand out: Lack of PvP zones and options: Outside of Cyrodiil, Imperial City, and Battlegrounds, there’s a shortage of varied PvP content. The potential for expanding the system feels huge but underutilized. Conquest introduces a new (optional) PvP zone (In Hammerfell) where players can flag themselves for world PvP (on and off switch while in town), inspired by Blizzard Entertainment's Diablo 2s' hostile mechanic. It’s an optional experience that brings new incentives for both solo players and guilds to participate in PvP. This isn't meant to be a quick fix, but rather a revitalization of the existing systems, giving guilds more reason to engage together, and providing meaningful rewards for PvP participation. One of the core focuses of the design of this DLC chapter is to incentivize group play—especially within guilds. Guilds often have limited in-game reasons to interact beyond chat and trading, and running a trial (raid). My design offers new systems and incentives for guilds to run content together, utilizing existing mechanics like the Housing system to create features such as Guild Halls that further encourage community-driven gameplay. I know ZeniMax’s team is full of incredible talent with no shortage of amazing ideas. Conquest is simply a labor of love, aimed at addressing some of the game’s current issues, and introducing new, exciting content. I now release the document with the hope that they see value in it. Please be kind, I haven't shared my work with anyone before. Thank you for your time! https://lnkd.in/e3gfr2g9

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 received FOUR nominations for next month's 2024 'The Game Awards!' 🎮✨ 🎧 Best Audio Design – For the explosive soundscapes that immerse players in every battle. Every reload, explosion, and stealthy footstep wouldn’t be the same without the genius behind the audio. 👥 Best Multiplayer Game – Redefining the multiplayer experience yet again with modes that bring players together and keep them on their toes. If you’ve squad-ed up, you know the magic. 🔥 Best Action Game – Where adrenaline meets flawless execution. Black Ops 6 doesn’t just raise the bar—it rebuilds it. 💡 Innovation in Accessibility – For making sure everyone can jump into the action. This one’s about breaking barriers and ensuring the joy of gaming is universal (shoutout to Steve Saylor!) Huge congrats to the incredible teams at #RavenSoftware, #Treyarch, and our many partners who made this possible. #TheGameAwards #BlackOps6 #CallOfDuty #GamingCommunity #GameAwards2024 #AccessibilityInGaming

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Hello friends. Last month, I was looking for more work and finally secured some on Reddit from a guy who needed help with preproduction on his Tabletop RPG / Card Battler. After a meeting with him, he showed me what he had and it was quite impressive. He had a prototype of a card-battler using a tabletop RPG battle system, but he had little to no documentation or planning—he's been chiseling away at his game for a few months in his spare time after work. I suggested that before I dive into art, we flesh out the game design and the rest of the game up to around an 80% mark and let the last 20% be changes, additions, and that sort. As your game evolves, it'll come into it's own and you'll find things that need changed or added, this accounts for that. He agreed and I asked if I could work on all this since I did that with my game Alligori and lead the team from start to finish with our vertical slice, and I know tabletop RPGs very well. He agreed and we did the whole song and dance with paperwork, and he sent over a retainer and I began work the following Monday. Three weeks go by and we're working great together. I'm fleshing out his game, adding some meat to the backbone of his prototype with classes, abilities, etc. My goal was to write out as much as possible and then trim content to fit it into a 1-year development cycle. So I flesh a bulk of his game out, and then categorize it more into a game design document that clearly conveys concepts, ideas, and mechanics. Catching up, last week was the final week of my first month and payment was due. He just up and disappears like a fart in the wind, I have no idea if he's alive, incarcerated, on vacation, or what. He didn't remove me on Discord, so I don't entirely suspect malicious intent, but he gave no notice. That's the risk you run with working 1-on-1 with a client remotely, one day they can just up and disappear. I do have paperwork, so I may pursue legal action. If he doesn't log on by Friday, I'm going to publicly release all my documentation and the GDD I wrote on here.

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How to accelerate your career in game development? Think "one level higher." 🔹 If you're a junior or mid-level:  -- Consider how your task affects the team's work. 🔹 If you're a lead or senior:  -- Focus on how your team's work impacts the entire project. 🔹 If you're a producer, director, or PM:  -- Think about how your project fits into the company's strategy. 🔹 If you're a CEO or executive:  -- Ensure the company's results align with stakeholder interests. 🔹 If you're a stakeholder:  -- Align your assets with market interests. Always try to understand the bigger picture.

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Every month, Epic Games chooses 20 items from their Marketplace to showcase where they have up to +47K items they have there. Today, on the Marketplace, Epic Games saw my product Optimization Debug Tool, and they chose to showcase my item after a short period of being there, in addition to that I'm giving you a discount of 30%! Maybe another good update will be that now there is a live Discord server for support. https://lnkd.in/d8duDKwB #unrealengine #unreal #unrealengine5 #unreal5 #optimization #debug #quality #marketplace #indiegamedev #indiedev Epic Games Unreal Engine

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Gamescom is upon us 🍻 glad to be back and moderate this key roundtable about "Game Discovery" together with a terrific panel of experts. Join us and participate - we're going to dive into lots of practical knowledge on how to do things, discuss, debate and share our daring opinions about what's missing, which trends to follow and what is the future of game discovery. From finding your key discovery hooks early, to developing strategies for marketing and community while utilizing a planning framework, all through researching & trying new tools, harnessing data, thinking outside the box, and developing a growth mindset. Come and ask these seasoned experts and myself everything you wanted to know. Erik Peterson - Biz Dev @ Steam Benoit Clerc - Head of Publishing @ Nacon (Robocop, Terminator, Greedfall 2) Charlotte Cook - Global Commercial @ Team 17 (Hell Let Loose, Overcooked! 2, Golf with Friends) Jeremy Fielding - Head of Community @ Stunlock Studios (V Rising) Gregory Queste - CEO @ Trailsparker and veteran brand marketing Tuesday 20.8 - 3pm - at Stage 13 More details: https://lnkd.in/dsgwJQZH

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EDIT: I appreciate everyone's interest, but we've found our new DD. Offer accepted last night. Game Producers: Going fast, but we're hiring a Development Director on my team. This is a mid-to-senior level production role, based in the US working remote (from approved states) focusing on process and general skills. We are actively interviewing, but still open to a last minute unicorn if you'd like to get in to the process before we make our decision. My ideal candidate fills all of the following (READ these, don't just reach out blind): - At LEAST 5 years experience in production (DD, Producer, PGM, TPM) IN the game industry, with a STRONG preference toward LiveOps/MMOs. If you don't have actual experience working on a live service game, that means we have to train you into the role - and I need someone who can not only come in strong, but can help level us up. You've been there, you know the drill, you've learned the hard way what works and more importantly, what does NOT. - Real scrum experience. Our team is undergoing an agile transformation as I write this and that means I need someone to help with that. The CSM or PSM-1 is the minimum price of admission here, but I need actual boots-on-the-ground experience in running agile teams, preferably with experience helping with a waterfall-to-scrum transformation ON a live game. - More than just a "pod leader" or scrum master. If you've got a lot of experience with running stand-ups, sprint plannings, and moving tasking on Jira boards, that's great. I need you to also be able to become an expert in the game, understand issues that relate to player expectations, live market sales, in-game event planning, greenlighting content. The best candidates are more than just production - they're a little bit design, a little bit product, and a little bit magician. - You've got a system for that. I'm going to ask you how you come up with your dates. I'm going to ask you how you validate your reports. I'm going to ask you how you assess risk, how you track your team's health, how you update leadership, how you make sure we're on course. I'm going to want to hear your systems you've created or used more than just how you personally do it all yourself. If we've worked together in some capacity and you'd like to talk to us about this OR you know someone I should talk with, reach out asap. This role is not going to stay up for long as we're already actively interviewing.

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Another big publisher set to fire 600 employees. This post is intended to support those who were recently laid off. Please share it within your community and tag studios and recruiters who are actively hiring. "We'll hear troubling news from the offices of Zynga, Gearbox, 2K, and even Rockstar—a far cry from earlier statements about layoffs from Take-Two's CEO." To combat, I am adding 5 resources below for all impacted professionals : 1) Our flagship Full-stack game programming bootcamp worth $11,000. We're giving course content out on 100% scholarship for anyone who's willing to transition into game programming or upskill in programming. (Mail: [email protected]) 2) Join our Discord Community and help professionals who are asking questions related to portfolio building, job seeking, interviews, and broadly their next career step. We have added help roles for programming, Unity, Unreal, DSA, Careers. Pick these roles and only get notified when someone asks questions related to your expertise. 3) Your team is hiring? Here's a list of 900+ professionals who were laid off recently: https://bit.ly/49Ah2vT Do them a favor by sharing this list with your 1st degree connections who're hiring. 4) We now have 14368 gamedev jobs from all over the world. https://lnkd.in/gerWUkc5 5) Become a volunteer: If you're a senior professional, you can mentor these professionals, conduct mock interviews, assess their portfolios and give feedback on what would work for them and what wouldn't. Join by adding your name here: https://lnkd.in/gwPhHen4 Get more out of Game Dev community on LinkedIn 🍄 Amir Satvat is back on LinkedIn with the OG list of resources. 💼 Caitlin Cooke is the fastest source of fresh jobs in the industry (yes, remote jobs too) 🎤 Follow Jordan Mazer for greatest tips and pointers around game jobs & interviews. 🔥 Hailey's feed will keep you updated with everything that's happening in the gaming world. 🔝 Connect with Arin Goldsmith and be part of her amazing #SocialSunday initiative. #games #gamedev #jobs #layoffs

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The best game producers I know are avid gamers. They can discuss not only business strategy but also who they romanced in Baldur's Gate 3. Or what deck they are building in Hearthstone and Marvel Snap. They create fun games because they love playing themselves. They understand what gamers enjoy because they are gamers.

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TONIGHT AT 6:30 PM join us for an improvised version of PVP Circuit and help us rebuild our local community brick by brick. I still can't believe I get to work in the video game industry. My 6-year-old would laugh, and then cry once she realized what it means to work in the creative technology sector. That's why IMO everyone could use some levity during these unprecedented times. Join us for a fun evening to raise funds for the Trevor Project. Event link >>> https://lnkd.in/g7tBuP6d Frequently Asked Questions: What if I can't attend the event? - If you can't make it, please consider purchasing a ticket to help us raise money for charity or get one on behalf of someone impacted by layoffs. What if I want to join but can't justify the cost? - If you want to join but find the cost prohibitive, DM me and we'll make it happen (see point above). Do I have to pitch at the event? - No, you don't have to pitch if you prefer to observe. It’s a great way to see how it's done. Will there be another event like this? - We plan to host our community again, but I can't specify if this event will be the focus. #gamesindustry #event #comedy <3

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Horrible news today with nDreams conducting a round of layoffs that could impact 17.5 percent of employees. The company said a "challenging VR games market" requires a "renewed strategic focus" that will result in job cuts. nDreams operates four studios and is known for working on titles like Far Cry VR, Fracked, Phantom: Covert Ops, and Synapse. According to the nDreams website, it currently employs over 250 people across a variety of hybrid and fully-remote roles. To those impacted please check them out here: 🥇First, reach out to us at People Can Fly Studio, we have many roles open right now in Canada, the UK, Ireland and Europe, please check them out here: https://lnkd.in/eWpV5PbA 🥈Next, Discipline Games Jobs Resources: Over the past months I have created 9 (at time of writing) Games Jobs Resources to find jobs in a wide range of disciplines, and I would urge you to check them out, if anything just to see what would be available to you: https://lnkd.in/ePywd2kq You can find over 6,000 jobs there. 🥉 Third, the Ultimate list of Video Games Career Resources: This should be your one-stop shop for all information. My dear friend Amir Satvat maintains these documents, he is a legend for doing this - please check them out: https://amirsatvat.com/ I urge you to check out the areas in particular about CV support and mentoring, as these will help you no matter what industry you are hailing from or are looking into going next. 🎖 Finally, do not give up. Ever. No matter how dark things may look right now, I KNOW you will get through this, you have got this! 👊 Remember you are not alone. If you need help, advice, or even an ear to listen, we're here for you. Always! ➡ A request to my community, please can I ask you to repost this post to your colleagues and friends, so that we can get as many into jobs as possible! And please comment if you or your studio are currently hiring - let's help each other! Much love ❤️ #ndreams #layoffs

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So sorry to hear about layoffs at Modern Wolf, with 6 staff members being affected. The news broke last night, with my former CA colleague George Willard posting the news, as well as providing information about those also laid off to support re-hiring as quickly as possible. You can find that here: https://lnkd.in/eEXWSgNQ To those impacted by these layoffs, please find a comprehensive list of resources, below: 🥇First, Discipline Games Jobs Resources: Over the past weeks I have created 9 (at time of writing) Games Jobs Resources to find jobs in a wide range of disciplines: 🎨 Art, Animation, VFX and UI: This resource contains around 1,200 jobs worldwide across all links. Link: https://lnkd.in/eu2bjadW ⚙ Engineering and Programming This resource lists just over 1,900 jobs worldwide across all links. It also talks about interview tips and questions to practice. Link: https://lnkd.in/etPj22BE 🕹 Quality Assurance: This resource lists over 450 QA jobs worldwide. This post also talks about the craft of QA and contains tips and interview practice. Link: https://lnkd.in/dwwVjZuc 📑 Game Production: This resource lists around 400 jobs worldwide. It also contains info about game production as a whole and GDC talks. Link: https://lnkd.in/gxDvFM-Z 📢 Marketing & Community: This resource lists around 400 jobs worldwide. It also gives an intro into game marketing and community management. Link: https://lnkd.in/e5MuViug 🎶 Audio and Sound Design: This resource lists around 190 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/eSkPSsWf 📠 Studio Support, HR, Recruitment and BizDev: This resource lists around 290 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/ePG57_7v ⚙ IT, Helpdesk and DevOps: This resource lists around 140 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/e8ZsuiZh 🎮 Game Design: This resource lists around 480 jobs worldwide. https://lnkd.in/dCv_hQXv 🥈 Second, the Ultimate list of Video Games Career Resources: This should be your one-stop shop for all information. My dear friend Amir Satvat maintains these documents, he is a legend for doing this - please check them out: https://amirsatvat.com/ 🥉 Third, If you have worked in publishing, please message me. I am looking for quite a few roles right now! ⬅ 🎖 Finally, do not give up. Ever. No matter how dark things may look right now, I KNOW you will get through this, you have got this! 👊 Remember you are not alone. If you need help, advice, or even an ear to listen, we're here for you. Always! ➡ A request to my community, please can I ask you to repost this post to your colleagues and friends, so that we can get as many into jobs as possible! And please comment if you or your studio are currently hiring - let's help each other! Much love ❤️ #layoffs #gamesindustry #jobsingames #modernwolf

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Friends, I’m excited to share the most accurate geographic mapping of open video games jobs ever created - a project two years in the making. A quick story. In October 2022, THE GREAT (always in caps) Dean Takahashi asked me, "Amir, can you tell me where all the open roles are in the games industry? I’ve never been able to get accurate information on that in all my years covering the space." It was a great question, but I couldn’t answer it at the time. I had just launched the community and presented v1.0 of the Games Jobs Workbook, which listed only 400 (!) jobs. To answer Dean’s question, I needed two more years of effort: 1. A method to accurately map 95-99%+ of the industry's roles semi-automatically. 2. A way to verify this accuracy. 3. A process to extract location data for each job at an individual level. I finally have an answer for you Dean! Why is this different from all other mappings of the industry? 1. Other mappings lack comprehensive coverage of underlying roles. 2. Others only show the number of companies in each area, not actual job openings or live hiring data, as presented here. 3. Other mappings categorize companies at a company location level rather than mapping every single role one-by-one as I have done As a final note, I’m currently updating the Games Jobs Workbook itself. If you notice some discrepancies, it’s because this data is more current. Without further ado, here are some of the main findings as to open roles in the games industry: - We can geomap 14,162 open games roles. - With the ability to now map at a role level, 1,980 games roles (14%) are remote, and 12,182 (86%) are not. - By continent, the most games jobs are in Asia (4,601), Europe (4,008), and North America (3,248). These three regions account for 84% of the jobs. - At a country level, the most games jobs are in the United States (2,316), China (1,965), England (1,041), Canada (897), Japan (588), and Poland (456). These six countries account for just over half (51%) of the jobs. - By state or region, just for North America, the most jobs are in California (1,113), Quebec (528), Washington State (271), British Columbia (217), and North Carolina (155). These five states and regions represent 16% of worldwide games jobs and 71% of the jobs in the United States and Canada. - California alone holds 48% of the games jobs in the United States. - The ten biggest games cities are Shenzhen (946), Shanghai (629), Montreal (515), Tokyo (428), London (383), Warsaw (239), Vancouver (209), Bangalore (202), Istanbul (181), and Barcelona (180). These ten cities comprise 28% of worldwide games jobs. As a gesture of gratitude to Dean, Gina Joseph, and Eva Tucker for their support throughout this two-year journey, as I built layer upon layer of data and analytics to produce this, I’m sharing the raw results with the community. Enjoy! https://lnkd.in/eT-ZQbag

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I think one of the things that's so frustrating about Xbox's recent studio closures is that it is stark contrast to the things they *say*. They say they want original, interesting games, but then they shutter Tango. They say they want to take big swings at live service stuff, but then release Redfall in a disastrous state and don't have the bottle to fix it before shuttering the studio. They say they want interesting, original content, but then close studios working on original content to bolster Call of Duty. Xbox needs platform-defining exclusives. But they've also shown they don't have the understanding to ship stuff that can legitimately compete with what Sony's doing with Playstation's first parties. What happened to Starfield? Redfall flopped. Halo Infinite's SP "infiniteness" faceplanted. Halo Infinite's multiplayer took years to sort out a fatally awful progression system, and it still mostly sucks, but who cares because no one's playing it. Forza Motorsport bombed. Where is Gears? Where is the next thing from id? From MachineGames? When it's one studio flailing around, maybe it's the studio. When it's ***everything*** under the Xbox Game Studios banner, it's a different situation entirely. What the hell are they doing over there? But the point is, when you see closures of studios when the platform is totally failing to deliver anything of meaningful, differentiating value to players... it's time to call it. Phil Spencer's driven the Xbox into irrelevance. How you could spend hundreds of millions of dollars to achieve *so little* is genuinely shocking to me.

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