Tien Tam’s Post

The last 5-10 years has seen the video games industry release more amazing experiences at quality and scale than any entertainment sector ever in the history of the world. We are arguably in a period of pure mastery of how to connect with an audience through interactivity. If you lined up the best 100 games (by any criteria you like) released since 2014 the variety and depth are all-time, and show a much better body of work than movies have ever been. And yet, the layoffs 🥺 And the fact that having speedrun all of entertainment and conquered the world is apparently not enough to shape a financially sustainable industry, at least in terms of capital flow. The irony (perversity, really) runs deep.

Valorant Patch 8.11 Map Pool Updates 🔹New Map: Abyss A new 5v5 Spike Mode map with three lanes and two bomb sites. Features "vertical gameplay" where fights can happen on different heights. Be careful! The map has dangerous pits, so watch your step! 🔹Map Pool Changes Competitive, Deathmatch & Premier queues will now have these maps: Ascent, Bind, Icebox, Lotus, Haven (returning), and Sunset. A new map, Abyss, will be added to Competitive in patch 9.0 and Premier in patch 9.02. Breeze and Split have been removed from the above queues. There are temporary exceptions for Premier Stage E8A3 playoffs and Week 6, which will have a different map pool. Unrated, Swift Play, Spike Rush & Escalation will now have ALL maps available, including Abyss (This is called an OPEN map pool). Special Thanks to desportz, Riot Games, LinkedIn #update #news #valorant

Ladies and gentlemen, the moment we've all been waiting for has arrived! The results for the GOLDEN TWIG Awards 2023 are here. The 'winners' voted by the Deconstructor of Fun community are: 💣 Most Damage Taken: Embracer Group (repeat winner) 👄 Biggest Topic: Unity Runtime Fee 🤦♀️ Most Questionable Strategy: Netflix Games 💡 Savviest Move: LEGO x Fortnite by Epic Games 🤦♂️ Worst Prediction: Eric Kress 👾 Most Disappointing Game: Starfield by Bethesda Game Studios 🏆 Crushed It: Monopoly Go by Scopely 🐭 Mice Nuts (best commercially small game): Pikmin 4 👢 Worst Layoffs: Embracer Group Big thanks go to the judging panel Eric Kress, Jen Donahoe, Phillip Black, Laura Taranto, and yours truly whose commentary might have influenced the voting. See how the votes went and who else was on the ballot in each category on our website (link in the comments). #gameindustry

🔥⚽️ Do your team struggle with fast transitions and finishing off opportunities in the final third? This New 11 v 11 game is designed specifically with those key elements in mind! (09-P14) https://lnkd.in/gDbkiXyY

Business in Gamedev – Weekly Recap 🎮 10 years in, Bungie shifts Destiny 2 pacing in live service shake-up: https://lnkd.in/deQ69CNJ 💲 Monster Hunter Stories 2 tops 2 million sales in three years: https://lnkd.in/degRTfAp 📈 Hooded Horse's Tim Bender doesn't think constant growth should define games: https://lnkd.in/dV5WvcPr 😔 More Layoffs: https://lnkd.in/dBMeqcgx 📉 Microsoft increasing price of Xbox Game Pass: https://lnkd.in/dD_E5W86 💎 Swedish game industry wants video games recognized as cultural canon: https://lnkd.in/dWm-3KV5 My takeaways: 1) Live services games can be extremely profitable in the long run 2) Infinite growth shouldn’t be the only evaluation criteria for a game 3) Some countries are trying to build a 360° gaming culture Is anyone else trying to beat Elden Ring DLC? 🧙

I’ve compiled a list of what I feel are the top 10 recurring themes I've seen and learned from throughout my journey in the Indie, Serious, and AAA game sectors. Yes, some of these can be lumped together, but I want to give each of them the importance they deserve. Throughout the rest of these posts, I’ll share some chronologically short stories from each sector to inform and entertain y’all. Keep Learning Ask Questions Speak Up Self-Advocate, but Check Your Ego Network Utilize Your Free Time Embrace Failure Know Your Stuff You're Making a Game Layoffs Happen Join me again tomorrow as I discuss my indie game career and post more about my candid exploration of failures, lessons learned, and the unparalleled perspective gained from navigating three diverse sectors of the game industry. #GameIndustry #GameDev #GameDevelopment #GameInsights #CareerJourney

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Hey LinkedIn. While the games industry is recovering from the recent layoffs, I decided to take this opportunity to upskill and officially joined the Video Game Writing course with ELVTR. I just did my first of 12 classes yesterday! 🎮✍️ As some of you may know, I always enjoyed the storytelling aspect of games, so I am grateful for the opportunity to learn from industry experts such as Lorne Nudel leading the classes as well from my fellow online classmates. Ready to level up my storytelling game (no pun intended 😅 ) and dive deep into the dynamic world of video game writing. 🌟🎮 #VideoGameWriting #Elvtr #GamingNarratives #StorytellingAdventure

A great story about going against the tide (no pun intended, or is it?). A smart move by an indie game maker landed him a plethora of sales, exactly because he was crazy enough to launch on the same date as Starfield (AAA title). The strategy proved brilliant. He succeeded because no one else indie was crazy enough to launch, so he was literally left alone at 2nd place. Anyone who wasn't looking for Starfield had one interesting choice! And it paid off. Can it work again? Who knows. Once others realize this strategy, it's very likely there will be future competition for 2nd place, as others will start to compete. I think the key takeaway is creative thinking. Those who dare walking where others fear to tread is taking a big risk as well as reward. #gamedevelopment #releaseday #businessstrategy

🚀 Check out PLAYSENSE’s latest project video! Ready to push the creative boundaries even further? Let’s talk about what we can do together!