Tom Fieldhouse’s Post

"up there with Nintendo's best platformers" Happy release day to Astro Bot and the entire team at Team ASOBI - Astro's playroom was such a fun platformer experience, and having burned through Mario Odyssey earlier this year this is certainly going to be a game I pick up! Bring on the DualSense fun!

Want to learn how YOU can make a difference to accessibility? Check out this amazing event organised by Nicole Simões, Fiona Lee and Liam Lawler in partnership with SpecialEffect!

"What happens if we don't fill this role?" This is probably one of the most critical questions to ask before you open a position - Have you ever had a role suddenly close/disappear without anybody being hired? - Have you interviewed and it felt that the roles/responsibilities changed throughout the process? These are the symptoms - the cause is that the question above hasn't been answered Understanding the fallout of a role that remains unfilled can help with: - flexibility around the job spec (what if the perfect candidate doesn't appear? They often dont!) - timing - is there a critical point in a project that this person must be on board by? - investment from the wider team - if they know how an unfilled role could add to/change their workload, it can lead to better buy-in Anything I have missed?!

"All innovations eventually happen from small studios or making new stuff... they are the ones who really try to innovate a new game genre because they having nothing to lose" Following my post recently about mid-budget games, I was drawn to this quote from Juno Shin's recently interview with GI.biz These opportunities are often the sweet spot for AAA veterans looking for new challenges He references Rust, No Man's Sky, Enshrouded, and of course Black Myth: Wukong Where do you see the next game innovation coming from?

FALLOUT FRIDAY 🤖 Fallout is one of my favourite game franchises But I've slept on the TV show (shame on me)... 🛌 I've found the additional lore building that's provided through the show is making me want to dig out the games again I know there's one contentious plot point being debated off the back of the show But I've loved reminding myself of the world and the nervous sweats brought on by storming an abandoned medical centre 😅 Which TV/Film adaptation of games IP has been your favourite so far???

Gamescom 24 ✅ So many great conversations literally from take off until landing to/from Cologne Particular highlights: - getting into the nitty gritty of the value chain in games - working on scaling plans with some amazing studios & games companies - meeting a bunch of candidates we have placed into their current roles IRL - hearing through the week how meetings have teed up imminent deal sheets - seeing the incredible efforts the marketing teams put into the event - salt mills with Subina - being told I have the most English name ever - chatting improv - learning “cheers” in Serbian & Swedish - Jonathan’s ultra-exclusive rooftop terrace - the scooters Sorry if we missed each other! I saw so many people I knew and wanted to say hi to but meetings, meetings, meetings Time to drown in Yorkshire Tea

"What sets you apart from the other guys down the street?" This is a question I got asked recently It's really quite simple: We deliver And not just once, then disappear into the ether... We focus on building long-term relationships with the studios we support For years to come, across all areas of your business Great people make great games, and we can help with that

Cologne can’t stop delivery Yesterday at lunch I was pacing around a beautiful square, on the phone, supporting a candidate (themselves on a family holiday) keeping everybody else hungry as a result 😂 This morning they’re accepting an exciting role with a growing startup Gamescom can slow things down with a lot of decision makers out here But some studios are making time between meetings to secure the best talent We help make that happen

Day 1 of devcom - here we go! The weather ✅ The people ✅ The coffee ⏳ Jonathan, Subina and I are excited to see so many familiar faces (some we’ve already run into 🍸) Are you even at gamescom without a picture of the Cathedral?! (Yes, I am miles away from it but it counts!)

What's happening to mid-budget games??? I read an amazing article by Keith Stuart this week as part of his Pushing Buttons newsletter It talked about how KRAFTON Inc. have saved Tango Gameworks and Hi-Fi Rush Keith reminded us what mid-budget games have given us over the years: "FEAR revolutionised the use of AI enemies in first-person shooter games, not Call of Duty; It was PUBG that gave us battle royale, not Fortnite or Apex Legends; and it was Thief: The Dark Project that established many of the rudiments of the modern stealth adventure." The cost of making these games are huge... Which other mid-budget games do we have to thank for revolutionary features/modes?