#Best game design and development solutions

[elevancotech]

Elevanco provides affordable UI/UX design services for startups, helping create intuitive and visually appealing digital products on a budget. Our expert team focuses on improving user engagement, increasing conversions, and building brand trust. Whether it's a website or mobile app, we offer scalable, cost-effective solutions tailored to your startup's needs. Contact us at +91-7388885426 today!

[simulanissolutions]

India's virtual reality (VR) landscape is rapidly evolving, with numerous companies leading the charge in innovative solutions and immersive experiences. Here’s a look at the top 10 VR companies making waves in the industry.

[prokopetz]

why do you think indie metroidvanias specifically take so long to make, and is there a solution that you'd like to see them go for? (i know that would likely mean a compromise of some kind, but like, you know)

The reason why is fairly obvious: the classic metroidvania formula makes it very easy to fall prey to unintentional scope creep and is a positive nightmare to QA.

Non-linear progression gating based on precision platforming challenges where the player's basic moveset is constantly changing means every little thing needs to be rigorously tested in every part of the gameworld, carefully checking every room with every combination of abilities the player could conceivably possess for a wide range of failure states.

Is there some combination of abilities that allows the player to get into this room, but not out of it afterwards? Is there some combination of abilities that allows the player to do things in an order you didn't expect? Does that variation in sequencing in turn create situations where the player can end up somewhere without an ability you had assumed was required to get there? And so forth.

Even once you've got everything tested, it's not over. Every tiny change during development, even as small as adding or subtracting a couple of percentage points from the player character's jumping height or walking speed, can potentially have a domino effect that introduces a whole new set of failure states. It's not a pretty picture!

As for solutions, the one most solo or small-team metroidvanias end up adopting is to put a damper on the exponential QA explosion by linearising progression. If you haven't flipped the right switch or visited the right room, the door simply doesn't open, the progression-critical cutscene simply doesn't trigger, and so forth. Even big-name metroidvanias often make judicious use of this one: for example, Super Metroid has certain doors in the early game that just arbitrarily will not open until you've collected a couple of specific items from the game's combat-free introductory area.

The trouble with this approach is that if you use it to the extent that's necessary to keep your QA responsibilities at a manageable level for a small team or solo developer, you functionally end up with a linear, level-based platformer that makes you walk from one level to the next. Whether this disqualifies a given title from the "metroidvania" label is a demarcation problem I'm not interested in litigating, but folks who expected a more open world experience are quite understandably going to be disappointed.

The approach I'd prefer more indie metroidvanias take is to keep things under control by limiting their scope. Not ever damn thing needs to be the next Hollow Knight; many classics of the genre can be completed in well under an hour with good routing even without employing modern speedrun tech. Similarly, some of the best indie metroidvanias are those with the smallest maps; Alruna and the Necro-Industrialists, probably the best example of open-world map design of any metroidvania published in 2024, has a map that's scarcely twenty by twenty screens, and its routing is downright fiendish.

(One of my perennial probably-never-gonna-happen projects is to design a full-featured metroidvania targeting a two to three hour casual playthrough whose entire map can fit on a single screen while remaining at a vaguely playable zoom level, in the style of titles like 1 Screen Platformer.)

[emblemxeno]

Hot Take Time!

I think the breakthrough revelation that the Sonic fanbase had about the series' reception during the 2010's, where full-force sincerity in its stories was mocked for being cringe and willingness to stand out in both a gameplay and artistic sense resulted in beloved games being panned retroactively, can be easily applied to FE Engage.

Engage is the most fucking sincere plot the series has had in over a decade. Yes, despite being the guy whose fav FE game is Fates, I think that game was still bogged down by the prospect of following up the blowout success of a game like Awakening and had too many instances of putting in a lot of ideas to see what worked rather than putting the full weight behind a select few core elements.

SoV had the baggage of being a remake while still needing a modern appeal, and ended up with a lot of contradictory aspects. And 3H doesn't know what it wants to be and never did from the ground up.

Engage is different. It wanted to be a grand celebration of 30 years of this great series. It wanted pizazz. It wanted spectacle. It wanted to say "we fucking love this series and we love the fans who supported us."

The characters are flashy and striking to make you remember them. The music is bombastic, with a wide variety of styles so anyone can find a favorite track. The presentation is beautiful, with great visuals and phenomenal sound design. New uber powerful mechanics balanced out by incredible map design, supberb flow, and responsive game feel.

But the sincerity shines brightest with its narrative. The core messages are well written!

Sometimes knowing when to retreat is better than foolhardy bravery. It's always worth considering someone's background and feelings before casting them away. There's never a single easy solution to your problems, and if you think there is, you'll end up repeating the same mistakes. You can find family with anyone, and are not bound solely by those who you're born to. To live authentically as yourself is beautiful and should be celebrated.

The game believes all of those things to a degree which really hasn't been seen since the series was on the brink of death.

But that sincerity was treated as unpalatable, cringe, and plain awful.

The fandom for a series that routinely and infamously has terrible armor designs now suddenly throws a fit because "flower girl has silly dress" or "these characters have face paint/tattoos."

The single laziest form of criticism for FE casts that has permeated the community since Awakening released, that being "the cast is one note tropes that have no personality or development outside of them", came back in full fucking force with Engage.

And it's pretty damn sad. In my opinion, sincerity shouldn't be mocked. Sometimes, you should take a minute and ask yourself "Is it bad, or is it just not my thing? Am I writing off an entire cast's writing because I don't like some character designs? Do I have personal preferences that aren't being met in this instance, and should I learn to grapple with saying that instead of just writing off the product as fundamentally terrible or, at best, half-assed?"

At some point, looking inward and considering community wide commonalities has to be recognized as a factor for why products are received the way they are, rather than just laying blame at the devs' feet for "not making a good product that people wanted." After all, word of mouth is the reason why FE even got this far, considering FE1 was effectively a sleeper hit because people who played it spread the word despite mixed reviews.

TL-DR, Engage isn't cringe, YOU ARE!!!

[ganondoodle]

totk is like a highly polished alpha build of a game to me

graphic- fantastic, i just love botws style of graphics, its the perfect blend of something more realistic but very stylized and timeless

visual design- great, i cant stand anything sonau (zonai), and ganondorfs concept art is better than final (and still involves lots of annyoing stereotypes) but overall still pretty solid

sound design- phenomenal, it really is, the underground, the rain on the parasail? unmatched, already loved botw but they really outdid themselves here

music- possibly best in the series to me, like ... theres so many fantastic tracks, in isolation i love so many of them so much ... which sucks bc being connected to such a lackluster rest sours them badly

mechanics- working but undercooked/unfit for the world, its impressive they got ultrahand working at all, but its still clunky/quickly frustrating and badly balanced also contributes to utterly destroying botws world design- this ability was simply not made for this world and is in the end both detrimental to it and itself, bc that mechanic could have truly shined in a game REALLY build around it (... if they could manage to balance it well and stop handing you the solution, it would be funyn if it werent so sad how many times the game literally doesnt even make you engage with its main gimmick bc it just hands you the prebuild thing) time reversal breaks every puzzle/challenge, also unbalanced, ceiling jump is the most harmless but i still think it lets you skip too much

writing- worst in the series, where would i even start with that, not a single character is written well/interestingly, most detrimentally the main characters, .. like all of them, zelda, ganondorf, rauru... and the "story", its barely even bare bones, its plain cardboard with an old divine right propaganda slogan written on, continuity in a direct sequel is non existant, there is no follow up on anything, why did they call it that when they dont seem to have any love for anything botw did given how much they trample over everything it established, i struggle to believe they actually thought this was good, theres has to have been trouble during development

world design/changes- a joke, ... i dont know how people dont feel scammed by how little was actually changed, no, a few rocks sprinkled througout are not meaningful changes, i was one of the people not worried about them reusing the world bc i loved this world and was sure theyd meaningfully change it- god how wrong i was; the sky and underground are both like the bare bones with textures and placeholder rewards/points of interest, they both do not matter at all and their potential is yet again utterly, painfully, wasted and only add more points of destruction to the map in case of the sky, and both add confusion about everything, not the good kind of intriguing confusion, the bad nothing makes sense confusion it really does seem like they put some quick changes into every main point of interest where most players would go to make them think they changed things when .. they only changed these parts, barely, either bc they knew everyone would skip around the world anyway so it wouldnt be worth it, or bc its ... unfinished

game design/structure- baffling (bad), connected to the point above, but it truly is beyond me why they repeated the exact same structure as botw while removing what made that work, why would you repeat every point of interest of the previous game, i know zelda games always have their regions and thats where stuff happens, but they REUSED THE SAME WORLD, you CANNOT repeat the exact same points in the same world, you just cant, its the same places, the same characters, the same structure (aka dungeons being less interesting/easier titans (divine beasts) with a paint job in structure), you basically erase the well integrated ancient tech civilization to replace it with another, not well integrated, more boring and overly pushed into your face, ancient tech civilization and make them the answer to everything that ever was (BORING), the same story structure (but worse, like the memory system but remove what made it work in botw)- AND THEN repeat the same points in the underground too? thats bonkers, literally baby bananas

dungeons/puzzles - worse than botw by FAR, as mentioned above, dungeons are less interesting titans with a paintjob (plus an extraordinarily awful cutscene, which is repeated like FIVE TIMES almost word for word), they serve no purpose but to act like they are totally real traditional dungeons when they are not, they are laughing at you, shrines are back with a paintjob with less interesting puzzles (if they even have one given how many just give you a spirit orb knock off) that can all be skipped, though the puzzles can often not even be called that (put log over gap WOOOAH puzzle) among many awful and unecessary tutorial ones (its not bad to have easy ones, but aside from the few ones that take all your stuff away -omg restrictions in MY freedom tm game??- which are the best ones, to have none be even a little challenging or not utterly skippable without even using glitches, its like they didnt even try to stop you from cheating, which is like being given a skip button with no strigns attached, doesnt even let you feel smart bc you dont have to try to cheat)

UI/controls- awful, you cant tell me this was tested by real people playing for longer than 10 minutes at once, how did the ghosty sage control scheme and arrow/weapon fusing get through this, HOW, its unbelievably tedious and detrimental to any fun (as im doing with my rewrite, a crafting system would have been so good here ..... like a proper simple crafting system, have the materials, craft your new arrow types in stacks etc) the ghost sages are not only utterly useless in combat, but clog your screen, play distracting animations as soon as you look at a slope, you constantly accidentally activate them or the wrong one bc its mapped to the main interact button!!! if you use them say goodbye to your framerate, fights are now spent chasing after some ghost guy whos actively running away from you, they do not invoke a feeling of 'connection' to my 'friends', they are invoking feelings of hatred and frustration

performance- ... passable (if you dont have the sages out .... well, it runs better than pokemon scarlet so i guess its fine, the lag when closing and opening the menu is rly annoying, especially combined with the finger and patience breaking menues and how often you need to open a game pasuing menue, but fights with a monster horde AND the sages out? yeah no its as bad as pokemon scarlet at its worst, not to mention the chaos of having five useless ghost scramble around you getting knocked around by enemies)

price- a scam, this game is not worth 70 bucks, its just not, if you get a used copy and dont spend more time in it than it takes for you to just go straight to the main points, or if you dont care about anything else but dicking around with a clunky building system ... then you can have some fun with it yeah ..... still not worth 70 money, theres probably better building games out there for less too

it jsut feels not done, not finished, its presentation and some parts are highly polished and their marketing for it is unlike anything i have ever seen, but its so .... unfinished, no amount of epic visuals is gonna let me not think of this game being half done at best, after what, 6 years of development no less? with most assets already being there and being reused unaltered??

(i am holding tightly onto the theory of it either having an extremely troubled development that is being hidden bc of their reputation, or some sort of neglect in order to focus on other more lucrative projects, this is just all too weird to me)

[torchship-rpg]

Dev Diary 17 - Complex Dice Tests

We lied! Today was going to be about the meta-campaign mechanics, but we did a really cool system overhaul instead and we simply have to tell you about it.

Basically, we overhauled a part of our dice system in a pretty major way. It’s involved some fairly dramatic changes to how rolls are done, though all the other systems we’ve created plug pretty seamlessly into it (and as we’ve integrated it, it’s actually let us effectively cut systems now that they’re covered automatically by the new system). It’s one of the deftest bits of game design we’ve ever done and we gotta brag about it.

Development of the Previous System

One of the things that has been a problem for Torchship for a long while is that it wanted to be a dice pool system (roll X dice, looking for Y amount of Z+ results), which doesn’t just have binary pass-failure outcomes. We wanted players to feel competent in their fields, but we also needed there to be interesting difficulties and complications so that stories aren’t just a stateful progression of experts effortlessly performing the tasks they’re experts in.

This is surprisingly difficult!

Nailing down exactly how it would work has gone through about a half-a-dozen iterations, all of which always felt like hacky temporary solutions. The version we came up with before this, which the game has been using for about a year, involved two thresholds on each roll; a “Difficulty” to do the thing, and a “Complexity” tacked onto it that you had to reach to do it without any extra problems.

This served the purpose, but its various incarnations slowed the game down a lot more than it should have, and put too much stress on the GM to work out what these two targets would be and how complications would emerge from it. It was a clunky solution which required a lot of experience to use properly, functioning just well enough to build systems around without ever being stellar on its own.

It Must be Tuesday

While working on Must be Tuesday: Revived Edition, which uses a similar dice pool system, my wonderful editor Lexie came up with a really clever system while we were working out the dice odds. In that game, you have a “Skill” target from 6+ to 3+ with a variable dice pool and a number of Successes needed. 

Our partial successes there comes from a concept of ‘Scrapes’; dice which are 4+, but don’t meet your Skill target. If you reach the number of Successes you need when you add your Scrapes to your rolls meeting your Skill, you get a partial success! Brilliant, isn’t it? That means everyone has a chance to get by on even hard checks using their worst skills, but it’s never easy.

When we poked at Torchship stuff after testing that system out, we found ourselves wondering if something similar wouldn’t fit here as well. It wouldn’t translate 1-1; Must be Tuesday is about teenagers fighting monsters in a horror/comedy setup, where nobody is doing anything really complicated, and even the people who are the best at things are still only as good at it as, you know, teenagers. It’s not a good tone fit, but it inspired the system we used.

Complexity Certs & Complications

The solution we came up with, which we are so proud of we bumped a whole dev diary for it, is the idea of Complexity Certs.

Basically, we’ve ditched the previous Complexity target from before. Your dice Test just has a single, easily determined Difficulty. In ideal circumstances, you roll a number of dice determined by the tool you’re using, needing to get results over your Cert target. Get as many of those as the Difficulty, you succeed, otherwise you fail. Simple binary outcome to a simple problem.

But you’re playing cosmonauts. You know, you boldly go places you probably shouldn’t. You don’t face simple problems.

When the GM calls for a roll, they can tack on Complexity Certs in accordance to the situation you’re facing. Essentially, they’re saying this roll is a test not just of the ‘Primary Cert’ that determines if you pass or fail, but it’s also a test of some extra skills that have come up because of the number of moving parts involved in the situation.

So while you still only have one Difficulty, you need to meet that difficulty using multiple dice targets to succeed without qualifiers. If you just meet the difficulty on your Primary Cert, but not the Complexity Certs, then the GM can hit you with a Complication that can emerge naturally from the Cert in question. Conversely, you could end up in a situation where you have a better value on your Complexity Cert than the primary, so you could fail, but avert other disasters.

Or you could fail at both, and now you have two problems!

This system elegantly compresses a bunch of things the system needed to do into one quick judgement call by the GM in the moment. We don’t need to have specific penalties for working remotely through a robot, working in a spacesuit, or doing things in low gravity; the GM can just add the Drone Operator, EVA, or Cosmonaut Certs to the Test as Complexity Certs. There’s no limit to the number of Complexity Certs that can get added either, so you can sum up really complex situations with a single roll.

It also made the game’s group test mechanics much simpler and more impactful. Helping can be a complex game design challenge; you want people to be able to give each other a hand, but you need to make sure people can’t simply do it on every single roll to avoid slowdown and the trivialization of gameplay challenges. The way Help works now is allowing you to lend a friend one of your Certs to take on a Complexity Cert, basically monitoring a potential problem for them while they focus on the main task. 

As you get XP for Helping or being Helped on Checks where somebody is rolling with a higher Cert than you, you might want to point out potential problems with people’s plans that relate to your expertise as they come up so you can be the one to solve them. It also means that the presence of a Complexity Cert acts as a prompt for characters to step in and help one another out, and rewards a properly multi-disciplinary crew working together to tackle complex problems. 

You know. Like… like a Star Trek.

Examples

The example we use in the game rules is as follows.

Let’s say you are at a shooting range with your laser pistol, and you want to shoot a target. That’s a straightforward Sharpshooter Cert test. You either hit the target or you don’t. Easy!

But let’s say you’re doing the same thing but in a combat situation where you might get hit in return. The GM can (and is encouraged to) add the Soldier Cert as a Complexity Cert to the roll; Soldier is the Cert that covers tactics, movements, and the use of cover, so if your dice meet the difficulty using your Sharpshooter target, but don’t from your Soldier target, then you probably hit the target but exposed yourself to danger in the process.

Suddenly, we can see the difference between an Olympic target shooter and an infantryman.

Or let’s say you’re a guard posted in a reactor room; if you are doing some shooting there, the GM could throw in Damage Controller as a Complexity Cert to represent the chances of you breaking something vital in the antimatter reactor by throwing lasers everywhere. Suddenly, you have a really good reason to cross-train your guards in engineering skills, at least enough that they know not to shoot the matter/antimatter exchangers.

Or maybe you’re trying to incapacitate an unfamiliar alien creature without killing it; the GM could add Life Scientist. What if you’re doing it in a spacesuit? Add EVA. Knocking out a piece of machinery? Add Technician. Aiming a remote turret instead of doing it yourself? Drone Operator.

Which means you could, conceivably, be in a spacesuit operating a tablet controlling a gun drone non-lethally shooting a strange device on a strange alien in a combat situation inside an engine room… and it all happens with one roll and no need for infinitely stacking penalties.

Knock-On Changes

The biggest knock-on change this has caused is a need for finer gradation between Certs so that the differences come up more often and are less severe. For that reason, we moved the game to d10 pools from d6s; yes, this was an enormously annoying change to make through our draft, and we’re still working out how to rebalance advancement through it. It also means we have to do yet another pass through the Traits, which we were midway through… oh well! 

(We have a cool new lever that’s come out of, actually; we can have Traits just make Complexity Certs just not count in appropriate circumstances. Freefaller characters get to ignore 0g penalties, for example, which includes adding Cosmonaut as a Complexity Cert to a lot of rolls). 

I’ve submitted Torchship to Metatopia again this year, and I’m really looking forward to running it on the other side of a year of rewrites and de-heartbreakerification. I’m confident it’ll go much better this time around. 

Anyway, next Dev Diary will be about the Zinovians, and then we’ll do the meta-campaign mechanics. Unless something even cooler comes up.

[felassan]

BioWare currently have a job opening for a Lead Level Designer on the next Mass Effect game. the listing text currently reads:

"BioWare creates games focused on rich stories, unforgettable characters and vast worlds. It operates out of Edmonton (Alberta, CAN) and Austin (Texas, USA), creating some of the world's most critically acclaimed titles since 1995. The studio is developing the next Mass Effect game, one of the highest-rated video game series of all time. We’re looking for a Lead Level Designer to join our level design leadership team. In this role, you’ll drive vision and shape world spaces through all stages, from early prototyping to final polish. What You’ll Do - Collaborate with other leads and directors to create spaces that create amazing gameplay and narrative opportunities for players. - You will meet with the team to brainstorm ideas, set quality benchmarks, and identify technology gaps. - You will work with the team to outline the gameplay experience (landmarks, encounters, flow rhythm, tension, pacing, variety, exploration). - Participate in prototyping and experimentation with design features to identify opportunities and establish best practices. - Develop gold standard missions and levels that exemplify Mass Effect's creative vision and core pillars. - Guide and inspire the team to create unique spaces. Spaces where gameplay, visual composition, and narrative context combine to form iconic, memorable experiences. - Meet with the team to mentor, motivate and strengthen the design vision. - Work with production to identify asset dependencies, scope agreement, and delivery schedules. - Review content and provide feedback. - Work with artists and the Art Director to balance technical, aesthetic, gameplay and narrative constraints. - Using external player feedback, iterate and find solutions to identified friction points. Qualifications - 6+ years of level design experience with lead level design experience on at least one AAA title. - Unreal Engine experience. Build levels and teach best practices to other level designers. - Experience communicating single-player level design vision. - Create an experiential and narrative flow throughout a level, crafting evocative spaces and iconic moments. - Experience with nonlinear, level design. - Mentor and inspire level designers at all levels of experience. - Experience working with Creative and Technical leads to identify pipeline and design requirements."

[source]

the text of the listing appears to have been slightly amended in one part since it was originally posted. it originally read:

"The studio is developing future game experiences for the Mass Effect franchise." [source]

this sentence was updated to read "The studio is developing the next Mass Effect game".

[miloscat]

[Review] Notenogram (GBA)

A lovely little homebrew nonogram game!

While talking about GBA homebrew games with my spouse we stumbled upon GBA Jam, an annual game jam on Itch.io where participants make their own new Game Boy Advance games. It gets a fair number of entries too, including this gem from the 2022 jam. Made by kva64, it's a rare entry in the particular puzzle genre of nonograms on the system: Picross wiki only has one official GBA release, by Hudson!

Notenogram takes its name from its notepaper-inspired aesthetic. The whole experience occurs over a grid paper background, every graphic from clue numbers and filled-in squares to the cute anime-style characters appearing as if drawn in pencil in a student's notebook. It's a fun idea, although it isn't the best for legibility, especially the number font.

The puzzle-solving gameplay is quite barebones, as expected for a game jam project. You can fill or cross squares, and undo these marks, while marking crosses doesn't overwrite fills (thumbs up). That's about it. There's no screen wrap, clue marking, hints, or checking, although the ever-present star character Omi will react with dismay if you fill in an incorrect square. The grids are all 12x12 which is unusual, and doesn't include thicker line markings on each fifth border, but I applaud the choice for fitting grids to the screen and graphics without sacrificing screen space or visibility.

The main mode includes 20 puzzles split into four categories: objects, nature, symbols, and portraits. The solutions are mostly recognisable but you'll have to squint at times as there's no shrunken cut-in, and you must commit them to memory as there's no record of you solving them. I will cut it some slack in these presentational aspects due to the short development time frame (3 months)… having said that, a few puzzles require extrapolation or outright guesswork to solve. To be fair, the tutorial does lay this out as part of the format but I always thought of it as poor puzzle design personally. It did feel a little freeing to accept guesswork as a valid strategy though, kind of a rebellious cutting loose from my preferred rigid logical solving, and Omi's reactions are helpful in these scenarios. Plus there's no penalty for mistakes, or a time limit, which is nice.

Well, there is one mode that grades you. Another option on the title screen is for Story Mode, which plays out as a short visual novel section that feels more like a proof of concept than a fully fleshed out experience. Omi is an anime girl who loves arcade games, and decides to try out a nonogram game at her local game centre (the script and tutorial often use the copyrighted term Picross as it's become generic colloquially). There's just one puzzle to solve here—bringing the total in the game to 21—and how well you do changes which character approaches you afterwards: a dweeby kid who struggles with puzzles, a fiercely competitive rival, or the middle option and my favourite, a girl who volunteers at a game preservation museum who is hoping to save the arcade machine from being doomed to obscurity. All three are friendly, wholesome encounters and this little mini-story is a cute addition to what can be a dry puzzle genre.

Aside from the tutorial which explains the concept well, a "Create" mode rounds out the package. It's very impressive to include something like this in a game jam project, allowing you to save up to 5 puzzles of your own design. Overall I'm very impressed with this small-scale homebrew; the aesthetic choices are strong, with the sketchiness and cute characters adding a fun layer, even if the pencil on graph paper look isn't the best for visibility. I was also just pleased to discover people keen to develop for GBA and that there are tools available to do so; GBStudio gets a lot of attention but it's nice to see other retro formats getting love too!

[cynautica]

One thing that kills me about Alyou is that for their relationship to develop you kind of have to address and utilize the isolation that goes unsaid in the game.

Like, we know Robin isn’t some social outcast. She enjoyed her work and was pretty outgoing. The only live interaction we get to see with another human is with Hal where he says she’ll be missed. She quite literally abandons everything to investigate Sam’s death on a harsh alien planet on the far reaches of the galaxy. She chooses to make herself an outcast. Anyone close to her that hears that is counting the days before she’s assumed dead and missing.

Al-an on the other hand is actively seeking his own people. The entire game is him looking for the other precursors, a goal we can only assume extends well beyond the game. Of which for Robin we can only assume two outcomes: they find the architects within her lifespan or they don’t.

If they do find the architects, how does their relationship fair? Does Robin get sent back to human civilization a hero to architects but a nobody to her own people? There’s no guarantee if she wrote about the precursors anyone would even believe her. Or, doing so makes her and the architects a target for Alterra. There’s no guarantee she’d ever be able to find a job she loved ever again, or, best case scenario her writings about the species make her famous. What then? Sure she might have money and fame, but she’ll no doubt never be able to talk to Al-an again with loads of questions still unanswered.

But what if Robin brings Al-an with her back to the human world? She doesn’t seem to have a lot of faith in humans not acting terrible, trying everything from putting him in a cage to keeping him as a trophy. He might get a kick out of being a science subject at first, but we know he’s not quick to make friends. Maybe he shares some advancements with the humans? If he trusts them that is.

The same goes in reverse in what if Robin stays for some time with architect society? They’d no doubt want to learn everything they could about humans resources willing. However it took Al-an a whole game to understand the nuances of human socialization before they even let him near one. I can’t imagine Robin being comfortable in a whole society full of very tall, very advanced, and very nosey aliens. Best case scenario Al-an shares his etiquette and respect with the other architects or they mostly ignore her. Even with this outcome Robin is still in a world not built for her in mind. She can still make friends with the architects, but they’d no doubt feel clinically asocial.

Then of course the third option, both are fully isolated. They neither find the architects and Robin chooses not to return to human civilization. They both have eachother to keep company, but they’ll always be alone. Humans are designed to seek other humans, and architects no doubt feel the same being social creatures. Sure one another might be “good enough” but there will always be that unmistakable feeling of solitude. Alone together, till one of them dies.

Then what? Does the other move on, driven purely by their desire for scientific conquest on the far reaches of the stars? Adopt a pet and live their life alone like Maida?

The closest thing to a perfect ending is that both the architects are alive and Robin chooses to return to human civilization, but both species are able to build a good working relationship. Both Al-an and Robin are regarded as heroes on both sides and still have the ability to talk every once in awhile. It would be really neat to see precursors join the supporting cast for subnautica 2, being our access port for advanced tech. But then us Rob-an shippers have to face the idea that their relationship would probably end with just friendship or both would still be ostracized for being weirdos

In any solution though there has to be some compromise. A perfect ending isn’t necessarily possible.

This is why I think Alyou should officially be classified as tragic yuri send tweet

[simulanissolutions]

India's virtual reality landscape is thriving, with several companies leading the charge in innovation and immersive experiences. Here’s a list of notable VR companies, including Simulanis Solutions:

[purplekissinger]

the gift of the magi

Christmas is closing in like a goddamn meteor. They play Secret Santa at ‘Callister’. Robert is trying his best to figure out who'd drawn Y/N’s name.

"When I turn the paper over, there'll be Y/N's name on it," Robert told himself. Like all people clinging to an absurd belief in a just-world hypothesis, he was inclined to think that life followed some logical script. Flip the paper, see your name, choose the best gift ever, win Y/N’s heart, happily ever after. That’s it, that’s the plan.

The plan that went to hell when he turned the paper over and saw Nanette Cole's name.

His heart sank. Around him, everyone in the conference room was whispering cheerfully, some were secretly showing each other their cards, some were giggling. To Robert, the world suddenly turned gray, as if someone cracked the saturation to zero. He was the only one sitting stiffly with a sour face, gloomily thinking that the universe had betrayed him yet again. Not only would he miss the chance to give a present, worse, Y/N will receive one from someone else!

Funny how his genius head hadn't even thought of the simple idea of bypassing the game and ​​giving Y/N a present outright.

"Stupid Christmas bullshit," he muttered as shoved the paper into his pocket with an irritated expression that poor Nanette didn't deserve. Then Robert looked up timidly. The gentle smile that blossomed on your face when you read your card made him feel sick.

"Well, Merry Christmas, Santa’s little helpers!" Walton clapped his hands encouragingly, and Robert suddenly wanted to punch his beaming face. What if Y/N had just drawn Walton's name? "Now get back to work, daylight’s wasting!"

He pretended to work until lunch, occasionally leaving his room with a plastic cup. Robert wandered around the office, looking even more absent-minded than usual, and felt like the most miserable man in the world. At lunch break Y/N, with whom he had so much in common, with whom he had so fatefully met, was chatting happily with Shania in the corner by the coffee machine, oblivious to his agony. After circling the corner for the fifth time in the widest possible arc, Robert finally realized what he was going to do.

Within five minutes, Robert had access to the office’s search history. He had fun like that before, but watching his colleagues' boring lives couldn't keep him interested for long. It was more fun to imagine putting Walton through a meat grinder.

Robert’s approach was methodical as ever. First, your search requests. Nothing out of the ordinary, you were now fully immersed in your work (he could respect that), and you had just created a question on Stack Overflow. You had little experience with interface design development, but you tried. He quickly scanned it and typed out a very detailed answer. Submit anonymously.

Shania was looking for some sports gears. A few key words like "gift"  convinced Robert that she was going to be Karl’s Santa. In any case, it meant that you were not giving Karl a gift. Good to know. Without any hesitation, Karl posted on Reddit “what to give to a cold indifferent girl” and was already roasting the commenters. Apparently, Tulaska’s present.

Robert opened a new Excel sheet and started listing the names of every dev team employee. Modern problems require modern solutions. His gaze was murderous as he typed. Kabir poked his head in with some question about the patch, but Robert didn't even turn around.

Robert was always painfully attentive to the world around him, even when it ignored him entirely. Over the next two days he managed to shorten the list of suspects, but he still didn’t get an answer to the main questions. Who was giving Y/N a present? And who the hell was Y/N giving a present to?

It’s unknown for how long his frantic research could last if Y/N hadn’t bumped into him at the coffee machine one day.

“Robert, have you picked out a gift yet?” you asked curiously. He winced. He still couldn’t get used to you talking to him first.

“Uh, not yet?”

“But isn’t tomorrow the deadline?” you raised an eyebrow.

Damn it. Trying to track down your Santa, he completely forgot about Nanette.

“I think I’ll figure it out,” he shrugged uncertainly.

“Who is it, though?” you asked. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

You couldn’t even imagine the crazy power you wielded over him. You could ask for the password to his bank account and he would gladly give it to you.

“It’s Nanette,” Robert said tiredly. “To be honest, I have no idea what to get her.”

Again, his heart sank in pain at the sight of your stunning smile.

“Oh! I know her! Maybe you’ll need some help tonight? I’m hitting the shops anyway.”

Robert nodded, unable to speak. He sometimes wondered what it was like to be open to everyone, to be ready to help. To be kind to everyone. Even to someone like him.

“I think the HR might have something to say about this,” he managed to say.

“Why?” you raised your eyebrows in genuine confusion. Robert looked into your eyes and realized that you truly, completely, one hundred percent did not understand what could possibly be inappropriate about this situation.

Two opposing emotions crashed through Robert. First, elation: he was going to the town with the girl of his dreams this evening. Second, devastation: the girl of his dreams was so utterly indifferent to him she did not even see him as a threat.

“Vanilla latte skim milk, captain?” you winked, reaching for the coffee cup.

As you two walked down the street, Robert half-listened to your chatter. His attention was glued to the world around him changing rapidly. He didn't understand what was happening to him. The shop’s decorations, the wreaths, the flickering lights which he had always been indifferent to, had somehow become brighter. Or, rather, he himself had become more appropriate on these streets. You could make anyone feel like the main character. Was this how everyone felt on Christmas?

Robert glanced into a lighted shop window. Nah, he looked as pathetic as ever. Y/N was probably making fun of him.

"... Nanette and I got close lately," you said cheerfully. "She mentioned her new apartment is quite cold, so we could probably get her  some…"

Catching his expression, you frowned.

"Robert, you look like you've seen a ghost."

Robert chuckled awkwardly, looking down at his shoes. The delusion dissolved. He felt too heavy again, too noticeable, too clumsy.

"Just tired”.

“Oh”.

Pause.

“Anyway, how do you like it at ‘Callister’?” he muttered. “Made any… other friends there?"

“Oh, things got fantastic!” you exclaimed. “My best job so far. Everyone has been so nice to me, it’s almost embarrassing. Of course, switching from artist to designer wasn’t easy, but I’m glad you gave me a chance.”

He, Robert, had given you that chance. Never having interfered in hiring before, he had done everything in his power to ensure that you got the job. Though Walton’s skepticism had faded as you performed well, you could never win him over on your own.

“You’ve got such a friendly atmosphere!” you said. “I guess this is how people who create the universe should work.”

“Well,” Robert said. “I’m glad you got that impression. It doesn’t quite match mine.”

“Oh, am I missing something?” you laughed.

Your whole open, shining essence was so inviting that Robert nearly blurted, “I’m madly in love with you and I also sometimes fantasize about setting the office on fire and kicking Walton in the face.” For a heartbeat, he felt like baring his rotting soul in front of Y/N could stop this sickening ache.

Instead, Robert awkwardly pushed the store door open, letting you enter first.

You found a gift for Nanette pretty quickly. Knowing your new friend's tastes well, you picked out a sweater in her favorite colors and even found the perfect packaging. Watching you thoughtfully sift through the sheets of paper, Robert couldn't help but admire you. Like him, you were attentive to the world around you, but where he was expecting to see a threat, you were always ready to see a wonder. 

He envied that trait more than anything.

That was probably why you could see through people so effortlessly, always knowing exactly what they needed. Robert wondered what it would be like to receive a gift from you. No doubt you were preparing something special for your Secret Santa match, something sweet and thoughtful wrapped with care. To get a present from you meant to receive the evidence that you looked into his soul with your shining eyes and found something worth warming. Sweet Jesus, he’d treasure a pack of napkins from you like a holy relic.

“Is your present ready yet?” Robert asked hopefully. Hoping that he could steal just another hour or more in your company.

“Of course,” you smiled cheerfully. “I don’t believe in last minute miracles.”

“What did you get?” he asked again, hoping that you might accidentally slip up and give them away.

“That’s classified,” you said seriously, tapping your nose. “What if you tell them?”

Robert had, in fact, planned to fire this man the next morning (something he had never done before, but hey, the things we do for love). Not that he mentioned it.

Awkwardly clutching the bundle with that stupid sweater to his chest, Robert walked you to the subway. You waved cheerfully at him goodbye, and he waved back sadly. Christmas was fading around him. He knew for sure that he was seeing you off for the last time, because you would never get out together like this.

The next morning, Robert deployed the virus to Kabir's workstation just in case. He still had no idea who he was giving the gift to, and decided not to take any chances. He didn't do it with much enthusiasm, though. Robert had the feeling that he was missing something, something desperately important and obvious, and that the person Y/N was giving the gift to had been right under his nose the whole time.

Robert also brought a small sketchbook with a starry sky on the cover, knowing full well that he wouldn't dare give it to you. He often did that, though - preparing for something he knew he wouldn't finish.

At 9:00 AM sharp on December 24th, Christmas erupted across “Callister”. ‘Santa’s’ were happily swapping packages, bags and boxes here and there. The office dissolved into the merry chaos, which now settled even on Elena's reception desk, where Karl had placed a solar-powered dancing bunny. Elena smiled graciously, the closest to gratitude anyone had ever seen on her face.

"Nanette," Robert began awkwardly, not looking her in the eye. "Uh, here." He thrust the gift at her like a hostage negotiator passing a briefcase.

God, he wished it was over already. He wished this day would come to an end. He knew for sure that during this holiday break he would do what he had been dreaming about for a long time. 

Robert would drag a copy of Walton, Kabir and, maybe, Elena into the simulation and make them pay for everything. For the stupid Christmas, for the cursed game, for all the gifts Robert did not get, for Y/N, whom he did not get either. He transferred the DNA coder to his place last week. He still couldn’t bring himself to turn it on, but looking at this joyful party where he felt like an alien– 

 – who wouldn’t?

Nanette clapped her hands in joy, her already-wide eyes becoming saucers.

“Oh my God!” she exclaimed, unwrapping the sweater hastily. “I’ve been freezing all month! A sweater is just what I need this winter! Robert, where did you find this one? It’s cashmere! And the pattern, look at the pattern! Name the place, I’ll bankrupt them tomorrow!”

“Uh,” he said. The DNA coder thoughts had somehow faded into the background. You see, Robert, lifelong self-proclaimed “good guy,” was always terribly confused when he met genuine gratitude. “Trade secret.”

“Did someone tell you?” Nanette smiled.

“Rudolph,” Robert smiled wearily.

Nanette giggled.

“I wish Rudolph would give me some pointers… I’ve turned every art store upside down for a good set of watercolors. I have no idea what Y/N paints.”

The noise around them seemed to die down.

“What?”

“Well, watercolors. Y/N once mentioned that she prefers traditional painting to digital…”

“Are you getting her a gift?” Robert asked, two tones louder than he’d intended. Nanette stared at him, surprised.

“Actually, I already have.”

First thought: Kabir’s doomed. Second: nah, he deserves it. Third: holy shit-

“Oh, there she is!” Nanette breathed a sigh of relief, glad that she could end this weird conversation.

Robert turned around and for a heart-stopping moment he could swear he was hallucinating.

There you stood, a winter mirage in reindeer antlers. Your smile was shining. It could light up the room. It could even light up his soul, probably. 

“Ho-ho-ho,” you exclaimed in an absurd deep Santa’s voice. “Robert Daly, tell me truthfully, were you a good boy this year?”

You were holding a thermos - a thermos with - oh, Mother of God - a thermos with a picture of a starship tearing into the sky.

"May the coffee from this space thermos warm you up on winter nights," you said in a normal voice. "I worked hard on the drawing, it's even dishwasher safe." 

Let the curtain fall here.

Let it freeze this moment where two unwise children exchanged gifts. Let us not hear what Robert said to you and what you said to him; let's not know about HR’s inevitable memo; let us not know that a week later Robert accidentally knocked over a thermos full of coffee over a DNA coder that he never launched.

[infinitebrians]

Favorite Games of 2023 Part 4: Pseudoregalia

I knew Pseudoregalia was going to be good the minute I started the game and did the input for the Mario 64 side flip jump and the game’s main character Sybil did her own version of that satisfying jump. One of my all time favorite things to do in a Mario game (or any game) is that side flip, a jump that is as practical as it is just simply satisfying to do. Sybil being able to do that jump without needing any of the power ups found in the game told me that the developers of this game knew the importance to making character feel good jumping around in a 3D world. Her movement only gets better from there with a bunch of new platforming abilities that makes her capable of getting what feels like anywhere in that game world if desired. The pure control you have over Sybil's platforming capabilities gave me so many great moments of pure curiosity to experiment with what could work. What's better is watching friends and others play the game and figure out their own solutions to the game's open ended platforming design. There are no wrong answers in the world of Pseudoregalia, just results.

This game was a complete surprise in just about every way, just the best feeling platformer I’ve played in a long while in this small, cleaned up former game jam game. I’ve followed the main dev rittzler on twitter for a few years because the gameplay clips of their work have all looked fun and impressive and they always shared other really cool indie dev work as well. So, I was excited to finally play Pseudoregalia when it was announced to be released. It's super low price (6 dollars USD) and being something I was able to finish in the span of one day alone was a huge breath of fresh air in this current gaming environment. It’s something I’ve been personally thinking a lot about recently is the appeal of a simpler, lower priced game. It’s appeal to me coming from playing something that never needs to be some sort of omnipresent, super game. Instead, Pseudoregalia presents itself in a humble statement of, ‘here, enjoy a few hours jumping around this wacky maze like castle as a goat bunny lady!’.

I'm not a person who typically ever has a desire to replay a game right after finishing it, I usually prefer to immediately move on to another game that I've been wishing to play for for a while. Pseudoregalia is a game I've played four or so times now from start to finish, I even started another playthrough in preparation for this drawing/writing and found myself wanting to play it all the way through again. Its the first time I found myself actually physically seeing the appeal of speedrunning, a hobby I always just enjoyed as a spectator. Pseudoregalia just lends itself so neatly to that part of me that loves routing out a path for stuff. How quickly can you find all the vital movement abilities for Sybil? What's unnecessary, what can be improved, what can be gathered while on the path of gathering something else. From at least my perspective of not actually investigating the proper speedrunner's routing, the options feel immense. From these handful of times replaying the game I've gotten a good handle of finding my way around the map and a good idea of how to get a lot of the really important movement abilities almost immediately. It also made the game feel quite different from how it felt to me with my first playthrough, what was once mysterious and labyrinthine was now a familiar playground.

That is one thing I will miss when doing those repeat playthroughs is that sense of discovery that occurred with that initial run. Soon before Pseudoregalia came out, I watched a lot of Videochess and spaghoner's exploration and documentation of the incredible Mario 64 hack, B3313 ( https://youtu.be/pLKB0SG0i8c ). I found that hack incredible at creating a sense of uneasiness and wonder from simply keeping you constantly guessing what was next behind each door something even those two expressed while streaming. During my first playthrough of Pseudoregalia, I was completely lost in that castle and was constantly finding paths that led to new zones or ones circled me back to old ones from hours ago. It was a pretty incredible feeling of discovery that only wore out it's welcome at the end when I just needed one more big key necessary for progression. What helped make exploration in both of these games engaging the whole time is that aspect of having a really fun character to move around as while being lost. It was okay with being completely lost because I could still just keep doing these long jumps into wall kicks that just make Sybil go fuckin' fast in an immensely satisfying way.

I think in the time it's taken me to think about this game again, and briefly revisit it in preparation for this art/writing I've come to decide that this is probably my favorite new game of 2023. In a year full of fantastic platformers to pick from, this one was just a class above in terms of movement design and movement application.

[molsno]

whats the most obscure game youve ever played and what did you think of it

it was a zero escape wannabe called birth ME code, and it was so infuriatingly bad it was one of the only games I've ever left a review of on steam. I'll copy that here, but I'll preface it by saying that I talk about the game's very blatant transmisogny and poor handling of sexual assault

I really wanted to like Birth ME Code after how much I enjoyed its prequel, Head AS Code. But I can literally never recommend this game or any of the other games in this series to anyone because of the violently transphobic trope which is an unskippable part of the story. Spoilers below:

The character Luxuria, the embodiment of the deadly sin Lust, is presumed to be a girl at first. However, later in the story, Lux is revealed to actually be a boy, and then proceeds to attempt to sexually assault the protagonist with a POV CG. The developer doesn't seem to understand that, even though this character is not transgender, he still embodies a transphobic stereotype. Trans women are often presumed to be men tricking people into believing that they're women with the intention of sexually assaulting them, and this utterly false stereotype is not only the root cause of a lot of discriminatory legislation, but quite literally gets trans women killed. I find it really hard to believe that the developer didn't think about how Luxuria might be interpreted, given the current political climate surrounding trans people.

Besides that, I have a lot of other gripes with this game. I was really intrigued by the premise, in which you play as the mastermind of the game - a female character, no less. However, Ancora is extremely bland. She feels oddly uninterested and clueless about the game that she's supposedly masterminding. She has the highest stakes here! Why doesn't she seem to care that much? I found Simon from HAC to be a somewhat enjoyable protagonist, so why did I find Ancora uninteresting? Honestly, I believe it's because Miracle Moon is somewhat inept at writing women. When Ancora isn't making pointless jokes about how big her boobs are, she has very little personality to speak of.

The writing in this game in general is bad. BMC tries very hard to be Zero Escape, and it fails to come even close to the heights of the ZE franchise while carrying over all of its most frustrating flaws and amplifying them. You'll find plenty of poorly explained pseudoscience topics here, seemingly chosen at random, with no real significance or integration into the larger plot. On top of that, the characters are unlikable. This is somewhat intentional, as they're all designed to embody the Seven Deadly Sins, but just because a character is a bad person doesn't mean they can't be enjoyable. All of the characters are shallow, and even those who deal with topics that are intended to be "deep", such as sexual assault, are handled with a total lack of care and serve no purpose other than to shock the player. This game says nothing meaningful about sexual assault or any other kind of crime, even though it really should, given its plot.

Did I enjoy anything about Birth ME Code? Well, sort of. I enjoyed a few of the puzzles, although most of them left me scratching my head - the solutions often felt arbitrary, and it left me wondering how I was supposed to figure that out. The art was... okay, even if I found the character designs kind of ugly. The best thing I have to say is that BMC has an awesome soundtrack. It's disappointing that the OST isn't for sale.

In conclusion, don't play this game. It's not worth your time. I was extremely disappointed with it, and its flaws are so egregious that I can't recommend any games in this series to anyone. Miracle Moon has potential to improve as a writer and developer, but the Abime series is a hard pass after playing this game.

[derxwnakapsyla]

Hello there! My name is Derxwna Kapsyla, and you might know me as the mastermind behind projects such as "Yitria Resurrection", "Touhouon Asteria", "Touhou Pupet Play ~ The Adventures of Ayaka", "Chronicles of the Omniverse"- Wait, you don't know that last one? Never mind it then! Today I'm here to talk about something I am extremely passionate about- map design!

It is easily my favorite aspect of game development, and I feel like I'm pretty proficient at it. So, I would like to open up map making commissions to help people out on their own projects! I've got well over 10 years of experience, getting my start back in the ancient days of Binary ROM Hacking with Advance Map being the hottest tool on the block. I like to make sure the maps I make are of the highest standards I can possibly muster, so I have a fairly sharp eye for detail.

I also love communicating ideas with people and helping them reach a desired solution (If I'm able to)! If you're interested in taking a shot on me, I welcome you to message me on here, or DM me on Discord! I look forward to getting a chance to work with you! I promise, I don't bite- I'd much rather use an Ion Cannon. Also I just lost my job recently so I could really use some supplementary income while I try and find a new job...

Things to know about Derxwna:

I've been working with game development as a hobbyist for over 10 years, with an exceptional passion for map design.

I like to make sure that anything I make is the best quality I can possibly produce.

I do have a degree (of sorts) in Game Design, Programming, and Animation.

Spent a good majority of my time playing Wind Waker just trying to compare terrain to Ocarina of Time.

You will not find a person more offended by the tile errors in vanilla Pokemon games, I guarantee it.

What I am offering:

Map design for 2D environment based games.

Map critique and feedback. (This is free!)

Eventing on a small scale.

Redesigning your own maps.

What I am not offering:

A whole game made from scratch (Unless you're paying massive $Revenue).

Complex scripting maneuvers.

Unique tilesets. If you have a unique tileset you want me to use, send it- but I will check if you are allowed to use it.

Trainer battles.

Advice on how to spend your FSA. I answer those questions enough at my previous workplace.

Examples of my work:

-- Touhoumon Asteria -- https://imgur.com/a/hsAjnuk

-- Yitria Resurrection -- https://imgur.com/a/fveRkMc

-- Adventures of Ayaka -- https://imgur.com/a/tYAV8u7

-- Other Map Creations -- https://imgur.com/a/ZzqvrdV

Prices

-- Map Size --

Small map (30x30 or smaller): $10

Medium map (60x60 or smaller): $35

Large Map (100x100 or smaller): $60

Extra Large Map (100x100 or greater): $90

I am willing to take on a multi-map endeavor. Prices will be discounted for bulk purchases. I am also willing to very slightly haggle on the tiers above Small Map, but prices will not go below $10 above the previously listed tier.

-- Eventing --

Depending on event complexity and quantity, additional fees may be incurred.

-- Additional Pricing --

Gen 4 or 5 theme: +$40. I am not comfortable mapping in this style. I can attempt it, but only if you provide a tileset of the exact tiles you want.

When it comes to payments, I am flexible with how I receive them. I understand that people are not comfortable giving an entire lump sum for commissions. If you'd like, we can work out a payment plan of sorts, or you can pay a portion up front and pay the rest upon completion. If I do not or am unable to finish the map, I will refund the amount paid up front. As a note, if you are looking for a rush order, an additional fees may be incurred.

Contact Information

The best ways to reach me if you are looking for a commission, or if you have any additional questions are as follows:

The Eevee Expo Forums

Discord: DerxwnaKapsyla

Tumblr

This is where I would put my Twitter account- if it was unsuspended.

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/derxwnakapsyla.bsky.social

The best times to reach me are between 12 PM and 12 AM PST (GMT-7).

[askagamedev]

Hello. Do you think having a game programming YouTube channel can be useful as a portfolio? Like recreating game mechanics from existing games or creating new ones, and explaining my thoughts and decisions through the videos. Similar to Artstation for artists, but in this case for programming.

I do like the idea of having an online portfolio where a candidate can showcase their skills, but I am not sure that a youtube channel is the ideal platform for it. I can see good gains to be had from doing so, but there are also non-trivial drawbacks. I'll explain what I mean.

First, doing personal game development projects earns top marks. There's no better way to stand out as a candidate than to have experience doing that work already and game development is no exception. Show us that you can do the job by doing similar work. Earning experience as an amateur will translate to leveling up as a professional.

Second, there's definitely a lot of benefit to practicing communication skills which you get from posting for public consumption. My own personal ability to communicate has improved significantly since I began this blog. The regular practice of posting to the blog has honed my skill at taking difficult, technical, and/or complex concepts and conveying them in an intuitive and understandable way. These are extremely helpful skills in a professional setting, especially when communicating with others who are not versed in the technical or design context.

There are also two drawbacks I see here.

The first drawback is in the choice of platform. Video production is extremely time-consuming - at the very least you will need to record the needed footage, write and record the commentary, add any needed visual bits (e.g. intro, outro, key art, transitions, etc.) and (most time-consuming of all) edit each video together. Most of these skills are not directly transferable to game development and are the primary reason I decided against going the Youtube route for myself.

The second drawback is in the public-facing nature of posting your work. If you get hired by a game company, you will become a corporate representative to the players of that company's games 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Your personal public posts will likely be read and dissected by the game's fans and used as potential ammunition against your employer. It is not abnormal for public blogs and the like to need shutting down (either temporarily or permanently) once you get hired. It may become a legal liability and that's not something you want to deal with while juggling a full-time job. I avoid this by staying anonymous but it's a double-edged sword - I must also forgo the benefit of having a public portfolio that I can show to potential employers.

That's basically the rundown. There's a lot to be gained from doing personal game dev work and posting it publicly, but you don't need to go all or nothing. There are really good skills you will develop by doing so, but you should absolutely be mindful of the major drawbacks of doing so in a public venue. I would encourage you to consider these issues and find a solution that you think will work best for you.

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Got a burning question you want answered?

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Frequent Questions: The FAQ

[dlcgroupofficial]

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This project falls under the “Deen Dayal Jan Awas Yojna”, a Haryana government initiative aimed at providing affordable and planned housing solutions. It means more transparency, assured infrastructure development, and attractive investment opportunities for buyers. 

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Planned green spaces and parks enhancing the quality of life.

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Compliance and Transparency

Registered under Deen Dayal Jan Awas Yojna, ensuring complete peace of mind for buyers.

Ideal Investment Opportunity: Commercial Plots & Luxurious 3BHK Floors at Sector 93 Gurgaon

For Business Owners 

Build your office, retail store, or showroom in a prime location.

Leverage the upcoming residential and business population for higher footfall.

For Homebuyers 

Own a premium independent floor in a gated community.

Enjoy modern amenities and an elegant lifestyle.

For Investors

Benefit from dual investment options: commercial and residential.

High rental yields and long-term appreciation potential.

Sustainability and Modern Infrastructure

ROF Pravasa Yojana focuses on sustainable development:

Rainwater harvesting and solar lighting.

Green landscapes and tree-lined avenues.

Energy-efficient systems and waste management solutions.

These features ensure you invest in a project built for the future.

Key Amenities at ROF Pravasa Yojana 

Clubhouse with fitness center and indoor games. 

Landscaped gardens and walking tracks. 

24/7 security with CCTV surveillance. 

Ample parking and well-lit pathways. 

Children’s play area and community hall. 

These amenities enhance daily living and add value to your investment. 

Booking Details and Offers 

“ROF Pravasa Yojana” is now live, and bookings have already begun. Early investors can benefit from attractive payment plans and limited-period discounts.

How to Book 

Visit the official site: dlcgroup.in/rof/rof-pravasa 

Fill in the inquiry form or contact the sales team.

Schedule a site visit to experience the project first-hand.

FAQs about ROF Pravasa Yojana

What types of properties are available? 

Commercial plots in Gurugram Sector-93  

Luxurious 3BHK floors at Sector 93 Gurgaon 

Is it under Deen Dayal Jan Awas Yojna?

Yes, ensuring compliance, planned infrastructure, and affordable pricing.

Who should invest? 

Business owners, investors, and families looking for premium yet affordable living. 

Conclusion: Your Gateway to Prosperity and Luxury

ROF Pravasa Yojana is not just a real estate project; it’s a thoughtfully planned community that offers you the best of both worlds — “commercial plots in Gurugram Sector-93” for your business dreams and ROF Independent Floors Gurugram Sector-93 for an elevated lifestyle.

Located in a fast-growing sector of Gurgaon, under the trusted umbrella of the Deen Dayal Jan Awas Yojna, and featuring luxurious 3BHK floors at Sector 93 Gurgaon, this project stands as a testament to smart investment and comfortable living.

If you’re ready to explore the future of commercial and residential real estate, Pravasa Yojana is live — and it’s the perfect time to secure your space.

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