Programming

Epic Games has released a preview of Unreal Engine 5.2 and detailed its key features at the GDC 2023. Here are the main new tools and improvements that could change the way developers and artists create worlds and materials.

More game companies are trying to incorporate AI technologies into their development processes. Ubisoft has introduced Ghostwriter, its own machine learning tool that should make it easier for writers to create interactions and dialogues with NPC.

In the era of ever-evolving language models and chatbots, many are wondering how AI technologies will influence various areas, including game development. Here is an example of a possible use case for ChatGPT in Unity.

Epic Games is now one step closer to realizing its metaverse ambitions. The company will release the Unreal Editor for Fortnite, so players can release their own experiences directly into the world-famous battle royale game.

We are publishing a new list with gaming vacancies. Wanted this week: technical artist at Lesta Games, game producer at Craft Games and senior designer at WN Media Group.

Tales of Syn is an isometric RPG in the style of classic Fallout titles. The twist is how it uses the power of Stable Diffusion and ChatGPT to create game assets, backgrounds, character models, and dialogues.

Godot 4.0 has finally been released after four years in the making. Here are all the key features and improvements of the new version of this open source game engine.

VK has started work on the creation of a Russian open source game engine. It allocates one billion rubles for its development. This was announced during a press conference with the participation of Maksut Shadaev and Vladimir Kiriyenko. App2Top has prepared an edited* transcript of the event.

A group of Danish researchers have created a model to generate Super Mario Bros. levels. Here is how MarioGPT works and what limitations it has.

Even two decades after its launch, the original Fallout has a large fan base around the world. There is now a new open source project that allows players to run the classic game on their phones natively.

Morality is a great tool for game designers that adds depth and complexity to player decisions. So how do we transform morality into game mechanics? Let’s take a look at a few games that have done this well.

The Dead Space remake not only carefully recreates the original game, but also uses modern technologies to breathe new life into certain scenes. Here is how EA Motive reworked the famous transformation sequence.

The game development studio Lost Lore has shared with us some tips for using AI in making art for mobile games.

Up-and-coming game developers often use ready-made assets in their first projects. And this Argentine artist offers indie creators thousands of free models and assets for a variety of genres and styles.

Using ready-made 3D assets can save time and money for some teams, but there are also a lot of pitfalls. Maksim Nikifarovich, lead artist at Belka Games, has opened up about the key challenges that game developers may face.

Counterplay Games has made its now-closed card battler Duelyst open source. This means everyone can now use its source code and assets to make their own projects based on it.

The infamous development of Duke Nukem Forever and the sad fate of 3D Realms have become the talk of the town in the games industry. However, not many people know about the game’s early 2D version from 1996 that was recently leaked online.

The book “Programming in Unreal Engine 5 for a beginner igrodel appeared on sale. Fundamentals of the Blueprint Visual Language”. This is the work of two Russian authors: Olga Maksimenkova, Candidate of Technical Sciences and researcher at the HSE, and Nikita Veselko, Product Owner at the IThub games studio.

Scott Thunelius, programmer and 3D artist known for his work on Subnautica, has shared with us the key principles behind creating retro-style graphics. As an example, he used Warpips, a tug-of-war strategy game he made with his friends in the spare time.

Havok Physics for Unity has now officially become supported for production. Developers will be able to use the physics engine for free and implement its features in their games.

VFX editor Pixel Composer has been officially released. The tool for creating animated effects for pixel art is now available for purchase, with 100+ various nodes to experiment with.

Ryan Smith, tech art director of R&D at Gearbox, has opened up about how the studio is already using AI in its work. He encouraged other artists to learn these tools, because they can help in solving routine tasks.

Why do players consider some events and details in the game more significant than others? This is directly related to the so-called narrative weight. Andrei Medvedev, game designer at Friday’s Games, breaks down what this term means and why it is critical for game designers to be able to adjust the importance of certain elements.

The surge in popularity of ChatGPT, Midjourney, and other tools has people thinking that AI will soon replace artists and will help even smaller teams create games on the scale of Cyberpunk 2077 or RDR 2. However, many devs remain skeptical.

People are used to stories of great success, but it is equally important to learn from others’ mistakes. Matt Sharp, solo developer at Momiji Studios, has reflected on the not-so-successful launch of his largely unique RPG Video Game Fables.

GameMaker has introduced a new free education version of its engine. It allows schools to teach students game design and the basics of programming, using special materials and resources.

Greek studio beyondthosehills has shared with us some tips for creating abstract art style (and pitfalls to avoid). Here are some tips based on their experience with their minimalist puzzle game reky.

At the beginning of 2023, Terra Nil, an inversion construction simulator about ecology, will be released on Steam. We publish an interview with the producer of the project Ruan Rothmann (Ruan Rothmann).

How to record all game content in the format that the engine will accept, — said Konstantin Sakhnov, founder of the Vengeance Games studio and scientific director of the Game Project Management program at the HSE.

The Netherlands-based studio Grumpy Owl Games has shared with us some tips for designing a turn-based combat system. They also used their own tactical RPG Untamed Tactics as an example.

We are publishing a new list with gaming vacancies. This week they are wanted: an Android developer at Incrdbl Mobile Entertainment, a leading UX artist at Agranovsky IT and a 2D animator at ExoGenesis.

Tools for AI-generated assets are constantly evolving. Scenario co-founder Emmanuel de Maistre has shown what game developers can achieve by fine-tuning Stable Diffusion.

We are publishing a new list with gaming vacancies. This week they are wanted: Unity developer at AIRICORE, chief monetization manager at Dankolab and Android developer at Incrdbl Mobile Entertainment.

Rebel Wolves, an independent studio co-founded by The Witcher 3 director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, has secured a strategic investment from Chinese tech giant NetEase. The team is now working on an untitled AAA RPG.

Game developers sometimes hide funny messages or find creative solutions to certain problems with their projects. All these things usually remain hidden from the player’s sight, but perhaps it is time to make confessions and reveal some secrets.

Tim Cain, who needs no introduction to any die-hard RPG fan, has recalled the development of the first Fallout, its RPG system, and the importance of creating reactive worlds. He also discussed how the games industry has changed since the 90s.

Dene Carter, a prominent game designer and programmer, has shared some tips with fellow developers. Using the first Fable as an example, he tried to explain why one shouldn’t be ashamed of copying the scope from other titles.

Assassin’s Creed III animation director Jonathan Cooper has recalled how the Ubisoft Montreal team created animation for the game. From rebuilt combat to ragdoll physics, the devs did a great job, making the project look impressive even after 10 years.

Netflix continues its gaming expansion with an acquisition of Spry Fox. Let’s take a look back at how the studio made a name for itself in the mobile market as a pioneer of the Merge genre.

Former Bioware executive producer Mark Darrah has tried to explain what Alpha means in game development, using Dragon Age: Dreadwolf as an example. He listed the distinctive features of this stage of production, also saying how much time usually passes between Alpha and launch.

Andraž Oražem, Slovenian dev and founder of one-man studio Alchemy Sheep, has shared with us some ups and downs he faced while making his upcoming roguelike game NecroBouncer. This rollercoaster journey could help many other indie creators avoid making the same mistakes.

Valve has improved its pricing tool for Steam to help developers better manage selling their games in different currencies. The company also updated its recommendations, with significant price increases in certain regions.

Valve has committed to updating its regional pricing recommendations for Steam developers more frequently. The company says this problem is bigger than just foreign exchange rates and should reflect different economic circumstances.

Hellena Taylor, the original voice actress for Bayonetta, has revealed she was offered only $4,000 for her entire performance. She called for a boycott of the new game, drawing the attention of fans and developers. So let’s take a look at how much video game voice actors actually get paid.

Dwarf Fortress has one of the highest barriers to entry among all modern games out there. That’s why Bay 12 Games decided to add a tutorial to the upcoming Steam version so that more people could at least enjoy losing.

We are publishing a new list with gaming vacancies. This week they are wanted: a game analyst at ZiMAD, a Unity developer at Funky Monkey Studio and a 2D concept environment artist at ExoGenesis.

Unity supports Ukraine-based developers on its Asset Store, but many of them have been experiencing trouble getting money for months. The official payment methods simply stopped working with the start of Russia’s invasion, and the company still doesn’t seem to have found a proper solution.

In what currency and how much they get in the Russian-speaking game dev in Cyprus. These and many other questions are answered in the salary study of the Cyprus gaming industry App2Top.ru and Talents In Games.

Fallout 2, one of the most iconic RPGs in video game history, still has a lot of loyal supporters. One of its fans has reimagined in-game characters using a machine learning model.

We are publishing a new list with gaming vacancies. This week they are looking for: a producer at Dankolab, ASO-middle-level manager at Beresnev Games and a game designer at JustMoby.