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Triple-A Art, Roots of Mocap, SonyPlayStation, Being a Problem Solver

Game Dev Advice: The Game Developer's Podcast

Release Date: 07/19/2019

Comics, Crazy Game Submissions, Careers, Industry Rant, and Production

Game Dev Advice: The Game Developer's Podcast

20-year industry veteran Nick Laing of Amazon Games and I discuss how he went from a Comic Book Artist into game dev as a Concept Artist & UX Designer, Game Designer, and Producer, working at EA, Microsoft, and Amazon Games on games like NFL Street, MMA, and Forza, compulsion versus compelling game design, loot boxes, game budgets, interviewing, the state of VR, game submission war stories, and how to improve Production, hosted by John ‘JP’ Podlasek. (See gamedevadvice.com for all the details.)

Triple-A Art, Roots of Mocap, SonyPlayStation, Being a Problem Solver

Game Dev Advice: The Game Developer's Podcast

Dwayne Mason of NXA Studios shares about the early days of motion capture, getting hired by Sony PlayStation, setting up Domino’s franchises, the value of being a problem solver, working at Midway Games, starting then expanding in China plus Argentina, plus working on marquee games like Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil, Street Fighter, and many more, by John ‘JP’ Podlasek. (See gamedevadvice.com for all the details.)

Indie Game Dev, Rick and Morty, Double Fine and Being in the Game Press

Game Dev Advice: The Game Developer's Podcast

Chris Johnson of the Player One Podcast shares about getting in the industry, working at Adult Swim with developers like Double Fine, being in the game press, the value of playing games with others, his love for “Sea of Thieves”, and working on his popular podcast of 13 years. (Check out gamedevadvice.com for full show notes.)

Running An Indie Game Studio, Loot Boxes, AR, Markiplier, and Producers

Game Dev Advice: The Game Developer's Podcast

Tom Eastman and Ben Perez discuss their seven years of running indie developer Trinket Studios, challenges they’ve overcome, lessons learned, advice for getting into the industry, favorite projects, new technologies, loot boxes, guerrilla marketing, YouTubers, funny stories, and thoughts on game production. (Check out gamedevadvice.com for full show notes.)

Crunch Culture and What You Can Do To Escape...Hint, It Ain't On Twitter

Game Dev Advice: The Game Developer's Podcast

The industry’s dirty little secret is in the spotlight again (just Google “intense crunch”) and surprise, everyone’s shocked. Why? It’s been going on since games were on floppy discs. Everyone’s preaching unions. But they’re not going to be your savior, at least any time soon. So instead of waiting for the union tooth fairy, hear my advice for researching and applying to companies that take culture and work-life balance seriously. They exist. Take action and rise above the Twitter ranting.

NBA Jam BOOMSHAKALAKA!!, Shaq, Dota, Rage 2, The Twilight Zone and Pins

Game Dev Advice: The Game Developer's Podcast

Tim Kitzrow is a video game & pinball legend, having worked on dozens of games, including the arcade BOOMSHAKALAKA!! classic, NBA Jam. Hear how he got started in voice-over work, studied with famous comedians at The Second City, and took on EA with Mutant League Football. Learn about his work in the upcoming Rage 2 along with a special Dota Jam Announcer pack. How NBA Jam is cursed, Shaq would take an arcade cabinet on the road, and Stern Pinball is back and thriving. (Go to gamedevadvice.com for details.)

PUBG, Red Dead 2, Taking Risks, Freelancing, Game Dev, VR and a Lawsuit

Game Dev Advice: The Game Developer's Podcast

James Brady started in 2015 and has already worked on games like Red Dead Redemption 2, PUBG, and other blockbusters. The risky decision to leave his job and pursue game dev, then later leave Rockstar. How his Silent Hill fan art went viral. The difference between U.S. & European studios. Why freelancing is safer than being an employee. What it was like experiencing PUBG’s success. Sound design’s importance, plus VR dev challenges. (See gamedevadvice.com for all the details.)

Dave Mirra BMX, Coding, Nintendo, Tax Breaks, Tokyo, and Sucker Punch

Game Dev Advice: The Game Developer's Podcast

Hear how CTO Dave Grace was hired as an audio engineer. What it was like working on Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX. How he formed his own company. Worked at Square Enix on Final Fantasy XV. Advice for getting in the industry plus what careers are always in demand. Learn the importance of reputation. Worked on Sly Cooper, Spyro 3, and other games. Challenges around unionization. Tax breaks for studios in Canadian and the U.S. Opinions on current game industry trends. (See gamedevadvice.com for all the details.)

Getting Hired, Learning New Tools, VR, Layoffs, Unionizing, and Trends

Game Dev Advice: The Game Developer's Podcast

Hear how 3D artist Humberto (Tito) Gamboa was hired. How schools often teach outdated tech. Working at a small game studio. Thoughts on online communities & industry events. Why you need to learn beyond school. The value of Twitter, Discord, ArtStation & 80 Level. Tips for applying to game studios. Ideas on learning different art tools. Discussion on unionization. Strategies on being prepared for a layoff. Thoughts on VR and great audio design. Opinions on past and current game industry trends.

AR, VR, Game Industry Trends, Unity, and Early Mobile Phone Game Dev

Game Dev Advice: The Game Developer's Podcast

-Hear from developer & CEO Patrick Curry who talks about his company, FarBridge.

More Episodes

Summary:

Dwayne Mason of NXA Studios talks about his current role in the company and his career and entrepreneurial aspirations going back to his teens. Hear about the computer revolution while studying to be a graphic designer. How PC Paint and Corel Draw changed his trajectory and focus toward the future. Learn about a chance encounter working as a valet being a big break. Hear how motion capture data was first used for sports analysis and working as a gofer. Learn how the hustling lead to a full-time job out in California and being the first mocap specialist ever at Biovision. How that lead to working for different sports broadcasts and visiting Industrial Light & Magic. Learn how the mocap business transitioned from sports analysis to video game platforms like the Sega Saturn. How he landed an opportunity to setup a motion capture studio for Sony Playstation San Diego in 1996. Learn how this grew into building out Sony’s central art services group over 11.5 years. Discover how setting up Domino's Pizza franchises was one of the most valuable learning experiences he’s had. Hear hard-learned advice for how to advance your career by being a problem solver. Learn what it’s like to create kontent on the Mortal Kombat series, along with Capcom games and the Assassin’s Creed games plus others. Hear how Battlefront II is his favor game right now. How bigger games and DLC’s longtail has improved his business’s stability and growth. Learn Dwayne’s thoughts on the future of automation and tech. Hear how the company started in China, grew to three studios in the country, plus Argentina. Hear thoughts on VR and what needs to happen for it to be mainstream. Learn his advice for anyone thinking about a video game career.

Quotes:

”I remember there being a big Microsoft office but nobody knew back then what they did.”

“Max Headroom on MTV looked like computer graphics but that was mostly fake.”

“I knew the guys a little more and they started to teach me how to use the equipment on Sun computers.”

“So this guy offered me a job and said, “move to California.””

“I have a letter somewhere from James Cameron wanting us to do pre-production for Terminator 2.”

“They took me to the side and said, “how about you come work for a real company?””

“They had a mocap system but was in the same room as the testing department and the testers used the tripods to setup tents to sleep under.”

“There was a little old man in a mansion and every time I delivered he came to the door in a Waffle House t-shirt.”

”Give people around you what they want, or what they need.”

”It was a bit of the Wild West, then.”

“They work on this stuff for months or years and then when it comes out we setup a big party and have a tournament.”

“Until maybe the Wonder Woman film I think the Injustice franchise was the best DC movies out there with their cutscenes.”

“I’m a big FPS guy, so that’s my jam right there.”

“The famous example is the briefcase in Pulp Fiction.”

“We’ve done quite a bit of AR and VR stuff, in fact we created our own AR app in China.”

“When it becomes ubiquitous it’ll really take off.”

“My son’s going for 100% completion on his third play through of Red Dead 2.”

“It’s been a fun ride and I wholeheartedly recommend anyone interested to get into game development.”

About My Guests:

Dwayne Mason is CoFounder and CoOwner of NXA Studios China & NXA Studios Argentina. NXA Studios is one of the leading art production services companies in the game development industry – art development and art production support for PlayStation, Xbox & PC game development is their main line of service.

NXA Studios has contributed to major game franchises such as Mortal Kombat, Assassin’s Creed, Call of Duty, Street Fighter, Resident Evil, Monster Hunter – and many more. Prior to starting NXA Studios Dwayne had been a Mocap Specialist very early in his career (in fact, he was the very first full time ‘mocap tech’ in the world).

Eventually that role led to a long stint at Sony PlayStation in the Software/Games division, building and running their First Party Art Services groups. After Sony he was named Studio Art Director for Midway Amusement Game’s headquarters in Chicago in 2007. Midway survived just shy of two years from that point… But that eventually led him to starting his own company – NXA Studios. NXA is now in it’s 8th year of service, and it is still growing steadily.

Resources:

*NXA Studios website

*NXA Studios Facebook

*NXA Studios LinkedIn

*NXA Studios Argentina Facebook

*PCPaint Wikipedia

*Corel DRAW website

*Stargate Wikipedia

*Georgia Tech website

*Biovision’s BVH file format

*Solaris Unix Wikipedia

*Waffle House Wikipedia