Dev Diary Final Updates posted in Evan Hickey Development Blog Published April 23, 2025 Advertisement This is my final development diary update for my game design project, which I have been working on for the past 12 weeks. We are finalising the finishing touches for the release of the game onto itch, which I will provide a link to below when it is available. My journey on working on this project has been less busy than I initially imagined, mostly due to my role as the sound designer for the game. For much of the early stage of development I was mostly involved in simply planning the sound design, rather than implementing any code, due to the lack of any permanant game objects on which to apply them.This is not to say I was idle, as I did much research on how sound design works, and the best ways to implement it into a game such as ours. I was also involved in some testing for the project, mainly to see how it runs on a different machine to one of the other team members. As the final release approaches I am happy with my contribution to the project, even if they are of a slightly smaller scale than some of the other team members. Sound design is an important part of a video game experiance, and I hope that my efforts into the game will be appreciated by any future players.The journey on this project hasn't been entirely smooth, with problems from slight communication issues to version controll problems, but they have been overcome through team work and patient research. The most harrowing part was right at the end, with a myriad of problems cropping up as we assembled the project, due to some issue with integrating all of the scenes. I also have had issues with implementing all of the sound effects, with some left over in the game from earlier versions, such as a dash effect from when we were planning on having a dash function.Regardless, I feel as though I have learned a lot from this project, both from a technical side, in researching ways to code and implement game sound effects and music, and in a team work and communication skillset, which often can prove just as useful. Talking with and organising the team together proved to be difficult at times due to time constraints, personal reasons preventing meeting up, and simple miscommunication, but together we have produced a good first attempt at a video game, given our knowledge and skillset going into this project.I hope to improve my skillset going forward, and to continue working on videogames in the future.I shall provide a link to the full release of our game, Puzzlemania here when ready. Previous Entry DevDiary Multiple Updates Comments Nobody has left a comment. You can be the first! You must log in to join the conversation. Don't have a GameDev.net account? Sign up!

Developer Hangar 13 will host a panel at PAX East next month.

Two players filed a lawsuit in November accusing Ubisoft of misleading consumers.

Senior Software Engineer, Audio/VideoDiscordSan Francisco, California, United States2 minutes agoApplyDiscord is used by over 200 million people every month for many different reasons, but there’s one thing that nearly everyone does on our platform: play video games. Over 90% of our users play games, spending a combined 1.5 billion hours playing thousands of unique titles on Discord each month. Discord plays a uniquely important role in the future of gaming. We are focused on making it easier and more fun for people to talk and hang out before, during, and after playing games.Join our journey to create the best cross-platform application for messaging and real-time interactions! The Audio & Video engineering team at Discord owns the technology and end-to-end experience of audio/video across desktop and mobile. The team’s mission is to give our users an outstanding voice, video, and client experience.We are looking for passionate, energetic and self-motived individuals, who are user-focused and obsessed with quality and performance to join the Core AV team.What you'll be doing:Develop core libraries and infrastructure supporting high-quality, low-latency communications between hundreds of millions of users.Own Discord core audio and video functionalities across desktop, browser, and mobile.Continuously improve video quality and performance end to end.Work with customer support team troubleshooting real-world end-user audio/video issues.What you should have:4+ years experience working on large, cross-platform software projects.Comfort writing high-performance code in C++.Intimate knowledge with Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS or game console development.Knowledge of performance metrics such as CPU, GPU and memory management.Enjoyment in coming up with pragmatic solutions to concrete problems using first principles thinking.Obsession with user impact and pursue craftsmanship with a high quality of work.Strong communication skills and thrive in small, collaborative, energetic teams.Comfort planning rollouts and tracking success through experiments.Bonus Points:Comfortable writing high-performance code in Rust.Working experience with WebRTC, SDP, SRTP, DTLS.Experience working with common audio/video codecs such as Opus, VP8, H.264, etc.Working experience with media pipeline on platforms supported by Discord.Experience with Chromium or Mozilla internals.The US base salary range for this full-time position is $196,000 to $220,500 + equity + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role and level. Within the range, individual pay is determined by additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include equity, or benefits.Why Discord?Discord plays a uniquely important role in the future of gaming. We're a multiplatform, multigenerational and multiplayer platform that helps people deepen their friendships around games and shared interests. We believe games give us a way to have fun with our favorite people, whether listening to music together or grinding in competitive matches for diamond rank. Join us in our mission! Your future is just a click away!Please see our Applicant and Candidate Privacy Policy for details regarding Discord’s collection and usage of personal information relating to the application and recruitment process by clicking HERE. Create Your Profile — Game companies can contact you with their relevant job openings. Apply

Product Designer, Core ProductDiscordSan Francisco, California, United States2 minutes agoApplyDiscord is used by over 200 million people every month for many different reasons, but there’s one thing that nearly everyone does on our platform: play video games. Over 90% of our users play games, spending a combined 1.5 billion hours playing thousands of unique titles on Discord each month. Discord plays a uniquely important role in the future of gaming. We are focused on making it easier and more fun for people to talk and hang out before, during, and after playing games.Our mission on Core Product is to improve both the quality and depth of Discord’s core product value - which is to make Discord the best place to hang out online and play games with friends. Millions of people use Discord every day to find belonging, create connections, and talk… and this is most notably through our Voice & Video experience.Our work on Core Product focuses on improving and simplifying the foundations of the Discord experience at large. This could be streamlining how users customize their settings, to the way they express themselves over text, voice, and video. This position would begin on our Voice & Video team, supporting one of our most critical features at the company, allowing people to hang out and play games together synchronously online.As a product designer, you'll be involved with the full end-to-end product development process, from brainstorming to launch. You'll use a balance of strategic thinking, product principles, systems design, and strong visual design skills to iterate and innovate on the Discord product. If you're interested in joining a passionate team of designers that are designing features that will be used by millions of people across the world, come join us.What You'll Be DoingYou will support a lead designer in creating a larger ecosystem for our voice and video experience, and partner with engineers, product managers and other cross-functional peers to oversee the user experience from idea to market.You will form part of our growing and “EPAD” Organization that includes Engineering, Product, Analytics and Design functions.You will create wire-frames, beautiful mockups, amazing prototypes, and help implement your designs to pixel perfection. You will also quality check all of your work as it it built, ensuring it reflects your vision perfectly.You will be collaborating with our Core Tech Audio & Video partners to design functionality for our users to tailor and improve their voice and video experience.You will present and communicate your designs to the team and your design peers to build consensus around your concepts.You will test, learn, and iterate on everything you do alongside product peers.You will meaningfully use, maintain and commit towards our Design System library.What you should haveYou have 2+ years of experience designing modern consumer-focused products. We’re open to more entry-level candidates with strong talent.Highly proficient using Figma and some high-fidelity prototyping tool (ex: Protopie, Framer, Origami, etc). You have a high level of skill at crafting high quality visual designs and have an eye for creating delight in every product experience.A portfolio of work on which you were the primary designer contributing to projects for both desktop and mobile.Frequent personal use of Discord, and are passionate about the gaming space/experience.You proactively form ideas and can communicate them with others through varying formats (documents, prototypes, presentations).You collaboratively guide the vision for the product and achieve it through design explorations, documentation, and presentations.Ownership mindset with a bias towards action, helping to drive projects and decisions forward. Maintains low ego with a focus on progress and growth.You have experience working with a design system/library.#LI-RemoteThe US base salary range for this full-time position is $160,000 to $180,000 + equity + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role and level. Within the range, individual pay is determined by additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include equity, or benefits.Why Discord?Discord plays a uniquely important role in the future of gaming. We're a multiplatform, multigenerational and multiplayer platform that helps people deepen their friendships around games and shared interests. We believe games give us a way to have fun with our favorite people, whether listening to music together or grinding in competitive matches for diamond rank. Join us in our mission! Your future is just a click away!Please see our Applicant and Candidate Privacy Policy for details regarding Discord’s collection and usage of personal information relating to the application and recruitment process by clicking HERE. Create Your Profile — Game companies can contact you with their relevant job openings. Apply

I don’t generally consider myself a cat person (nor am I a dog person), but there’s something so very satisfying about petting an animal in a video game. I’m not the only one to think so, considering how often “Can I pet the dog?” is trending for XYZ video game release. Well, we already know you can pet dogs in the latest Assassin’s Creed, but did you know there’s an entire cat island in Assassin’s Creed Shadows? It’s essentially controlled by the cats and they’ll come out of the woodwork for pets and tickles when you arrive!Suggested ReadingThe Week In Games: What’s Coming Out Beyond Assassin's Creed Mirage Share SubtitlesOffEnglishview videoSuggested ReadingThe Week In Games: What’s Coming Out Beyond Assassin's Creed Mirage Share SubtitlesOffEnglishScreenshot: Ubisoft / KotakuNow, you don’t have to travel to Japan’s Shiga Prefecture, where the real-world cat island is located, to pet hundreds of cats in nature. You can accomplish the same, albeit virtually, in Assassin’s Creed Shadows by hunting down the virtual version of the island in Okishima. It’s to the north, in the center of Lake Biwa.It’s in a high-level zone, but you don’t have to wait. If you want to race to the island after starting a new game, it’s approximately 6-7000 meters from the starting zone by horseback.Alternatively, head to Otsu, in the Omi Region, where you can visit the port to rent or borrow a boat. If you travel via land, expect to encounter high-level samurai, ronin, and bandits!There’s an easier way to travel on horseback Use the game’s Pathfinder mechanic to navigate the more treacherous zones. It’s a unique mechanic while on horseback that guides you toward your waypoint using a white line on the road ahead. That said, it messes up about 800m away from the island, and you’ll have to traverse the last section by yourself. You’ll want to pet as many of the cats as possible, as you’ll unlock them as pets for your hideout. You can unlock the Calico Bobtail, Tabby Bobtail, and Calico Kitten!Screenshot: Ubisoft / KotakuBesides a small hamlet and an abundance of feral cats that love attention, you’ll also find a small handful of key items and points of interest on Cat Island:ViewpointKeysKakuregaCommon Loot ChestBut honestly, we’re all there for the cats, right?Assassin’s Creed Shadows is available now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows PC. .

Recent titles in the Assassin’s Creed franchise offered something extra besides stealthy assassinations and roaming exploration. In between stabby murders, you could expand a base. Valhalla had a settlement you could expandand now in Assassin’s Creed Shadows introduces a hideout you can customize to your liking. It’s a fun way to earn a sense of belonging within the game world while taking advantage of unique buffs. You won’t spend too much time at your hideout, but learning how to upgrade it in Assassin’s Creed Shadows is still a welcome reprieve!Suggested ReadingThe Week In Games: What’s Coming Out Beyond Assassin's Creed Mirage Share SubtitlesOffEnglishview videoSuggested ReadingThe Week In Games: What’s Coming Out Beyond Assassin's Creed Mirage Share SubtitlesOffEnglish1. How to ugrade your hideout2. The best hideout upgradesScreenshot: Ubisoft / KotakuThe most straightforward way to upgrade your hideout in Assassin’s Creed Shadows is via the ‘Improve Hideout’ table in the corner of the main room. By approaching the table, which features a diorama of a hideout, you can sift through the various structures and blueprints you’ve unlocked to date, placing down new buildings or upgrading existing ones.Once you’re in ‘Build Mode,’ select any existing structure and hold down the corresponding upgrade button in the bottom right corner of the building menu. But it’s not as simple as choosing and upgrading a structure to the maximum level. You need resources: Crops, Wood, Minerals, and Mon. You can find these resources in chests, camps, and from Port Vendors in settlements.Screenshot: Ubisoft / KotakuBetween the Main Rooms and Themed Rooms in Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ hideout, you’ll have plenty of upgrade options. It’s best to focus on improving the “Main” selection first, as they offer bountiful buffs that’ll make tackling the campaign easier.Stable: While the vast majority of the other upgradeable buildings in the hideout offer some type of bonus that directly affects your abilities out in the world, the Stable is a bit more tame. At its second tier, it reduces the number of scouts required to bring in stockpiles to one, and at its highest tier, it increases the amount of resources per stockpile. It’s handy for upgrading and building up your hideout moving forward.Forge: With enough resources stockpiled, it’s time to focus on enhancing your capabilities. The second tier of the Forge is powerful enough for now, as it allows you to upgrade your weapons and armor to level 40 and apply non-Legendary engravings to add additional buffs.Kakurega: If you want to earn money quickly or track down legendary weapons across Feudal Japan, upgrading the Kakurega should be a priority early on. At its second tier, the structure will increase the seasonal rumors that scouts may investigate, unlocking locations for collectibles, treasure, and items.Dojo: Finally, let’s consider enhancing others instead of ourselves. Your Allies prove invaluable in a tough fight, especially against those ever-pesky Samurai Daisho. At level one, the Dojo allows you to train your Allies to Initiate. At level two, you can call two simultaneously!Assassin’s Creed Shadows is a sprawling adventure with a lot of side content to tackle alongside its captivating story. It’s available now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows PCs. .

When it comes to maximizing your app’s performance, there is no better time than the present. In the first quarter of 2024, users spent $15.5 billion in app, a 19.4% rise year over year (Sensor Tower). Momentum in the app market is growing, and the best time to take advantage of it is the very beginning of the year: Q1.Let’s explore why Q1 is a prime time for growth and how you can leverage on-device advertising during this pivotal time to position your app for maximum success.Major spikes in phone purchasesFresh off the holiday gifting season, there is already an influx of new phones in the market - but that’s not the only spike of new devices. This quarter, major flagship launches like Samsung’s long-anticipated Galaxy S25 will drive even more demand. These launches offer a chance to reach high-quality, intentional users - early adopters actively seeking apps and content. But the window to engage them is very small: 95% of users download 60%+ of their apps within 48 hours of activation.With Aura from Unity’s Out of the Box Experience, your app becomes a native part of the device experience as soon as users activate their phones. As a result, from the moment these users start adding apps to their phone, your app is suggested - maximizing your visibility and scale.Premier sports eventsQ1 offers more than just a chance to capitalize on new devices—it’s also prime time for major sports events, like the Super Bowl and March Madness, which drive significant spikes in app downloads. During the 2024 Super Bowl, food delivery apps saw a 29% increase in activity (Adjust), with sports, travel, and music apps also seeing notable growth.These events create a prime opportunity to leverage the surge in activity and capture user attention at peak moments. With Aura, you can use pop-ups to suggest your sports or entertainment app right before the biggest events of the season, maximizing visibility when it matters most. Widespread OS updatesThe first quarter is not only known for new devices and sports events, but also major Android updates. With Aura from Unity, every update is a unique window of opportunity to re-introduce your app to users.With the Out of the Box Experience, you can remind users about your app in the most natural moments of the device lifecycle - like OS updates. This way users can get continual reminders that there is untapped potential just a click away. By aligning your app with key moments in the device lifecycle - whether it’s a new phone activation, a major sporting event, or an OS update - you can optimize for maximum exposure when users are most engaged. Discover how Aura can seamlessly integrate your app into these high-impact moments, ensuring you reach engaged users right when they’re ready to download. And reach out to the Aura team directly here.

As technology rapidly evolves, extended reality (XR) is transforming the way businesses operate. By 2029, the XR market is anticipated to reach $615 billion USD, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 40.61% from 2024 to 2029. This growth will lead to unlimited opportunities for industries like healthcare, automotive, manufacturing, and retail to adopt XR to revolutionize human experiences and interactions.Below you’ll discover five actionable strategies to optimize your XR applications and lead in creating impactful experiences.Navigating the complexities of industrial XRDeveloping XR applications comes with its own set of challenges. Some of the common XR challenges developers face include:Complexity of data integration: Handling and optimizing large detailed 3D models, metadata, and non-visual data is crucial for seamless XR experiences.Hardware compatibility: Ensuring applications work across various devices, from modern headsets to legacy systems, requires careful planning.Access to accurate data: Developing effective digital twins and real-time data integration is essential for applications that truly mirror physical environments.Addressing these challenges is key to creating impactful XR solutions. By understanding and preparing for these complexities, developers can streamline their workflows and achieve better results.1. Define clear use casesStart your XR journey by pinpointing the specific problem your application will address. Clear, focused goals not only streamline development but also ensure your solution provides tangible value. For example:In healthcare: Develop immersive VR training scenarios for complex surgical procedures to enhance medical education without risks.In manufacturing: Use AR-driven maintenance tools to guide technicians in real-time, improving safety and reducing downtime.Pro tip: Collaborate with end-users during the planning phase to ensure your solution aligns with their needs.2. Leverage existing assetsSave time and resources by using existing 3D models and data. Integrating these assets into your XR application can accelerate development and reduce costs. For example:In retail: Create MR-enabled shopping experiences with existing models that let customers virtually try-on before purchasing.In automotive: Adapt detailed CAD models for real-time 3D simulations to enhance design collaboration and visualization.3. Optimize for real-time 3DSimplify and prepare CAD data for XR environments using techniques like level of detail (LOD) systems to manage 3D models more effectively while maintaining the performance necessary for smooth, immersive experiences.Jerome Maurey-Delaunay, senior solution architect on the industry team at Unity, recommends to “dissociate your application from your data, externalize the data. That's really important because the next hardware that's going to come out, you might need to rework the data to fit within the hardware requirements of that platform. If your data is embedded into your application, it's going to create a whole lot of work to reopen the project to ingest the data.”4. Adopt a forward-looking approach to your projectThe XR landscape is rapidly evolving. To stay ahead, design your applications with flexibility and scalability in mind:Ensure compatibility with emerging hardware and software standardsRegularly update your application to support new features and devicesConsider building intelligence into your application.5. Start small, then go wideLaunching an XR application doesn’t mean you need to tackle every use case at once. Start with a focused solution that allows you to:Simplify development and reduce initial complexityTest and refine the app in a controlled setting.This approach not only minimizes risks but also makes it easier to demonstrate the return on investment, paving the way for broader adoption within your organization.Explore industry best practices for XRWant to dive deeper into these strategies? Check out our e-book, Best practices to develop XR industry applications. It’s packed with expert insights, real-world examples, and actionable advice to help you create standout XR solutions.

xAI’s Grok chatbot can now answer questions about what’s in view of your smartphone’s camera, similar to real-time vision features available for Google’s Gemini and ChatGPT. On Tuesday, xAI announced the launch of Grok Vision, which lets users point their phone at objects like products, signs, and documents and ask questions about them. Grok Vision is accessible from the Grok app for iOS, but not the Grok Android app just yet. Other new capabilities launching for Grok today include multilingual audio and real-time search in Grok’s voice mode. Grok users on Android can tap those, but only if they’re subscribed to xAI’s $30-per-month SuperGrok plan. Grok has been gaining new features at a steady clip. Earlier this month, xAI added a “memory” component to Grok that lets the bot pull on details from past conversations. Grok also got a canvas-like tool for creating docs and apps.