Jean-François Martel

Admit it. You've impulsively Kickstarted a board game (or 3 in one year, in this writer's case…) based on the stunning artwork & presentation alone. When Jay Cormier, Board Game Designer and Vancouver Film School Game Design Instructor, launched his brand-new game 'Corps of Discovery' on Kickstarter, board game lovers couldn't resist. In fact, within 1 hour of the Kickstarter launch on April 23 the game was fully funded and is now nearly 800% funded! Read THE BLOG to find out all about Jay's board game, his exciting career journey and learn how you can experience VFS's Game Development programs 👉 https://ow.ly/VTza50Szggu

48

Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios Group acquired Monster Closet Games (founded by Ubisoft veterans) in October last year and integrated its developers to launch a new studio in Montreal. Yesterday, this studio was shut down 8 months after launch, along with Avalanche’s New York studio, cutting 50 jobs. In an “exceptionally difficult decision” taken by Avalanche, the shutdown was “necessary to ensure a stable and sustainable future for the company”. Avalanche even expressed regret for losing 9% of its workforce but gave no updates on how it plans to help them after this. For big studios, posting on social media is easier and a one-time thing. But what about the 50 devs who are left with tougher days to come? When AAA giant (Avalanche) entered their lives last year, they promised the devs big game projects. For eight months, they worked hard on a title with Xbox, getting excited about how they would thrill gamers from different corners of the planet. But instead of receiving due credit, they are informed that they are no longer needed on the project and that the company has to lay them off to sustain themselves. If this is sad to learn, consider the sudden mental toll on these developers and the possibility of many falling prey to self-doubt. I also tried finding the impacted folks to give them a shoutout, but I can’t see any #opentowork banners except one or two. If you know of anyone who was impacted, please mention them below, and we will do everything in our power to give them maximum visibility. If you were impacted and saw this, I am listing three resources and various other ways for you to get back into the games industry ASAP. First💎 Layoff Support Kit 2.0 - https://lnkd.in/gCCXW_Wp My team and I have dedicated countless hours to curating hundreds of online game development resources so you don't have to. This comprehensive collection includes top programming boot camps, renowned game dev educators, free game assets to help you build great games, insightful podcasts, and much more. Second💎 A 100% scholarship on our $11,000 Full Stack game dev program - https://lnkd.in/gZKqNBFh If you were impacted by the recent bloodshed of layoffs, here’s a chance to Re-skill and revise your game dev knowledge with our advanced C++, OOPs, Unity, and Data Structure modules. Additionally, you will receive exclusive one-on-one mentorship from top game programmers who will help you strengthen your already solid foundations. Third💎 Our Discord Community of over 10K game devs - https://lnkd.in/gH-wZe2G Here, we listen to everyone’s take on game development, support aspiring game developers in building stronger portfolios, and solve each other's doubts. Also requesting Kelly Bender, Alexander Rehm, Caitlin Cooke, Jordan Mazer, Ruty Rutenberg, Hailey Rojas, Kevin F., Kat Craig, Ali Farha, Matt Barney, and Ash C. to help this reach all the folks who can benefit from this. #layoffsupport

79

16 Comments

Gameloft Toronto confirms reports of layoffs to GamesIndustry.Biz. GamesIndustry.Biz also reports estimates of 49 cuts. https://lnkd.in/eiiRhvJy If your role is affected by this news, please make use of the support available across our three platforms. Specifically, I recommend checking out the Games Org Support Posts in Home 1. These resources are highly effective, with ample data to back their success. I won't pretend there are easy solutions but our community's only goal is to make things a little easier for as many people as possible. We have a ton of data showing that, for all candidates, your chances of finding a games role double (from 5 to 10%) over 12 months if you regularly use all our resources versus not. Additionally, yesterday, I just presented a 100% update to our Games Jobs Workbook as of 6/25/2024, with 3,600 companies fully updated and more than 13,000 roles fully updated. Of our 18 resources, this is the most powerful tool we have to help you. https://lnkd.in/d6x5NHMZ (Resource #8) I'm so sorry to hear this report and I will, as always, do my best to do something about it rather than just talking. Home 1 - 🔗 AMIRSATVAT.COM: Our main hub provides 17 resources to assist you in finding work, featuring a fully updated design. - 🔗 Games Org Support Posts: Find a template at AMIRSATVAT.COM (Category 4, Resource 10). If you can provide information from your team (with their consent), I’ll help edit and disseminate the final product, reaching 100,000+ people. These posts are highly effective in increasing visibility, and we've done 99 of them. Home 2 - 🔗 Discord: Join us at discord.gg/amirsatvat, our live extension of community resources. With over 4,200 members, we are currently in an open-join phase. Home 3 - 🔗 LinkedIn: Our community here includes over 90,000 members, with 1-3 daily posts offering support and career assistance in the games industry. How the Broader Community Can Help: - Spread the Word: Reshares and comments on this post amplify the visibility of these resources. - Offer Support: Utilize the 15 ways listed on AMIRSATVAT.COM under "How You Can Help" to assist, or simply lend an ear or advice on our Discord server. - Join Our Movement: Volunteer with us at AMIRSATVAT.COM to support our colleagues in the games industry. Our network has facilitated over 2,100 jobs and 39,000 coaching conversations to date, the largest impact of any games organization on earth, and has been visited by millions of gamers lifetime.

158

11 Comments

Games Org Support Post #102: Gameloft Toronto THIS IS NOT RELATED TO A NEW GAMES LAYOFF. Amir Satvat’s Games Community is now offering additional Games Org Support Posts every three months for any games organization affected by layoffs. In this post we highlight 58 individuals. I thank Anton Akhapkin for helping to pull this list together. The long-form version is here: https://lnkd.in/e7N_sT6j Want your own Games Org Support Post or to see all past posts? Just fill out our template and review our data here: https://lnkd.in/d_PNtxTx Programming (14) Carter Rennick, Programmer Qing Feng, Programmer Lucas Bittencourt, Game Programmer Yash Makadia, Game Programmer Igor Vodchits, Game Programmer Edward Lu, Game Programmer Antonio La Rocca, Game Programmer Andrew Williams, UI Programmer Christian Evans, Lead Programmer Yatsenko Roman, Senior C++/Unity Programmer Steven Hill, Computer Programmer, Multimedia Artist Aleksandr Kraev, Programmer Thomas Galati, Data Analyst, Programmer William Carducci, Senior Gameplay Programmer Art and Design (31) Jungsub Kim, Concept Artist, 2D Artist Ahmad Rafiei, Concept Artist, 2D Artist Alana Fleming, 2D Artist, 2D Animator, Graphic Designer Jess Nguyen, 2D Artist, UI Artist, Graphic Designer Kateryna Chystova, 2D Artist Valeriia Kapelyush, 2D Artist Daria Karanda, 3D Animator Karina Martinez, 3D Artist Fernanda Geo, 3D Lead Artist / 3D Environment Artist Stevie Schafer, Concept Artist & Marketing Artist Kyrylo Pochtarenko, 2D/Concept Artist Ti-Jung Hou, 3D Animator Adriano Muricy, Motion Designer, VFX Artist, 3D Generalist David Flores, 3D Prop/Environment Artist Mihyun Lee, 3D Environment Artist Huizhong Li, 3D Animator Galen Johnson, Sr 3D Generalist Kat Oliinyk, Creative/Art Lead Omid Nikaeen, Lead Artist / Lead Animator JC Cappelletti, Lead Artist (3D Generalist) Cecilia Bleszynski, Senior Motion Graphics Artist Nathan McColman, 2D Layout Artist & Graphic Designer Martha Valdés, 3D Environment Artist Mick Seegobin, Motion Designer Sujan Mon, 3D Animator Suryan Mon, 3D Animator Nanaji Setti, 3D Animator Zeeshan Zaidi, UI/UX Artist/Designer Eunsun Cecilia Kim, Technical Artist Alok Gaikwad, Senior Technical Artist Milena Martinez, 3D Generalist Quality Assurance (4) Aleksandra Chudinova, QA Analyst Jason Lamplough, QA Lead Jace Hijazi, QA Lead / QA Manager Jonathan Karalasingham, QA Analyst Community (1) Javon Swaby, Social Media Manager, Community Manager Business Intelligence (1) Jason Ong, Data Analyst Communications / PR (1) Renee Wong, Communications Manager Game Design (4) Benjamin Taylor, Game Designer Iván Piccione, Game Designer Ethan Frankel, Sr Game Designer Tom Kun, Junior Game Economy Designer Production (1) Xander Zammit, Producer / Project Manager HR / Talent (1) Medeea Leonte, Talent Acquisition Manager

142

15 Comments

Terrible news last night with Behaviour Interactive announcing that it has laid of 95 employees, 70 of which in Montreal. To those impacted by these layoffs, please find a comprehensive list of resources, below: 🥇First, as you are on Montreal, please reach out to us at People Can Fly Studio, we have many roles open right now in Montreal and Canada, please check them out here: https://lnkd.in/eWpV5PbA 🥈Next, Discipline Games Jobs Resources: Over the past weeks I have created 9 (at time of writing) Games Jobs Resources to find jobs in a wide range of disciplines: 🎨 Art, Animation, VFX and UI: This resource contains around 1,200 jobs worldwide across all links. Link: https://lnkd.in/eXgEEUAA ⚙ Engineering and Programming This resource lists just over 1,900 jobs worldwide across all links. It also talks about interview tips and questions to practice. Link: https://lnkd.in/eAufG7q4 🕹 Quality Assurance: This resource lists over 450 QA jobs worldwide. This post also talks about the craft of QA and contains tips and interview practice. Link: https://lnkd.in/e6YwwJeS 📑 Game Production: This resource lists around 400 jobs worldwide. It also contains info about game production as a whole and GDC talks. Link: https://lnkd.in/eE8QgeDq 📢 Marketing & Community: This resource lists around 400 jobs worldwide. It also gives an intro into game marketing and community management. Link: https://lnkd.in/e5MuViug 🎶 Audio and Sound Design: This resource lists around 190 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/eSkPSsWf 📠 Studio Support, HR, Recruitment and BizDev: This resource lists around 290 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/ePG57_7v ⚙ IT, Helpdesk and DevOps: This resource lists around 140 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/e8ZsuiZh 🎮 Game Design: This resource lists around 480 jobs worldwide. https://lnkd.in/dCv_hQXv 🥉 Third, the Ultimate list of Video Games Career Resources: This should be your one-stop shop for all information. My dear friend Amir Satvat maintains these documents, he is a legend for doing this - please check them out: https://amirsatvat.com/ 🎖 Finally, do not give up. Ever. No matter how dark things may look right now, I KNOW you will get through this, you have got this! 👊 Remember you are not alone. If you need help, advice, or even an ear to listen, we're here for you. Always! ➡ A request to my community, please can I ask you to repost this post to your colleagues and friends, so that we can get as many into jobs as possible! And please comment if you or your studio are currently hiring - let's help each other! Much love ❤️ #layoffs #gamesindustry #jobsingames #behaviourinteractive

99

3 Comments

🚀 Excited to share a progress update on my Unity tank controller project for the first time here on LinkedIn! 🕹️ This controller features no physics, all dynamic animations, and works seamlessly with WASD controls. Just in time for Canada Day! 🇨🇦🎉 Take a look at the latest progress in this GIF. #GameDevelopment #Unity3D #IndieDev #CanadaDay

5

Hey everyone! Thanks for joining AAPI in Gaming (Gina Jaio, Abbie Hamilton, Shavonne Y., Skye Wang, Kimi Arquines, MSW) in our first live event! Yes, we did have some technical difficulties but we're so glad that many of you were able to join! 🥰 Many topics (heavy ones) were discussed such as the Model Minority Myth, the lack of proper AAPI representation in games, and the topic of "not being enough for your heritage" are what led to creating this community in the first place. 🕊 Being AAPI and just doing our jobs isn't enough to strive in games industry. We should be supportive of each other and lift each other up. We know that it's considered taboo for many AAPI to seek out help from others, even with friends because we are so afraid of the shame and frustration that comes with it. We want our community to know seeking professional help and leaning in to your support group is crucial to a long games career. 💙 We achieve great things because we are passionate of the things we do, not because we are AAPI. It's not within our DNA to know everything and not fail. We're human and we will make mistakes. AAPI in Gaming will ensure that it's normal to fall down once in awhile. 💞 AAPI Gamers seek proper representation of themselves in games. Not all of us are Japanese, or Chinese, or Korean or Filipino. Not all of us are lawyers, doctors, or mathmaticians. Not all of us are lightskinned too. There are so many AAPI communities out there that are rich in culture, creativity and diversity. We all just want to see ourselves in the big screens someday and being in games can help with that. 🎮 Last but not least, many of us have been outcasted by our own heritage. Some say we don't look enough like our own community. Some say hurtful things behind our back in our languages because we are assumed to not have learned our own tongue. Many of us have abandoned our identities to assimilate into society so we feel like we can't celebrate our own heritage. AAPI in Gaming celebrates who you are no matter what. Whether you are just starting to embrace your heritage or adopt another to survive, we will celebrate your existence. 👐 These are the key points we've made in our event and we hope to expand further upon it and bring in more issues that we all face together. ✅ Let's look forward to a better future for all of us. 💖 Stay tuned for details for our next event and for Filipino-American History Month (FAHM) on October. 🍁 #AAPI #gaming #gamesindustry #mentalhealth #filipinoamerican #celebrate #heritage

42

3 Comments

#VisibleAI vs #InvisibleAI. Just like VFX can be used to create visuals that are virtually indistinguishable from reality, it can also be used to create worlds that would be impossible to imagine without those technologies. With AI, one approach promises us the same old same old, but faster/cheaper. The other opens up our imagination to new creative (im)possibilities. I really like how #Ellktro uses Generative AI to explore the latent space creating these frantic stopmotion-like universe that vibrate with a punk energy. ( obviously, watch with the sound on )

12

2 Comments

Ubisoft Toronto confirms reports of 33 layoffs If your role is affected by this news, please make use of the support available across our three platforms. Specifically, I recommend checking out the Games Org Support Posts in Home 1. These resources are highly effective, with ample data to back their success. I won't pretend there are easy solutions but our community's only goal is to make things a little easier for as many people as possible. We have a ton of data showing that, for all candidates, your chances of finding a games role double (from 5 to 10%) over 12 months if you regularly use all our resources versus not. Additionally, recently I presented a 100% update to our Games Jobs Workbook, with 3,600 companies fully updated and nearly 14,000 roles fully updated. Of our 18 resources, this is the most powerful tool we have to help you. https://lnkd.in/d6x5NHMZ (Resource #8) I'm so sorry to hear this report and I will, as always, do my best to do something about it rather than just talking. Home 1 - 🔗 AMIRSATVAT.COM: Our main hub provides 18 resources to assist you in finding work, featuring a fully updated design. - 🔗 Games Org Support Posts: Find a template at AMIRSATVAT.COM (Category 4, Resource 10). If you can provide information from your team (with their consent), I’ll help edit and disseminate the final product, reaching 100,000+ people. These posts are highly effective in increasing visibility, and we've done 99 of them. Home 2 - 🔗 Discord: Join us at discord.gg/amirsatvat, our live extension of community resources. With over 4,300 members, we are currently in an open-join phase. Home 3 - 🔗 LinkedIn: Our community here includes nearly 91,000 members, with 1-3 daily posts offering support and career assistance in the games industry. How the Broader Community Can Help: - Spread the Word: Reshares and comments on this post amplify the visibility of these resources. - Offer Support: Utilize the 16 ways listed on AMIRSATVAT.COM under "How You Can Help" to assist, or simply lend an ear or advice on our Discord server. - Join Our Movement: Volunteer with us at AMIRSATVAT.COM to support our colleagues in the games industry. Our network has facilitated over 2,100 jobs and 39,000 coaching conversations to date, the largest impact of any games organization on earth, and has been visited by millions of gamers lifetime.

199

12 Comments

For the past few weeks, I've teaching my VFX ( Visual Effects) students at Seneca Polytechnic how to texture an asset using Mari powerful node graph. I find when texturing in Mari you have to be organized or else you'll be confused. This motorcycle asset was modeled by Deon Coke Texturing and LookDev done by me Wayne Carnegie #animation #computergraphics #texturing #textureart #autodeskmaya

68

4 Comments

I'm happy to finally share my review of Marie-Josée Legault and Johanna Weststar's "Not All Fun and Games" for the Montreal Review of Books! It's come up a lot in conversations as a game dev; I really can't recommend the title enough for those doing research on the human aspect of the games industry. The sheer quantity (and quality!) of surveys, interviews, and research that went into this work is astounding. 🎉 🎮 https://lnkd.in/eVGTtEWK

7

1 Comment

GTA VI is launching in Fall 2025! (Fall 2025 = 2026? ... Sorry, I’m joking 😂) This franchise is vital to my gaming past. No game has risen like this one over years. I wish R* a smooth launch and success! Take-Two earnings call highlights: • GTA 6 confirmed for Fall 2025 release. • Rockstar confident in Fall 2025 release. • Take-Two confident in GTA 6's success. • GTA 5 has sold 200 million units total. • GTA series has sold 425 million copies. • Expect more GTA Online DLC & events. • GTA Online sales down, GTA+ revenue up. What is your all-time favorite GTA game? Choose your reaction or share your own. My top pick? GTA V. ❤️

147

105 Comments

Excited to share the VFX spawn effect I made in Niagara using Unreal Engine 5! A big thanks to my mentor Kumaran Venkateshan for the help, and Thirumalai R T for the awesome cinematic shot. I created this while studying at Monolith Research And Training Labs ,Monolith Multimedia Technologies, and working with Unreal Engine 5 has been amazing. I can’t wait to explore more creative VFX ideas! #UnrealEngine5 #VFX #NiagaraVFX #RealTimeVFX #GameDevelopment #Cinematic #VisualEffects #UE5

11

12 Comments

See you TODAY at the Unreal Engine Toronto Meetup! 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM EDT - Blood Brothers Brewing, 165 Geary Avenue · Toronto, ON Have you ever wondered what you need to start creating your experiences in #UnrealEngine for #Fortnite, aka #UEFN ? This is the theme of today's presentations! Contradicting every sane suggestion NOT to do a live demo and stick with a PowerPoint presentation, I decided to do a live demo LOL. 🤣 I started working on this project last Friday, so it's pretty much a #workinprogress. I'm purposely breaking stuff so I can show you the process and how easily you can design your own experiences, iterate, gather feedback, and prototype gameplay hooks using UEFN's devices. We will also go through the process of making your Island available for #PlayTesting so you can share it with friends and clients! It's going to be a fun hang! Excited to see you there! Here's a sneak peak work in progress, of the environment.

41

3 Comments

In the Gaming world, Democracy prevails 🎆 Sony's swift response to community feedback on Arrowhead Game Studios's Helldivers 2 is a testament to player power. Cheers to all Helldivers 2 players! When Players' Voices are heard, it's a Victory for All 😄 Here's to a brighter future for Gaming 🎮 For those unfamiliar with the issue, here's an article to keep you updated https://lnkd.in/gqNVQVeh #JBlaze #Helldivers2 #Sony #Democracy #Gaming #ArrowheadGameStudio #PlayerVoices #Gamers #GamingForAll #Crossplay

21

4 Comments

Another week, another round of layoffs, another studio closure, and another blow to the Vancouver game dev scene. Game development in Vancouver has been on life support for the past few years, and what a shocking fall from grace in comparison to how things looked in the early to mid-2000s where you couldn't throw a BC roll (sushi reference) without hitting a triple-A studio! You can blame more favourable tax credits in other Canadian provinces (which doesn't help!) but that's not the real reason for the decay, is it? We're not really competing against other provinces within our country, we're competing with a global talent market and a shift to remote work that has driven game development to lower cost regions that can produce stuff that's just as good as anything we can make. It's a shock and a wake-up call, perhaps too late. Everyone is on survival mode right now and there are still rough waters ahead. Today doesn't seem to be the day for big-picture industry analysis, but when the dust settles and the pain of layoffs is not so fresh for people, it'll be time to sit down and ask ourselves some tough questions about how we got here. I'm getting tired of saying it, but my heart goes out to all those affected by the current round of layoffs and closures. 💔

376

29 Comments

Come learn about Xsolla's strategies to improve your mobile games revenue.

89