The DeepFriedGamer Podcast

Matt Jackson
  • 5.0 (1)
  • VIDEO GAMES

Game designer Matt Jackson, a 10 year game industry vet, and his guests explore the world of game design and game dev to bring you their perspectives on how games are made. Explore the fundamentals to get you started on your first game, learn how small, medium and large projects come to life from a wide range of game devs and gain knowledge to build better games.

  1. DFG 015: Tips for Creating Believable 3D animations for Video Games

    2017-09-18

    DFG 015: Tips for Creating Believable 3D animations for Video Games

    On this episode of the deep fried deliciousness, I sit down with a good friend of mine - Seb Varas, Animator on Dead by Daylight. Seb brings us some delicious tidbits of an animating nature, as we discuss everything from how he got into the biz, his love and passion for animation ever since he was a kid, what he does on a day-to-day basis and even 'what is animation' (we actually started with that appetizer). So sit back, relax and enjoy our musings as you snack on anything delicious you might eat while listening (ps no eating required)

    25 min
  2. DFG 014: Dead by Daylight: One Year Later

    2017-08-10

    DFG 014: Dead by Daylight: One Year Later

    Hello again and greetings from the void! I know it's been long (too long) since the last Deep Fried podcast, and I'm sure you've all been quite hungry for some unhealthy snacks. A few things have changed since you last heard from me: I'm back living in La Belle Province of Quebec and working at Behaviour Digital. I'm the Lead Designer on a new title that I can't speak about yet, but I'm sure I will be able to share with you soon (ish). Now that that's out of the way... on this episode Me and the Cote discuss the goings on over the past 12 months on the 2 million+ selling Dead by Daylight. We hash out the high points, low points, mistake and successes that made (& make) this game tick. It's still being played by thousands of people at any given moment and we dissect a few of the reasons why (spoiler: stay true to your vision to have a chance at making things work). Listen to the whole episode for more delicious tidbits!

    37 min
  3. DFG 013: Diegetic, Non-Diegetic and everything in between: the audio stories of Destiny, Civilization 6 and Watch Dogs 2

    2017-02-21

    DFG 013: Diegetic, Non-Diegetic and everything in between: the audio stories of Destiny, Civilization 6 and Watch Dogs 2

    How well do you know your game music? Could you tell a diegetic work if it smacked you in your ear holes? Cam Britton is here again with a delicious mix of auditory beverages including Destiny, Civilization 6 and Watch Dogs 2. We discuss the congruence of tone of the music of Destiny with it's mix of solemnity and action (a personal favorite of mine), the 'time travelling' score of Civilization 6 (how do you make music for a game that passes through thousands of years??) and the diegetic, and super-diegetic qualities of Watch Dogs 2 (pushing the industry forward in unique and powerful ways) Dive into another 30+ minutes of the Deep Fried Gamer podcast!   Destiny https://youtu.be/PfrtX-foWUA Composers: Michael Salvatori, Skye Lewin, C Paul Johnson & Rotem Moav   Civillization 6 https://youtu.be/sFlxSgOEZrk Composer: Geoff Knorr   Watch Dogs 2 Audio Directors: Olivier Girard and Richie Nieto https://youtu.be/twMgc8vQ53o?t=6m11s https://youtu.be/47ZJXZJKOUo?t=3m30s   Additional Materials   Author: Winifred Phillips - A Composer's Guide to Game Audio https://www.amazon.ca/Composers-Guide-Game-Music/dp/0262026643   Mick Gordon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bthei5ylvZ4 Interview on composing doom   Hollywood Reporter - Composer's Roundtable https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSAF9_ZHjfc Danny Elfman discusses how music should be memorable Other heavyweight composers, like Hans Zimmer and Trent Reznor, have things to say too.

    38 min
  4. DFG 012: How Sound is Your Story

    2016-08-10

    DFG 012: How Sound is Your Story

    How you ask? Good sound design sets the stage for the action and immerses the player into the world of the game. It also enhances the narrative and aids in the telling of your story. Amazing and talented Cam Britton (Sound Designer at Ubisoft Toronto) speaks with me about the challenges of narrative immersion, environmental storytelling, and narrative progression through sound. We discuss how 'walla' is created and how sound designers work with actors to get the best performances. We also talk about how easy games have become over the years. (Check out another one of my podcasts on Designing Difficulty). Cam bring 3 clips from recent titles: Splinter Cell: Blacklist, and Assassin's Creed Unity. Listen to Podcast 005 - Designing Difficulty ACU – E3 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9UbtVWTr2c SCB – Plane Hacked - https://youtu.be/jrDXL2Uk3Q0 SCB - Kobin Apartments - https://youtu.be/Kil3-TTUZLw?t=43m15s Space Quest 1 - https://youtu.be/inYBmvtGl54?t=1h3m31s

    38 min
  5. DFG 011: What Made Dead by Daylight a Success

    2016-08-03

    DFG 011: What Made Dead by Daylight a Success

    Welcome to another episode of the DFG. Me and Cote discuss the crazy success (and somewhat unexpected) success of 'Dead by Daylight'. It's been about 6 weeks since release and the game has seen some impressive numbers. One of the main strengths of the game is it's connection to Twitch and esport: it's unique blend of system based, replayable action has made it a staple on the streaming site even before release. Streamers have helped in the success by simply enjoying what they saw: their genuine interest has brought the game to millions that maybe would not have otherwise seen it. Another reason for it's popularity is its successful drawing on classic horror films for inspiration: what we feel by watching a horror movie from the 80's is similar to what we feel when we play the game. It also has a 'voyeuristic' quality: watching the game is very fun compared to other games. Realizing this, the team introduced a spectator mode for cheap, which was very successful: players often stay in the match and watch the rest of it even when they have been taken out.   The biggest challenge now for Dead by Daylight: focus on 50% fixing bugs/improving things, 50% new content. The game was built with expansion in mind, and even though they didn't have much time to create LOTS of content, they created a system that allows to more easily create more content down the line. A surprise to the team was the popularity of the title in Chinese and Russian markets. We speak about how these new translations were a priority for the team after launch. Another big addition  is the 'Survive with Friends' mode: there was fear from the community that with this change the survivors would be able to outwit the killer essentially all the time. Using heaps of data, it turned out that there was only a difference of 1-2% in results before/after the change. Lesson: always check your numbers before you modify your designs. Finally, Dead by Daylight will be at PAX West Sept 2-5th in Seattle - drop by to see the game in action and play some of the new content!

    38 min
  6. DFG 010: Soundplay/Gameplay

    2016-07-19

    DFG 010: Soundplay/Gameplay

    How do sound and gameplay come together for immersion and playability? What does a game designer expect from a sound designer? My good (and handsome) buddy Cam Britton is here to help me take on these topics and more on this episode of the Deep Fried Gamer Podcast. Audio can help teach the player important rules about the game without the use of incongruent text or other helpers that ruin immersion. Something we should all remember (it's often forgotten) when we first start any feature. We discuss the concrete process of making a feature - and how we communicate to all of our diverse teams what their role in the feature is. We also tackle the idea of 'audio first' features and other that may not be so (sorry Cam). We also bring up the fact that the best design (game, audio and otherwise) should be done in the context of a team - involve everyone, and involve them early if you want to succeed at making something awesome! Cam also brings 3 great audio clips (one feature of which he worked on) to illustrate his points while I do my best to not to ramble too much and ruin my answers - aren't I supposed to be the one asking the questions?

    28 min
  7. DFG 009: The Final Days of Shipping Your Game: Fans and Trade Shows

    2016-05-20

    DFG 009: The Final Days of Shipping Your Game: Fans and Trade Shows

    What have we been up to recently? I'm currently loving the top-down blaster 'Alienation' (the game not the existential break from you and your surroundings. Read my analysis of the game's top-notch engagement mechanics here). Mr Cote is really enjoying a different unique (and great) title 'Lovers in a Dangerous Space Time'. We're forgetting the big news however: Dead By Daylight release date and pricing has been announced! It is set for June 14th (the first day of this year's edition of E3) and costs $19.99. Grab it here on Steam. Cote is also back from PAX east and has a bunch of delicious info regarding his showing of the game to the wonderful fans, Twitch streamers and everyone who waited in line patiently to get hacked to pieces by the almighty killer. We discuss the fact that 'DbD' was well planned: not a lot of feature creep, and very few freakouts leading up to the release. In the industry we can sometimes fall into the trap of judging prototypes too harshly before they are ready and tend to add too much stuff to compensate - this just one of the reasons that adds time to a project. Young designers: remember to take a deep breath and remember that polish is super important for all features. We discuss the balancing of a 5 v 1 multiplayer game. What was the process of getting the numbers right in a title where the sides are clearly imbalanced: don't change the core metrics that you have decided upon when first starting the project. The more you change them, the more trouble you will get into when you really start to balance the game. We talk about what Dead by Daylight will feature in the initial release. Check out the steam page for full details of the offerings on hand come June 14th. We end today's podcast with the fateful words: VR is here. Yes, yes it is. And not a moment too soon for the both of us. We're very excited for all of the possibilities this new tech will provide once we can get a few years into the tech. (Cote already has a Vive on order... a bit too rich for my blood but I know I will get a v2 or v3)    Oh, and don't forget to check out Dead by Daylight at this year's E3... tell 'em the Deep Fried Gamer sent you and you'll get something special ;)

    37 min
  8. DFG 008: Foley, SFX and Music - Case Studies in Far Cry, Star Wars Battlefront, and Assassin's Creed

    2016-04-29

    DFG 008: Foley, SFX and Music - Case Studies in Far Cry, Star Wars Battlefront, and Assassin's Creed

    Well the title really does say it all. This week Cam (audio designer at Ubisoft Toronto and all around great guy) and I discuss these hot topics with appropriate vim/vigor. We discuss how  each contributes to the fun and immersion of each title inasmuch as this podcast allows. What is foley? Where did it come from, and who invented it? It's a recording process invented by Jack Foley in the early days of sound cinema designed to 'fill out' the sound that was lacking from just the music score and the voices. From these relatively humble beginnings, it has evolved into a rich, high-fidelity area of sound design that we know today. We could not imagine a movie or game without it. We examine an audio clip from Far Cry Primal and discuss the exciting audio challenges of bringing a game set in 10 000 BCE to life. We move on to discuss the awesome sound effects of Star Wars Battlefront. Hailed as one of the best sounding games of 2015, Battlefront makes extensive use of the lucasarts audio archives. This must have been a huge treat for these sound designers (Cam I would have both been excited), but also comes with great responsibility: millions of fans around the world have bought your game in (large) part because of the iconic sound effects; blasters, lightsabers, and laser cannons. Every sound must be pitch perfect and be instantly recognizable from the original (real?) Star Wars trilogy. I learn that the music for the game wasn't even composed by legendary Star Wars composer John Williams. It sure does sounds like it it however. Composer Gordy Haab has recreated Williams iconic style with excellent results. We examine a very recognizable (not from the trilogy - but heavily inspired by the seismic charge from Episode 2) weapon - the thermal imploder. How did the audio team get it to sound this unique? What techniques did they use? Cam breaks it down for us. We finish off by discussing the music from the 2 latest Assassin's Creed games: Unity - set during the French Revolution, and Syndicate, set in London during the industrial revolution. We love the scores that are both powerful, but very unique from each other and very reflective of the time period they were written for. We examine the score, specifically during fighting gameplay within each game and compare and contrast how each was used. We also discuss the inspirations for each style, the lengths the audio team went to to get authentic sound, and how these scores inspire, and are inspired by the characters in these titles.

    29 min
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About

Game designer Matt Jackson, a 10 year game industry vet, and his guests explore the world of game design and game dev to bring you their perspectives on how games are made. Explore the fundamentals to get you started on your first game, learn how small, medium and large projects come to life from a wide range of game devs and gain knowledge to build better games.

Information

  • Creator
    Matt Jackson
  • Years Active
    2016 - 2017
  • Episodes
    16
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2017 DeepFriedGamer All Rights
  • Show Website
    The DeepFriedGamer Podcast