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#the business of video games
askagamedev · 8 months
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About Unity these past few days
A lot of people have asked me about Unity and their strange new per-install charges policy that they rolled out on September 12th, 2023. I wanted to give them at least 24 hours before I posted my take on it - let the dust settle a bit so I could get a chance to read the new policy properly and all that. First, however, I think we need to take a step back and get a wider perspective. Unity Software Inc. is in some serious financial trouble. Here are their operating numbers from 2019 to 2023.
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The blue line here is how much money they take in and the red line is the amount of money they are spending each year. You may notice that they are spending significantly more money year over year than they earn. In fact, over the past 12 months alone (August 2022 to August 2023), Unity Software Inc. has lost almost $1 billion.
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In 2022, Unity spent four times as much money as they did in 2019. If they had managed to keep costs at double their spending in 2019, they still would have earned $243 million in profit. Instead, they lost $882 million in 2022.
Where does all of this cost come from? In any software company like Unity, the vast vast majority of costs comes from employee salaries. And we can directly see it in Unity's number of employees:
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Unity Software Inc. more than tripled its headcount from 2019 to 2022, and it did all of this hiring during the pandemic while competing with many many other developers all trying to hire from the same pool. I don't work for Unity, but I was in the market and I had lots of recruiters trying to recruit me during that time.
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In short, Unity is suffering from the same miscalculation that Embracer Group did, that EA did, that Activision-Blizzard did, that Square-Enix did, and just about everybody else in the tech industry - they misjudged the good times at the beginning of the pandemic, overspent hiring people thinking the good times would last, and are now scrambling to figure out how to survive. The difference is that Unity was getting all of their operating money from Venture Capitalists (VCs) hoping that they would eventually become profitable, but VC money has all but dried up because it's become much more expensive to borrow money over the past two years.
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As a result, the Unity executives are likely grasping at straws in hopes of saving a sinking ship. This wild and decidedly senseless pricing plan is their (seemingly-desperate) attempt to juice their revenues. It really makes very little sense from the developer perspective, which is what makes the whole thing reek of desperation. That isn't greed talking, it's survival. My guess is that Unity is currently desperately looking for a buyer to save them and doing whatever they can to buy themselves some more runway. They already announced layoffs back in May, but I suspect they'll probably have to announce some really big layoffs (e.g. 40-50%) soon. Unity Software Inc. is living on borrowed time and they know it.
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hell0mega · 4 months
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people are drawing Steamboat Willie Mickey doing all this crazy shit and whatnot, but you could always do that. you can do that now, with current Mickey, just fine. it's fanart and it's legally protected. hell you could take Disney-drawn Mickey and put a caption about unions or whatever on it and it would still be protected under free speech and sometimes even parody law.
what is special about public domain is that you can SELL him. you could take a screenshot and sell it on a tshirt. you can use him to advertise your plumbing business. people have already uploaded and monetized the original film.
you could always have Mickey say what you want, but now you can profit off it.
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geekstudio · 1 year
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Pokemon Valentines by Kuitsuku
Also available as stickers in their shop here!
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koolades-world · 2 months
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Can you do a fanfic of an MC who likes to play a game with the brothers where MC steals the easiest thing that they have on them (like Mammon’s glasses or if Lucifer is wearing glasses, they take them) and the brothers have to chase them around to get them back? It’s all good fun and they know they’re joking haha
hi! yes, of course!! another fun idea!!
please enjoy!
Mc strikes again!
Lucifer was enjoying his coffee at the table with his daily newspaper, casually reading like he did every morning. He got downstairs early in order to enjoy the peace and quiet it brough to his routine. Everyone knew this, because when they arrived downstairs, he was always about halfway done with the paper and his coffee at that point.
It was the perfect time to strike. Before he knew it, Lucifer's reading glasses were swiped right off his nose by a pair of hands he would know anywhere. He did nothing to stop the mischievous human who he could hear running down the hall in their socks, giggling the whole way. He couldn't finish reading the paper without them, so, with a small grin, he got up to chase after them.
Lucifer was sure the entire house heard them, and at one point Mc smacked straight into Beel and after apologizing, kept running. He had also been awake for a while, thanks to his morning workout routine, but left Mc and his older brother to their own devices. Finally, the chase ended when Mc tried to get into their own room to shut the door behind them, but the door was locked. Lucifer triumphantly took his glasses back, in exchange for a kiss. He gave them a lighthearted scolding, and before going back to the dining room, unlocked their door for them. Next time, Lucifer would be more prepared for a surprise attack from Mc.
Later that day, Mc did the same thing to Belphie and his pillow. He was, of course, asleep during their scuffle with Lucifer, so he had no clue what was about to hit him. While he was taking his third afternoon nap, they snuck up and attempted to yank the pillow out from under him. While they knew he had a strong grip while asleep since they had been the victim of his many naps, while he had fallen asleep while holding them, they still thought they'd be able to steal away with the pillow.
They were severely wrong. As much as they tugged and tugged, they couldn't get it to budge at all. When they thought they'd gotten a little bit of leeway, Belphie grabbed them by the arm and yanked them into a cuddle. After he knowingly questioned them on what they were doing, Mc tried their best to pretend they were doing nothing, but failed. As a toll for attempting to snatch his pillow, Belphie made them cuddle with him until he was sure they'd learnt his lesson.
They tried the other brothers, but failed and eventually decided to just try the easiest target: Mammon.
Later that week, they tried the glasses trick on Mammon while he was scrolling on Devilgram. That was much easier than trying to steal from Lucifer or Belphie because Mammon had such a soft spot for Mc. They asked for several things, all of which he complied to. He had to He could've just snatched them back and played the same chasing game but, he loved them. He cared about them, so even if his glasses weren't at stake, he would do it. He actually had spares he could grab, but he'd do anything for you.
It was a good day to be Mc, surrounded by some of the most powerful demons in the Devildom, yet they would do the silliest things for them.
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spankymerve · 2 years
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Discourse around Square Enix selling some of its Western studios and a bunch of IP to Embracer Group is so fucking weird. People are trying to make it sound like either Square Enix or Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montréal are guilty of some grand moral failing. There's really no morality here. SE thinks it can earn greater returns on other investments. Embracer thinks it can earn profit on those studios and properties instead of just letting its cash lie idle or putting it to some other use. Simple as that. It's possible for two different companies to have different and reasonable beliefs about how profitable a studio can be. It's possible for two different companies to have different outlooks or different cash flow needs. This is all very reasonable, very normal stuff.
By the way, neither Crystal Dynamics nor Eidos Montréal was a huge money sink. Both were actually profitable, if only marginally so. It's possible that SE projected they'd start bleeding cash like mad in the coming years, but anybody who tells you that either studio was operating in the red is just making shit up.
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buglaur · 6 months
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this is kit, please commission some art from them on social bunny 🙏
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know-fear · 3 months
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Silent Hill Original Soundtracks (1999)
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ilkkawhat · 2 months
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arcanegifs · 1 year
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Vi and Caitlyn's Recall Animations in their Valentine's Day Heartthrob skins
Bonus: Official Splash Art
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jvzebel-x · 7 months
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here's an update for all the "tOuRiSm iS fOr ThE pEoPlE" fucks. always remember that the second anyone steps foot on that land in the name of "tourism" or any other haole institution, that is colonizing&that person is a fucking explicit modern colonizer who made the conscious decision to be one and has spent a lot of fucking money on that trip to get their title. only that kine want more of their kin there-- don't pretend that shit is for anyone else.
drop dead of spontaneous combustion specifically, not even the sharks would want that pīlau fucking meat.
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nippoisalien · 3 months
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Cute...
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askagamedev · 2 months
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I've heard from friends that there's no reason for companies to shut down game/store servers because "it doesn't really cost them anything to keep it up", which feels wrong to me given how readily console makers are to close up features of older consoles that wouldn't conflict with newer ones. Is upkeep really that cheap?
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Here's the thing - your friends are kind of right but also mostly wrong at the same time. In terms of technology and such, they are correct - running a server process in the cloud today is pretty cheap. We pay for how much CPU time our processes end up using and old games don't use up that much since there aren't that many players, so the cost of running the server itself is not that high.
However...
There are significantly more costs to running a game (especially a service game) than simply keeping the server running. That's where your friends are wrong.
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Imagine, for example, a longtime player gets hacked and the hacker deletes her character and items. What is the player's recourse? Submit a ticket to customer service and get it resolved, right? Now we need to keep at least one customer service agent on the service to handle things like refunds, user mistakes, and so on. What if the server crashes? We'll need somebody to handle server maintenance. What if somebody discovers an exploit that severely harms the player experience? I guess we need a programmer who knows how to fix things. If there's any development to be done, there will also need to be production (to keep tasks prioritized and tracked) and QA (to validate fixes).
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Remember, the vast majority of the costs of game development are the salaries and benefits paid out to the people working on and maintaining the game. Even a small skeleton crew costs hundreds of thousands of dollars per year in salary, benefits, taxes, equipment, rent, and so on. So... upkeep for the server processes really is that cheap. But keeping an entire game running is absolutely not that cheap. When the service can't afford to pay for its own upkeep - including the salaries of all of the people needed to keep the service running - then it gets shut down.
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i-drop-level-one-loot · 3 months
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Hun something else I want to ask is if you would do a hybrid dragon Yan..? Forgot to mention it in the last ask because I forget ideas a lot <3
-from the one anon who said to use 3 names you like :)!
P.s I’ll probably refer to myself as this forever now hun
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I'm sorry this took so long!! Here it is:
CW: mild violence, video game logic
Yandere!Dragon x GN!Reader
The winds in the mountains were cold enough to slice open skin and leave blisters.
Traveling up towards the sky was (Reader), a warrior known throughout the lands for their incredible feats, climbing up the snowy pass towards the dark splotch on their map.
The dragon's lair.
Only human in appearance, (Reader) had slaughtered almost every type of monster and fiend in the continent, sending fear through all living beings. They were rumored to be immortal, since they seemed to be capable of recovering from any wound they received, no matter how critical. Whatever life threatening hit they took, and no matter how certain their death seemed to be, (Reader) would only black out, waking a few hours later. A warrior without a past, without a home, who only lived to kill.
Slaying a dragon would be the last creature on the killer's list, having already defeated deities and apocalypse level threats. It wasn't that a dragon would be harder than killing a god; they just hadn't gotten around to it.
In the grand scheme of life, dragon slaying would be a side quest.
(Reader) doubted that the battle would be difficult in any sort of sense; aside from their incredible physical attributes they also had legendary gear such as "the Ring of Absolution" which was forged from the tears of a Golden Warrior. That ring alone made it impossible for enemies to block their attacks or use "break out" to parry.
Upon finding the cave and entering recklessly, (Reader) wished that someone had told them sooner:
That "when you're at the top, the only place to go is down.."
A blast of fire knocked their helmet off their head as the heat pushed them back. Shocked (and a little excited) the warrior raised their vampiric sword. Inside the cave, a giant red and golden dragon sat posed, muscles tense and eyeing the invader with intrigue.
"Who are you, to enter my home?" His deep voice sounded more confused than offended. And when (Reader) pointed their weapon at him in response, he chuckled. "Adorable little human, if you wish to live a long life, leave this cave now, and I shall spare you."
(Reader) shouted, igniting a glowing light around their body, then lunged, slashing at the beast.
To the dragon's surprise it hurt.
"Foul little thing!" He snarled, attempting to blast the human with another bolt of flames (this time not as a warning) but the fighter rolled out of the way, effectively dodging the attack. (Reader) thrust again, angering the dragon when he found that he could not block the sword, the blade passing his harder scales and hitting his soft flesh despite his guarding.
Amidst the rage and frustration a new emotion began forming within the centuries young being; respect.
There were no dragons he wished to associate with, there were no creatures that approached him of their own free will. He was alone. For a very, very long time. For he was not just a dragon..
He was Targov the Malicious.
A dragon of legend, ender of nations, killer of kings..
And his health was slowly being chipped away by the steel of a mortal.
(Reader) did not know who the dragon was, only that this was the closest location for a dragon nest.
"Small human.. I have a proposition for you."
The warrior paused, tilting their head as they waited for the dragon to continue.
"You have impressed me, and you have earned my admiration. So I offer you a chance at life eternal: become my mate, and ascend to a higher state of being.
You shall never want nor need for anything. I will be your willing servant for all of eternity."
It wasn't the first proposal (Reader) had received, yet it was certainly the first from a beast. They stepped back a fraction as though his words caused them to stumble. His request sounded so genuine that it almost killed their blood lust.
Almost.
Disappointment and betrayal filled the dragon's eyes as (Reader) suddenly threw their sword like a spear, lodging it into Targov's chest, a feather's distance shy of his heart. But even that only further fueled the growing need he had for the mortal. And the obvious solution to the warrior's resistance was to make the choice easier for them.
Targov flew forward, but instead of attacking like (Reader) had predicted, he grappled the human in his talons and continued faster, propelling them both out of the cave and into the sky as he built speed.
The wind jostled the surprised human about like a rag doll as they rose higher into the atmosphere. Their ears popped painfully, but they could still hear the roaring laughter of the dragon.
"HA! Now what do you say, human?! Shall you be mine? Or shall I drop you?!" He held the adventurer loosely by the fabric visible under their armor in an attempt to frighten them. But what he saw next made his heart falter.
His eyes widened as (Reader) smiled triumphantly, raising a dagger while maintaining eye contact, and sliced off the part of their outfit Targov held onto, willingly allowing themselves to fall.
It was just a fall.
Yeah, it would hurt. It would hurt like a son of a bitch, but (Reader) knew they wouldn't die. They never did.
However, their near immortality was something that Targov didn't know about.
Before his emotions could fully form into separate feelings, Targov dove, recatching the little human, now with a more secure grip, and flew back to his home, his heart beating a billion beats per second once it restarted.
(Reader) was thrown to the floor by the dragon seconds before being blinded by a bright flash. The dragon was consumed in a bright white glow that illuminated the cave, morphing into a more human appearance, with deep golden skin and red hair. His horns and claws still remained, but as (Reader) could see clearly from his lack of clothes, was now mostly human. He charged towards (Reader), face twisted in his confusing mix of emotions. Anger, shock, hurt, feelings his adrenaline wouldn't give him time to categorize as he closed in on the confused human.
He hoisted (Reader) up by their neck.
"You'd really rather die than be mine?!" The enraged dragon screamed.
Struggling to breathe, the warrior grabbed one of his scaly hands while trying to smack his face with their dominant hand.
The glint of their ring caught Targov's attention, who recognized it instantly. He had been alive for a very long time, and killed many a god during his rebellious years. Sharp teeth sunk into (Reader's) fingers, the dragon biting their hand lightly, suddenly, earning a shocked cry from the struggling human. Targov dropped (Reader), pulling the ring off their finger with his fangs as he did so.
The warrior didn't notice their missing ring until they regained their composure and attempted to attack the humanoid dragon, who blocked their attack perfectly fine.
Targov wore the ring on his smallest claw.
"I see I was right about you.." His deep voice chuckled, but (Reader) couldn't tell if it was out of amusement or fury. "A fellow God killer.. who better suited to be my mate?"
He grabbed (Reader's) wrist, and despite it's low speed, the ring prevented (Reader) from dodging.
"Welcome home, my mate."
"Even if I have to break you, I will have you. And you will learn to love me."
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fruitsofhell · 3 months
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I used to be one of those guys when I first joined the Kirby fandom, but everytime I hear a discussion of the series writing that starts with "So the Lore is InSaNe-" and not like, "Kirby has a fun writing style that takes advantage of its cute exterior to tell cool stories that reward player's curiosity and leave lots of room for imagination-" I cringe so goddamn hard.
I kinda just hate that people approach things that encourage investment when they don't expect it as inherently absurd. Like it is fun to joke about how absurd Kirby lore can be, but it really often comes with an air of disrespect or exhaustion rather than like, appreciation that these games are made by people who want to tell interesting stories when they could easily make as much money just making polished enough fluffy kiddy platformers. And when it's not met with exhaustion, it's met with - like I said before - that tone that it's stupid for a series like this TO have devs who care about writing stuff for it. Which is a whole other thing about people not respecting things made to appeal to kiddie aesthetic or tone.
Maybe the state of low-stakes YouTube video essays just blows cause people play up ignorance and disbelief for engagement, but like I STG I hear people use this tone for like actual narrative based games sometimes. Some people don't like... appreciate when a game is made by people who care a shitton in ways that aren't direct gameplay feedback. And they especially don't appreciate it when it comes from something with any sense of tonal dissonance intentional or not.
Anyways, I love games made by insane people. I love games made by teams who feel like they wanna make something work or say something so bad. I love that energy, especially when invested into something that could easily rest on its laurels or which obviously won't be taken seriously. I love this in a lot of classic campy 2000s games, I love this in insanely niche yet passionate fanworks, and I love it in the Kirby series and its writing. Can we please stop talking about it like it's an annoyance or complete joke?
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giulzart · 7 months
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Selfishly thinking that Orion could be persuaded to act in one of the band music video. Just once.
Anyway, go play @infamous-if cause it’s amazing!
Little bonus, I put the rambly scenario that sprouted these under the cut in case you wanna know more 🤷‍♀️
It’s got to be a team effort and a chore to get Orion on board but somehow they manage to convince him in the end(cause he got a soft spot). In my head the idea was Violet and Rowan’s, Iris jumped right in cause it sounded fun and then Jazzy and Devyn joined in. Chris tagged along too cause heck yeah. They all come up with a list of pros and cons cause they know that Orion will fight against it, but thanks to Devyn they come up with sound and logical enough reasons. Rowan and Violet do the presentation and after a lot of debate, Orion accept in the end to everyone (and his own) disbelief. The video is a success, the views count gets higher and half the comment are about Orion.The band tease him relentlessly and Orion swears never again. The end.
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egophiliac · 3 months
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so have you heard about the ride kamens app game? seems like it's gonna be a twisted wonderland like game with all the riders being hot anime guys now, and it's also gonna be written by yuya takahashi and produced by naomi takebe (apparently it was in development before geats), with designs by the person who did sk8 the infinity, so take that for what you will
have you ever gotten the feeling that a piece of media came into existence just to appeal to you specifically, or
(brb preregistering immediately)
(as far as I can tell you play as an agent who maintains a secret superhero base for riders in the basement of the rider-themed cafe that you run with your butler, and there's some other plot stuff going on but honestly I'm way past sold at this point, this sounds amazing)
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