Part-Time Indie: Balancing solo dev with a full time job

by PJ Cignarella on June 1, 2021

in Uncategorized

BPM june
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THE TALK
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Can you still develop games independently while working a 9-5? How about solo? Well yeah, but how does that affect your work-life balance? How about the game itself?
Join Manny Mallea’s public-speaking escapade as he discusses why working part time as a solo indie developer while working a 9-5 has its benefits and obstacles. This is less lesson-giving and more analyzing/discussing, so please share your own experiences, concerns or advice. Manny may even throw in some cool pro? tips.
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
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Manny Mallea is a Becker College Grad, MassDiGI alumni, and currently works at MIT Lincoln Laboratory on serious games. Outside of work, he develops his own (not-so-serious) projects, participates in game jams, and helps out on community events. His recent projects of note include Little Grimm, Horatama, and the upcoming Sole Iron Tail. You can follow him on twitter @MannyMallea.
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DEMO SIGNUPS
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Want to show off a project you or your team have been working on? Submit it here to demo it for the group! https://forms.gle/QJgq6PvTpTVVh8co6

Tuesday, June 1st

7:00 pm-9:00 pm
ONLINE via Discord

Just follow this Discord Link!

https://discord.gg/vZPcmj4zaf

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Game Tech and Research Simulation Platforms

by PJ Cignarella on April 13, 2021

in Uncategorized

BPM Game Tech1

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THE TALK
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What happens at the nexus between games, simulation, and robotics?
Simulation Platforms are program suites that use video game technology to create virtual research environments. You can think of them as zero-person video games with extremely elaborate leaderboards.
ThreeDWorld (TDW), an IBM-MIT project, is among the most sophisticated simulation platforms, utilizing Unity’s physics and rendering technologies to support a wide range of virtual experiments.
Seth, the lead developer of TDW, will describe simulation platforms and their strengths in general, TDW specifically, and then give an overview of TDW’s most recent addition: a robotics platform that can simulate physics-based movement and arm articulation to solve complex tasks.
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
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Seth Alter is the lead developer of ThreeDWorld. Formerly, he was an indie game developer, probably best known for Neocolonialism and No Pineapple Left Behind. His personal work, which includes games, writing, and code repositories, can be found at https://subalterngames.com. Follow him on twitter at @SubalternGames
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DEMO SIGNUPS
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Want to show off a project you or your team have been working on? Submit it here to demo it for the group! https://forms.gle/QJgq6PvTpTVVh8co6Logistics:

Tuesday, April 13th

7:00 pm-9:00 pm
ONLINE via Discord

Just follow this Discord Link!

https://discord.gg/vZPcmj4zaf

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

March 1, 2021

~~~~~~~~~ DESCRIPTION ~~~~~~~~~ How do you know if a prototype is worth finishing? When is the right time to start polishing? Why is making a platformer a bad idea? Roh will explore these questions and more as he shares 9 different lessons from making Nine, the indie roguelike about a cat who has nine lives […]

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Let’s Make: Boston Developer Stream

January 25, 2021

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DESCRIPTION ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ever wonder how the schleem is made? You’ve heard plenty of developers talk about their process – but what does that process look like in action? Join three devs from the Greater Boston area on a live development stream as they show you an inner glimpse at what it looks like to […]

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Getting Creative: A fireside chat with Harmonix’s VP of Creative

November 11, 2020

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DESCRIPTION ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Given her non-traditional background and the variety of roles/disciplines in which she has worked, Helen McWilliams has had to get creative over the years in order to pursue her professional passions. Helen will be chatting about strategies that folks from non-gaming/untraditional backgrounds can utilize to advance their careers. She will also […]

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Revisiting the Culture of Critique

May 19, 2020

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DESCRIPTION ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In this adaptation of his classic talk, Jeff Hesser will revisit the challenges that arise when game professionals give each other feedback across disciplinary lines. How can artists effectively give and receive feedback with designers, engineers, producers, musicians and QA testers in ways that maximize value and minimize miscommunication and friction? Through […]

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UX Practices For Mobile Games

March 23, 2020

ANNOUNCEMENT: BPM is committed to the health and safety of its attendees. Due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19, the March Meetup will be hosted online over Zoom. Here’s how you can join: 1. First, Sign up for Zoom right here https://zoom.us/signup, then download the desktop app, mobile app, or the online browser add-on. […]

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The ‘Kine’ Postmortem

January 27, 2020

Join us on Tuesday, Feb. 18th at 7 pm in Intrepid Labs, in The American Twine Building (222 Third St. Cambridge, MA 02141 4th floor) for our next Boston Post Mortem meeting: ~~~~~~~~~~~ DESCRIPTION ~~~~~~~~~~~ In this example-heavy talk, Gwen Frey will discuss her journey of taking her recent indie release, Kine, from an after-work passion project […]

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January Meeting: Behind the Assets – Shader Tricks and Optimizations

January 4, 2020

                  Join us on Tuesday, Jan. 14th at 7 pm in Intrepid Labs, in The American Twine Building (222 Third St. Cambridge, MA 02141 4th floor) for our next Boston Post Mortem meeting: DESCRIPTION: Ever wondered what it takes to make a Unity asset? How about how […]

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November Meeting: UX Practices for Mobile Games

November 14, 2019

          Join us on Tuesday, Nov. 19th at 7 pm in Intrepid Labs, in The American Twine Building (222 Third St. Cambridge, MA 02141 4th floor) for our next Boston Post Mortem meeting: DESCRIPTION: Ever wondered how to build a menu so players don’t get lost? Confused about how to make […]

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