A pristine codebase that definitely isn’t terrible no way.
This is a paid position, starting late March, either part-time or full-time until at least April 2020. If we ask you during the interview process to do trial-run work you would be paid for that time also. You will be expected to provide your own work space, laptop, and internet connection. All the software we use is free online software: Slack, Skype, Google Docs, Google Calendar, Unity, etc.
Women/non-white/trans/queer people are encouraged to apply.
To apply, email jobs@draknek.org with the subject line “[Name] - Game programmer job”. Applications should address why you feel you are suitable to the role, and reference relevant experience. Initial application deadline is March 1, with a rolling application period after that if we don’t find the right person immediately.
Are you an organised person with good interpersonal skills? Are you capable of noticing potential problems before they manifest? Are you able to see the future? If any or all of the above are true, keep reading.
We’re a team of very good people making a very good game. The problem is, very good games take a very long time to make and we want to spend more of our time making and less of our time planning/coordinating.
Right now we are 3 people working full-time and 3 people working part-time. We’re a distributed team communicating mostly over Slack, you don’t have to be based near any of us but we are ideally looking for someone in a European timezone.
Essential:
Good interpersonal skills - able to be the intermediary between different team members, prevent or resolve conflicts, and identify workflow changes that would make everyone’s lives easier.
Ability to notice potential problems before anyone else, and come up with plans to avoid or deal with them.
Flexibility of production style - knowledge of iterative production methodologies may be valuable but you need to be able to adapt to the needs of the team.
A sense of priorities that focuses on the health of the team over the completion of the project (but that still gets the project over the finish line).
Based in Europe.
Some relevant previous experience - this is not an entry-level position though we do welcome applications from people who have worked in related creative industries.
Preferred but not required:
Experience having shipped a game.
Experience transitioning a team used to making short projects with small teams into a medium-sized team working on a longer-term project.
Misc skills like writing emails/blog posts, video editing, marketing, customer support, paperwork, hiring, etc. - none of this is strictly in the core job description but sometimes things just need doing.
Whatever you’re good at - maybe we don’t know we need it.
This is a paid position, starting immediately, either part-time or full-time until at least April 2020. If we ask you during the interview process to do trial-run work you would be paid for that time also. You will be expected to provide your own work space, laptop, and internet connection. All the software we use is free online software: Slack, Skype, Google Docs, Google Calendar, Unity, etc.
Women/non-white/trans/queer people are encouraged to apply. Everyone is encouraged to apply even if you don’t feel entirely qualified - all being well we will have a budget for training/mentorship. If you have any queries or questions, please get in contact.
To apply, email alan@draknek.org with the subject line “Game producer job”. Applications should address why you feel you are suitable to the role, and reference relevant experience. Initial application deadline is December 3rd, with a rolling application period after that if we don’t find the right person immediately. Update: applications have now closed.
Sokobond is an elegantly designed puzzle game about chemistry - either the best or second-best puzzle game about chemistry depending on your feelings about SpaceChem. It’s been exhibited at IndieCade and in the PAX10, and got an IGF honourable mention in 2014. It came out for PC 4 years ago, and since then I’ve been promising that a mobile port would be coming eventually.
There’s not actually a lot of work to do - it took me a while to get the touchscreen controls feeling good but now the remaining amount of work could probably done by a competent programmer in 1-4 weeks. The problem is that I’m no longer an enthusiastic programmer and have procrastinated from this work for… well… 4 years. I’ve made somecoolgames in that time, but clearly my “lead programmer” days are behind me.
Also, the longer this process takes, the more likely that Adobe AIR (the toolchain I need to release on mobile) is to be antiquated by the time I actually release the game. I don’t feel 100% sure that I’ll be able to rely on it if iOS 12 breaks something and I need to release an update.
So, I’m looking for someone who can:
Port the game from AS3 to something with a more stable future - my preferred option for this would be Haxe/OpenFL. (Or reassure me that Adobe AIR is going to be supported for a while yet.)
Finish the remaining programming work required to target mobile platforms.
The game is written in AS3 based on the FlashPunk codebase (with large chunks torn out and replaced). The main target platforms for this port would be iOS and Android, but ideally the port would be able to replace the Windows/Mac/Linux versions if needed down the line.
Please email alan@draknek.org with the title “Sokobond port”, including your rates and relevant experience. Deadline: 30th September. Women/non-white/trans/queer people are encouraged to apply.
Every now and then I’ll get an email asking “do you have any advice on how to be a successful game developer?” This is weird, because it reminds me that I am a successful game developer - in my head I still treat this as a full-time hobby, and I’m just bumbling through.
But I am successful: Sokobond, A Good Snowman Is Hard To Build, and Cosmic Express are all profitable, and more importantly they’re appreciated by players and by my peers. My company has enough money to pay contractors. I pay myself a tiny salary but I live frugally so I still have personal savings.
In 2016, I decided to keep a record of what media I consumed, sometimes with a short record of my thoughts about them (one or two sentences only).
In contrast to my other lists which aim to be complete, this is all the podcasts I listened to more than a couple of episodes of, so most podcasts I tried and didn’t get along with are not represented here.
I went from listening to a handful of podcasts in 2015 to listening to a lot in 2016. Some came recommended by H Giles, some by people on Twitter, some by mentions on other podcasts. For reference, I’m currently using AntennaPod as my podcast client.
This is part three of my 2016 retrospective. The other parts:
2016 was a relatively unproductive year - only two games released as opposed to five in 2015 and seven in 2014. The first half of the year I spent procrastinating from one project, and the second half I spent focusing on another to the exclusion of all else. That said, what I did work on I’m really happy with.
This is part one of my 2016 retrospective. The other parts:
