Game Dev People, Starting a Studio, Discord’s Power, Send the Resume, Steam’s Dead for Indies, and Dota 2 with Dan Nikolaides from Studio369

I welcome Dan Nikolaides, CEO of Symmetric Games and the CTO of Studio369 on this episode. We begin discussing his current role leading development efforts on their game MetalCore, along with the studio’s first game, Rune II. Learn about the concepts in MetalCore, how they found investors, and how he started in the industry.

We then dive into switching over to game teams, having projects canceled, and leaving to join Phosphor. Hear about shipping a bunch of games, then starting his studio in 2016. Learn about not being intimidated by hard problems along with the importance of a growth mindset. We then talk about the importance of new engineers knowing a game engine, the preferred language behind it, and having a strong engineering foundation.

Learn Dan’s advice for current engineers who want to grow and have more responsibilities, along with the kind of work most working leads actually do. Hear about the importance of being a good listener, rubber ducking, and what kills a person’s morale. We then discuss some of his favorite old projects, blockchain gaming, NFTs, and the Metaverse, and how different companies are approaching this space.

Hear about the industry’s challenge around content overload, Steam being dead for indies, and why it’s better to partner with a console. We then pivot into VR, their VR game in development, and how it’s a few years away from being a breakout platform. Towards the end we discuss working from home, game industry people, Dota 2, the struggles of starting a studio, how to contact Dan, and why now is the best time ever to be looking for a new job. 

Bio:

Dan Nikolaides graduated from the University of Illinois in Computer Science, 

and has been in the gaming industry for over 15 years. He’s well known for being an Unreal Engine guru, and has worked for companies like - Midway Games, Warner Brothers, Day 1 Studios, Phosphor Studios, and Symmetric Games.

His game credits include - Mortal Kombat, Stranglehold, Man of Steel, Gears of War, NBC’s Heroes, World War Z, WWE Immortals, Nether, Outpost Zero, and more. Dan’s currently the CEO of Symmetric Games and the CTO of Studio369 where he’s leading the technical and design direction of the studio’s game production for MetalCore, their upcoming release.

Show Links:

* Rune II Steam

* PlanetSide 2 Steam

* BattleTech Centers wikipedia

* Phosphor Studios website

* Unreal Engine website

* Simon Sinek YouTube

Connect Links:

* Dan Nikolaides Twitter

* MetalCore website

* MetalCore Discord

* MetalCore Trailer YouTube 

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* Game Dev Advice email (info@gamedevadvice.com)

* Game Dev Advice website

* Level Ex Careers page - we’re hiring for tons of roles!

* Game Dev Advice Hotline: (224) 484-7733

* Subscribe and go to the website for full show notes with links

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