10 years ago I was simultaneously having the time of my life and pulling my hair out leading recruiting at GitHub. Here are my top two takeaways growing this company from 100 to 600:✨ Community is everything. ✨Everything in the business benefited from the hands-on curation of our community. Our entire marketing team was focused on community events and user-engagement before we ever had a sales team or sought B2B relationships. We even hired a team to teach new developers the benefits of Git + distributed version control.Where have you NOT seen the Octocat sticker? Anyone in the company could send swag for free. There was literally an internal website where we could put someone's address in and they could get piles of stickers or a hoodie at their doorstep. More importantly, anyone in the company could request to sponsor or host events for developers at any time. We deployed employees to conferences all around the world to reach our users.This community-first approach unequivocally benefited all aspects of the organization (including recruiting!) and cemented us as the leading developer-first tool when we were finally ready to sell into businesses.✨ Find the best, most passionate talent - wherever they are. ✨We pioneered a remote-first culture. It was grueling as a recruiting leader, but we managed to hire people across the world in 15+ countries at a time when Deel nor any other service existed.We built our own internal Slack before Slack existed (RIP to that never getting launched publicly). Hubot, our own personal chat robot, helped us stay connected to one another through kudos boards, GIFs, silly videos, and other internal memes. Hubot even memorized facts about people and shared them with others! We even set up an actual physical robot who roamed around the office with a camera so remote employees could say hi to folks. We made it easy for people to get together outside of HQ through sponsoring coworking days. Team offsites were regularly planned in worldwide locations where Hubbers were more centralized, and we did a yearly company offsite as well -- flying our employees to one location to bond.As expensive and complicated this was, we were able to scale extremely quickly with the best talent that also allowed for us to easily expand our community strategies across the globe.It was the wild west, but I wouldn't trade it for anything else.

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A good example of how to *not* develop software. *5* back to back maintenance windows for Dark and Darker (PvP/PvE game), lasting 1 to 2 hours *each*, due to a poorly coded "bugfix".Grasping the primitives in your codebase and using them as intended can go a long way in not inducing needless drama.

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A great article! The author dives deep into Swift and XNU kernel sources to explain how runtime crashes actually work under the hood. It was interesting to read how unowned references work under the hood, along with insights into how virtual memory is managed in XNU, and how the infamous EXC_BAD_ACCESS gets triggered.

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Mo money, Mo problems.The relentless push for bigger and better has created a budget arms race, leading to widespread layoffs and the disappearance of mid-tier games—the "middle class" of gaming. As these costly projects dominated, mid-tier were sidelined, leaving the industry with fewer creative risks and diverse offerings. Failed big-budget games caused layoffs and restructuring followed, compounding the problem.In this race, what’s "great"(in monetary terms) has overshadowed what’s truly good. Promoting indie developers and bold, creative risks hold twill bring gaming back to what it once was—fun.#Gaming #Indie #AAAGames #GamingIndustry

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What if you could put multiple "single-file components" into one file? Without JSX Spaghetti? Ember's <template> syntax has already landed, and it's kind of the best of both worlds.https://lnkd.in/gznVGh9F #ember #emberjs #javascript #frontend

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When you need to source software engineers quickly ProgAI can help.Not just a list of candidates to present to your hiring manager, but candidates with the skills that match the role and will likely move. Our Likely-to-Move™ Score helps you know this. This smart feature predicts how likely a software engineer is to switch jobs, based on over 20 different market signals.You get to target the right candidates. You are no longer For HR teams...They can spot engineers likely to leave their roles and take action to keep their best performers on board.Ready to see how it works?

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The layoff numbers show no sign of stopping and I can’t help but think about game devs who were employed a month ago, now no longer have jobs. Even more painful to see that people dedicated more than 5 years to building a game only for it to get canceled. People have been laid off for months now, yet they stay unemployed despite of constant efforts.For instance, MSFT laid off around 1900 folks from Activision Blizzard and Xbox in January. I spent around 10 mins digging into the LI profiles of game devs who were impacted by layoffs at AB and easily found over 100 people who are still searching for their next role.And this is not the story of only gamedevs from AB, but every other studio that fired its gamedevs quite a few months ago.PlayStation Studios laid off 900 in February.EA laid off approx. 650 the next day.Creative Assembly laid off around 240 in March.T2 Interactive laid off around 600 in April.And now most recently Microsoft, again!This post is for you if you’re one of many folks who got impacted by the storm.Also requesting everyone else to repost this so that your first-degree connections can benefit from this post. Listing 3 game dev support resources below:First💎Layoff Support Kit 2.0 - https://lnkd.in/gCCXW_WpMy team and I have dedicated countless hours to curating the best game development resources available online, so you don't have to. This comprehensive collection includes top programming boot camps, renowned game dev educators, free game assets to help you build great games, insightful podcasts, and much more.Second💎A 100% scholarship on our $11,000 Full Stack game dev program - https://lnkd.in/gzrfG7M6If you were impacted by the recent bloodshed of layoffs here’s a chance to Re-skill and revise your game dev knowledge with our advanced C++, OOPs, Unity, and Data Structure modules. Additionally, you will receive exclusive one-on-one mentorship from top game programmers who will help you strengthen your already solid foundations.Third💎Our Discord Community of over 10K game devs - https://lnkd.in/gTs53cs2Here, we listen to everyone’s take on game development, support aspiring game devs to build stronger portfolios and solve each other's game dev doubts. If you are a professional game dev help young talent crack their way into the games industry.Also requesting Kelly Bender, Alexander Rehm, Caitlin Cooke, Jordan Mazer, Ruty Rutenberg, Hailey Rojas, Kevin F., Kat Craig, Willem Delventhal, Ali Farha, Matt Barney, Ash C., and Matt Hearnden to help this reach all the folks who can benefit from this.Sending all my power and prayers to everyone going through these tough times ♾️WAGMI 💪#layoffsupport

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If you've ever created a plugin with JUCE, you've used the AudioProcessor class. This is one of the most important classes in the entire framework!A secret of mine is that I've never taken a look any further than the essential functions beyond prepareToPlay() and getNextBlock(). I asked questions like...✅ What is the deeper purpose of the AudioProcessor class? ✅ What do the other functions do?✅ How does the work we do in the AudioProcessor wrap into the various plugin formats like VST3, AU, and AAX?Join me in this exploration into answering these questions!We also talk about CMake build options and how they directly affect this class and more. This has been a game-changer for how CMake can enhance the toolkit for fellow developers.Ready to dive in? Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/ep3Vsxck

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🚀 Why Gradle Might Be Your Secret Weapon for Spring Boot Development! 🚀As a developer diving into Spring Boot, have you ever felt the weight of heavy configurations pulling you down? 🤔Let’s talk about why *choosing Gradle* could be a game-changer. Here’s the scoop:1️⃣ Performance Boost: Gradle’s incremental builds and build cache can shave seconds off your build times. Say goodbye to those pesky wait times! ⏱️2️⃣ Flexible Configuration: With Groovy or Kotlin DSL, your build files are not just readable, they’re also customizable! Define your dependencies without the XML burden. 📜✨3️⃣ Parallel Execution: Why wait for one task to finish? Gradle allows tasks to run in parallel, maximizing your build speed effortlessly. 🚀💨4️⃣ Plugins Galore: The plugin ecosystem is thriving! Whether it’s Docker, Kotlin, or any other tool, integrating them becomes a breeze. 🛠️🌐5️⃣ Dependency Management: Gradle handles complex projects with ease. Transitive dependencies are no longer a headache! 🎉If you’re still using Maven, now might be the perfect time to give Gradle a spin. 🌟 What’s been your experience? 💬👇 #SpringBoot #Gradle #DeveloperLife #TechTalk

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Although I haven't shared it here yet, I've recently started solo developing small free games to occupy my time while waiting for the #gamedev job market to stabilize. I've released two tiny (and not very good) games, and a third (much better!) will release in May.I have worked in tiny and large companies, but creating projects completely solo is a new and exciting challenge.I've spent all day yesterday thinking about changing my approach to development with my next little game in mind.I realized my current pipeline and distribution of priorities are wrong. They contradict the idea of making solo #indiegames. Perfectionism was killing my projects. My philosophy for doing hobby projects so far has been that I will make games that are very small, but with good storylines, visuals and gameplay. When playtesting my current project, it struck me that this approach was not working.Why?If you're making a short game, for a maximum of an hour of gameplay, you can't count on it being lifted by elements that are only good or acceptably good.That's an hour of game time. I should make that hour of player time exceptional, not just "OK".And I don't mean that an hour-long game made by one person should be perfect in every way - that's unrealistic. But I should make that hour unique and memorable. It should grant at least one AWESOME touchpoint and the other elements of the game should not get in the way. I should be creating something of value, not a perfectly-bland product.My previous solo project, "RATS", is a disappointment. The game looks lovely, but it's horrendously buggy and the story is quite a mess.That's because I tried to be a jack of all trades.Though, I'm not lacking in skills.What I lacked was measuring strength against intent.My current project, "OBCY", is a step forward. I like the story, the visuals look quite unique. But here, in turn, the gameplay has suffered, and it hasn't been given enough time, even though it needs it relatively most.When thinking about my next solo project, I was faced with a question: how to create a game that would be memorable in an hour of play time. Because it is possible. I have played many such games.The conclusion is trivial: less is more.Going forward, I will devote the most time to one selected point of interest in the game, where the rest of the game's elements will receive enough of it to not spoil the experience. And I believe this will be the most optimal approach for me.I would just like to add that, for me, my current moment of making games completely solo is more difficult than my most challenging moments of making games in a professional environment in large teams. Currently, I am verifying my mindset, not the quality of my skills.It's painful, but also damn exciting. I can't wait to start prototyping my next project.BTW, if you want to take a look at my games, you can find them here: https://lnkd.in/dNZ5jzzd 🙂

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😱 Oh no! The main thread is tied up with rendering tasks.Where are the free CPU cycles for the rest of your application? 🤔Fear not, my fellow software engineers... Multithreaded Rendering technical talk is here to save the day! 🚀Join me on January 22, at 18:30 for a deep dive into rendering techniques, that smartly utilize your CPU.📋 What’s on the agenda?✅ Choosing the right cross-platform rendering library.✅ GPU acceleration and pipeline optimizations.✅ Practical multithreading design patterns.✅ A “thread-per-component” architecture in action.✅ Showcase series of tailor-made live demos.🍹After the presentation, stick around and network over some drinks and light catering.Let’s connect, learn, and discuss technology together.Registration form shared in the comments👇 #LucidLink #Multithreading #Rendering #Optimizations #Cplusplus #C++

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Observation: 9/10 SWE's quit at “reading the docs”. Cut through the BS with this easy trick:Take action and build.Writing code is 100x easier than the docs make it sound.“Reading the docs” gave me crazy imposter syndrome:-Git-WPF-Kafka-OAuth-Angular-GraphQL-RabbitMQ-KubernetesIn ALL cases, I conquered my fears by building. Except for WPF. I gave up on that. And Kafka, that's for another day.Forcing yourself to build/code/deploy melts analysis paralysis. Then you'll say "oh that was pretty easy". Trust me, we aren't building rockets.Practice AND Study build true mastery.

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I think this is an honest and important post about what makes teams win. Code-yellows are not the answer, but developing the muscle to make it your default operation is not trivial so you can "expose" the team to it by using it a few times and then tease out the substance while working towards making it more sustainable, once you have buy-in."Code-yellow’s are effective because they force teams to sweat the problem harder. And if there is one reason startups make it, it is because they sweat the problem harder than anyone else. While incumbents rest easy on legacy momentum, startups don’t have that luxury. Survival means breaking down problems, attacking them from every angle, and turning what seems like chaos into rapid, gritty progress." https://lnkd.in/eN7n3SCh

📗 System Design Interview Volume 2: Is the book any good?If you’ve been eyeing System Design Interview Volume 2, let me save you some surprises: this isn’t your one-stop shop for mastering system design. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth your time 📖.The book won’t teach you how to design systems from scratch. If you’re hoping for a deep, exhaustive guide 👩‍🏫 that explains every design choice and trade-off, this isn’t it. For example, you might encounter statements like, “We use an SQL database to store this data,” without much explanation why exactly 🤷‍♂️. While the designs aren’t comprehensive, altogether they offer a good understanding of various aspects of system design 🏗️.For me, the book shines as a library of system design examples 📚. Think of it as a collection of "how X is designed," where X could be a global navigation service like Google Maps, a distributed queue like Kafka, a stock exchange solution, a digital wallet, and more. Each of its 13 chapters dives into the design of a specific type of system, giving you a chance to peek behind the curtain 👀.Does it prepare you for system design interviews 🧑‍💼? Yes... a kind of. Any experienced interviewer will spot it if you simply repeat what’s in the book without genuine understanding, and I’ve heard about such cases 🤦‍♂️. So, I highly recommend combining what you learn here with the foundations of software architecture and design principles.If you already know the basics of system design and want to see them in action, this book is a gem 💎. Let’s face it — you’re probably not designing new systems every other day (if you do that once a year, I envy you!). With the help of this book, you can feel as if you’re designing those 13 systems and gain a bit of (yes, artificial) experience ✨ from that.What do you think? Have you read this or Volume 1, or are they on your list? I’d love to hear your thoughts!https://a.co/d/az2iMBy

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Complaining won't get you hired.Sending hundreds of applications without a reply sucks, I get it.And job hunting in game development is tough in 2024.But hear me out:No one hires out of pity.People hire because you show value.Instead of complaining about the market, focus on creating value for others:• Share common best practices• Contribute to professional topics• Create useful solutions or courses• Make a tutorial on a complex issueOr go a step further: prepare a list of recommendations for the company you want to join and send it with your CV (and also share it publicly).How so, you might ask? Do something for others for FREE?Yes, absolutely.It's called "content marketing."You create value upfront, become more recognizable, and gain a reputation.And then you get hired easily because you provided value upfront.If you're willing to spend hundreds of hours on interviews, spend some time creating value for others. It'll pay off in the long run.

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Did a talk at the IGDA TC Chapter about Building Excalibur.js! We dive deep into all the bits of making the game engine!https://lnkd.in/g5Vr_M9Q#excaliburjs #typescript #javascript #gamedev

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Excited about Excalibur.js ECS? Matt Jennings has written an excellent new post about System-less Components. Lots of goodies: like how to build one-way platforms, and platforms that can carry players with components!https://lnkd.in/eG6h-NAG#excaliburjs #gamedev #typescript #javascript

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In a vanilla RAG application, you normally chunk the document through either of the following two approaches:1. Even chunks based on characters.2. Even chunks based on tokens.3. Keep a chunking threshold and an overlap parameter.A more nuanced chunking strategy for at least an MVP (not production-grade RAG), would be something as follows:1. Preprocess the document into elements such as titles, subtitles, headers, footers, page numbers, section headings, table captions, etc.2. Save the metadata with the elements.3. Apply chunking conditions based on metadata.4. Use a chunk-combining strategy if the chunking threshold is not reached.5. Now vectorize the chunks.#generativeai #RAG

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To the people in the industry who believe that layoffs will create new studios: Please cut the BS and stop being delusionalThose who are doing the layoffs are the ones that are ALREADY invested in games. How come this will attract new investors and create new studios/job opportunities.Games are not only made with goodwill and hardwork. Studions/People run on money to live and if you dont have enough to buy your security. You simply can't make good enough games.And no we can't talk about 2-3 lucky breaks when there are more than 10K people that has been laid off.

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Another big publisher set to fire 600 employees. This post is intended to support those who were recently laid off. Please share it within your community and tag studios and recruiters who are actively hiring."We'll hear troubling news from the offices of Zynga, Gearbox, 2K, and even Rockstar—a far cry from earlier statements about layoffs from Take-Two's CEO."To combat, I am adding 5 resources below for all impacted professionals :1) Our flagship Full-stack game programming bootcamp worth $11,000. We're giving course content out on 100% scholarship for anyone who's willing to transition into game programming or upskill in programming. (Mail: community@outscal.com)2) Join our Discord Community and help professionals who are asking questions related to portfolio building, job seeking, interviews, and broadly their next career step. We have added help roles for programming, Unity, Unreal, DSA, Careers. Pick these roles and only get notified when someone asks questions related to your expertise.3) Your team is hiring? Here's a list of 900+ professionals who were laid off recently: https://bit.ly/49Ah2vTDo them a favor by sharing this list with your 1st degree connections who're hiring.4) We now have 14368 gamedev jobs from all over the world. https://lnkd.in/gerWUkc55) Become a volunteer: If you're a senior professional, you can mentor these professionals, conduct mock interviews, assess their portfolios and give feedback on what would work for them and what wouldn't.Join by adding your name here: https://lnkd.in/gwPhHen4Get more out of Game Dev community on LinkedIn🍄 Amir Satvat is back on LinkedIn with the OG list of resources. 💼 Caitlin Cooke is the fastest source of fresh jobs in the industry (yes, remote jobs too) 🎤 Follow Jordan Mazer for greatest tips and pointers around game jobs & interviews. 🔥 Hailey's feed will keep you updated with everything that's happening in the gaming world. 🔝 Connect with Arin Goldsmith and be part of her amazing #SocialSunday initiative. #games #gamedev #jobs #layoffs

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