GDC 2025 Session Viewer
Career Microtalks: External Game Development as a Career Path
Monica Fan (Game Designer, Pipeworks Studios)
Jess Kappeler (Associate Design Director, Pipeworks Studios)
Joshua Good (Senior Software Engineer, Lost Boys Interactive)
Adam Boyne (Co-Founder, BetaJester Ltd)
John Bond ( Co-Founder, Tea Witch Games)
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Track: Game Career Development
Format: Panel
Vault Recording: TBD
Audience Level: All
With video games' scale becoming larger than ever, External Development has become a necessary part of commercial game development for both AAA and Indies. However, the world of external development as a career path is often very opaque. The Microtalk aims to shine some light on this lesser-known part of the industry and share information like the career path of external developers and how you can join; What is day to day like for external developers vs internal project development; the skills that will help one to succeed in the world of external development, and the unique challenges and joy we encountered in external development work. The talk would benefit anyone in game development who is interested to know more about external development.
Takeaway
Attendees will leave the panel with an understanding of the role of external development in game development, what is day-to-day like and what are the unique challenges for each discipline, as well as information on what they can do to pivot into/join this side of the industry
Intended Audience
Students who are interested in exploring external development as a career option, seasoned developers who are looking to pivot into external development, and companies may be interested in working with external development partners for their projects.
