#dev kits

[askagamedev]

I don't know if this is confidential or "too technical" for the blog, but how does developing for consoles actually work? As in, what is the workflow like? Obviously, you do all the coding on a PC, but how does the build get tested on consoles? How do you debug on consoles? It would be awesome if you could do a little rundown, but I understand if it's not possible.

It isn't terribly technical, but I don't have a dev kit at the home office at the moment so you only get some of my old photos of dev kits from my previous employer today. A console dev kit is a lot like a networked computer fused with a game console. It has beefier hardware than the retail console (because it needs to be able to hold and run debug builds of the game). It has USB ports for controllers/keyboards/peripherals, network ports to connect to the network, and the usual video outputs to display to TVs. They also have a different version of the console's operating system for development stuff - they allow us to do things like reset achievements, change locale, connect to PSN/XBL/SwitchOnline, and other various features. Dev kits physically look like this:

Because they act like remote PCs, we can do things like upload builds to them over the network, and we can remotely connect our debuggers to those executables while running for debugging purposes. Game consoles today typically have plugins for Microsoft Visual studio to handle the remote debugging process. Programmers will build the debug version of the game on their workstations, transfer it to the dev kit, and run it on that hardware. Their workstations then connect to the dev kit's running game process remotely and attaches the debugger to it so they can see things like breakpoints.

Most designers, artists, and QA don't usually have access to (or understanding of) code, so we don't get the remote debugger attachment. Instead, we're usually limited to in-game debug menus, tools, and displays built by the programmers to verify our changes. This is why so many have some kind of "developer console" within the game, some kind of text interface that can run a bunch of different commands. Those text interfaces exist so we can access debug commands. Before we could do that, we had to use controller button combinations. You may know of them with their more common street name - "cheat codes".

We usually have two kinds of kits - the more expensive dev kits with more memory and hard drive space to handle the development process, and the less expensive test kits that are closer to retail hardware specs but use the development software provided by the platform (Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo). Neither of these can play retail games, they only play development builds. They also require a developer account and license from platform to actually do anything, so obtaining one without platform's permission won't really do a lot of good to anyone.

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[arcadebroke]

[systemst91]

https://www.retroreversing.com/official-playStation-devkit

[hibanny]

Marcille's artwork + dorm tap and combat animations for the Arknights x Dungeon Meshi collaborative event "Delicious on Terra"

[celestial-games]

Not sure why I started butterflies with the Nymphalidae which easily have the most complex wing patterns when I could have started with the sulphurs or blues and had a much easier time lol. But they are really satisfying to make and I hope you're enjoying them!

[heelhausen]

Action speaks louder than words And I'm a man of great experience I know you got another man But I can love you better than him

kris "crash" matthews makes his friday night smackdown debut

[pokemonfangame]

Pokémon Triad Master

A nostalgic game with a twist, Pokémon Triad Master takes you on a journey through the Kanto region, collecting and battling, before finally challenging the strongest people the region has to offer.

But wait! Where are the Pokémon?

Pokémon Triad Master doesn't feature Pokémon or battles. Instead, you collect cards with Pokémon drawn on them, and you assemble them into decks and use them to duel other people in games of Triple Triad (that Final Fantasy minigame). Each city in Kanto has its own set of variant rules which spice up your duels and offer unique strategies. Defeat the Card Clubs to win Medals, and then take on the Card Masters at Indigo Plateau to achieve your goal of becoming a Triad Champion!

With over 150 cards to collect, an open world-style region, and a familiar setting but with distinctly unique gameplay, this is the rebirth of Pokémon in a way no one ever expected!

It's time to duel!

[penvisions]

dev makes a mood board gift ♡

Fic Title: Yearling by @justagalwhowrites

Pairing: Jackson! Joel Miller x F! Reader

Summary: After years of surviving in the wilds of Wyoming after the cordyceps outbreak, you find yourself in Jackson. It's a town filled with friendly faces and the kind of world you hardly remember, let alone can connect with or understand. But one man - Joel Miller, another loner, like you - makes you think that trying to find your place in society again might be worth it.

so so so in love with the worlds created by the lovely mind of kit, she's so talented and her love for each and every fic she makes shines through her words and craft of x reader characters. she was one of the first writers i ever read from this time last year and she remains such a bright spot in the fandom. much love and endless thanks for her!!

[tavs-kin-korner]

nEUTRAL FASHION KIT WITH WARM COLORS AND JEWELRY FOR dEV dIMMADOME (fAIRLY oDDPARENTS: a nEW wISH)!! }:D

hOPE YOU ENJOY! sORRY FOR THE WAIT, i'VE BEEN WITHOUT INTERNET, hOPE THIS IS WHAT YOU WERE LOOKING FOR, tHOUGH! }:)

V

[Neutral fashion kit with warm colors and jewelry for Dev Dimmadome (Fairly Oddparents: A New Wish)!!]

[Hope you enjoy! Sorry for the wait, I've been without internet. Hope this is what you were looking for, though!]

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✨|🤍|✨

🕶️|✨|🕶️

[endys]

The demo for my gothic horror visual novel, Kit, is live at itch io!

Left to die in an abandoned wine cellar, you recount your tale of woe, only to find you may not be alone here after all... 

The demo features:

4k words

Hand drawn illustrations

Haunting (hehe) original soundtrack

The full game will feature:

Words, a lot of ‘em.

Multiple endings

One optional romance

And plenty of Poe references

Release: TBA (2023)

Kit is currently being developed by one tired artist/writer/musician/programmer, me. Now that the demo’s out I’m gonna go take a break and sleep now jsdfhjk

Thank you for checking it out!

Link to the demo

Content warnings:

Kit is a visual novel with a focus on the Gothic and less on the horror. There are no loud noises or jump scares, but the game does include darker content such as Death, injury, alcohol, depiction of human remains, and technically being buried alive, kinda sorta.

[tomscholes]

another - tiny tiny love letter to the overgrown paths of late spring - I can't wait to be with you again <3 (using a digital kit made from watercolor sketches)

[askagamedev]

Somebody asked for trivia and/or pictures of dev kits, so I thought I would reblog this. I don't currently have a dev kit assigned by my current employer, so I reblogged my old post from a few years back with photos I took of my dev kits at my former office along with my stuffed baneling plush.

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Frequent Questions: The FAQ

Tell us more about devkits that we don't know already!

Some random dev kit trivia:

Dev kits can’t play retail games at all.

Dev kits have much bigger system specs because we have to be able to run debug builds. Debug builds are much less optimized because of all the debug information that’s kept in memory.

Dev kit software can do a lot of things like simulate online and/or disc latency, handle remote network connections, record game screenshots/video and controller inputs, and profile resource usage.

Current gen dev kits require you to provide Sony/Microsoft with a whitelisted IP address. They won’t work if you aren’t connecting to the dev network without a recognized IP address. This has caused a lot of problems due to everyone working from home. Before the PS4 gen, this wasn’t the case - we could take our dev kits home if we wanted (and the company let us).

There’s the beefy (and expensive) dev kit, and then there’s the less beefy (and cheaper) test kit. Dev kits have more features and better hardware.

There’s a separate developer’s version of PSN and Xbox Live networks. This is so we can do things like test network stuff, locale, achievements, etc. without them going live

Most of the time, the company is very careful about dev kits because they cost a lot. I’ve had dev kits chained to my desk before.

When we had family events at the office like Halloween trick-or-treating, we had to cover up all of our (still under NDA) dev kits so children and family members could not see them.

The Xbone’s Developer Mode Activation does not actually turn your Xbone into a dev kit. It still has the retail hardware specs and it doesn’t have all of the features or access to the special dev network.

Last gen dev kits are a lot cheaper than the newest ones. You can probably get a PS4 or Xbone dev kit for under $2000 now.

Cheers!

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The FANTa Project is being rebooted. [What is the FANTa project?]

Got a burning question you want answered?

Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter

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Frequent Questions: The FAQ

[arcadebroke]

[maggot-baggage]

Dumbass palette is finally complete

[babayanska]

the girls and their buddies

[seventh-district]

so uh. that 2.2 Special Program, huh