Whether you’re just starting out, looking for something new, or just seeing what’s out there, the Gamasutra Job Board is the place where game developers move ahead in their careers.

Gamasutra’s Job Board is the most diverse, most active, and most established board of its kind in the video game industry, serving companies of all sizes, from indie to triple-A.

Here are just some of the many, many positions being advertised right now. If you’re a recruiter looking for talent, you can also post jobs here.

Location: Remote

We are looking for a senior Unity programmer with a passion for delivering high quality player experiences for our all new home game. You must have shipped numerous commercially successful titles at various high quality studios.

Location: Beverly Hills, California

We’re looking for a game designer that can dig deep into each stage of this process, crossing into realms of both systems and level design, applying technical & creative passion to constantly improve the game through an iterative process. We want people that think differently at every step and help us to create a broadly appealing product.

Location: Boston, Massachusetts

Harmonix is seeking an experienced network-focused software engineer to join our team developing in-house backend services for our titles in development. As an integral part of our game development teams, you will work closely with designers and gameplay engineers to build out online functionality for brand new music-based games across multiple platforms.

Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

The team at New World Interactive is lookinig for an Art Director to direct art developed both internally and by third parties, collaborate with Tech Art, Design, Engineering and Art teams to make recommendations and decisions regarding overall art vision, serve as an internal art critic to achieve quality targets, and more as part of its Calgary-based studio

Location: San Jose, California

Cold Iron is seeking an experienced Senior Animator to join us in creating a shooter set in the Alien universe for consoles and PC! Are you excited about breathing life into characters, creatures, and worlds? Are you a passionate game developer looking to create the best player experience possible? Join our creative, collaborative studio where you will help craft visually inspiring player characters and creatures are as fun to watch move as they are to blow up.

Our history began in November 2014 in Saint-Petersburg when three young people who never worked on a video game before and never even met each other has decided to participate in their first game jam. That’s how the initial Ovivo team was formed.

Over the course of just one night we made our first prototype: a black and white game which we called… Black and White Game. It was a great experience for us and we had a lot of fun working on it. But we were pleased even more when our friends tried our game and really liked it! We won that game jam and came up with the current name for the game — Ovivo. It sounds nice and is also a palindrome.

This victory gave us the confidence to continue working on Ovivo. But we didn’t have any resources to bring our ideas to life. At that time we didn’t think we could find a publisher so we have decided to test our luck and take part in Imagine Cup by Microsoft —   an international competition where the first place prize was a project development grant. We couldn’t even imagine that in half-year we will become the winners of Imagine Cup 2015.

Thanks to this victory we were able to make the game as we wanted — independently from a publisher and being limited only by our own imagination. We have released the game on multiple platforms and now we are proud to release Ovivo on Xbox One. We hope that you’ll get the same pleasure as we did when we were working on the game. It was a journey of its own creating this game and we hope the game will be not less of a journey for you!

Ovivo is available for pre-order on Xbox One via the Microsoft Store and will be available on July 2, 2019. Click here for additional pre-order details.

FINAL FANTASY XIV: Shadowbringers is Now Available on Steam!

Take part in the next saga of the critically acclaimed FINAL FANTASY® XIV Online with the next legendary expansion pack—SHADOWBRINGERS!

Explore breathtaking new environments, encounter exotic new races, master exciting new jobs, and fight alongside prominent characters with the new Trust system as you embark on a new journey as the Warrior of Darkness!

With over 16 million adventurers worldwide, join the next chapter and become what you must. Become the Warrior of Darkness!

So, you’ve heard that the Poison Mushroom that debuted in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels is back in Super Mario Maker 2 and you’re desperate to dupe your friends into consuming the deadly little fungi. However, you’ve searched the item dials and can’t find the blighter anywhere. Yep, it’s hiding but not far away, so this’ll be a quick one…

Where are the Poison Mushrooms in Super Mario Maker 2?

If you wish to unleash this fungus on your unsuspecting victims, it’s only available in the standard Ground theme (in any other theme it’ll transform into a 1-Up Mushroom, which will have the opposite than intended effect). It also only appears on the purple Items dial at nighttime, so you’ll have to turn day to night in your level before you can access it.

The Rotten Mushroom notably isn’t the Poison Mushroom you remember from back in the day, either. This particularly rancid variety has a life of its own and will chase after you.

And that’s it! Not particularly complicated, but it’s one of those things that’s easily overlooked. It’s also worth mentioning that Rotten Mushrooms aren’t available in the Super Mario 3D World style, either.

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Let us know how you feel about this particularly tenacious toadstool in the comments. Also, feel free to share your fiendish creations with the Nintendo Life community.

There have been rumours circulating for some time now about the existence of a Switch Pro and Switch Lite model.

The Wall Street Journal was the first to report on a possible hardware revision and this was eventually followed by the Japanese business publication Nikkei – revealing one of the new systems would be smaller and cheaper. Then, last month, Chinese gaming accessory maker HonSon listed a number of “Switch Mini” accessories.

Now, there has supposedly been a “Switch Mini accessory” photo leak (thanks, WinFuture). The images of a Switch Mini silicon sleeve come from the European accessory designer and game publisher, Bigben. According to the source, “Mini Switch 2” is written on the red label of the packaging (see above).

The image below is believed to be a render, illustrating what Nintendo’s revised hardware would look like in the silicon case.

What do you think about this? Are you expecting Nintendo to announce a Switch Mini in the near future? Tell us below.

In the past, kings and leaders used oracles and magicians to help them predict the future — or at least get some good advice due to their supposed power to perceive hidden information. Nowadays, we live in a society obsessed with quantifying everything. So we have data scientists to do this job.

Data scientists use statistical models, numerical techniques and advanced algorithms that didn’t come from statistical disciplines, along with the data that exist on databases, to find, to infer, to predict data that doesn’t exist yet. Sometimes this data is about the future. That is why we do a lot of predictive analytics and prescriptive analytics.

Here are some questions to which data scientists help find answers:

1. Who are the students with high propensity to abandon the class? For each one, what are the reasons for leaving?
2. Which house has a price above or below the fair price? What is the fair price for a certain house?
3. What are the hidden groups that my clients classify themselves?
4. Which future problems this premature child will develop?
5. How many calls will I get in my call center tomorrow 11:43 AM?
6. My bank should or should not lend money to this customer?

Note how the answer to all these question is not sitting in any database waiting to be queried. These are all data that still doesn’t exist and has to be calculated. That is part of the job we data scientists do.

Throughout this article you’ll learn how to prepare a Fedora system as a Data Scientist’s development environment and also a production system. Most of the basic software is RPM-packaged, but the most advanced parts can only be installed, nowadays, with Python’s pip tool.

Jupyter — the IDE

Most modern data scientists use Python. And an important part of their work is EDA (exploratory data analysis). EDA is a manual and interactive process that retrieves data, explores its features, searches for correlations, and uses plotted graphics to visualize and understand how data is shaped and prototypes predictive models.

Jupyter is a web application perfect for this task. Jupyter works with Notebooks, documents that mix rich text including beautifully rendered math formulas (thanks to mathjax), blocks of code and code output, including graphics.

Notebook files have extension .ipynb, which means Interactive Python Notebook.

Setting up and running Jupyter

First, install essential packages for Jupyter (using sudo):

$ sudo dnf install python3-notebook mathjax sscg

You might want to install additional and optional Python modules commonly used by data scientists:

$ sudo dnf install python3-seaborn python3-lxml python3-basemap python3-scikit-image python3-scikit-learn python3-sympy python3-dask+dataframe python3-nltk

Set a password to log into Notebook web interface and avoid those long tokens. Run the following command anywhere on your terminal:

$ mkdir -p $HOME/.jupyter
$ jupyter notebook password

Now, type a password for yourself. This will create the file $HOME/.jupyter/jupyter_notebook_config.json with your encrypted password.

Next, prepare for SSLby generating a self-signed HTTPS certificate for Jupyter’s web server:

$ cd $HOME/.jupyter; sscg

Finish configuring Jupyter by editing your $HOME/.jupyter/jupyter_notebook_config.json file. Make it look like this:

{
 "NotebookApp": {
 "password": "sha1:abf58...87b",
 "ip": "*",
 "allow_origin": "*",
 "allow_remote_access": true,
 "open_browser": false,
 "websocket_compression_options": {},
 "certfile": "/home/aviram/.jupyter/service.pem",
 "keyfile": "/home/aviram/.jupyter/service-key.pem",
 "notebook_dir": "/home/aviram/Notebooks"
 }
} 

The parts in red must be changed to match your folders. Parts in blue were already there after you created your password. Parts in green are the crypto-related files generated by sscg.

Create a folder for your notebook files, as configured in the notebook_dir setting above:

$ mkdir $HOME/Notebooks

Now you are all set. Just run Jupyter Notebook from anywhere on your system by typing:

$ jupyter notebook

Or add this line to your $HOME/.bashrc file to create a shortcut command called jn:

alias jn='jupyter notebook'

After running the command jn, access https://your-fedora-host.com:8888 from any browser on the network to see the Jupyter user interface. You’ll need to use the password you set up earlier. Start typing some Python code and markup text. This is how it looks:

In addition to the IPython environment, you’ll also get a web-based Unix terminal provided by terminado. Some people might find this useful, while others find this insecure. You can disable this feature in the config file.

JupyterLab — the next generation of Jupyter

JupyterLab is the next generation of Jupyter, with a better interface and more control over your workspace. It’s currently not RPM-packaged for Fedora at the time of writing, but you can use pip to get it installed easily:

$ pip3 install jupyterlab --user
$ jupyter serverextension enable --py jupyterlab

Then run your regular jupiter notebook command or jn alias. JupyterLab will be accessible from http://your-linux-host.com:8888/lab.

Tools used by data scientists

In this section you can get to know some of these tools, and how to install them. Unless noted otherwise, the module is already packaged for Fedora and was installed as prerequisites for previous components.

Numpy

Numpy is an advanced and C-optimized math library designed to work with large in-memory datasets. It provides advanced multidimensional matrix support and operations, including math functions as log(), exp(), trigonometry etc.

Pandas

In this author’s opinion, Python is THE platform for data science mostly because of Pandas. Built on top of numpy, Pandas makes easy the work of preparing and displaying data. You can think of it as a no-UI spreadsheet, but ready to work with much larger datasets. Pandas helps with data retrieval from a SQL database, CSV or other types of files, columns and rows manipulation, data filtering and, to some extent, data visualization with matplotlib.

Matplotlib

Matplotlib is a library to plot 2D and 3D data. It has great support for notations in graphics, labels and overlays

Seaborn

Built on top of matplotlib, Seaborn’s graphics are optimized for a more statistical comprehension of data. It automatically displays regression lines or Gauss curve approximations of plotted data.

StatsModels

StatsModels provides algorithms for statistical and econometrics data analysis such as linear and logistic regressions. Statsmodel is also home for the classical family of time series algorithms known as ARIMA.

Scikit-learn

The central piece of the machine-learning ecosystem, scikit provides predictor algorithms for regression (Elasticnet, Gradient Boosting, Random Forest etc) and classification and clustering (K-means, DBSCAN etc). It features a very well designed API. Scikit also has classes for advanced data manipulation, dataset split into train and test parts, dimensionality reduction and data pipeline preparation.

XGBoost

XGBoost is the most advanced regressor and classifier used nowadays. It’s not part of scikit-learn, but it adheres to scikit’s API. XGBoost is not packaged for Fedora and should be installed with pip. XGBoost can be accelerated with your nVidia GPU, but not through its pip package. You can get this if you compile it yourself against CUDA. Get it with:

$ pip3 install xgboost --user

Imbalanced Learn

imbalanced-learn provides ways for under-sampling and over-sampling data. It is useful in fraud detection scenarios where known fraud data is very small when compared to non-fraud data. In these cases data augmentation is needed for the known fraud data, to make it more relevant to train predictors. Install it with pip:

$ pip3 install imblearn --user

NLTK

The Natural Language toolkit, or NLTK, helps you work with human language data for the purpose of building chatbots (just to cite an example).

SHAP

Machine learning algorithms are very good on predicting, but aren’t good at explaining why they made a prediction. SHAP solves that, by analyzing trained models.

Install it with pip:

$ pip3 install shap --user

Keras

Keras is a library for deep learning and neural networks. Install it with pip:

$ sudo dnf instal python3-h5py
$ pip3 install keras --user

TensorFlow

TensorFlow is a popular neural networks builder. Install it with pip:

$ pip3 install tensorflow --user

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Photo courtesy of FolsomNatural on Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Did you know that an incredible 90% of all data in existence today was created in just the last two years? We’re talking about 2.5 quintillion bytes of data per day.

I recently shared this mind-blowing fact along with awesome customer success stories and our strategic approach at the Consumer Goods Forum 2019. In case you haven’t been, it’s a veritable ‘who’s who’ in consumer goods attends this flagship event, including more than 1,000 C-level executives from over 70 countries.

It was incredible for me to see so many household-name brands thinking about how to unlock the power of their data, how to use AI and other technologies to create more innovative products, and how to get so much closer to their consumers. Another very consistent themes I heard was around how to leverage data for sustainability and our environment.

Of course, the world we live in now is increasingly digital and data is on overdrive. We’re seeing disruption and change everywhere, driven by the explosion of that data. It’s being generated at a break-neck pace, flooding out of the dozens of connected devices we use every day at work and at home, and it shows no signs of slowing down.

With all this data at our disposal, why does Nielsen data show that 80% of new product launches by fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies fail? It’s all about what they’re doing with their data, how they’re storing it, analyzing it, continuing to reevaluate it and creating digital feedback loops with it.

So how can consumer goods companies unlock their data to deliver more authentic brand experiences, be good for the planet or increase their speed to market? At the Consumer Goods Forum, I talked about the importance of data to the future of consumer goods companies and how our work with Starbucks and Carlsberg demonstrates a number of strategic consumer goods scenarios that show we are partnering with them to unlock the power of that data.

Starbucks

Microsoft is partnering with Starbucks on several initiatives, including one called bean-to-cup. It’s a real-time, data-fueled approach to transparency and traceability using Blockchain. It gives:

1. Customers details on where their coffee was sourced and roasted, as well as tasting notes
2. Farmers access to data, such as where their beans end up in consumers’ cups; and
3. Starbucks digital, “real-time traceability” to its supply chains all the way from bean/farm to cup

Carlsberg

Founded in 1847, Carlsberg is now using technology to create beer.

Faced with increasing global competition from large, established brands as well as smaller more niche microbreweries, the company wanted to get closer to its customers in innovative new ways. So Carlsberg launched its Beer Fingerprinting Project, which uses AI solutions, including machine learning algorithms, to measure the flavors and aromas created by yeast and other ingredients.

For instance, sensors can tell the difference between various pilsners and lagers, and researchers are now fine-tuning the system to help them produce better tasting beer. And they’re working to map a flavor fingerprint for each sample to reduce the time it takes to research taste combinations and processes by up to a third, which will help the company get more distinct beers to market faster.

We are all creating more data every single day, adding to a phenomenal – a growing – trove of information across the globe. For consumer goods companies, turning this data into useful and actionable insights that help them deliver personal experiences and develop new products we didn’t even know we needed is the key to the future.

 

By AppleInsider Staff
Monday, July 01, 2019, 07:02 pm PT (10:02 pm ET)

Samsung on Monday invited press to attend an Unpacked media event in New York on Aug. 7, where the Korean tech giant is expected to unveil its next-generation Galaxy Note 10 phablet.

Clueing media in to what might be announced at Barclays Center in Brooklyn next month, the invitations feature a stylus pointing to what appears to be a small camera lens, reports CNET. The Samsung Galaxy logo sits across from the event’s date and a URL pointing to Samsung’s website, where Unpacked will be streamed.

As noted by CNET in June, Barclays Center is where Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Note 9 in 2018.

According to leaks and insider information, the upcoming Note 10 is said to retain the large phablet form factor that has made the device popular among power users. True to form, Samsung is expected to launch a model with a 6.3-inch screen, and could raise the stakes by introducing a “Pro” version that measures 6.75 inches on the diagonal.

Rumblings suggest a “hole-punch” display design for the front-facing camera — perhaps alluded to in the invite — while the rear-facing array could boast four high-resolution shooters. Long a platform reserved for Samsung’s latest-and-greatest technology, Note 10 might also integrate 5G connectivity, at least on certain models.

Samsung is looking for a win after the embarrassing Galaxy Fold snafu. The Fold, which was announced earlier this year as one of the first consumer devices to include a bendble OLED screen, ran into trouble before it landed in customer hands, with early reviewers noting the display was easily broken. The company subsequently delayed launch as it evaluated the situation, a hold that remains in effect today. On Monday, Samsung Electronics CEO D.J. Koh admitted the original launch timeline was too aggressive.

By Jarrett Green 01 Jul 2019