Courtesy of Fallen Leaf, Ironwood Studios, Summerfall Studios

Unreal Developer Roundtable: Taking AAA to indie -- how small teams are making big games

Jimmy Thang |
September 4, 2023
In our first-ever Unreal Developer Roundtable, we assembled a panel of guests who worked in the AAA game development space and branched off to form independent studios. Our panelists include Summerfall Studios Creative Director David Gaider (who previously worked at Bioware and Beamdog), Ironwood Studios Founder & Creative Director Alex Dracott (who previously worked at Oculus VR, Sucker Punch Productions, Sony Online Entertainment, and more), and Fallen Leaf Studio Game Director James Tinsdale (who previously worked at Evolution Studios, PlaygroundSquad UK, Asobo Studio, and more).
 

Hosted by Inside Unreal and UE:LFG host Tina Wisdom, the trio of developers share their origin stories of getting into game development, elaborate on how they switched from AAA to forming their indie studios, and share learnings from working in the AAA development space.

Throughout the in-depth discussion, Gaider, Tinsdale, and Dracott spoke about how their studios nailed their distinct visual styles working on Stray Gods, Pacific Drive, and Fort Solis respectively. They also discuss how to establish trust within an indie organization and what they think represents the best thing about indie development.

    Get Unreal Engine today!

    Get the world’s most open and advanced creation tool.
    With every feature and full source code access included, Unreal Engine comes fully loaded out of the box.
    Unreal Engine 5.3 is now available!
    News
    September 6

    Unreal Engine 5.3 is now available!

    This release brings numerous wide-ranging improvements, together with some exciting new Experimental features, as we continue to expand UE5’s functionality and potential for game developers and creators across industries. Find out what’s new. 
    Unreal Engine 5.3 is now available!
    News

    Unreal Engine 5.3 is now available!

    This release brings numerous wide-ranging improvements, together with some exciting new Experimental features, as we continue to expand UE5’s functionality and potential for game developers and creators across industries. Find out what’s new. 
    Unreal Fest 2023 registration now open!
    Event
    August 16

    Unreal Fest 2023 registration now open!

    Get the details on our biggest event of the year, coming to New Orleans, October 3-5. We'll be covering every part of the Epic Ecosystem in more than 200 talks and training sessions. Join 2,000 devs/creators and get your ticket today!
    Unreal Fest 2023 registration now open!
    Event

    Unreal Fest 2023 registration now open!

    Get the details on our biggest event of the year, coming to New Orleans, October 3-5. We'll be covering every part of the Epic Ecosystem in more than 200 talks and training sessions. Join 2,000 devs/creators and get your ticket today!
    Unreal Editor for Fortnite is now available in Public Beta!
    News
    March 22

    Unreal Editor for Fortnite is now available in Public Beta!

    Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) combines the power of Unreal Engine with the scale of Fortnite. Use development tools to build games and experiences that can be unlike anything seen in Fortnite so far and publish for millions of players to enjoy. 
    Unreal Editor for Fortnite is now available in Public Beta!
    News

    Unreal Editor for Fortnite is now available in Public Beta!

    Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) combines the power of Unreal Engine with the scale of Fortnite. Use development tools to build games and experiences that can be unlike anything seen in Fortnite so far and publish for millions of players to enjoy.