Develop September 2016: Engines special, Nolan Bushnell, ID@Xbox, Reflections and more

The September 2016 issue of Develop magazine is heading to studios around the world today, featuring an 11-page Engines Special and a rare look into one of the most legendary minds of the games industry.

The Engines Special takes a closer look at the changing business models and strategies of the big three providers – Epic Games, Unity and Crytek – as each firm takes their technology in different directions. We also speak to the teams behind Amazon Lumberyard, Stingray and GameGuru to find out how firms can carve out their own niche in the increasingly competitive engines space.

We also had the rare and exclusive chance to observe a design meeting with Nolan Bushnell, whose unorthodox approach to triggering new ideas may surprise you.

There are also interviews with ID@Xbox, Reflections, Playtonic Games, Rare, D3T, Bulkhead Interactive and more.

You can read the current issue on your browser or mobile device here. If you’re not already subscribed to Develop, you can sign up for as little as £35 to ensure you receive your monthly dose of development goodness year-round.

Here’s a full overview of what to expect this month:

• Engines Special: 11 pages dedicated to the latest advances in those all-important toolsets. Includes in-depth interviews with Unity, Epic Games and Crytek, plus insight from Amazon, The Game Creators and Autodesk about the competition in the engines space. And what do developers demand from their engines? We asked them.
• The madness of Nolan Bushnell: We sit in on a design meeting between the pioneer of video games and mobile firm Spil as we discover how silliness and Dr Seuss songs fuel creativity
• ID@Xbox turns three: Xbox’s Agostino Simonetta reflects on the successes of the indie initiative and discusses how his team will reach out to more studios than ever
• Putting Reflections back in the Driver seat: We find out how contributing to Ubisoft’s various blockbusters is giving the Newcastle-based studio the chance to mark its mark, as well as the impact of indie-style title Grow Up
• Our three-page Work-for-Hire Special asks experts why other studios should consider adopting the outsourcing model, and how this can be balanced with developing your own products
• Ahead of Battlefield 1, Develop speaks to studios creating historical shooters to find out why we’re fascinated with global conflicts of the past
• Yooka-Laylee developers Playtonic Games reveals how creating ’90s-style 3D platformers was actually much easier 20 years ago
• We intervieww PaperSeven about its emotional adventure Blackwood Crossing, which won UKIE’s UK Game of the Show at Gamescom
• Heard About: John Broomhall talks to NDreams about the sound of The Assembly
• Superdata’s Stephanie Llamas explains how China’s biggest companies are embracing the virtual reality market
• Kiss’ Darryl Still warns devs about excessive expectations when negotiating publishing deals
• Game Investor Consulting’s Rick Gibson analyses the results of a new study into the impact of UK video games tax relief
• Find out how FXP Festival is encouraging young people to become developers
• Studio Spotlight: Develop Award winner D3T
• Ask Amiqus: Is name-dropping ever acceptable when applying for a job?
• Unreal Diaries: Stepping into the world of real-time cinematography
• Unity Focus: How Twimler used Analytics to drive its games
• Our four-page Jobs Section features interviews with Rare, Studio Gobo, Auroch Digital and Bournemouth University – plus the latest personnel news
• Photos and highlights from InnoGames’ Beach Party at Gamescom