Software engineering at Big Tech and startups, from the inside. Deepdives with experienced engineers and tech professionals who share their hard-earned lessons,...
Building a best-selling game with a tiny team – with Jonas Tyroller
Supported by Our Partners• Formation — Level up your career and compensation with Formation. • WorkOS — The modern identity platform for B2B SaaS• Vanta — Automate compliance and simplify security with Vanta.—In today’s episode of The Pragmatic Engineer, I’m joined by Jonas Tyroller, one of the developers behind Thronefall, a minimalist indie strategy game that blends tower defense and kingdom-building, now available on Steam.Jonas takes us through the journey of creating Thronefall from start to finish, offering insights into the world of indie game development. We explore:• Why indie developers often skip traditional testing and how they find bugs• The developer workflow using Unity, C# and Blender• The two types of prototypes game developers build • Why Jonas spent months building game prototypes in 1-2 days• How Jonas uses ChatGPT to build games• Jonas’s tips on making games that sell• And more!—Timestamps(00:00) Intro(02:07) Building in Unity(04:05) What the shader tool is used for (08:44) How a Unity build is structured(11:01) How game developers write and debug code (16:21) Jonas’s Unity workflow(18:13) Importing assets from Blender(21:06) The size of Thronefall and how it can be so small(24:04) Jonas’s thoughts on code review(26:42) Why practices like code review and source control might not be relevant for all contexts(30:40) How Jonas and Paul ensure the game is fun (32:25) How Jonas and Paul used beta testing feedback to improve their game(35:14) The mini-games in Thronefall and why they are so difficult(38:14) The struggle to find the right level of difficulty for the game(41:43) Porting to Nintendo Switch(45:11) The prototypes Jonas and Paul made to get to Thronefall(46:59) The challenge of finding something you want to build that will sell(47:20) Jonas’s ideation process and how they figure out what to build (49:35) How Thronefall evolved from a mini-game prototype(51:50) How long you spend on prototyping (52:30) A lesson in failing fast(53:50) The gameplay prototype vs. the art prototype(55:53) How Jonas and Paul distribute work (57:35) Next steps after having the play prototype and art prototype(59:36) How a launch on Steam works (1:01:18) Why pathfinding was the most challenging part of building Thronefall(1:08:40) Gen AI tools for building indie games (1:09:50) How Jonas uses ChatGPT for editing code and as a translator (1:13:25) The pros and cons of being an indie developer (1:15:32) Jonas’s advice for software engineers looking to get into indie game development(1:19:32) What to look for in a game design school(1:22:46) How luck figures into success and Jonas’s tips for building a game that sells(1:26:32) Rapid fire round—The Pragmatic Engineer deepdives relevant for this episode:• Game development basics https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/game-development-basics • Building a simple game using Unity https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/building-a-simple-game—See the transcript and other references from the episode at https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/podcast—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected]. Get full access to The Pragmatic Engineer at newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/subscribe
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1:29:32
Observability: the present and future, with Charity Majors
Supported by Our Partners• Sonar — Trust your developers – verify your AI-generated code.• Vanta —Automate compliance and simplify security with Vanta.—In today's episode of The Pragmatic Engineer, I'm joined by Charity Majors, a well-known observability expert – as well as someone with strong and grounded opinions. Charity is the co-author of "Observability Engineering" and brings extensive experience as an operations and database engineer and an engineering manager. She is the cofounder and CTO of observability scaleup Honeycomb.Our conversation explores the ever-changing world of observability, covering these topics:• What is observability? Charity’s take• What is “Observability 2.0?”• Why Charity is a fan of platform teams• Why DevOps is an overloaded term: and probably no longer relevant• What is cardinality? And why does it impact the cost of observability so much?• How OpenTelemetry solves for vendor lock-in • Why Honeycomb wrote its own database• Why having good observability should be a prerequisite to adding AI code or using AI agents• And more!—Timestamps(00:00) Intro (04:20) Charity’s inspiration for writing Observability Engineering(08:20) An overview of Scuba at Facebook(09:16) A software engineer’s definition of observability (13:15) Observability basics(15:10) The three pillars model(17:09) Observability 2.0 and the shift to unified storage(22:50) Who owns observability and the advantage of platform teams (25:05) Why DevOps is becoming unnecessary (27:01) The difficulty of observability (29:01) Why observability is so expensive (30:49) An explanation of cardinality and its impact on cost(34:26) How to manage cost with tools that use structured data (38:35) The common worry of vendor lock-in(40:01) An explanation of OpenTelemetry(43:45) What developers get wrong about observability (45:40) A case for using SLOs and how they help you avoid micromanagement (48:25) Why Honeycomb had to write their database (51:56) Companies who have thrived despite ignoring conventional wisdom(53:35) Observability and AI (59:20) Vendors vs. open source(1:00:45) What metrics are good for (1:02:31) RUM (Real User Monitoring) (1:03:40) The challenges of mobile observability (1:05:51) When to implement observability at your startup (1:07:49) Rapid fire round—The Pragmatic Engineer deepdives relevant for this episode:• How Uber Built its Observability Platform https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/how-uber-built-its-observability-platform • Building an Observability Startup https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/chronosphere • How to debug large distributed systems https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/antithesis • Shipping to production https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/shipping-to-production —See the transcript and other references from the episode at https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/podcast—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected]. Get full access to The Pragmatic Engineer at newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/subscribe
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1:14:25
“The Coding Machine” at Meta with Michael Novati
Supported by Our Partners• Vanta — Automate compliance and simplify security with Vanta.• WorkOS — The modern identity platform for B2B SaaS.—In today’s episode of The Pragmatic Engineer, I’m joined by Michael Novati, Co-founder and CTO of Formation. Before launching Formation, Michael spent eight years at Meta, where he was recognized as the top code committer company-wide for several years. The “Coding Machine” archetype was modeled after Michael at the company.In our conversation, we talk about what it was like working at Meta and dive into its engineering culture. Michael shares his journey of quickly climbing the ranks from intern to principal-level and gives level-headed advice on leveling up your career. Plus, we discuss his work at Formation, where he helps engineers grow and land roles at top tech companies.In this episode, we cover:• An overview of software architect archetypes at Meta, including “the coding machine”• Meta’s org structure, levels of engineers, and career trajectories• The importance of maintaining a ‘brag list’ to showcase your achievements and impact• Meta’s engineering culture and focus on building internal tools• How beating Mark Zuckerberg in a game of Risk led to him accepting Michael’s friend request• An inside look at Meta’s hiring process• Tips for software engineers on the job market on how to do better in technical interviews• And more!—Timestamps(00:00) Intro(01:45) An explanation of archetypes at Meta, including “the coding machine”(09:14) The organizational structure and levels of software engineers at Meta(10:05) Michael’s first project re-writing the org chart as an intern at Meta(12:42) A brief overview of Michael’s work at Meta (15:29) Meta’s engineering first culture and how Michael pushed for even more for ICs(20:03) How tenure at Meta correlated with impact (23:47) How Michael rose through the ranks at Meta so quickly(29:30) The engineering culture at Meta, including how they value internal tools(34:00) Companies that began at Meta or founded by former employees(36:11) Facebook’s internal tool for scheduling meetings (37:45) The product problems that came with scaling Facebook(39:25) How Michael became Facebook friends with Mark Zuckerberg (42:05) The “Zuck review” process(44:30) How the French attacks crashed Michael’s photo inlay prototype(51:15) How the photo inlay bug was fixed (52:58) Meta’s hiring process (1:03:40) Insights from Michael’s work at Formation(1:09:08) Michael’s advice for experienced engineers currently searching for a job(1:11:15) Rapid fire round—The Pragmatic Engineer deepdives relevant for this episode:• Inside Meta’s engineering culture: https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/facebook• Stacked diffs (and why you should know about them) https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/stacked-diffs • Engineering career paths at Big Tech and scaleups: https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/engineering-career-paths • Inside the story of how Meta built the Threads app: https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/building-the-threads-app—See the transcript and other references from the episode at https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/podcast—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected]. Get full access to The Pragmatic Engineer at newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/subscribe
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1:15:30
Confessions of a Big Tech recruiter
Supported by Our Partners• DX — DX is an engineering intelligence platform designed by leading researchers. • Vanta — Automate compliance and simplify security with Vanta.—In today’s episode of The Pragmatic Engineer, I catch up with one of the best tech recruiters I’ve had the opportunity to work with: Blake Stockman, a former colleague of mine from Uber. Blake built a strong reputation in the recruiting world, working at tech giants like Google, Meta, and Uber. He also spent time with Y Combinator and founded his agency, where he helped both large tech companies and early-stage startups find and secure top talent. A few months ago, Blake did a career pivot: he is now studying to become a lawyer. I pounced on this perfect opportunity to have him share all that he’s seen behind-the-scenes in tech recruitment: sharing his observations unfiltered.In our conversation, Blake shares recruitment insights from his time at Facebook, Google, and Uber and his experience running his own tech recruitment agency. We discuss topics such as:• A step-by-step breakdown of hiring processes at Big Tech and startups• How to get the most out of your tech recruiter, as a candidate• Best practices for hiring managers to work with their recruiter• Why you shouldn’t disclose salary expectations upfront, plus tips for negotiating• Where to find the best startup opportunities and how to evaluate them—including understanding startup compensation• And much more!—Timestamps(00:00) Intro(01:40) Tips for working with recruiters(06:11) Why hiring managers should have more conversations with recruiters(09:48) A behind-the-scenes look at the hiring process at big tech companies (13:38) How hiring worked at Uber when Gergely and Blake were there(16:46) An explanation of calibration in the recruitment process(18:11) A case for partnering with recruitment (20:49) The different approaches to recruitment Blake experienced at different organizations(25:30) How hiring decisions are made (31:34) The differences between hiring at startups vs. large, established companies(33:21) Reasons desperate decisions are made and problems that may arise(36:30) The problem of hiring solely to fill a seat(38:55) The process of the closing call(40:24) The importance of understanding equity (43:27) Tips for negotiating (48:38) How to find the best startup opportunities, and how to evaluate if it’s a good fit(53:58) What to include on your LinkedIn profile(55:48) A story from Uber and why you should remember to thank your recruiter(1:00:09) Rapid fire round—The Pragmatic Engineer deepdives relevant for this episode:• How GenAI is reshaping tech hiring https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/how-genai-changes-tech-hiring• Hiring software engineers https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/hiring-software-engineers • Hiring an Engineering Manager https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/hiring-engineering-managers• Hiring Junior Software Engineers https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/hiring-junior-engineers—See the transcript and other references from the episode at https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/podcast—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected]. Get full access to The Pragmatic Engineer at newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/subscribe
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1:02:52
Shipping projects at Big Tech with Sean Goedecke
Supported by Our PartnerDX → DX is an engineering intelligence platform designed by leading researchers—In today’s episode of The Pragmatic Engineer, I’m joined by Sean Goedecke, Staff Software Engineer at GitHub. Sean is widely known for his viral blog post, “How I ship projects at big tech companies.” In our conversation, he shares how to successfully deliver projects in large tech companies.Drawing from his experiences at GitHub and Zendesk, Sean reflects on key lessons learned, and we discuss the following topics: • Why shipping cannot exclude keeping management happy• How to work on stuff the company actually values• Why you should take on extra responsibility to get projects done• Why technical skills are still more important than soft skills• Soft skills you should learn: including learning the “management lingo”• First-hand remote work learnings: advantages, disadvantages, and how to thrive in this setup• … and much more!—Timestamps(00:00) Intro(01:50) An explanation of shipping(05:35) Reasons management may choose to ship something customers don’t love(09:20) A humbling learning from Sean’s time at Zendesk(13:27) The importance of learning which rules need to be broken for good business outcomes(15:28) Common obstacles to shipping(18:13) DRI: Directly responsible individual(23:06) The value of strong technical skills and why moving fast is imperative(28:44) How to leverage your technical skills the right way(32:16) Advice on earning the trust of leadership(36:10) A time Gergely shipped a product for a political reason (38:30) What GenAI helps software engineers do more easily (41:08) Sean’s thoughts on GenAI making engineers more ambitious (43:20) The difficulty of building AI tools(46:10) Advantages of working remotely and strategies for making it work(52:34) Who is best suited to remote work(54:48) How the pandemic provided a remote work trial for Sean(56:45) Rapid fire round—The Pragmatic Engineer deepdives relevant for this episode:• Software Engineers Leading Projects https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/engineers-leading-projects• Shipping to production https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/shipping-to-production• Paying down tech debt https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/paying-down-tech-debt—See the transcript and other references from the episode at https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/podcast—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected]. Get full access to The Pragmatic Engineer at newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/subscribe
Software engineering at Big Tech and startups, from the inside. Deepdives with experienced engineers and tech professionals who share their hard-earned lessons, interesting stories and advice they have on building software.
Especially relevant for software engineers and engineering leaders: useful for those working in tech. newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com
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