How Uri Poliavich Turns Gamification Into A Tool For Jewish Education

Headlines generally focus on big sales and showy new products, but changes in how kids learn and grow that aren’t as obvious get less attention. But how education is set up today will determine how strong communities feel tomorrow. It becomes more obvious in small Jewish communities all over the world, where every motivated youngster is just as important as a complete class in a huge city.

In this landscape, the journey of Uri Poliavich stands out for an unusual blend of worlds. On one side stands global iGaming and advanced gamification technologies. On the other side stand teachers, youth leaders and children in dozens of countries who meet each week in schools, camps and community centers supported by the Yael Foundation he co-founded with his wife.

Continue reading “Game Thinking For Real Life Change” →

Visual effects make a huge difference in games. They’re the explosions that feel powerful, the magic spells that look impressive, and the environmental details that make worlds feel alive. Without good VFX, even games with solid gameplay can feel flat and lifeless. But finding the right artists to create these effects isn’t always straightforward.

A lot of developers run into the same problems. Maybe you don’t have VFX talent on your team. Or your current artists are swamped with other work. Sometimes you just need someone who specializes in a specific type of effect that your team hasn’t done before. Whatever the situation, knowing how to find and work with VFX artists can save you time and money.

What VFX Artists Actually Do in Game Development

VFX artists aren’t just making pretty pictures. They’re solving technical problems while creating effects that fit your game’s style and performance requirements. Their work shows up everywhere in your game, even in places players might not consciously notice.

They create particle systems for things like fire, smoke, rain, and dust. They build impact effects for weapons and abilities. They design UI effects that give feedback to players. They make environmental effects like waterfalls, wind, and atmospheric fog. All of this needs to look good while running smoothly on your target platforms.

The technical side matters a lot. A gorgeous explosion effect is useless if it tanks your frame rate. Good VFX artists understand optimization. They know how to balance visual quality with performance. They build effects that scale appropriately based on hardware capabilities.

Here’s what VFX work typically includes:

• Particle effects for combat, magic, and environmental elements
• Material effects like dissolves, glows, and distortions
• Lighting effects that enhance mood and visibility
• UI and feedback effects for player actions
• Post-processing effects for screen-level visual enhancement

Real-Time Effects vs. Cinematic VFX: Understanding What You Need

Not all VFX work is the same. The effects you need for gameplay are different from what you’d use in a cutscene. Understanding this difference helps you communicate better with artists and get the results you actually need.

Real-time effects run during gameplay. They need to be lightweight because they’re competing for resources with everything else happening in your game. Players might see dozens of these effects on screen at once. Think about a big battle with multiple characters casting spells – those effects need to look good without destroying performance.

Cinematic VFX can be much more elaborate. Since they’re pre-rendered or only shown in controlled scenarios, you can push visual quality higher. These are your trailer moments, your big story beats, your “wow” sequences. They still need to fit your game’s style, but you have more room to make them impressive.

Most games need both types. Your gameplay effects establish the visual language players see constantly. Your cinematic effects elevate key moments. When you hire VFX artists, make sure they understand which type you need for each part of your project.

How Much Does It Really Cost to Hire VFX Artists?

Money matters, especially for smaller studios. VFX artist rates vary a lot depending on where they’re located and how experienced they are. Knowing the general ranges helps you budget realistically.

Artists in the US and Western Europe typically charge higher rates – often $35-55 per hour or more for experienced people. Eastern Europe comes in lower, usually around $25-35 per hour. Latin America and Asia offer even more budget-friendly options, with rates ranging from $15-40 per hour depending on the specific country and artist skill level.

Experience level changes pricing too. A junior artist learning the ropes costs less but might need more direction. A senior artist with years of game experience costs more but works faster and needs less hand-holding. For complex effects or tight deadlines, paying for experience often saves money in the long run.

Budget considerations when hiring:

• Junior artists: Good for simpler effects, need clear direction
• Mid-level artists: Handle most standard game effects independently
• Senior artists: Tackle complex technical challenges, work efficiently
• Location: Global talent means flexible pricing options
• Project scope: Ongoing work vs. one-time asset creation

Don’t just go for the cheapest option. A skilled artist who charges more per hour but delivers exactly what you need in half the time is cheaper than a budget artist who requires multiple revision rounds and extended timelines.

Finding Artists Who Match Your Game’s Visual Style

Style matters enormously in VFX. Effects that work great in a realistic military shooter look completely wrong in a stylized cartoon adventure. Before you start looking for artists, get clear on what style you need.

Put together references. Grab screenshots from games with VFX you admire. Note what you like about them – is it the color palette? The animation timing? The level of detail? The more specific you can be about your style requirements, the easier it is to find artists who can deliver.

Look at artist portfolios carefully. Don’t just check if their work looks good – check if it looks like YOUR game. An artist might have an amazing portfolio full of hyper-realistic effects, but if your game is stylized and cartoony, they might not be the right fit. Find people whose existing work demonstrates they can handle your aesthetic.

Working With Freelance VFX Artists: What to Expect

Once you’ve found artists and started working together, having realistic expectations makes everything go smoother. VFX creation is iterative. Artists rarely nail everything perfectly on the first pass.

Provide clear briefs. Explain what the effect is for, where it appears in the game, and any technical constraints. Share your references. Be specific about file formats, naming conventions, and how effects need to be structured for your engine.

For smooth collaboration, provide:

• Detailed technical specs (poly counts, texture sizes, etc.)
• Visual references and style guides
• Context about where effects appear in gameplay
• Performance budgets and platform requirements
• Clear feedback on revisions

Expect some back-and-forth. The first version might be close but need tweaking. Colors might need adjusting. Timing might feel off. Scale might not look right in-game. This is normal. Budget time for a couple revision rounds.

Stay responsive with feedback. When artists send you work, review it promptly and give clear direction. Vague feedback like “make it cooler” doesn’t help. Specific feedback like “the sparks need to be brighter and last half a second longer” gets results.

Common VFX Mistakes That Make Games Look Amateur

Some VFX problems show up repeatedly, especially in games from less experienced teams. Knowing what to avoid helps you guide your artists toward better results.

Effects that are too bright or saturated hurt readability. Players need to see what’s happening in gameplay. If your VFX are so flashy they obscure important information, they’re working against you. Good effects enhance clarity, not destroy it.

Inconsistent style breaks immersion. When half your effects look realistic and half look cartoony, it feels jarring. All your VFX should feel like they belong in the same game world. Maintain a consistent visual language.

Poor timing makes effects feel weak. An explosion that lingers too long loses impact. A spell effect that’s too quick doesn’t register. Timing and animation matter as much as the visuals themselves.

Ignoring performance is deadly. Beautiful effects that cause stuttering and frame drops will get you negative reviews. Always test effects in real gameplay scenarios, not just in isolation.

Managing VFX Production Without a Full In-House Team

Most studios don’t have dedicated VFX artists on staff, especially smaller teams. That’s fine – you can still get quality effects by working smart with freelancers.

Plan your VFX needs early. Don’t wait until the end of production to think about effects. Identify what you need, prioritize the important ones, and start bringing in artists when you have clear direction to give them.

Build a library of reusable effects. Many effects can be tweaked and repurposed. A good explosion base can be modified for different situations. Fire effects can be recolored for different spells. When you hire VFX artists, have them create flexible systems you can customize rather than one-off unique effects for everything.

Document everything. Keep notes on technical specs, naming conventions, and how effects integrate into your game. This makes it easier to onboard new artists later if needed. Good documentation means artists can hit the ground running instead of spending days figuring out your setup.

The VFX in your game don’t need to be the most cutting-edge effects ever created. They just need to fit your game, run well, and enhance the player experience. Focus on finding artists who understand your vision and can deliver effects that work for your specific needs. With clear communication and realistic expectations, you can get professional-quality VFX without needing a massive in-house team.

Most games never make it. That’s just the truth. Walk into any game store or scroll through any platform, and you’ll see maybe one good game for every ten terrible ones. The difference? Some developers actually care about what players want.

Why Most Games Fail Before They Even Launch

Here’s what happens way too often. Some guy gets an idea for a game. Maybe he played something and thought “I could do this better.” So he starts building without asking anyone if they actually want what he’s making.

I’ve seen developers spend three years building puzzle games when everyone’s playing shooters. Or making complex strategy games that need a manual when people want something they can learn in five minutes. They get so excited about their brilliant idea that they forget to check if anyone else thinks it’s brilliant.

Money kills more games than bad code. Developers think they need $50,000 to make their dream game. Then reality hits. Art costs more than expected. Programming takes twice as long. Marketing? They forgot about that completely. Suddenly they’re broke with half a game.

The smart ones? They start small. They make a simple version first. Show it to people. Get feedback. Then build from there. Boring maybe, but it works.

From Idea to Playable Game: The Real Development Process

Making games isn’t like making movies. There’s no script you follow from start to finish. It’s more like cooking without a recipe. You taste as you go and fix what doesn’t work.

First comes the planning stage, though most people skip this part. They want to start making cool stuff right away. But good developers spend weeks just writing down ideas and testing basic mechanics. They figure out what the game actually is before they start building it.

Then comes the messy middle part. This is where artists draw characters, programmers write code, and everything breaks constantly. Features that sounded simple turn out to be nightmares. The jumping feels wrong. The graphics look terrible on older phones. The multiplayer doesn’t work at all.

This is also where scope creep happens. That’s when developers keep adding new features because they’re bored or because they saw something cool in another game. Before they know it, their simple platformer has seventeen different weapon types and a crafting system nobody asked for.

What Actually Gets Done:

• Writing down what the game is supposed to be
• Building basic versions to test if it’s fun
• Making all the art and sounds and levels
• Testing with real people who aren’t your friends
• Fixing the million bugs you find
• Getting ready for whatever platform you’re targeting

The final stage is polish, which sounds easy but isn’t. Getting a game from “mostly works” to “actually good” takes forever. Every button needs to feel right. Every sound needs to fit. Performance needs to work on crappy hardware too, not just your gaming PC.

Making Games That Work on Every Device

Players today expect your game to work everywhere. PC, phone, console, tablet – doesn’t matter. They want to play on the bus, then continue at home on their big screen. That’s a pain in the ass to build, but that’s what people want.

The problem is every device is different. Your phone can’t handle the same graphics as a PlayStation. Touch controls aren’t the same as a gamepad. What looks good on a 55-inch TV might be unreadable on a phone screen.

So developers have to think about all this stuff from day one. They can’t just build for one platform and hope it works everywhere else. The art has to scale up and down. The controls have to work with fingers and controllers and keyboards. The game has to run smooth on everything from brand new phones to whatever piece of junk someone’s been using for five years.

Cloud gaming makes this even more complicated. Now your game might be running on some server somewhere and streaming to someone’s device. That means dealing with lag and connection problems and all sorts of new headaches.

The Art of Keeping Players Coming Back

Making something fun for an hour is easy. Making something people want to play for months? That’s the real challenge. And it’s what separates games that make money from games that disappear.

Different people want different things. Some want to compete and prove they’re better than everyone else. Others just want to relax and zone out. Some want to play with friends. Others want to be left alone. The trick is giving everyone something without making the game confusing.

Updates help a lot. Not necessarily big expansion packs, but small improvements and fixes and new stuff to discover. Players like knowing the developers are still paying attention and making things better.

But the real secret is community. Games that get people talking and sharing and helping each other out last way longer than games where everyone just plays alone. It’s not about having chat features or forums. It’s about creating experiences that people want to share with others.

Working with Teams Across the Globe

The best artists and programmers don’t all live in the same city. Hell, they don’t even live in the same country. Any game development company that only hires locally is missing out on amazing talent.

Working with remote teams isn’t as hard as people think, but it’s different. You can’t just walk over to someone’s desk and ask a question. You have to write things down. You have to be clear about what you want. You have to trust people to do good work without watching over their shoulders.

Time zones can actually help. While you’re sleeping, someone halfway around the world is fixing bugs or creating art. But it only works if everyone knows what they’re supposed to be doing.

Making Remote Teams Work:

• Write everything down clearly
• Have regular meetings but don’t overdo it
• Use good tools for sharing files and tracking progress
• Check work regularly but don’t micromanage
• Remember people have different cultures and holidays

The biggest challenge isn’t technical – it’s human. Building trust and keeping everyone motivated when they’ve never met in person. But when it works, remote teams can be more productive than traditional offices.

Turning Your Game Into a Business

Making a great game is step one. Making money from it is step two, and that’s where most developers screw up. They think if they build something awesome, people will magically find it and buy it. That’s not how business works.

Marketing starts before you finish the game. Actually, it starts before you even begin making the game. You need to build an audience of people who care about what you’re making. Show them progress. Get them excited. Make them feel involved in the process.

Figuring out how to make money is crucial and it affects everything else. Free games with ads work differently than games people buy upfront. Subscription games need different content than one-time purchases. Mobile games need different approaches than console games.

Each platform has its own rules and audience. Steam players want different things than mobile players. Console gamers have different expectations than PC gamers. You can’t just dump the same game everywhere and expect it to work.

The successful developers treat their games like products, not just art projects. They think about who’s going to buy it, where they’re going to sell it, and how they’re going to let people know it exists. They plan for business success from the beginning, not as an afterthought.