There's something inherently merciless about professional game developers. When someone shows a sign of weakness, it's like a feeding frenzy. It's less ominous than it really sounds, mainly because professional game developers tend to be kids that never really grew up. Then again, I remember some pretty wicked kids in my time...
Last week, one of the designers last week was caught by three other designers looking at unicorns on his screen. We're talking about a shiny, silver, rainbows-and-lollipops-type unicorn. He claimed it was a link off an MMO site he follows, but that fact pretty much became irrelevent in the ensuing verbal crucifixion. It was mentioned to our project lead, who made a point of mentioning it to the rest of the designers and producers with many comments to the effect of "Oh, don't forget the unicorn zone!" and "What was that villain's name? The unicorn?" and "Keep in mind *unicorn* when we're developing the *unicorn* zone that we need to keep the *unicorn* spawns well-distributed. *Unicorn*."
Unfortunately for our unicorn-loving friend, it didn't end there. Within a half-hour, a picture of a rainbows-and-lollipops-type unicorn was send via email around the design featuring the unicorn-lover's face framed by hearts right beside the beast with the phrase "Best friends!" beside it. I did my part by forwarding the email pic to a friend in another company. Next morning, a stuffed unicorn named Darla was found on the unicorn-lover's desk. Later that day, his nameplate was replaced with a unicorn head and the phrase "I'm feeling horny!" More hilarity has ensued since then.
The unicorn-lover weathered the storm fairly well, and took it in stride by posting this YouTube video around design about - you guessed it - unicorns. Never trust those beasties!
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Monday, December 04, 2006
Edmonton Trip
I'll be taking a trip to Edmonton mid-December. If you want to meet up there for some food, drinks, gaming and chatting, let me know!
Friday, November 24, 2006
Visits from Canada
This fall we had the good fortune to be visited by a number of friends and family.
Alan's Visit
Alan came to visit us in August. We went up to the city (of course) as well as up to Napa Valley with Carl.
Alan on the train to San Francisco
TUO and Alan on the docks of Fisherman's Wharf
Jeff & Neuba's Visit
Jeff and Neuba came to visit in September. We went to my company picnic and to the NorCal Renfaire.
TUO, me, Neuba and Jeff at my company picnic
The Danse Macabre at Renfaire
Jousting is more medieval than Renaissance... I mean... Huzzah!
Family Visit
Also in September my parents and sister came to visit. Again, we went up to the city, to Moneterey Bay and Carmel.
Me, Mom, & Dad at Monterey Bay Aquarium
Mom, Dad, TUO and my sister at Fisherman's Wharf
My folks at the Golden Gate Bridge
Me and Dad at the SF Giants Game
My sister & Dad on the train after the Giants game
Alan's Visit
Alan came to visit us in August. We went up to the city (of course) as well as up to Napa Valley with Carl.
Alan on the train to San Francisco
TUO and Alan on the docks of Fisherman's Wharf
Jeff & Neuba's Visit
Jeff and Neuba came to visit in September. We went to my company picnic and to the NorCal Renfaire.
TUO, me, Neuba and Jeff at my company picnic
The Danse Macabre at Renfaire
Jousting is more medieval than Renaissance... I mean... Huzzah!
Family Visit
Also in September my parents and sister came to visit. Again, we went up to the city, to Moneterey Bay and Carmel.
Me, Mom, & Dad at Monterey Bay Aquarium
Mom, Dad, TUO and my sister at Fisherman's Wharf
My folks at the Golden Gate Bridge
Me and Dad at the SF Giants Game
My sister & Dad on the train after the Giants game
Sunday, October 15, 2006
ConQuest 2006
At the beginning of September I went with my friend from work to ConQuest San Francisco, another Bay Area gaming convention.
Pirates!
Primarily I was there to play in my friend's Pirates! minis game. On Friday night it was a pirate hunt called "Icebergs Ahoy!" in iceberg-laden waters. The pirates had taken Davy Jone's treasure chest, and the English armada wanted it for themselves. Unfortunately, Billy Bones and Davy Jones came up from the ocean depths to recover the chest for themselves! On Saturday afternoon we played another large-scale battle called "The Battle of Squidway Island" where a dwarven armada tried to sink the goblin warship "The Goblimoto" and take control of a greenskin-controlled island.
The Battle of Squidway Island
Dwarven aircraft carrier with gyrocopters
My orcs unloading to defend Squidway
Gunfight!
Also got to try a cool western minis game called Gunfight!, another one from Flagship Games.
Awesome western town
Scairy Tales
I also had the good luck to run into my buddy Brent, another PEG writer. He was running a game of Scairy Tales, an upcoming Savage Worlds campaign set in a fairy-tale apocalypse. It's gonna be awesome! :-)
Me and Brent!
Mechaton
Finally, I got a chance to play in an upcoming game called Mechaton which involves mechs constructed from LEGO. As you blow off pieces of a mech you remove LEGO blocks. How cool is that!?!
The victorious mech amongst LEGO carnage!
Pirates!
Primarily I was there to play in my friend's Pirates! minis game. On Friday night it was a pirate hunt called "Icebergs Ahoy!" in iceberg-laden waters. The pirates had taken Davy Jone's treasure chest, and the English armada wanted it for themselves. Unfortunately, Billy Bones and Davy Jones came up from the ocean depths to recover the chest for themselves! On Saturday afternoon we played another large-scale battle called "The Battle of Squidway Island" where a dwarven armada tried to sink the goblin warship "The Goblimoto" and take control of a greenskin-controlled island.
The Battle of Squidway Island
Dwarven aircraft carrier with gyrocopters
My orcs unloading to defend Squidway
Gunfight!
Also got to try a cool western minis game called Gunfight!, another one from Flagship Games.
Awesome western town
Scairy Tales
I also had the good luck to run into my buddy Brent, another PEG writer. He was running a game of Scairy Tales, an upcoming Savage Worlds campaign set in a fairy-tale apocalypse. It's gonna be awesome! :-)
Me and Brent!
Mechaton
Finally, I got a chance to play in an upcoming game called Mechaton which involves mechs constructed from LEGO. As you blow off pieces of a mech you remove LEGO blocks. How cool is that!?!
The victorious mech amongst LEGO carnage!
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Talk Like a Pirate Day!
Avast, me hearties! 'Tis Talk Like a Pirate Day!
And for ya scurvy dogs that don't know how:
Talk Like a Pirate Instructional Vido
Yarrr!
And for ya scurvy dogs that don't know how:
Talk Like a Pirate Instructional Vido
Yarrr!
Monday, August 21, 2006
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
GenCon Indy 2006
Circumstances allowed us to go to GenCon Indy again this year. I had to do a little bit of recruiting work this year, but it made the trip possible.
We ended up getting in Thursday night and booked in at the Crowne Plaza. It was overly crowded, and our room ended up being taken. It worked out for us though - we ended up being upgraded to one of their train car suites! The hotel was part of an active rail station servicing sleeper cars, and now has a number of stationary sleeper cars they rent out as a novelty. Each of the sleeper cars were named after a celebrity who used them at one time - we got the Greta Garbo car! Also by the cars and throughout the hotel were these fiberglass statues of the "ghosts of people past" who used the station and hotel - kinda cool and kinda creepy.
The Sleeper Cars
Inside the Greta Garbo car
Creepy fiberglass sailor eternally lighting his cigarette
GenCon itself was lots of fun, as always. It's becoming more of a place to meet friends, like Freelancer Five and his lovely wife, Don and Dan from S'toon, and a whole bunch of the other PEG folks.
One cool bit: I was at our recruiting booth, I was approached by Dave Arneson (co-creator of D&D for those of you not in the know). He said, "I really like your game!" I just stood there for a second, then said, "Well Mr. Arneson, I really like your game too!" :-)
Now on to other gaming and costume pics from GenCon!
Cool Gaming Stuff
Medieval castle under siege from The Miniature Building Authority
Massive MasterMaze set by Dwarven Forge
Costumes
Obligatory Star Wars costume
Dice head guy!
Obligatory chainmail bikini
Mmm... succubus
Wee fairies!
I am the Grand Wizard!
Mihi ignosce. Cum homine de cane debeo congredi
Our friend Jen and the Femtrooper
Look at the wee Boba!
Confrontation booth babe
It's Kitty! She's ALWAYS at GenCon
Who ya gonna call? Indiana Ghostbusters, apparently
I think they're from a video game
P.S. We also attended the Miskatonic Frat Party to celebrate the release of Cthulhu Live 3rd Edition. I lost some sanity.
P.P.S. We're thinking about attending Origins 2007 to help run this.
We ended up getting in Thursday night and booked in at the Crowne Plaza. It was overly crowded, and our room ended up being taken. It worked out for us though - we ended up being upgraded to one of their train car suites! The hotel was part of an active rail station servicing sleeper cars, and now has a number of stationary sleeper cars they rent out as a novelty. Each of the sleeper cars were named after a celebrity who used them at one time - we got the Greta Garbo car! Also by the cars and throughout the hotel were these fiberglass statues of the "ghosts of people past" who used the station and hotel - kinda cool and kinda creepy.
The Sleeper Cars
Inside the Greta Garbo car
Creepy fiberglass sailor eternally lighting his cigarette
GenCon itself was lots of fun, as always. It's becoming more of a place to meet friends, like Freelancer Five and his lovely wife, Don and Dan from S'toon, and a whole bunch of the other PEG folks.
One cool bit: I was at our recruiting booth, I was approached by Dave Arneson (co-creator of D&D for those of you not in the know). He said, "I really like your game!" I just stood there for a second, then said, "Well Mr. Arneson, I really like your game too!" :-)
Now on to other gaming and costume pics from GenCon!
Cool Gaming Stuff
Medieval castle under siege from The Miniature Building Authority
Massive MasterMaze set by Dwarven Forge
Costumes
Obligatory Star Wars costume
Dice head guy!
Obligatory chainmail bikini
Mmm... succubus
Wee fairies!
I am the Grand Wizard!
Mihi ignosce. Cum homine de cane debeo congredi
Our friend Jen and the Femtrooper
Look at the wee Boba!
Confrontation booth babe
It's Kitty! She's ALWAYS at GenCon
Who ya gonna call? Indiana Ghostbusters, apparently
I think they're from a video game
P.S. We also attended the Miskatonic Frat Party to celebrate the release of Cthulhu Live 3rd Edition. I lost some sanity.
P.P.S. We're thinking about attending Origins 2007 to help run this.
Monday, August 07, 2006
Those Wacky Rosicrucians
When enthymeme was down a few weeks ago, we ended up taking a visit to the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum. Don't know much about those Rosicrucians, but they sure collect a whole lot of neat Ancient Egyptian stuff! TUO already posted a picture on her blog, but here are a few more.
Fountain and temple
Secret Egyptian garden... Rosicrucians only
Whole lotta breakable stuff inside...
TUO and enthymeme posin' by the sun carving
Me and enthymeme walkin' like Egyptians
Me and TUO are entombed!
Fountain and temple
Secret Egyptian garden... Rosicrucians only
Whole lotta breakable stuff inside...
TUO and enthymeme posin' by the sun carving
Me and enthymeme walkin' like Egyptians
Me and TUO are entombed!
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Canada Day at Huddart Park
On July 1st we went to Huddart Park for the Digital Moose Lounge Canada Day picnic. There were about 300 Bay Area Canadians gathered together for it. We had a nice Fireman's BBQ, drank beer, ate Canadian candies and cookies. We ended up mostly talking with the Canadians from Saskatchewan, including a lady from PA and a guy from Regina.
Donna from PA
Me and TUO revelling in our Canadian-ness
All bow before The Digital Moose!
Donna from PA
Me and TUO revelling in our Canadian-ness
All bow before The Digital Moose!
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Five Dream Jobs for Men
A colleague sent this around the office, and I have to say, I'm inclined to agree:
Five Dream Jobs for Men
So... if you're a video game designer AND a comic book guru, do you spontaneously achieve Nirvana or something? :-)
Five Dream Jobs for Men
So... if you're a video game designer AND a comic book guru, do you spontaneously achieve Nirvana or something? :-)
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Contemplating Gencon Indy...
So, me and TUO are thinking about headin' to GenCon Indy. Of course, we are always motivated by meeting up with friends there. Any takers?
Sunday, May 28, 2006
TUO Rocks!
I got TUO a PlayStation 2, Guitar Hero, and Katamari Damacy for her birthday. She's hooked on GH: she named her band The Ragged Magpies and has been rockin' out every day since!
TUO rockin' out!
TUO and Pandora, her GH alter ego
Katamari Damacy is a weird little game, and TUO can only play it in short stints without becoming motion-sick nauseous, but I think that one is a winner for her as well. The gist of the game is this: your father, the King of All Cosmos, has destroyed all the stars, and has charged one with making new ones. How do you do this? By rolling up things into katamari balls and making them into stars. Really simple concept, but it's tricky pushin' the ever-growin' ball around. Oh, and if you don't roll the katamari ball in time, the King of All Cosmos tears you a new one. Really, he's a big jerk. :-)
TUO rockin' out!
TUO and Pandora, her GH alter ego
Katamari Damacy is a weird little game, and TUO can only play it in short stints without becoming motion-sick nauseous, but I think that one is a winner for her as well. The gist of the game is this: your father, the King of All Cosmos, has destroyed all the stars, and has charged one with making new ones. How do you do this? By rolling up things into katamari balls and making them into stars. Really simple concept, but it's tricky pushin' the ever-growin' ball around. Oh, and if you don't roll the katamari ball in time, the King of All Cosmos tears you a new one. Really, he's a big jerk. :-)
Canada Trip - Spring 2006
The Canada trip was great! Thanks to Bne and Ferlak for letting us stay with them at their swingin' bachelour pad in Calgary. Also, a big thanks to Suz, Rilla, Alan, Jeff, and John for making the trek from Saskatoon to visit us. Last but not least, I'd like to thank Calvin, Malcolm, Steve, Seamus and Jen for visiting with us in Calgary, and Brock and Hillary for visiting us in Edmonton. It was great to see all of you again!
I guess I was too busy socializing to get many pictures. We went to the Calgary Zoo on Sunday, and got a bunch of animal pics. Here's the ones that matter; ladies and gentlemen... the otters!
River Otter
Lake Otter
We took a day trip up to Edmonton and got a chance to visit with TUOs siblings and finally meet my sister-in-laws' twins.
Of course, now it's everyone's turn to come down and visit us in Cali!
I guess I was too busy socializing to get many pictures. We went to the Calgary Zoo on Sunday, and got a bunch of animal pics. Here's the ones that matter; ladies and gentlemen... the otters!
River Otter
Lake Otter
We took a day trip up to Edmonton and got a chance to visit with TUOs siblings and finally meet my sister-in-laws' twins.
Of course, now it's everyone's turn to come down and visit us in Cali!
Sunday, May 14, 2006
E3 2006
E3 has come and gone for another year. I was sent down to work at the AGEIA booth to show off the PhysX in Issue 7.
My co-worker Ray and I at the Figueroa Hotel. The hotel was older, but had a nice style to it.
Blurry pic of the Figueroa lobby
Fortunately, the hotel was just a couple of blocks from the LA Convention Center, making for a nice short walk to and from the expo every day. The building itself was covered in massive stories-high game posters; I heard the Gears of War one (pictured in the center of my pic below) cost $70K. Wow. I guess it's a small drop in the bucket for a big gaming company, but... wow.
Outside the convention center beside alien drop pods
The AGEIA booth was demoing a bunch of games using the new PhysX engine graphics, which enabled real-world physics for persistent debris, and all other kinds of groovy-cool stuff. For a more detailed explanation, read this. We incorporated PhysX into all the powers and destructible objects in I7, taking the CoV ragdoll physics to the next level.
My bleary-eyed self on day 2 of the expo
My co-worker Ray doing some Mayhem!
I gotta say, it was really a cool experience working as a CoV developer at E3. I did some interviews, met with a lot of CoH/CoV fans, and answered a lot of questions. While a CoH/CoV few fans were ornery (why does the training room download have to be SO big?), the majority were really great. More than a few said, "Thank you for making such a great game! We love it!" This truly gave me the warm fuzzies. Coupled with the experience of meeting other devs who who just as jazzed about making cool games, it really made me feel good about being in the industry and bringing enjoyment to so many people. Huzzah!
Cool Stuff at E3
NCSoft, publisher of CoV, had a great-looking booth this year showing off a LOT of new games. Some of the coolest ones included Tabula Rasa (sci-fi MMO), Dungeon Runners (an updated Diablo-style hackfest), and ExTeel (a mecha-combat shooter).
The band Mutaytor on the Play NC stage
The PlayNC booth area
Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (MMO) had some demos running at the FunCom (makers of Anarchy Online) booth. While it could use a lot of polish, the game has potential. I mean, what red-blooded male WOULDN'T want to take on the role of a savage Cimmerian? To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women! By Crom!
R:tAG the Ukrainian!
I got a chance to try out Hellgate: London as well. The feel of it is VERY cool, a sort of holy-techno-warriors-meets-demons-in-an-apocalyptic-future type feel. Check out the website, and watch for the release.
Hellgate: London booth
Webzen was really pushing Huxley this year, supposedly a "FPS MMORPG". I got a chance to play in a squad-vs-squad battle, which felt mostly FPS with little RPG. I'm cautiously optimistic about this one; it should be out this fall for the Xbox 360, so I might pick it up if there aren't any better contenders.
A sapien marine from Huxley
The thundering MMO developer giant Blizzard showed off the first expansion to the stupidly successful World of Warcraft. They revealed the new Alliance race, some blue-skinned hoofed critters called the draenei. So now the Horde has a pretty race (the blood elves) and the Alliance has these guys. Maybe things will balance out a bit more in the PvP zones? That remains to be seen.
Ow! I got a hangnail!
Pirates of the Caribbean Online is in development, and I got a beta invite. Woot! However, first glance makes me think it might be a bit too 'kiddie' to be fun, but I'll see how the beta plays. The ESRB might still rate it ARRRRRRRR! (sorry, couldn't resist)
The chair from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - Yarrrrr!
The Obligatory Babes of E3
And of course, what would E3 be without booth babes? Those sultry sirens of silicon(e) may have restrictions placed on them, but that didn't stop them baring their... errr... 'talents' again this year.
These were soliciting for some hoop-shooting game
A Korean Webzen 'future-girl'
I don't even remember what they were promoting
Call of Duty 3 girl in her... fatigues?
Probably NOT their real hair
My co-worker Ray and I at the Figueroa Hotel. The hotel was older, but had a nice style to it.
Blurry pic of the Figueroa lobby
Fortunately, the hotel was just a couple of blocks from the LA Convention Center, making for a nice short walk to and from the expo every day. The building itself was covered in massive stories-high game posters; I heard the Gears of War one (pictured in the center of my pic below) cost $70K. Wow. I guess it's a small drop in the bucket for a big gaming company, but... wow.
Outside the convention center beside alien drop pods
The AGEIA booth was demoing a bunch of games using the new PhysX engine graphics, which enabled real-world physics for persistent debris, and all other kinds of groovy-cool stuff. For a more detailed explanation, read this. We incorporated PhysX into all the powers and destructible objects in I7, taking the CoV ragdoll physics to the next level.
My bleary-eyed self on day 2 of the expo
My co-worker Ray doing some Mayhem!
I gotta say, it was really a cool experience working as a CoV developer at E3. I did some interviews, met with a lot of CoH/CoV fans, and answered a lot of questions. While a CoH/CoV few fans were ornery (why does the training room download have to be SO big?), the majority were really great. More than a few said, "Thank you for making such a great game! We love it!" This truly gave me the warm fuzzies. Coupled with the experience of meeting other devs who who just as jazzed about making cool games, it really made me feel good about being in the industry and bringing enjoyment to so many people. Huzzah!
Cool Stuff at E3
NCSoft, publisher of CoV, had a great-looking booth this year showing off a LOT of new games. Some of the coolest ones included Tabula Rasa (sci-fi MMO), Dungeon Runners (an updated Diablo-style hackfest), and ExTeel (a mecha-combat shooter).
The band Mutaytor on the Play NC stage
The PlayNC booth area
Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (MMO) had some demos running at the FunCom (makers of Anarchy Online) booth. While it could use a lot of polish, the game has potential. I mean, what red-blooded male WOULDN'T want to take on the role of a savage Cimmerian? To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women! By Crom!
R:tAG the Ukrainian!
I got a chance to try out Hellgate: London as well. The feel of it is VERY cool, a sort of holy-techno-warriors-meets-demons-in-an-apocalyptic-future type feel. Check out the website, and watch for the release.
Hellgate: London booth
Webzen was really pushing Huxley this year, supposedly a "FPS MMORPG". I got a chance to play in a squad-vs-squad battle, which felt mostly FPS with little RPG. I'm cautiously optimistic about this one; it should be out this fall for the Xbox 360, so I might pick it up if there aren't any better contenders.
A sapien marine from Huxley
The thundering MMO developer giant Blizzard showed off the first expansion to the stupidly successful World of Warcraft. They revealed the new Alliance race, some blue-skinned hoofed critters called the draenei. So now the Horde has a pretty race (the blood elves) and the Alliance has these guys. Maybe things will balance out a bit more in the PvP zones? That remains to be seen.
Ow! I got a hangnail!
Pirates of the Caribbean Online is in development, and I got a beta invite. Woot! However, first glance makes me think it might be a bit too 'kiddie' to be fun, but I'll see how the beta plays. The ESRB might still rate it ARRRRRRRR! (sorry, couldn't resist)
The chair from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - Yarrrrr!
The Obligatory Babes of E3
And of course, what would E3 be without booth babes? Those sultry sirens of silicon(e) may have restrictions placed on them, but that didn't stop them baring their... errr... 'talents' again this year.
These were soliciting for some hoop-shooting game
A Korean Webzen 'future-girl'
I don't even remember what they were promoting
Call of Duty 3 girl in her... fatigues?
Probably NOT their real hair
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