Adventures In Game Design

End of Line?

2010-01-17T13:13:00.000-08:00

The combination of crunch and a new romantic relationship pushed the blog to a far back burner from which hasn't ever returned. I'm still not sure what I want to do with this. I like talking about my random game musings as much as the next avid gamer, but considering how much I do of that in my personal and professional time already, writing about it hasn't seemed like a hugely important issue. Plus, since I am now back to working on another as yet unannounced title, there's not much I can really say about my work. Anyway, for now this will serve as a semi-annual check-in, and I'll see what I want to do about this site in the future.

Stay Tuned!

Still Nothing

2009-06-14T20:31:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the dearth of posts, just not a lot of free time with the work crunch. I picked up Prototype and got to play it just a little bit Friday night. Pretty cool, Alex (Prototype) feels much more super-powered than Cole (Infamous) did, in my opinion. I think Infamous is clearly a more polished, better produced game, but Prototype may actually be more fun. Still, I've only played Prototype for about an hour, so I'll withhold judgment until I've gotten a bit further into it, which may be a while at this rate. Anyway, that's it for now. Hopefully more in the future. Later!

Oh, by the way, Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time won Gamespot's E3 award for best platformer, check it out!

Working Weekend

2009-06-13T14:04:00.000-07:00

Weekend crunch doesn't leave me a lot of time to post, but here's a little morsel of game for you to tide yourself over. Enjoy!

Play This Game

Late One

2009-06-12T00:17:00.001-07:00

I actually got home about an hour ago, but that's still a pretty long day. Anyway, it's bedtime...

Sleepy Time

2009-06-10T22:25:00.000-07:00

Just got home. Got an early appointment tomorrow morning (not work related), which means I need to go to bed pretty much right now. G'night!

Work Night

2009-06-09T21:33:00.000-07:00

Another long night at work. Nothing new to report. I read a chapter of Game of Thrones last night and then went straight to bed. I imagine I will do something similar tonight. Later!

Admiral Crunch?

2009-06-08T20:17:00.000-07:00

Well, crunch "officially" started today so it's going to be a busy...well it's going to be busy for a while. I'm at work waiting for a build right now, and this is probably the first of many similar posts. May be a while before I can post anything major. See you on the other side!

What I'm Playing - 6.7.09

2009-06-07T20:51:00.000-07:00

Ah, this weekend was just too short, but aren't they always? E3 messed with work a bunch this week as a number of people were out either attending the conference or working it. As such, the hammer on our upcoming deadline didn't drop last week nearly as hard as I thought it might. Nevertheless, the deadline hasn't changed and there's still a lot of work to accomplish between then and now so I imagine things are going to get more busy as I expected. All that being said, I got to play a fair bit this week, so here's what I'm working on:

Infamous (PS3) - I played a fair bit of this this week, and just managed to finish it sometime yesterday (playing through the "Hero" storyline). Overall, I'd say the game is quite good, though it may be just a touch overrated in my opinion. I think it was a fun game with an interesting story, but there are a few things that hold it back from being truly great. I feel that Cole's power set is relatively mundane (most of them being electric versions of common weapons such as an automatic pistol, sniper rifle, grenade, and rocket launcher) and the sandbox setting of the game is wasted on very linear setups and repetitive side missions. That being said, there are a number of things the game does very well. The combat is always exciting and dazzling to watch, and moving is incredibly enjoyable. Grinding along power lines, riding atop elevated trains, and gliding through the air all feels incredibly kinetic and satisfying. In contrast to the side missions, the story missions are fun, imaginative, and do a good job of conveying the story, which is an interesting superhero origin story. As far as superhero games go I think I would rate it very highly in that it really makes you feel like a superhero running through the city, but as a sandbox, open-world game I just think it doesn't measure up to the competition. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed playing it, and will probably play through the evil plot line at some point, but I feel like the game could have been so much more.
Red Faction: Guerrilla (PS3) - I played a bunch of this in the middle of the week and I have loved it. I stayed up way later than I intended several nights in a row just trying to do one more side mission or take out one more high priority target. In my opinion, this game really gets what sandbox games should be about: freedom of approach. The game is all about giving you an objective and letting you decide how to accomplish it. The missions support multiple strategies for the player to employ and avoids missions with only one right "answer." I also tried out the multiplayer a bit and found it to be enjoyable, though it doesn't do anything incredibly original. The multiplayer has backpacks that give the game a sort of lite class system (each player can only wear one backpack at a time, which confers some special power) and there are an assortment of different game types including standard deathmatch, capture the flag, siege (an attackers vs. defenders game), and destruction (sort of like VIP, where the VIP scores for the team by breaking stuff). All in all the multiplayer is fun and seems to leverage the game's destruction engine very well, so I'll probably try playing with it a bit more in the future, but my focus is on the single-player experience.
Fallout 3 (PC) - After finishing Infamous yesterday, I was feeling a bit overloaded with sandbox games for the time being so I was looking for something more RPG-ish, and here's where I ended up. I picked up Broken Steel largely for the level cap increase, but also because I heard it cleans up what was an otherwise unfortunate ending. Unfortunately, it seems to preclude me from actually seeing that ending, but maybe I'll YouTube it once I finish the game. Fallout 3 was probably my game of the year last year, and it's still great to wander around the wasteland. I think the game really captures the closest thing to actual role-playing in digital form. It's all about really creating a character in that world and then acting them out. Whether you're a scavenger with a heart of gold, an evil assassin with a chip on your shoulder, or a no-nonsense merc out to make a quick cap, the game allows you to be whoever you want to be and do what you want to do. I find the most fun for me comes from imagining up characters I could create and what they're journey through the wasteland might look like. Everything in the game really seems to react to you as a character and the decisions that you make. For example, in my most recent play session, this one guy hired my to kill some other people and take keys from them. I found out that the keys apparently led to something awesome, so I went back and told him I was keeping the keys. He got mad and attacked me so I was forced to kill him. Unfortunately, my overzealous ally also opened fire and happened to kill an innocent bystander in the process. When I came back to that location a bit later, I talked to a character who was very close to that bystander and who was now mourning the loss of her dear friend, trying to figure out what to do with her life. I felt really bad about that, which was a unique and special experience. I'm sure there's more I could say, but let's just say I'm really enjoying my time with Fallout 3, even after 50+ hours, now that's impressive!

Well that's pretty much it for now. I'm planning to go to the DMV tomorrow morning to finally take my written driving exam and get my CA license, so I need to study my driver handbook and get to bed. That is, if I can exist the alluring calls of my games long enough to study. If not, there's always next week! Later!

Movie Marathon

2009-06-05T21:03:00.001-07:00

Off to a Back to the Future and salsa (the food not the dance) night with some friends from church. Have a good night!

E3 2009 - Reactions

2009-06-04T19:36:00.001-07:00

E3 was a blast, but I am very tired, though mostly my eyes more than anything. I have a great deal of respect for the media members that attend the conference from early morning until late at night for three days straight. Serious props to you all. I only attended about 6 hours of the conference, but I tried to make the most of it, so here's what I saw/played (in no particular order, other than my memories):

Batman: Arkham Asylum - This game seems pretty cool. I played through the demo grappling onto roof fixtures and silently taking down random goons inside the Asylum, before the Joker unleashed some sort of mutant giant on me (thus ending the demo). The mechanics seem fun, though there wasn't a lot to do in the demo so I hope the game has a bit more variety or it could end up getting repetitive very quickly.
Splinter Cell: Conviction - No playable demo, but there was a live stage demonstration. The game definitely seems like a good time, and the execution mechanic seems to add significantly to Sam Fischer's badass-ness. If you saw the demo at the Microsoft Press Conference (or was it Ubisoft's?), it was basically the same thing, with some minor, almost random variations. Seeing the game in action makes me want to go back and play SC: Double Agent which I never got even close to finishing.
New Super Mario Bros. Wii - I didn't expect to like this nearly as much as I did. I mean, Mario with 4 players? Really? It doesn't seem like an amazing idea, but in the end it's a lot of fun. Mostly I think because of the competitive co-op aspect of it. On the one hand, players are trying to help each other because if everyone dies, everyone loses. On the other hand, you want to be the one to pick up all the coins and power-ups and have the most lives at the end of the level, so you might "accidentally" throw a friend or two into a pit or two. For whatever reason, it works and it's fun. Nintendo clearly knows what they're doing, but I suppose I should know that already :).
M.A.G. - I actually waited in line about 30 min. to play this demo and I was just wholly underwhelmed. The game seems more like a technical demo than an actual game. While getting a 256-player battle functioning and largely lag-free (which it was) is a significant achievement, the game itself is somewhat wanting. It basically plays like a Battlefield-style game, except without the combined arms of vehicles that make those games so much fun. Also, the map we played seemed designed to keep groups of players working on their own specific objectives, but what that boils down to is a bunch of 16 on 16 skirmishes, which seems to kind of defeat the purpose of a massive battlefield. I personally prefer smaller engagements anyhow, and the core gameplay itself just didn't seem to offer anything original beyond the large player number, which I guess was lost on me.
God of War III - Didn't play the demo (the line was way too long), but I watched it for a bit. I loved God of War. I loved God of War II. I have every faith that I will love God of War III. Seeing God of War III's slick combo-driven combat and brutal finishing moves in HD was a sight to behold though. Can't wait for this to come out...really, I can't...
Uncharted 2 - I didn't get a chance to try out this demo but I watched it for a fair bit, and I now have another beta key which I think brings my total to three. The game looks to be in great shape, the visuals look really nice, and it looks like they've refined the half-action, half-exploration gameplay even further. I am really looking forward to this release, and I may even download the Beta! I should probably also buy a copy of Uncharted (I played through Rick's before)...
Dragon Age: Origins - I got to sit in on a demo session, which didn't really do a whole lot for me one way of another. They showed the main character talking to other characters (well-acted and animated, mind you), including a fortunately abbreviated love scene, and then showed a relatively fast battle with a dragon (which was admittedly cool looking). The HUD was off during the battle, so it wasn't clear exactly what the demonstrator was doing, but it looked cool and ended with a fantastic finish. I was, and still am, excited for this game, and I have complete faith in Bioware's ability to make an RPG, the demo didn't really change that much at all. I am curious about how it will work on consoles (and how it will run), but unfortunately only fancy media people got to play with the hands-on console demo.
Mass Effect 2 - This demo was sweet. I love Mass Effect. I want to play it again...right now. The demo lasted about 20 min. and looked at dialogue, combat, and how it all relates to the first game (and potentially the next game). Apparently, you will be able to import over your save from the original Mass Effect and the game will use your character and the choices he/she made to define parts of your experience in Mass Effect 2. You can also play without doing this, but it's not clear what impact that will have on the story as a whole. The team seems to be improving the depth of the game's systems overall. The dialogue feels even more integrated and cinematic and the combat seems even more action-oriented than before. It would seem that if you liked Mass Effect, you'll love Mass Effect 2.
Split Second - I don't really like most racing games, but this game was a real surprise. It seems like what you would get if you combined Burnout, an action movie, and a kart racing game, where the weapons you pick up are actually built into the track. While racing, you build up a special meter by drifting, drafting, and overtaking other cars, and when the meter reaches certain levels it can be used to activate special powers at different points in the map. Usually these powers cause something to explode fantastically and take a number of your competitors with it, but other times you can use a fully loaded bar to alter the layout of the track, which actually changes the race (and also explodes fantastically and make takeout other drivers). The game seems all about over-the-top action, no better represented than the end of my first race where I raced under a flaming 747 as it crashed onto the runway in front of me. It's crazy over-the-top, and crazy fun. The framerate's a little lower than I'd like, but hopefully they can tighten that up before it ships.
Fat Princess - This game seems deceptively strategic and awesome. It's like a full-blown strategic, class-based, multiplayer CTF-style game, packed into an excessively cute and over-the-top violent package. Both teams are trying to steal the other team's princess while trying to fatten their own to prevent the theft. At the same time, the teams can harvest trees in order to earn resources for their team, which can be used by other players to upgrade their character to the different classes (warrior, archer, priest, etc.). The game seems really straightforward and approachable, while still having the strategic depth and teamwork that more hardcore gamers are looking for. I'll definitely being paying closer attention to this title as it gets closer to launch.
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 - I actually ended up playing this demo while I was waiting for the next Mass Effect 2 demo to start, and I ended finding myself quite enjoying it. I am a big fan of the Battlefield formula and the original Bad Company was no exception. I looks like they've polished up the engine and gameplay somewhat, while keeping the game true to its predecessor. All I can say is I had a great deal of fun with the demo, and I'll be sure to check it out when it comes out later this year.
Final Fantasy: Dissidia - I had zero expectations when I played this, I didn't even know what it was. Apparently, it's a clever little fighting game for the PSP that pits classic Final Fantasy characters against one another in mortal combat. I'm not sure if there's any intention for a greater story behind it, but the reason I call it clever is the gameplay. It's the exact kind of fighting game I like: simple. The special attacks are all pulled off by pressing a direction in combination with a button (think Smash Bros.), that's it. The game seems more about picking the right attacks at the right times, and blocking effectively (again a simple, single button press). I do have a concern that a fighting game on a handheld misses out on one of the genre's strongest points - local multiplayer, but we'll see what they do with that. I can't say I am going to pick it up, but I'll certainly keep an eye on it.

Well I know I saw a lot more, but those were the highlights. Attending my first E3 as a professional game developer was definitely a memorable experience. The conference certainly has its share of "oddities" (like models dressed like game characters or a guy walking around in power armor), but in the end it is an epic spectacle of gaming that really shines a light on all of interactive entertainment, and I'm glad it's back. Now, I need to go ice my eyeballs...

Going to E3 Today!

2009-06-04T11:18:00.001-07:00

More news to follow...

Red Faction: Guerrilla - First Impressions

2009-06-03T21:06:00.000-07:00

So, I didn't post anything yesterday, partly because I've been very tired lately, and partly because I spent the night (more of it than I should have) engrossed in Volition's newest title Red Faction: Guerrilla. In short, I have to say the game is a blast (quite literally, I suppose). If you like blowing stuff up or watching buildings crumble, just go pick it up, you won't be disappointed. Otherwise, I suppose you can read on, though I will try to keep this brief (so I can get back to liberating Mars myself).

The game clearly is cut from the same cloth as Volition's previous Saint's Row titles with a number of side missions (called "guerrilla actions") and optional destruction targets alongside the game's main storyline. In addition, red faction members will also occasionally call you with optional missions like attacking and EDF (the bad guys) convoy or protecting a red faction camp from an EDF assault. My favorite part about all the missions (main and side) is that they are very open-ended about how you do them, which is my favorite thing in a sandbox game. You'll often be tasked with taking out or protecting a target but exactly how you do it is up to you. I also appreciate the "guerrilla-ness" of the game, which I wasn't really expecting. When you start taking up arms against the EDF and start blowing up their stuff they take notice and quick. Enemy reinforcements are fast and numerous which really encourages well-planned, hit-and-run tactics (or at least fast improvisation). Kudos to the team for making me feel (and play) like a real freedom fighter. Very cool.

My favorite example of this is a mission where I had to save a group or miners under EDF house arrest. To start, I broke into the building (through the front door in this case), shot the guards, and untied the hostages. Looking out the front window I could see EDF troops making their way through the front door and more reinforcements on the way, so I threw a det charge on the back wall and blew it open and we all jumped down from there (the second floor) and ran out to my vehicle which was parked a little bit away near the road. We were able to mostly avoid the EDF troops that had surrounded the building, and the whole thing felt very clever, cool, and organic.

I only have a couple complaints right now. The first is that the story doesn't seem particularly long. I can't say for certain how long the game is, but there don't seem to be that many storyline missions, and liberating a whole sector doesn't seem to be the ordeal I would expect it to be. I've only liberated one thus far (which I think was mostly like a prolonged tutorial), so I may be jumping the gun, but I hope the rest of the sectors are far more difficult to liberate, otherwise I think it kind of kills some of the immersion.

The other minor, though frustrating point is that random guerrillas can't get in my vehicle. Once you rally enough support, if you engage the EDF you will gather random colonists who will fight with you. I want to be able to gather them and take them on a sort of improvised raid on the larger destruction targets the game has to offer. Unfortunately, they just won't get in whatever I am driving, so I have to start the raid by myself and just hope some of my friends decide to show up. It's a minor thing, but I would have much preferred to see something similar to the "homie" system from Saint's Row 2, where my loyal allies will stay with me until I release them or they die.

All in all I am really enjoying the game, and it kept me up far later than I should have allowed it. If you haven't checked it out already you should at least download the demo on XBL or the PSN.

RCF: ACiT Stage Show on Gamespot

2009-06-03T16:02:00.001-07:00

Check it out!

Forests are FULL of trees

2009-06-01T21:42:00.000-07:00

Yeah, so that's a kind of silly (ok, very silly) post title, but I do think it captures a lot of what's going through my mind right now. I spent most of today reviewing my levels and trying to capture and prioritize all the things I need to do for our impending deadline. While, I think I've only captured the basic stuff for now, it's certainly not a short or straightforward list. While I think attending E3 would be fun, I'm kind of glad I am not going so I can use the extra time (with less people around) to try and get caught up.

All that being said, it doesn't really explain the post title which only occured to me as I was driving home. Before the end of this year, Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time will be on store shelves, with my name and my work inside it, entertaining hundreds of thousands of games out there. That thought just brought a smile to my face. I mean the Guildhall gave me plenty of projects and experience, experience that I don't think could be much closer to the professional reality I am in now, but they never gave me this: an actual game. A game that is going to be played by millions of people.

It's just a really exciting thought, and one that it's very easy to lose sight of on a daily basis I think. Sometimes it's hard to remember what it's like to see what you are working on for the first time. Sometime it's really hard. Anyway, I just thought I would share that. Now I am going to try and wind down for the evening. I haven't been sleeping well for whatever reason over the past couple weeks, so I spent most of today pretty tired. I am hoping that I can force myself to go to sleep earlier and get some real rest. Here's hoping...

What I'm Playing - 5.31.09

2009-05-31T19:59:00.000-07:00

As my weekend draws to a close, I daresay I really have made the most of it...at least from a relaxation standpoint. I avoided pretty much all things productive over the weekend and managed to keep my time squarely focused on playing games, watching TV and movies, and sleeping. I've also resolved to begin daily posts on the blog again, even if the posts have to be incredibly brief as my available free time trends toward zero. We'll see how my resolution holds over the coming weeks. So here's what I've been playing, mostly over the past few days:

Infamous (PS3) - I've been having a blast playing this game. I am a little more than halfway through the game (52% according to my save) and I have to say it's a great, if somewhat repetitive experience. Repetition aside, the gameplay itself is compelling and enjoyable. Whether you are deftly climbing up the side of a building, grinding along power lines, or hurling lighting bolts and electric missiles at a giant trash golem, the game never fails to be exciting to play and dazzling to watch. The game seems to have the most in common with Crackdown and Assassin's Creed, inheriting an unfortunate level of repetition with the latter. While all the main story quests are engaging and exciting, the same cannot be said for all the side missions. Some are great fun, while others leave something to be desired (though opinions may differ on which missions belong to which group), unfortunately the variety is lacking so you will often play the same mission multiple times with in a relatively short span of game time. That being said, the side missions are not required to advance, but some more variety or engaging mission design would have been appreciated. Still, I think the game compares quite favorably with Assassin's Creed in this regard as almost all the missions are more fun than those from AC, plus you're a lightning bolt wielding superhero. So you've got that going for you...In the end I'd say it's a great game that's a real joy to play, but it tastes best in smaller doses where the repetition is less apparent.
Fable 2 (X360) - To be honest, I haven't played too much of this this week. I got a bunch of new quests some new areas to explore, but there doesn't seem to be a whole lot else for my character to gain at this point. I own an incredible portion of the kingdom, I have yet to find anything that improves weapon or clothing selection, and I've maxed out pretty much every ability I'm interested in. Also, while I like the idea that your skills affect your appearance in theory, in practice I would like my character to be skilled with melee weapons without having to look like a circus strongman, especially considering my character is a woman. Another system I wish had a bit more depth (like maybe your skills give you more freedom in customizing your appearance) but I discussed that at length in my last post. It's still fun to run around Albion and see what there is to see, I just wish it didn't feel like my character was already finished. Maybe I'll find a cool and useful legendary weapon and all will be forgiven. Or maybe some legendary clothes that make me look super sweet. Where are those I ask?
Gears of War 2 (X360) - Played this with Rick for a few hours over the weekend sort of on a whim, and we finished my first playthrough (Rick had already beaten the game prior). The ending boss battle is just silly (I smell something that was cut), but on the whole, Gears is loads of fun to play especially co-op. Working with a sibling or best friend to take out a horde of alien mutants all while shouting psuedo-military chatter (and trash talk) back and forth, is an experience not to be missed. Gears of War 2 maybe a bit on the short side, but it's filled with non-stop action and some seriously memorable moments, so I still give it a very high recommendation to any 360 owners.

That's it for now, hopefully I'll have had a chance to play some more before this time next week!

My Last Weekend

2009-05-30T23:07:00.000-07:00

So, I guess I haven't been doing a great job of the whole "write more on the blog" thing. I'll see what I can do about that...

That being said, it's become clear to me that things are going to get very busy for me very soon. We're closing in on a very important milestone at work and it's clear that there's a lot of work still left to be done. As such, this may be my last full weekend for quite some time, at least the next few weeks if not months. It's not something I'm really upset about, just part of the job really. I do love my weekends though, so I've been trying to make the most of it while I have the chance. I've been playing a lot of Infamous and Fable II and otherwise just enjoying the day.

I also got some boardgames in the mail this week which is super exciting. I haven't bought any boardgames in a while and I love checking out the new rules and nuances of the games (yes, I am that nerdy). I got the new Cosmic Encounter, Small World, Dominion, and a couple of decks for Blue Moon. I've only had the chance to briefly try out Dominion and lunch on Friday, but we had to cut the game short. Dominion seems really solid, pretty straightforward, but with loads of subtle, interesting nuances, and a lot of replayability. I've only looked over the rules of the other two but they seem great as well (Cosmic Encounter is already one of my favorites from a previous version). I look forward to trying them all out at my Tuesday night game night, whenever we have the time to meet.

That's pretty much it. Just keeping on keeping on and sort of bracing myself for the coming storm. I honestly don't think it will be that bad, but I've never actually been part of a professional studio in full-on crunch mode so I suppose I am a little anxious to see how bad it can really be, though I don't imagine it can really compare to the Guildhall. Or at least I hope not. At the very least, I look at the other Ratchet & Clank games and remember how awesome they are, and that makes everything feel much more worthwhile. Sometimes when we're really in the thick of it, it's easy to lose sight of what we're working toward, so it's nice to see those games and remember them as a player, not just a developer.

Alright, well, I've got a little more weekend to enjoy, so I better get back to it...

Full Moon Show - Season Premiere!

2009-05-26T13:26:00.000-07:00

http://podcast.insomniacgames.com/podcasts/fullmoonshow_37.mp3

Season premiere of Insomniac's developer podcast, enjoy!

What I'm Playing - 5.25.09

2009-05-25T19:57:00.000-07:00

Well, I had planned for this to be a weekly post, but I had also planned for there to be other post in between. This last week was just kind of stressful (except for these last few days of delicious vacation), so I guess I've been spending most of my time at home just trying to relax. Anyway, here's what's going on videogame-wise:

KoTOR II: The Sith Lords (PC) - I actually just finished the game on Friday, or I should say the game ended, though I didn't feel I was directly responsible for it's conclusion. The game has a number of strong parts, but I think it will overall stand in my head as a pale shadow of its predecessor. Maybe that's just the unfortunate postion of a sequel to a critically acclaimed game, especially when that sequel gets rushed out the door before it's truly ready. There are several parts in the game that I truly enjoyed (like getting embroiled in the mystery and intrigue of a civil war brewing on one of the planets), but I think that the unfortunately lacking conclusion diminishes the entire game as a whole. Events in the game felt like they were building to something great before it all just stopped without any great explanation or resolution. It's no Soul Reaver, PsiOps, or Halo 2 on this point, but it's still an unsatisfying conclusion. Too bad really. Still I am glad to have played it and enjoyed a great deal of my adventure.
Fable II (X360) - After finishing KoTOR 2, I had some overwhelming desire to play this game, and I'm not really sure why. My best guess is all the ads for the new DLC that were litered across my 360's dashboard, but whatever the reason, I've been playing it like crazy and loving it. When the game originally came out, I was neck deep in thesis work so I didn't really have the chance to play it nearly as much as I would have liked before. The game is not without it's flaws for certain, but there's just something fun about being in the world of Albion. There's a great sense of freedom to explore and just really do whatever you want. Often, I would get busy just taking odd jobs and trying to expand my real estate holdings without really moving the main quest forward at all. Other times I'd be exploring every nook and cranny looking for cool, secret areas or "phat loots." It's one of those addicitive expereinces where you keep have one "last" thing to do and before you know it it's 3 AM. As I said, the game has it's shortcomings, which mostly amount to every part of the game (combat, character development, story, etc.) being too shallow. I love the amount of freedom that Fable II just gives me to live in the world and really play a role, I just wish the expereince had deeper levels for me to explore. Still, I've been playing it almost non-stop since Friday (except for a few Memorial Day BBQs) and it's still managed to keep my interest, so I suppose I can't complain too much.
Saint's Row 2 (PS3) - I still am playing this only intermittently, but it's great for just kicking back and having fun. There are a remarkable number of varied things to do in any given play session. Similar to Fable II, it supports a lot of player freedom and allows me to just get in and have a good time without having to worry too much about what I should be doing. The story may be a bit weaker for it, but that really not what I'm playing it for, so that's fine with me.

I am also eagerly anticipating the release of Infamous and Red Faction: Guerilla over the next couple weeks. Both had really strong demos, in my opinion, and I am really looking forward to what both games seem to bring to the open-world genre (is that a genre?). Of course, given all the Fable II and Saint's Row 2 I've been playing lately, I'll definitely have to pace myself and maybe throw an RPG or a strategy game in there somewhere :).

What I'm Playing - 5.18.09

2009-05-18T22:45:00.000-07:00

Whoops, meant to post this yesterday, but I got busy with, well, not doing this anyhow, and then I ended up staying late at work until just a few moments ago. So, anyway...

Here's what I've been playing recently:

Sacred 2 (X360) - I picked this up over the weekend, and I have to say I am enjoying it even more than I expected to. I love a good dungeon crawler, and on the consoles, the couch co-op they offer are among the best of my co-op gaming experiences. I expected this game to be a good if rough incarnation of the genre, and was pleasantly surprised to find something closer to a great (if rough) incarnation. The story and quests seem pretty simple, but the world is huge, the classes seem suitably varied and highly customizable, and there seems to be plenty of "phat" loots to find, so what more can you really ask for from an dungeon crawler? I know, you could ask for Diablo 3, so would I and we'd probably be right, but it's not really going to make Blizzard work any faster, nor is it going to allow me to play it from the comfort of my couch. I've also been playing it online with my brother a great deal and have found setting up a connection with one another to be pretty seamless. In fact, with how large the world is and how the game handles "parties" it feels more like playing an MMO without all those other people around to bother you :P. It's a good fun, dungeon crawl with seemingly very long legs, so if that's something you are interested in, check it out, just be prepared for some lower than average framerates and lackluster storytelling.
KoTOR II: The Sith Lords (PC) - Due to the marathon of Sacred 2 over the past weekend, I haven't played this too terribly much lately (I don't usually have much time to play during the week), but I am close to finishing the last of initial set of planets, which I believe means I am closing in on the ending. I've been enjoying the game for the most part, though some of the dialogue seems to drag on a bit. Admittedly, this is mostly my own fault since I tend to ask every character everything I possibly can, because I like to get all the background, especially on my allies, but at the same time, if it's been a while since I've been in a good combat scenario I tend to get a bit antsy. I think this is actually where my biggest gripe with the game lies: a significant lack of good combat setups. Oh there's a good deal of combat, but a few lightsaber swings later everyone is dead except for me and my compatriots who have collectively suffered a minor bruise, and this is on the hardest difficulty setting. I have lots of cool powers at my disposal which do make me feel pretty bad-ass, but with no really worthy opponents to use them on the significance is greatly diminished. I recognize that people don't really play RPGs to be challenged, especially when the enemy/experience pool is strictly limited (i.e., no grinding), but I feel if I am choosing to play on a mode called "difficult" I should lose once in a while, and not just because you force me to use the crappy characters for. Still the story is solid, and being a Jedi is still a cool experience, even if it's an easy one.
Saints Row 2 (PS3) - I think I only played this once last week, but it kept me up later than intended, so it deserves mentioning. This game may not have the cinematic flare or urban grit of GTA IV, but it makes up for it with moxy and off-the-wall fun. This is the perfect beer-and-pretzels game for you to just pick up and have fun with, without getting too invested. That's not usually my MO, as I prefer to get deeply absorbed in one game at a time, but it can be a refereshing change of pace from some of my more cerebral experiences.

Well, that's it for now. I am hoping to turn this into a recurring thing, I just hope that when I play the same thing for more than I couple weeks my experiences are different enough to have new and interesting things to say about it...at least new things :). Later, all!

Infamous comes out with a BANG!

2009-05-13T15:54:00.000-07:00

...or maybe a ZAP!

And technically it hasn't "come out" yet...

Anyway, IGN gave it a 9.2 (Outstanding) and the reviewer simply said "Infamous is amazing." Color me excited. Here's a link to the written review.

Net Roots

2009-05-12T23:02:00.001-07:00

Join the Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time facebook group!

I think we also have a Twitter feed around here somewhere....

Narrative Density

2009-05-11T21:07:00.000-07:00

So whenever I talk about games, RPGs in particular, I always to end up talking about what I call narrative density, or in the simplest terms, the ratio of story to gameplay. Now, it's not a strict ratio, as a ratio assumes a certain amount of mutual exclusivity, which I don't mean to imply. Storyline and gameplay can exist at the same time, in fact, I think in the best games they often do. Nevertheless, I come back to the original concept, Narrative Density.

The reason I think of this particular concept is because I am currently playing through Knights of the Old Republic 2 (which I should say I am quite enjoying), Obsidian Entertainment's first game (at least as Obsidian). Obsidian has since released Neverwinter Nights 2 and several expansions, and is now working on the action, spy RPG Alpha Protocol. Why is that important? Well, as you are probably aware Knights of the Old Republic 2 and Neverwinter Nights 2 are sequels (duh) to what where originially Bioware games (just drop the 2's and you have the original titles). Bioware games I finished, finished very close to thier original release in fact, in additon to playing all of the official expansions to the original Neverwinter Nights. So why then, have I never managed to finish KOTOR2 or NWN 2 (sorry typing those all out got tiresome quickly) despite repeated attempts?

What I think it all comes down to for me is this concept of narrative density, of how much time I spend talking vs. killing monsters and exploring dungeons. I think, as far as I am concerned, Bioware is at almost exactly the right level of density for me, whereas Obsidian misses the mark, spending far more time than I would like talking and telling me the story than allowing me to experience it for myself. On the flip side, I think modern console RPGs have gone the opposite direction. In an attempt to keep achieveing longer and longer RPG expereiences, titles like The Last Remnant and Final Fantasy XII offer up far more in the way of dungeon slogging than they do in story, so much so that occasionally I actually forgot what my overall goal was in the first place.

So what does all this mean? Well, I think it's different for each player. Some players may desire to almost read their way through the story, while others may only be interested in the action, and I think there are plenty of games that they would be satisfied with. The really difficult one to please (such as myself) sits right in the middle, desiring a certain mix of story and action, and that mix may vary from person to person. The desire is not so strong that it completely deprives us of joy if our ideal density is not present. As I said, I am greatly enjoying KOTOR2, despite feeling a bit detached in certain 20 mintue conversations, but it is still something I am aware of, and if I am aware of it, I know it's not ideal. Admittedly, I love talking to Kreia, all her dialogue is intriguing and thought-provoking, so kudos to Obsidian for creating a character that actually makes you think, but I don't think I ever felt this way about the original KOTOR, Mass Effect, or even Jade Empire, and it seems worthy of noting.

In fact, my favorite game of all time, Chrono Trigger, is remarkably short for an RPG. About 12-15 hours for one playthrough and maybe double that to achieve every ending. It seems as though an RPG of that length today would be chastised by the community at large though it is one of the highest rated games of all time according to GameRankings. And I guess that is really my point (I know, I wasn't sure I had one either). As games continue to get more and more complex, there also seems to be this push to have more and more content often at the cost of quality (at least within the RPG market, in my opinion). This trend for the most part disturbs me, and I hope that developers are eventually able to overcome it in favor or shorter much more polished expereiences. While I might personally be a bit upset at a 6 hour experience, if all six of those hours were nothing but top-shelf entertainment, it would probably still go down as one of my games of the year (look at the Gears of War series).

The truth is from the standpoint of a consumer or a developer we would all rather have a game that's too short, than too long. That's all I'm saying...

Reading the Past

2009-05-06T22:42:00.000-07:00

Man, I just read through some of my older stuff, it's interesting to relive those moments in text. Of course, that may be because my memory is so poor it feels more like reading a book than something I wrote.

I also noticed I used to write A LOT more like every day...and that was when I was working practically all the time. Maybe I'm just lazy...

I'll see about correcting that. :)

My 90 Day Reflection

2009-05-06T22:13:00.000-07:00

So, I haven't posted anything in a while, and even longer since it was anything of consequence (not that I don't consider my love of Chuck important). I've been thinking about it lately and I suppose I have confirmed some of my fears about trying to maintain this dear blog while actually working in the industry. The short story: it's hard.

Now I am sure there are a lot of things I could write about, like what I am currently playing (Knights of the Old Republic 2) and what I am the most excited for in the near future (Infamous), but I guess that wasn't exactly what I wanted this blog to be about. I wanted to write about the industry from an insider's view, to talk about how games are actually made, and have some written chronicle of my meteoric rise to the top (or middle as the case may be), but it's proving even harder to do than I expected.

When I was in school I could talk about pretty much everything I was doing, the challenge and excitement of it, the big moments and the let downs. It was a good chance for me to reflect on what I was doing, even if my day was just a lazy Saturday that was lazier than it maybe should have been. Still, it was just a chance to think and evaluate what I was doing. The work is still as challenging and exciting as it was in school, probably even moreso now that it's "real," but of course none of it that I can share.

What I can say is work is going well, really well. I just had my last starter review, and I don't think it could have gone much better. My manager was extremely complimentary of my work, I feel like I am making real contributions to the project, and I am fitting in great with the team. I am really happy with how things are going here, and I am really excited for all of you to tell me what you think of the game when it ships. That's really as much as I can say, and I hope that's enough.

As for what this blog is going to be, that's still up in the air. I suppose I could keep writing about video games in general. I keep thinking up articles I could write like "Why I don't really play multiplayer RTSs" or "The Top 5 places I DON'T want to go in a Star Wars game" (Number one, Nar Shadda...bleh, bo-ring), but I am never really driven to write anything. That's probably just a lazy excuse, but I am still trying to figure out what I want to do with my time, now that I have a life again, and the blog just hasn't rated very highly.

It's weird sometimes to be out of the Guildhall. Everyone there was so driven, working very hard toward a very specific goal. It was hard to be sure, grueling in fact, but also it was so focusing. Like you didn't have time or energy to worry about anything else. Now that I am "free" I find that I have a lot more time to think about what I really want my life to be about (other than the job of course). I guess it makes you think.

Anyway, I am being exceedingly reflective at the moment, but as I said, that was always kind of the point, at least for me. I hope that my random musings are at least an interesting distraction from time to time, and I'll see what else I can do :).

I <3 Chuck

2009-04-28T21:20:00.001-07:00

So I realize it's been a week and I haven't written anything, but I must reiterate my love for Chuck. I just watched the season finale, and it was nothing short of fantastic. It is probably one of my favorite shows of all time.

Please don't take it away NBC...

Please?

This week's Chuck

2009-04-21T23:22:00.000-07:00

I just watched this week's Chuck and I have some very important questions:

Are they taking my precious Chuck away?
Is this some clever ruse or simply trying to write in a way that they can go out gracefully if not renewed?
Why don't more people like/watch this show?

I demand answers!

And if you aren't watching Chuck, you should be, it's phenomenal. Easily one of my favorite shows if not the favorite since it originally aired.

Stop watching whatever the hell else is on Mondays at 8:00 and watch Chuck!

Alright, I'm done.

Pirates make me sick

2009-04-18T20:37:00.000-07:00

http://www.pcworld.com/article/163359/hey_demigod_game_pirates_stop_killing_fun.html

I'm not sure if it's the concept in general or the specific comments from the posters below the article. While I am sure the launch of Demigod could have gone better, the sense or absurd pirate entitlement makes me want to hit something. If you take something without paying for it, it is stealing. Period. The fact that people can feel completely justified in that behavior just makes me want to puke.

BTW, as a former DOTA player I can say that Demigod is pretty good for what it's worth. I think it manages to expand on that formula in interesting ways, and offers a lot of strategic multiplayer action. Though I could do with a little more of a single-player campaign, but I guess you can't have everything.

Have you worked 40+ hours this week...

2009-04-15T23:16:00.000-07:00

...because I have, not even counting Sunday. I'm not even really upset about it, just tired. Heck, there have been people there every night after I left!

Anyway, it's sleepy time. More news later, maybe after this milestone...

Only 6 Posts in March, Really?

2009-04-12T21:00:00.000-07:00

I guess that statistic shouldn't really surprise me considering how busy things have been. The sad part (as Rick would be quick to point out) is that half of those are links without any other real description. Oh well, I've been personally and professionally slammed as of late, and considering I wasn't exactly sure what I was doing with this site anyway, it seemed an easy thing to put on the back burner. The far back burner, like one in some else's kitchen...I'm still not sure exactly what I want this blog to be, but I figure as long as I keep trying to write I will, and it can serve as a record of my mental deterioration for when they finally commit me.

Anyway, I don't have a whole lot to say about games since I sadly haven't been playing that many lately. Over the last few weeks I got involved in a number of different social activities including, but not limited to, lindy class, salsa class, church group, board game night, and other ad-hoc social outings. I think I've been running at a bit more extroverted pace that I prefer and I think it has slowly worn me down. Luckily a lot of my social activities have completed or at least reduced their frequency so I can get some time to just relax on the couch with a nice game or movie instead of constantly being on the move.

Unfortunately, I think work sensed my respite, brief though it was, and managed to fill in all that free time with additional work. As such, I had to go in yesterday and today to try to play catch up for having to miss a few days this week as I had to leave town in order to attend a family funeral. It's been a whirlwind week to be sure, but I think the waves are starting die down a little bit, or at least I feel like I have a better handle on them right now. There are some significant deadlines in RCF2 over the next couple weeks so I am sure I'll be busy, but I made some good consistent progress on my goals today, and honestly I think that's all I can really ask for. Any day without significant setbacks or roadblocks is a good day in my book.

Well, I think that should do for now. I haven't had time to play much of anything lately, so I am looking forward to doing some well-deserved gaming before I need to turn in for the evening. Night all!

RCF2 Teaser

2009-03-30T13:58:00.001-07:00

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/47274.html

Want to Design a Ratchet Weapon?

2009-03-30T09:54:00.001-07:00

http://us.playstation.com/ratchetandclank/weaponcontest/

Check it out!

2009-03-26T14:37:00.000-07:00

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2009/03/26/introducing-ratchet-clank-future-a-crack-in-time/

Not saying I'm involved or anything.

Seriously, I'm not.

Say What?

2009-03-24T12:50:00.001-07:00

How is there an RTS trading-card game hybrid by EA that I did not know about?

www.battleforge.com

More Checking In

2009-03-18T23:44:00.000-07:00

Still not dead, but very busy. Cruise was fun, but I got a pretty bad sunburn out of the deal. More details to follow, but now sleep...

Checking In

2009-03-05T22:19:00.001-08:00

Just letting the world know I am not dead, just busy...

Work is going well and I'm integrating well with the team which is excellent. I am playing a little bit of everything right now. I started Saints Row 2 again, and have been enjoying the sheer amount of crazy, of-the-wall fun that game is. It really is a true sandbox game in that it is chuck full of fun things to do without out any extra pretenses or requirements. I am also downloading the Empire: Total War demo right now since the game has gotten 9s and above from every major website that has reviewed it. I'm a bit skeptical about ranged Total War gameplay, but the critics seem to think it works very well, so I am eager to give it a shot. I am still making my way through Killzone 2, though I keep getting distracted by the multiplayer (not to take anything away from how polished and enjoyable the single player campaign is). That's about it for now. Later!

First Impressions: Killzone 2

2009-02-28T22:19:00.001-08:00

In a word: awesome. In two words: ummm...super awesome?

There's certainly hasn't been a shortage of first person shooters since the holidays, but even if you are a little tired of the genre, Killzone 2 gets enough right to pull you in regardless. The most obvious thing is the game's graphics, which are nothing short of mind-blowing. It is easily the best-looking game on the system to date, and probably the best looking game ever released. That being said, graphics aren't everything, but the good news is the Killzone 2 has the gameplay to back them up.

The first thing you'll probably notice is it is a "slow" shooter. I mean a couple things by that, but most literally I mean that your character moves and controls very slowly. Your actions feel like they have some real weight to them, and it takes a little time to get used to, but in the end I think it's one of the things that really makes the game feel unique. In addition, the game features cover-based "stop-and-pop" gunplay over running and gunning. While your character can still take a beating, it's important to move intelligently from cover-to-cover, and never stay out in the open too long.

Having spent a little time with both the single-player and multiplayer offerings, I can say that they are both great, but I find myself really enjoying the multiplayer right now. Much like the single-player campaign, the multiplayer gameplay is very slow and strategic which is right where I want it to be some where between Call of Duty 4 and Gears of War in terms of bullet-to-death ratio. In addition, the list of potential unlocks for the game seems insane, and having put in a few hours now I feel like I have only scratched the surface of what the multiplayer gameplay truly is once more people (including myself) have access to different weapons and classes. Now that I've pulled myself away from the game long enough to write this, I think it's time to dive back in.

If you own a PS3 and don't completely abhor the FPS genre, you should do yourself a favor and pick this one up. Of course, if you fit into that category you probably already have, so I'll see you in the Warzone!

Recipe for Disaster

2009-02-25T21:33:00.000-08:00

Still at work...need to pee...they are cleaning the one restroom on the floor...

Ehhhhhh.......

A Thought on Dawn of War II

2009-02-23T23:35:00.001-08:00

If I had an actual fanbase (no offense to my friends and family who actually read my insane ramblings) I imagine this would start some sort flame war. That being said...

The Tyranids are currently ridiculously overpowered. Discuss.

Review: Dawn of War II

2009-02-22T20:55:00.000-08:00

Dawn of War II's very focused, tactical gameplay make it a unique and enjoyable strategy experience not to be missed.

Well, over the last few days I have had the chance to play a fair bit of Dawn of War II's single player campaign as well as enjoy some of its multiplayer offerings, and I have to say the game is quite good and a title that any strategy gamer should definitely check out. That being said, the biggest thing to be aware of is how much this game differs from its predecessor. Outside of being based in the same universe, and having some allusions to characters and places from the previous games, the two games have relatively little in common, at least in how they play. Proceeding along the same line of thoughts as Relic's Company of Heroes, the game focuses very strongly on tactics and micromanagement of your units, instead of economy management and base building.

There are no longer bases to build, and all the resources used to produce the game's units are found out on the battlefield, where they can be very hotly contested. In addition, moreso than any game I can think of, units are very expensive compared to the rate at which you acquire resources, so it's imporant to know exactly what kind of units you need in a given battle and try to keep them alive as long as possible. Units also acquire experience and multiple levels of veterency by defeating other units, further encouraging you to keep your units in the fight. Throughout a battle, you will only ever be dealing with a handful of units which allows you to focus very intently on making sure your units are positioned well and use their different special abilites effectively, and nowhere is this more true than in the game's single player campaign.

Dawn of War II's single player campaign has you commanding a very small team of space marines against hordes of aliens including the Orks, Eldar, and a new comer to the Dawn of War series, the Tyranids. In any mission, you can have at most four squads deployed, with each squad having only a couple units a piece (except for your force commander who chooses to run solo). Each squad has unique advantages and disadvatages for ranged and melee combat as well as defense. In addition, throughout the campaign the squads gain experience allowing you to choose how they should progress in order to gain better statistics and new abilities. Finally, similar to a classic dungeon crawler, some of the enemy combatants will drop 'loot' in the form of different equipment you can use to outfit your squad. Together, these two systems allow for a great deal of customization, so you can really make your squads suit your playstyle.

The campaign also has an interesting structure that sits somewhere between the completely open style of the Dark Crusade and Soulstorm expansions and the linear style of the original Dawn of War and Winter Assault. At times, you will have to take very specific missions in order to progress the story, while at others you will have a number of missions to choose from including optional missions that can be used to improve your squads, acquire better equipment, and improve your overall score in the campaign. In addition, the game has the option for you to hook up with a friend and play through the game cooperatively, which actually works out very well. With each commander controlling two of the four squads, each player can put additional focus on managing their units and communication is a must. The cooperative play is very good and, in my opinion, feels much more natural than Red Alert 3's cooperative gameplay from last year.

Finally, the last thing to bring up is the game's competitive multiplayer which comes in two flavors: one-on-one, head-to-head matches and three-on-three team battles. Both experiences are very enjoyable and add to the game's already impressive replay value. In both modes, each player controls one stronghold which produces all that player's units. From there, the player must capture points on the map in order to generate requisition (the main resource) and power in order to build units. One-on-one game's feel very tight and action-packed, while the three-on-three matches offer a real battlefield experience with player's coordinating attacks across multiple fronts with many units involved in the skirmishes. The only real complaint I have about the game's multiplayer offerings are the very small map set the game ships with, only 7 in total: three 1v1 maps and four 3v3's. Compared to the twenty or so from Red Alert 3 (my most recent multiplayer RTS) the selection seems a bit thin. Relic has said more maps should be coming soon (ostensibly for free), but no specific details at the moment.

All in all I have been very happy with my time with Dawn of War II and I would definitely recommend it to any strategy gamers. To fans of the series, it's definitely not the same game as its predecessor, so you should definitely try it before you buy it, but if you give it a chance, I think you'll find there's a lot to love about Dawn of War II. Now I've got some aliens that need purging...

Home By 8:00, Hot Diggity!

2009-02-20T20:21:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been quite the week. We did get Monday off which technically made this a four day week, though I'm pretty sure we just crammed five days worth of work in there. Anyway, this is the first night I've gotten back before 9:00 P.M. and also the first night I can remember not feeling completely bushed after work. We've got a big deadline coming up next week, but I think I managed to get a lot done this week, especially today, so my level is in a good position.

Heh...my level. It feels pretty awesome saying that. As I was working on my stuff today, I really started to see how the level was coming together and what it will be in the end, and it just got me really excited about work all over again. This is one of the only jobs I've ever had where the work itself has actually kept me going. Like just seeing what it was and what it could be inspired me to work harder. It's all very empowering.

Anyway, as I said, it's my first night at home in a while, so I am going to try and make the most of it and play the crap out of some Dawn of War II before I head to bed for the evening. I'll write up a preview or first impression sometime this weekend probably, but in short, I am enjoying it quit a bit. It's pretty much exactly what I wanted it to be: awesome.

The Last Box

2009-02-16T20:19:00.000-08:00

Well, the last moving box has officially been unpacked as of a few hours ago! Hooray!

I suppose I may be using the term "unpacked" a bit loosely as there is still a great deal of random crap sitting around my apartment waiting to be organized and put away (or discarded/donated), but there are no more boxes waiting to be broken down. I still need to get rid of all the packing remnants as well as a rather large pile of cardboard boxes and packing paper is currently blocking the direct route between my bedroom and the living room forcing me to take a minor detour through the kitchen.

Outside of organizing my apartment, I played more Warhammer Online today, and decided to start yet another class. Last night I got involved in some open RvR (realm vs. realm) content and decided I thought it might be more fun to have some more support abilities like a healer. I really enjoyed being a Bear Shaman in AoC (by far my favorite class in any MMO to date), so I picked the class that most closely resembled that within the Forces of Destruction, the Disciple of Khaine. So I introduce to you, Nalrel the Wise...

He's still new so he doesn't have much in the way of cool looking gear, but he's full of potential. Like most of the time when I start up a new MMO, it's all I've been playing for the last few days. Also, since I've been bouncing around from character to character, there's not much I can say except that I have been enjoying it, especially the PvP content and how it is such a central part of the game experience. Now, if only there was a Warhammer 40K MMO...

Warhammer Online: Day 4

2009-02-15T19:46:00.001-08:00

So, lately I've been really jonesing for a dungeon crawler, and I ultimately decided to start playing an MMO again now that I have some more free time on my hands. As the subject of this post clearly suggests, I decided to startup Warhammer Online last Thursday. I haven't played it that much since the first couple days I spent most of my time trying to resolve an annoying bug that mad the game stutter as it loaded in new assets despite the fact that my computer should be more than capable of handling it. The issue turned out to be caused by the game's lightmaps which I was unfortunately forced to disable, taking away an unfortunate amount of the game 's visual appeal (in my opinion), but it's more important that it run smoothly...

After that, I've spent the last couple days trying to settle on faction and class (I like to try out several different classes before settling on one), and have decided to go with the Forces of Destruction and the Marauder class - a melee DPS class that can mutate its limbs to get different abilities and attacks. Anyway, my limited experience with it thus far hasn't given me too much to say about it. The PvE content thus far seems a bit lackluster (admittedly, my "main" character is only level 4), but the PvP/RvR content seems very enjoyable. Right now, I've only played with pickup groups, often with very little communication, but it seems like the PvP content could be very enjoyable with a group of friends and some voice chat involved.

I intend to keep playing the game for the rest of my freebie month and decide whether to continue from there. I'm going to try to play it sort of intensely, at least as much as my interest level allows, to see how the content changes at the higher levels. The furthest I've ever been in an MMO was my brief stint with Age of Conan last year, where I managed to get a character to level 47-ish, before deciding to quit for school, though I've heard there isn't a lot more for me to see at that point anyhow. Well, seeing as Insomniac has kindly decided to give its employees tomorrow off I think I'll take some time now to experience a little more of what Warhammer Online has to offer...

Later!

2009-02-10T21:08:00.000-08:00

I was checking in on my LinkedIn profile tonight, and I didn't realize that you can apparently look at who is looking at you. Check it out:

Designer at Bioware
Recruiter at Electronic Arts
Designer at The Guildhall at SMU
Designer at 3D Realms
Recruiter at GameRecruiter.com

I'm pretty sure I know the Designer at Bioware and The Guildhall isn't a big surprise, but beyond that it's kind of neat. Anyway, just thought I would share. If anyone super cool decides to check out my profile, I will certainly let you all know :D

First Impressions: Mirror's Edge

2009-02-08T20:28:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm still debating how personal I want the blog to be, though some counsel has indicated that completely removing the personal stuff would be a bad thing, so I'm just deciding how personal to get. That being said, what I am certain I can and should be writing about on my little blog is video games - thoughts on what I am playing and other going-ons in the industry. With that, I will offer my brief first impressions on Mirror's Edge, which I just received from GameFly this weekend.

The truth is, I like it a lot more than I expected, certainly more than I liked the demo. I am already through two of the game's chapters after less than an hour of play so it doesn't seem very long (and thus not worth purchasing in my opinion), but I've certainly enjoyed my time with it. The key for me, it would seem, was to turn off "runner vision" (the thing that highlights the path you are supposed to take in bright, immersion-breaking red). I'm not sure if this was a new feature in the patch I just downloaded, but I think it makes the game 100% better for me. Instead of just following the predetermined path, I find myself constantly looking trying to figure out where I am supposed to go and how to get there all while running across rooftops under a constant hail of gunfire. I find it makes the experience much more immersive and exciting, and makes it feel more legitimately like actual parkour (at least as I would imagine it).

Also, I should make a point to say I love the game's music, though I am a sucker for a piano. Pretty much any game music with a piano in it gets an A+ from me. I am not a big fan of the visual style as of yet. The ridulously bright contrasting colors are a bit much for me and pull me out of the experience as the environment doesn't seem even close to realistic even weird, clean, sci-fi realistic (the accounting office I quickly sprinted through that was suffused with an unreasonable amount of bright green light seems like a prime example). Still, I enjoyed my brief stint with it this afternoon, and will no doubt continue playing it throughout the week, so keep your eyes out for a full review in the near future.

I should also mention that I finished the single player campaign of Resistance 2 this afternoon, and though the ending is a complete cliffhanger, it certainly ends with a bang. Despite my general happiness with the game, I have decided not to review/critique it as I don't think I would be able to do so in an unbiased way, and I intend maintain a similar standpoint for all news/reviews surrounding Insomniac games. Sorry if this dissappoints anyone, but I just think it would represent a huge conflict of interest that I don't feel like touching with a ten foot pole. Well, that's the post for today, I hope you all enjoyed it!

Lazy Saturday

2009-02-07T22:05:00.000-08:00

I'm almost positive I've used that post title before...oh well, it's probably not the first time, and it certainly won't be the last...

I spent most of the day just playing games and enjoying having my weekends back. I started the day with a quick errand, then I sat down for a co-op Resistance 2 session with a few friends from my last job and my brother. The co-op in that game is definitely very unique...it is very simple, but nevertheless very enjoyable. The classes are all very specialized and so they rely on the others for support in order to survive which promotes natural teamwork. Then, like a good dungeon crawl, the game spawns legions of enemies for your crack squad to make your way through. Personally, I'm not very partial to the whole co-op fad that seems to be all the rage right now, but I've definitely put my fair share into R2's co-op mode (more than the competitive multiplayer) and I imagine I will continue to for a while yet.

After Resistance, I spent some time wandering around the internets, mostly reading about an expansion to Space Rangers 2, that had somehow completely slipped under my radar last year. I'll blame it on my thesis or the job search or just trying to finish school....yeah, one of those should work. It's funny, I still think about my interviews sometimes, particularly Insomniac. I realize it shouldn't matter as I already have the job, but I guess because I was so anxious and excited it was really emotionally charged so now it is sort of permanently etched in my brain. Well, as permanent as anything in my brain is....

I also played a few matches of Red Alert 3 with Rick where I think I went 4-1, though he can feel free to correct me if I'm wrong...(all those wins just start sort of blending together :P) When I think about Red Alert 3 apart from it, I can never cite anything particularly good or noteworthy about its construction. I mean, the differences in the sides and units are pretty cool, and I think the micromanagement in the game is actually handled pretty well (which is personally very important to me). Each unit having only one special ability makes it a bit easier to metabolize, for me at least. I guess that is something particular I can cite, also the game is dazzling. When battles start really going colored lasers and missiles and smoke just fill the screen and it makes it feel like a huge battle is taking place even if only a few units are involved. Generally, I guess I would say it is a very solid, well balanced, well polished RTS. I personally think the single player campaign is a bit lackluster, and I think that mostly rests on the efforts to make the campaign cooperative.

Since the campaign is structured around having two commanders who are always available to participate in the mission, I think it made creating more interesting and involved mission structures a bit more difficult. As such, most of the missions are, build a base, blow up other guys base(s), repeat until done. No commando or storyline missions, no desperate defenses or strategic retreats, mostly just a series of what feels like skirmish battles. In the game's defense I have only finished the Soviet campaign and played through about half of the Allied campaign, but it hasn't done a good job of making me want to come back, which is a sign to me. On the other hand, I think the multiplayer is quite good, with a number of interesting units and strategies, and no particular dominant strategy that I have seen so far.

After that I watched the most recent episode of Battlestar Galactica, and ended up buying the Space Rangers expansion I mentioned. I played that for a little bit, then went back to Resistance 2 and played a couple more missions in the single player campaign, before stopping to check my email and write this post. And that was more or less my lazy Saturday, which sort of brings me to my final point.

I've been thinking lately about what this blog should be and why I am doing it. On the one hand, I use it simply as a means to keep people in my life informed of what I am doing and I think it has done that pretty well. At this point however, I can't talk about a lot of what is going on (my job) and the rest of it is my personal life, which is either too personal or not interesting enough to write about. So I ask you all, going forward, what do you think this all should be about? Just my day-to-day adventures, my thoughts on design, games, the industry, or the games I play? I've been finding myself in a bit of writer's block lately when it comes to the blog, so I think I need some new material in order to break out. So what do you all think? I'm open to pretty much anything at this point...

Mmmmm...RTS on couch...

2009-02-05T23:04:00.000-08:00

Just got done playing with the Halo Wars demo for the last 2+ hours. Lots of fun, go give it a try!

Sleepy

2009-02-03T21:10:00.000-08:00

Been pulling some longer hours at work lately (not crunch, but more than average...I think), and I'm just tired. Maybe its just me adjusting to a normal sleep schedule, or the fact that I've had a headache the past couple days. Anyway, I'm tired to I am going to unpack a few more things and relax. Work still seems to be going well. This week's a little crazy, but I am starting to get used to everything so that's good. Alright, rest time...

Exhausted

2009-02-02T20:50:00.001-08:00

Been feeling kind of under the weather lately and I worked a long day today (~11 hours), so I think I'm just going to relax and head to bed early tonight. I got a lot done at work today despite some technical difficulties, and one of the leads took the time to compliment my work, so I think I can feel good about that for at least a little while. Later!

Unpack-a-thon

2009-02-01T21:16:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my sister-in-law's sister, Gracie (who came to visit today), I have spent pretty much the entire day unpacking and basically trying to get my apartment in order. She helped unpack the rest of my kitchen supplies and also cooked me two meals today, so her company was as always appreciated, though I didn't expect to keep working another 4+ hours after she left, but whatever.

There are only a handful of boxes left now, though they are mostly the small things out of various drawers from my former apartment, so they will take a bit longer to sort through. In truth, the majority of it should probably just be thrown out, so I'll take the opportunity to get rid of as much of it as I can bear (I'm a bit of a pack rat). Anyway, I've still got a little more clean-up to do from today's unpacking, and I'd like to play something today before I go to bed so, later!

One of the Best Games You Haven't Played: Valkyria Chronicles

2009-01-31T23:33:00.000-08:00

Well, my stuff finally arrived this week which is why my posting has been a bit sporadic lately, but I've finally gotten a good deal of my stuff unpacked (you know, the important things like my computer and my consoles). Today I also had the chance to finally finish Valkyria Chronicles, a task that had been long delayed by my Christmas break (where I had to avoid playing it so not to spoil the story for Rick) and my subsequent move. In fact, with the apartment hunting trip and then my stuff being in transit for almost two weeks it's been quite a while since I had the chance to just sit down and enjoy playing it game. It felt good, made this place actually start feeling at least a little like my new home.

As I said before, my chosen game was Valkyria Chronicles, and having just finished it I can say that that game is one of the best of 2008 at least as far as I'm concerned. It's fun to play, interesting, the story is good and told well, the characters are interesting and they have good (if somewhat predictable) arcs throughout the game. Overall, I think the game stands as a shining example of what made the Playstation and Playstation 2 great: variety. Instead of just being a home for first-person shooters and other action fare, Sony's consoles have always managed to have a whole host of niche titles appealing to a variety of different audiences, and I think that has been largely missing from this generation.

Unfortunately, to this date sales of Valkyria Chronicles have been abysmal (at least in the US), despite the game garnering relatively high praise from critics (86.6% on Game Rankings as of this post). There are a few reasons why I think it is possible that this game didn't sell well, though none of them are good in my opinion, and they make me worry for the future of the industry. The first and foremost reason is likely the complete lack of marketing for the title. I was semi-aware that the title was coming out, but had no idea what it was at the time and largely no interest. I only became aware of the game when Rick picked it up after it started getting high marks in its early reviews. Other reasons such as the game's very niche appeal (turn-based strategy) and exclusivity to the PS3 platform may also have contributed the game's low sales.

All in all, it just worries me that such a good game can do so poorly, while seemingly less deserving games can go on to sell millions of copies. In my opinion Valkyria Chronicles harkens back to the glory days of the original Playstation and games like Final Fantasy Tactics and Vandal Hearts. I wasn't as aware of the industry at the time, but I am pretty sure those games did rather well (I am certain of it with the former, not as much with the latter). This sad truth leads me to believe that I am somewhat on the outside of the mainstream, and that the games and genres that I love are slowly being phased out in favor of the next high-poly, in-your-face, action game on the block.

I don't mean to demonize action games, as there are plenty out there that I have enjoyed a great deal, even in the last year. What worries me is that the more popular, more successful console (I'm not counting you, Wii...we can talk about why you aren't a real video game console later) seems to cater almost exclusively to that demographic with very little else going on, and is often rewarded for it. I may be overreacting, in fact I probably am, but I was very pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed Valkyria Chronicles, and how much it tapped into a part of my video game psyche that I felt had been largely unused this generation. I just hope that Sony and the Playstation 3 are able to continue on this course and keep providing the interesting Eastern titles that they always have.

I suppose we will see before long...

Quotable

2009-01-28T09:40:00.000-08:00

Insomniac is taking everyone on a cruise to the Bahamas to celebrate its 15-year anniversary, and was able to bring a guest. I invited my friend Andy, and in talking about the company he had this to say:

I agree that the company seems awesome and I all I know is that they make good games and take me on cruises. If only there were more companies like that...

Autonomy

2009-01-27T21:09:00.000-08:00

There's not much to say for today, as the day was pretty uneventful overall. I made good progress on my stuff at work and I think the team is happy with my progress. I got to have lunch with a couple of older GH alums that now work at Insomniac. I also found out that my stuff is finally being delivered tomorrow, which is just fantastic. Other than that it was a pretty normal day.

I did have one thought though - it's nice to be providing for myself once again. There's something empowering about knowing that your car, your home, and your food are all possible because your hard work. I am really grateful for all my family's support in following my dream, I'm just happy to know that I won't be relying on their generosity for the rest of my life. I also realized, I really like my job (I realize it's still early). I mean, I like what I am doing, I think I'm good at it, and I'm excited to keep doing it. That may sound funny to some of you, but it's a new experience for me to like my job, so I am going to relish it as much as I can.

I know there will certainly be stressful, difficult times in the future, but I think the Guildhall has certainly prepared me for that. I think I could really be happy doing this for a long time, and that's still just incredibly exciting to me. Alright, I'll stop gushing, anyway things are quite good and soon I will have my TV and computer back and things will be great... :)

Bosom Bug?

2009-01-26T23:24:00.000-08:00

Seriously? In an article on the Times Online, I found the following tidbit of hilarious (and possibly apocryphal) information about Lara Croft and I just had to share:

Her proportions are said to be the result of a design error, when Toby Gard, a graphic artist, accidentally increased her bust-size to 150 per cent of what he intended it to be. The error proved popular with the rest of the design team, and he was persuaded to retain her physique.

Priceless. Here's a link to the rest of the article.

Make a fool out of yourself

2009-01-26T23:00:00.000-08:00

Well, this will be kind of a short post as it's already kind of late here. Things are continuing to progress well in my California assimilation. I am getting more and more familiar with my stuff at work, and today I participated in my first personal, social activity in California - a swing dance class. It was the third in a series of six, so I was a little behind the curve, but I caught up pretty well by the end I think, and it made me think about something...

Most of the times I can remember being nervous or scared in my life had nothing to do with bodily harm or some kind of mortal peril, no they were usually about me being incredibly embarrassed. This fear still plagues me even to this day, and I think the same could be said for a lot of people. I mean, most of us don't deal with actual physical harm on a daily basis, but I think many of us worry about saying or doing the wrong thing in front of someone and what their reaction will be. Often we worry about situations where the worst outcome is so minor that even if all of them went the wrong way the effect on your life would be pretty negligible.

My wiser, older brother once said to me "expect to do/say one stupid thing every day." Then, when you expect it's coming you'll be ready to deal with it, and not lament it when it happens. To be honest, when he first said it, I just thought it was kind of silly and anecdotal, but now I think it makes a lot of sense. It can still be hard advice to swallow sometimes, but I think there's a lot of truth in there. If you can just get out of your head enough to not think about what you look like to other people, I think you'd be a lot happier, we all would. I had a great time tonight at the class despite having no idea what I was doing and probably looking like a complete idiot. I was still embarrassed, but I don't think it affected me much, and I'll work on the first part in the future...

Alright, now it's bed time, night!

My New Old Life

2009-01-25T20:01:00.000-08:00

Sorry, more internet outages kept me from posting for the past few days, though there isn't a great deal to report on. Work is getting better as I get acclimated to the team and the project and my technical needs get ironed out. There's an internal milestone coming up soon with some specific requirements so I think it should help me focus my efforts and learn some of the systems I haven't interacted with directly yet. I think that's about as much as I am allowed to say about work at this point but things are certainly going well.

My home/social life has been rather dull for obvious reasons, but I am hoping to change that in the near future. I am trying to get involved in a dancing class/group thanks to some advice from Sharon. I am also getting involved in some of the groups at work which should hopefully keep me occupied during my down time. Then, once my stuff arrives I can fill in the rest of my spare time with glorious video gaming.

It is interesting though. The time away from my electronic distractions has given me some time to get my life organized, and it's also given me time to think about where I am, where I used to be, and where I'm going. It's funny, the Guildhall is this strange dark period that now feels like it's completely in the past. I don't mean a dark period like it was sad or depressing or evil (well....maybe a little :P). I mean a period in my life where I was just so absorbed with my work that I basically let everything else sort of fall off my plate.

In the last week, I've been reconnecting with friends I haven't heard from in years, and that's really cool to me. I am terrible at keeping in touch with people normally, and with the added lack of contact from the Guildhall, I had assumed most of my previous relationships had all but faded away. It's nice to hear that people still have good memories of me and are interested in reconnecting with me. I guess it's probably just sort of the isolation of the new move...another move to another new place where I know practically no one. I suppose it's just nice to know there are still people out there that think of me, even if they aren't here.

Anyway, all that being said, it just reminds me how much I am ready to get back to my old life, in terms of meeting people and hanging out, and just living life, instead of being utterly absorbed in work. It feels good to be where I am, really good. I'm still waiting for the point where I have developed a sort of local circle of friends, but I know that will come in time, I just have to be patient (not my strongest suit). Until then, I'll do what I can to meet people, and do whatever I want to distract me the rest of the time.

Interesting anecdote, by the way. Or maybe not that interesting after you've lived in LA for a while, but Miley Cyrus (a.k.a. Hannah Montana) was getting take out from the Chinese place that I went to for dinner tonight. Everyone was making a fuss over it (and blocking the entrance to the restaurant), but I didn't even know who she was, I actually had to ask my waitress. I guess that shows you how tapped into celebrities I am. Still it was pretty neat, even if it didn't resonate with me that much.

That's all I've got, night all!

Disconnect

2009-01-22T21:35:00.000-08:00

Sorry for no post last night, my internet was out *shrug*...

Things are mostly going well here in Burbank. I think I am getting acclimated to the new job pretty well and the whole team has been nothing but nice and helpful. Today I got access to the central repository so I can start making actual contributions to the project which is pretty cool. It's exciting to see the making of a real game from the inside. I can't really say much about the project, but I can say it's really cool and I am very excited to work on it.

On the flip side, today I got the unfortunate news that my mover was "delayed" so the current estimated arrival of my stuff in Burbank is now a week from tomorrow. Not much to really be done about it except sigh and whine about it a little on here. I am hoping the new estimate is conservative and my stuff will get here closer to the middle of next week, but I'm not holding my breath. Also, apparently the moving company will pay me for every day that their late, and seeing as I could use the money I can't complain too much. Though, I do look forward to getting back to my gaming once my stuff arrives. Until then, I guess I'll just be watching a lot of DVDs on the laptop and playing the handheld games I happened to bring along.

Day Two

2009-01-20T20:50:00.001-08:00

Well, this is going to be a bit of a short one as today was pretty much just more reading, meetings, and paperwork. I am spinning up for my first actual work assignments so then I should actually have stuff to do at work, which will be nice. Until then, I am just trying to get familiar with everything about the project, at least as much as I can from reading through all the reference materials. That's pretty much it. Later!

Reflections on My First Day

2009-01-19T20:58:00.000-08:00

Mmmm...another blog posting vacuum. I swear I'll get back to one post a day one of these days...

Anyway, today was very exciting as it was my first official day of work as a professional game developer. Admittedly, my day only really consisted of four things: 1) touring the studio, 2) filling out paperwork, 3) meeting the team, and 4) reading. As you can see I haven't actually done anything yet, but tomorrow I am getting meeting with my lead to start developing my task list, so I'm just trying to get up to speed for it.

That being said, it was still a very cool experience. By and large, I felt more nervous in the days leading up to today then I actually did today. As I talked to the team and made my way through all the scripting and design reference materials, I felt pretty confident (and excited) about my ability to do the work. Up until now, with the Guildhall and even Gearbox, working on games still didn't feel like a job. Like it was something I did and spent (a lot of) time on, but it didn't feel like I was actually what I was going to do for a living. Today, I think things finally became real, and that was a very cool feeling.

The other thing that was really exciting was realizing that my job was something I was proficient in and excited about doing. I heard once that one of the primary differences between men and women is that women define themselves by their relationships: mother, sister, friend, etc. and men define themselves by what they do: lawyer, doctor, game developer, etc. I'd never really though to closely about it, but it was something that always stuck with me for some reason and today I felt like I kind of understood it for the first time.

For a long time, maybe my entire life, I think I've been looking for some definition of who I am, I imagine a lot of people are the same way. For a while I defined myself by a relationship and who I was within the context of that relationship, and I was happy with that...until it ended. When it ended I think I kind of ended up being lost because I had defined myself through this over person, and now I didn't know who I was, so I started searching. I tried to continue on the path I was on, to be a mechanical engineer, but it wasn't long before I realized that that wasn't for me. Maybe it never was, maybe if I'd been searching for identity when I chose that path I would have realized it, but that didn't change the fact that I knew I wanted something else.

I considered game development at that point, but only in sort of a "wouldn't it be cool if" style of idealism and no real plan for reaching it. I knew I didn't want to be a mechanical engineer so I started looking elsewhere and that's how I ended up at Capital One. I have no real complaints about Capital One as a company. The people I worked with were smart, hard-working, nice, wonderful people, the hours were good, the compensation was great, and the perks/benefits were fantastic. But it was clear to me I wasn't an "Operations Analyst," and so I began searching, which is how I found the Guildhall.

I'm not going to spend a lot of time on my experiences at the Guildhall as that has been discussed at length in the last 300+ posts, but I don't remember ever being so challenged in my life. I also don't ever remember being so driven, and that was when I first started to feel that I might finally be on the right path. I don't mean to overstate this as I realize it was only my first day, and I am sure the next year will be plagued with plenty of doubts and complications. I just want to say how powerful I think it can be to find what you were meant to do.

Sorry for the long reflective story, not sure if its actually interesting to read, but it was interesting for me to type, and it helped me think and reflect on things so too bad. Besides there's not a whole lot I can say about work anyway. My first day was very exciting, I got to meet a lot of nice, interesting people on my team and I even got to sit down with Ted Price for a little bit and talk about the company. The best thing I can say is I am really looking forward to seeing where this all goes, it should be one hell of a ride...

Moving Day!

2009-01-15T19:13:00.002-08:00

Well, pretty much all my stuff is gone, so now I need to spend the next hour or so finishing cleaning my apartment, so I can be ready to take off early tomorrow morning (my plane actually leaves just over 11 hours from now). After that, I'll probably be off the internets for a while so I'll see you all on the other side. Later!

Packing Day!

2009-01-14T19:16:00.002-08:00

Hey all, not too much to report on today. The movers came to pack up all my stuff so I am now sitting on my couch surrounded by the boxes that used to be my PS3, computer, and other entertainment items. Lately, I haven't done much other than prepare for the move, just trying to make sure I don't forget anything major and have to live in a hotel for a week while my stuff makes its way to California. I'm excited and a bit nervous to start the new job, and now I am just waiting for things to start. That's pretty much all that's going on right now. I will probably lose the blog for a little while as the internet in my new apartment will not be hooked up until next Tuesday. Hopefully, I can find somewhere nearby to connect to the internet and figure out basic things like the nearest grocery store, and stuff like that. Alright, well, that's all for today!

Ready for Roots

2009-01-12T22:44:00.003-08:00

This will be brief as it is already late and I am tired. Just thought I would give you all a brief update on things. The moving dates were confirmed today. Movers are coming to pack my stuff on Wednesday and pick it up on Thursday and I am scrambling around to try to get everything organized. Everything is rolling very quickly and it's making me the slightest bit uncomfortable. I am looking forward to the new job and the new area, but I hope this is my last move for a while, at least my last major, cross-country move. I'd like to settle down for a bit, develop a consistent circle of friends, maybe have a stable relationship for a while, you know, all that good stuff. Anyway, I'm hoping I find all that sooner rather than later, but for right now, I am just hoping I don't forget anything major for the move...

Relocation & Stuff

2009-01-09T21:34:00.003-08:00

Hey all, I guess it's been a while, and I realize I've been saying that a lot lately. Once I actually get a little settled in California, I think I should be able to resume my regularly scheduled posting, or at least I'll have to come up with a new excuse. I am going to keep tonight's post a bit brief as I am rather tired since I stupidly stayed up until about 4:00 A.M. playing the World at War multiplayer and then had to wake up for an apartment survey (for the movers) at around 8:00 A.M. I am stull working on getting back to a normal sleeping schedule. I think I am still set to Guildhall time, plus all the flying around to different time zones hasn't helped any either.

I've spent most of the new year enjoying some of the best games from last year and preparing for my upcoming move to Burbank. I was in Michigan until the 4th then I came back to Texas for about a day before flying out to Burbank for an apartment search which I just got back from yesterday night. The trip went really well, and I managed to get a lot of stuff done in preparation for the move. The apartment finder service that Insomniac set me up with was great and found me a wonderful apartment in a good area at a reasonable price (reasonable for Burbank anyway). I also managed to buy a new car (if you are familiar with my old car, you probably understand why) and a new fridge for my apartment (oddly enough, most apartments in the Burbank area don't have fridges included). I will endeavor to include pictures of my new diggs (apartment, car, and fridge) when I arrive in California and probably again after I am more settled and unpacked. Everything is coming together and it looks like I will be moving to Burbank as early as next Friday.

With the time I have had to spend on games, I've been playing a little bit of everything. I've been making my way through Gears of War 2, Far Cry 2, Resistance 2, CoD: World at War, and Endwar. In addition, I've been playing a fair bit of my DS and PSP on my various flights lately, mostly the Final Fantasy IV remake (DS), Lock's Quest (DS), and Yggdra Union (PSP). I've pretty much been keeping to my "tourist" gameplay approach lately, playing whatever strikes my fancy for as long as it does. Though that may be what led me to play World at War multiplayer for around 5 hours, during the wee hours of the morning. Oh, I also played a lot of Civ IV: Colonization during the first few days of the year, while Rick was conducting a marathon of Lost Season 4 in preparation for Season 5. I picked up a number of games on sale during Steam's big holiday sale early into 2009.

At this point, I should probably say something meaningful about at least one of the games I am playing, but I seem to keep using all my good material on long phone conversations with my brother instead of here where all of you can enjoy it :P. Since I have been playing it so much recently I will discuss my experiences with World at War as of late. I didn't really look too deeply into the reviews of this game when it came out some I am not sure what the overall all critical response was, but what I had basically heard was that it was a World War II version of Call of Duty 4 and I think that is pretty much accurate. The game has the same gorgeous graphics, silky smooth frame rates, stop-and-pop gameplay, and addictive multiplayer. The biggest difference I have seen so far is in the narrative of the singleplayer campaign.

Similar to the narrative of a movie-licensed game, World at War bounces around short storylines or vignettes that fit into the overall framework of a story that viewer is already familiar with, in this case World War II. This is sort of a throwback to the storytelling from the original Call of Duty games, but in my opinion I would have preferred to see something a bit closer to Call of Duty 4 than Call of Duty 1, 2, or 3. While Call of Duty 4 had you bouncing between characters and the narrative certainly had its faults, there was an overall story that was being told and characters (both heroes and villains) that featured prominently in it. I think the franchise certainly has room to grow as far as storytelling, and World at War is a step back in this regard instead of a step forward. Also, I recognize a different company made World at War (Treyarch), but as long as both companies bear the Call of Duty title, the games will be compared whether they like it or not.

That being said, I think World at War is really very good, and my critique of the narrative approach in the campaign is my only real complaint at this point. Both the single-player and multiplayer levels are well crafted with plenty of jaw-dropping set piece moments during the campaign and excellent flow in the multiplayer maps. The multiplayer mode is almost identical to the one featured in Call of Duty 4, though the new 'War' game type is a welcome addition to the mix, and a good old round of 'Capture the Flag' can certainly be fun though it does feel a bit out of place. In addition, as you might expect the rifles and sub machine guns of World War II feel a lot different than their modern counterparts, which gives the actual gunplay a unique feeling when compared with Call of Duty 4.

I should also note I am playing the PC version of the game as opposed the 360 version (where I played Call of Duty 4) or PS3 version which may be contributing to the "unique" feel. In my opinion, since many of the weapons are single-shot or only effective in very short bursts, accuracy is of even more paramount importance than it was in Call of Duty 4, which makes the game feel more appropriate to the PC. That being said, I have greatly been enjoying my time with the game especially the multiplayer. It's not clear to me whether that's because the game truly offers something different or I just haven't played CoD4 in a while, but either way it's an enjoyable experience...despite being another World War II shooter. :P

Well, there are my basic, scattered thoughts on World at War. As I continue to have free time to actually play games, and I am increasingly unable to talk about anything I am working on, I anticipate this is the direction the blog will take, at least during the longer blackout periods where I can't reveal even what title I am working on. I hope my random musings on games and the industry continue to be interesting or at least amusing. For now, I must sleep...

Gamer Be Not Proud

2008-12-30T23:06:00.002-08:00

Not much to report on over the last few days really. I've been playing more games (surprise) and not doing a whole lot else :P. I am looking forward to the new job, but I am sort of lamenting the logistics of the move (and associated chores). Oh well, I guess you can't have everything. Today I played a bit of Endwar, some Prince of Persia, and some Gears of War 2 to finish off the day. Over the past couple days I've been struggling with Endwar as I tried to finish a campaign on the 'Hardcore' difficulty setting, but I have just been finding it beyond me. Just a hair beyond my skills and frustratingly so, add to that that I went 1-3 on my first foray online and that about 70 points worth of achievements depend on playing Hardcore and I was really reticent to move down to the 'Expert' difficulty level. Nevertheless I moved it down today and found the experience to be much more enjoyable and less stressful even if it is a bit on the easy side.

Over the past few months I have found myself favoring progression over challenge, which is a bit different from my original play habits. I still like to be reasonably challenged in order to feel that I have actually accomplished something, but I am finding that since I haven't had as much time to play games, or maybe simply because this year had such a fantastic crop of games to play, I prefer to make progress rather than be "really challenged." What's interesting about the whole things is that I have a general rule about my difficultly levels that I only violate in certain circumstances, most recently around achievements. Since most games tend to use a difficulty setting of either three or four levels, my rule has always been the second level if there are three, and the third level if there are four. Obviously it depends on the game, but this rule has served me well and generally finds me a satisfying difficulty level in most of the games I play.

Anyway, I violated it for the Achievements in Endwar, and I think it bit me in the butt for a while. Mostly because it was making the experience more stressful and frustrating then it needed to be, all for some random points on my gamerscore, which has no real value. I've fallen into this trap a few times before, and I realize it's a silly one, so I'll put it on my list of New Year's resolutions. I am sure most of the readers out there are perfectly capable of avoiding this trap, but to those few who do occasionally fall into the same camp as me, I say this: don't be so proud, remember that game's are about having fun, so play them in whatever is the best way for you to do that. Alright, there's my message for the day. Have a Happy New Year everyone!

Being Lazy (and Loving it)

2008-12-27T18:58:00.002-08:00

Well, as expected my posting continues to be lackluster at best. Since my last post I've just been enjoying my time off by spending time with the family, playing plenty of games, and otherwise trying to avoid anything that can be considered an adult responsibility. Christmas was remarkably...lucrative. I probably get more presents than a 25 year-old with two master's degrees should get, but my parent's don't seem to have a problem with it, and I am certainly keen on getting free toys and games during holidays. Since then I've just been playing with my Christmas loot. I've played a little bit of Prince of Persia, Endwar, and Resistance 2 just to name a few. I also got a lot of paper games like Race for the Galaxy and Robo Rally, which I have been playing with Rick and Sharon. I am hopeful that I kind find a new group to play boardgames with in Burbank as I've certainly assembled a sizeable collection over the years.

Beyond that, I don't really have too much else to report on. I suppose vacation time isn't particularly interesting, but I'd rather have something here than not, so you can draw your own conclusions as to whether it is at all worthwhile. I've been in contact with a bunch of different people who are helping me relocate to Burbank, which is still very exciting. I know I have signed the offer at this point, but I still have trouble believing it. I just seems like a was in such a different place only a short while ago. It also seems like my life has completely changed in a relatively short span of time. Altogether it's pretty cool, though I still have trouble wrapping my head around it all. Anyway, I will leave my random introspective musings for another time, but suffice it say, I'm pretty happy with how everything is going at this moment. Now, I will get back to enjoying the rest of my time off before I have to return to the "real world." Later!

Merry Christmas (Eve)!

2008-12-24T17:15:00.003-08:00

Hey all,

It's been a few days since my last post, though not a lot has happened over that time. I've spent the last few days hanging out with Rick and Sharon and trying to finish Valkyria Chronicles while Rick wasn't around so as to not spoil the story for him. I got to about the 17th chapter, but was unable to finish it before he started his holiday vacation. Oh well, I'll try to finish it in the next week or so during the few hours each night between when he falls asleep and when I do. We'll see how that works out, otherwise I'll take care of it some time early next year. Other than that I haven't done very much, just enjoying my first real vacation in a while. I figure I won't post anything tomorrow seeing as it is Christmas and all, but I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and otherwise Happy Holidays!

Oh, Irony!

2008-12-21T10:48:00.005-08:00

Alright, so it's been a few days (again), which is likely to be the story of this vacation as I try to be as huge a bum as possible before I start my new job next year. With that, I know at least some of you are probably interested where I finally landed (and some of you are trying to guess). I have now concluded my job search and let all the affected companies know so I can happily announce that I am the newest developer (I think) at Insomniac Games in Burbank, California!

For those that aren't "in the know" they are the makers of Ratchet and Clank, Spyro the Dragon, and Resistance: Fall of Man. They are a great company, rated one of the top small / medium companies to work for (not restricted to game companies) for the last three years running. The offer was also fantastic, actually the best one I received which made my decision very easy. In addition, about two hours after I accepted the offer, while I was out with Rick and Sharon celebrating the job, I received the following fortune in my fortune cookie:

Pretty crazy, probably the most apropos fortune I have yet received. Anyway, I was amused, and it was a humorous end cap to the celebration. I am trying to start on January 13th, though given I don't even get back to Texas until January 4th it may be difficult, but the HR director was completely understanding about the whole thing, so if it has to slide, it has to slide. Other than that, I have just been relaxing and celebrating my good fortune for the holiday season. This was the job I was aiming for when I started my job search, and I managed to get it, which is pretty amazing. Alright, now I am going to go back to me lazy reveling. Later!

Career Decisions

2008-12-17T20:19:00.003-08:00

Well, not too much going on here today. I am working through the last few steps in my job process, and once that's done I will finally announce it here and I can actually talk through at least some of the specifics of my job hunt (finally). I imagine I should be able to talk about it some time tomorrow, Friday at the latest. Everything is pretty much settled at this point, I just need to let all the companies know what I have decided before I share it here. I imagine my humble little blog doesn't draw too much attention, but it still feels like the respectful thing to do.

That being said, I am very excited about how everything has gone, I don't really think things could have realistically gone much better. I think I am actually pretty good at what I do, but I also had that necessary piece of good luck, or at least good timing that it takes to be successful. Outside of handling job stuff, I basically hung around Rick's house doing very little. I played some games, installed Fallout 3 on Rick's computer and then attached his computer to his TV so I could play it there. I'm still playing a lot of Valkyria Chronicles which is pretty awesome, but I have to schedule my play sessions around the time that Rick is home from work to avoid any spoilers. We went out to dinner tonight to China Cafe (probably the best Chinese restaurant I know of) to celebrate my offer, and then came home to sleep off the massive amount of food we ate. It's been a good day. With my job search starting to wind down I feel like I can finally relax for a little while...and that's a really good feeling.

Whirlwind (-6 Days)

2008-12-16T20:38:00.003-08:00

Well, the day tracker seems a bit moot at this point, but I figured I should at least do one more before taking it off...

Sorry for the dearth of posts over the last week, so much has happened so quickly over that I'm just trying to keep up. Let's see, the last thing I did was defend my thesis...After that, I spent a reasonable amount of time fixing a few things in my DFS before I presented it on Tuesday. The presentation went well and I did well on the project so I was perfectly happy with that. From there, I stayed up late on Tuesday working with my team to prepare for our final Dissonance milestone which was last Wednesday afternoon. By the end of that night there was still a few more things we wanted to fix before final submission, so we also worked through Wednesday morning (and actually straight into our presentation) nailing the last few things down. The presentation went great, and overall I was very happy with how Dissonance turned out so I'd say the project was a huge success.

Wednesday evening after our presentation as I was sitting around our pit burning Dissonance DVDs, I got a call requesting an on-site interview on Friday. The company was very interested in getting me in before I flew back to Michigan for break, and I was equally excited to meet with them, so we set things up although it meant I had to miss our final exhibition. I had been a little under the weather the entire week so I decided to head home, rest, and relax for the remainder of the evening. Thursday, I spent the morning making the necessary edits to my thesis and submitted the hard copy with all my materials for final sign-off by my advisor and the rest of my defense committee. Then, still not feeling great I spent the rest of the day drinking lots water and juice in order to get better for my interview on Friday.

Friday morning I flew out to the company and had a host of different meetings with the some members of the team, including a brief discussion/test of my technical abilities and a review of the map I had submitted for my design test. After that, I got back on a plane and flew back to Texas to meet up with my brother and father who had flown out for my graduation the next day. We went out to dinner and I told them what I could about my experiences during the interview, and afterwards I pretty much went home to bed. Saturday was my graduation. I spent the morning just hanging out with Rick talking about games, and where I wanted to end up after graduation and all that. The graduation ceremony was fun and a very memorable hallmark on the end of my Guildhall career. I got to hear a lot of nice things about Dissonance and the exhibition, and I even got the chance to talk briefly with Ken Levine about my favorite boardgames, which was pretty cool.

Sunday, my family flew back to Michigan and I spent most of the day packing or just relaxing, still not quite realizing that the Guildhall was finally done. I distinctly recall sitting on my couch, feeling like there was something I should be doing or planning for, but nothing sprang to mind. That night I went out to Benihana with a few of my closest friends, which was a lot of fun, and one of my friend's parents actually picked up the check, which made things even better. Then, Monday morning I got one of the offers I had been waiting on (my first official offer) which was pretty exciting. I finished up my packing and flew back to Michigan for the beginning of my Winter break, and arrived at around 11:00 P.M. at my brother's house, where I will be living for the next few weeks.

Finally, today I slept in til about 11 AM then went out with Sharon (my sister in-law, not sure if I have referred to her by name here yet...) to pick up essentials and do my Christmas shopping. After that, I wrapped a few presents, then vegged out playing some Valkyria Chronicles on my brother's gigantic TV. When my brother got home from work we ordered a pizza and watched the most recent Chuck from yesterday and the rest of the movie Wanted (which we had briefly started the night before). I was expecting an offer today, but around 7:25 P.M. it seemed like it was unlikely to happen so I settled in for the movie. A few minutes later, my phone started ringing, and I got the other offer I had been waiting on. This offer was basically my dream job, the job I was pretty much aiming for from the start of my Guildhall career, so needless to say, I was incredibly excited, as were Rick and Sharon. The weather and time precluded us from going out tonight, but we are going out tomorrow to celebrate.

So there's basically everything you missed unless you are part of my immediate family. It's been a crazy week, and a lot has happened, but it's been amazing. I know I've said it before, but it's really remarkable how quickly things can change. I mean, 18 months ago, I had no chance at a job and really no idea of what I wanted, and now here I am. I know I've invested a lot of money and a lot of time in this so it didn't come without hardship, but I also feel as though my path has been blessed. The opportunities I've had, and how I've been able to take advantage of them, I feel, has been nothing short of miraculous. I don't want to pontificate on this point too much, as I am sure that there will be plenty of time for that, but I'm just...elated. I feel like for the first time in a long time, I can finally breathe, like I've finally found my direction. It's an amazing feeling, and I will certainly have more to say about it in the days to come (when I can actually reveal more specifically what the hell I am talking about). For now, let's just say...I couldn't be happier.

Thesis Accomplished (2 Days)

2008-12-08T20:12:00.002-08:00

Successfully defended my thesis this morning...YAY! (One hurdle down, two to go)

I need to make some minor changes to the document before final submission (no one has actually ever passed w/o changes), but most of them are pretty simple and some are already done, I just need to cite them in the doc. I am going to try to finish them before I head home, hopefully before my family arrives for graduation on Friday. Now, I need to complete my DFS for presentation tomorrow, then try to pull together our team project for presentation on Wednesday.

I'm almost there...

I'm...almost...there...

Running on Empty (3 Days)

2008-12-07T17:16:00.002-08:00

I decided to update my day counter to more correctly reflect when I am "done" and make myself feel a bit better about everything. I have spent most of the day preparing my Thesis defense and now I need to rehearse it before the presentation tomorrow morning. I'm feeling a little better today though that may be due to the strong medication I went out and bought so I could keep working. These next few days are going to be fierce, I just hope I can keep going long enough to get it all done. Alright, time to practice for tomorrow. Later!

I think my day counter is wrong... (6 Days)

2008-12-06T18:07:00.003-08:00

...it would appear that I am actually "done" on Wednesday (minus exhibition and the actual graduation, but I don't think those should be hard).

As I said in my last post, it's been a busy week, I finished a design test, went out on an interview, and continued my work on Dissonance and my DFS (though the latter has been pretty minimal lately). I'm not sure if it's the ups and downs in the weather or just a weakened immune system from sleep deprivation, but I've found myself on the wrong side of another illness. It's a little one (or so it would seem) but it's been keeping me kind of run-down today.

I tried to write the presentation for my thesis defense on Monday, but my mind was just not working well enough for that so I wrote my post mortem on Dissonance instead (though I did at least outline my defense presentation). Overall, I'd say the project went really well, especially considering its scope and timeline. We certainly made some mistakes, but I suppose that's the point of the post mortem - to recognize and learn from them. Anyway, I'm still feeling pretty exhausted, so I think I'm going to cut it off here....

These next few days are going to be pretty tense followed by the sweet release of freedom (for real this time!) on Wednesday after our last presentation, so I may not do much in the way of posting over the next few days, but we'll see how everything goes. Alright, now I'm going to actually go this time...Later!

No Time (10 Days)

2008-12-02T18:17:00.001-08:00

Lots of stuff happening right now. I'll try to post something more substantial when I have more time. Whether that is before graduation remains to be seen...

Friendly Skies (11 Days)

2008-12-01T21:11:00.003-08:00

Sorry for the delay on the post here, my layover in Cincinnati (or was it Kentucky?) was unfortunately extended so I spent the night trying to get what little sleep I could before I had to be back at the airport at about 6:00 A.M. the next morning. Anyway, aside from that minor detour, things have been pretty good today. Core hours for Dissonance were productive and my job search efforts for the day were well-received which is pretty awesome. Now, I've still got a few things I want to do tonight and some sleep to catch up on from the whole holiday travel nonsense. It's still going to be a long couple weeks, but it's all going to be worth it...I can tell....

Vacation Hours (13 Days)

2008-11-29T21:00:00.004-08:00

Hey, I've been on vacation in Michigan for the last few days and it's been pretty crazy with Thanksgiving and my mom's birthday...

Happy Birthday Mom!

...so I haven't really had time to write a post. Not much going on, still waiting on any last-minute revisions to my thesis but everything seems to be on track. Things with my job search are continuing to develop, but I have decided that for the time being I am going to cull the whole job search thing. I realize it's probably the most interesting thing I am up to right now, but I don't want this reasonably public blog to give companies the wrong idea about anything. If you would like to know how things are going, just shoot me an email and I would be happy to let you now who I'm talking to. Also, once I have settled things I will try to recap everything in a big post at the end, but until then I am going to try to keep my posts even more vague. I'm probably being a little paranoid since this is my first step into my new career, but whatever...

Anyway, that's pretty much all for now. The Beta milestone for Dissonance went very well and the producer was incredibly complimentary of our accomplishments, which was pretty cool. We'll see what it means for the grade, but I suppose that ultimately isn't what really matters. Alright, well I'm gonna go hang out with Rick and I will be back in Texas tomorrow and return to my semi-regular posting schedule. Night!

Ready for a Break (17 Days)

2008-11-25T20:01:00.002-08:00

Whew, it's been a busy couple days...

Thanksgiving can't come soon enough...

The Thick of It (18 Days)

2008-11-24T21:15:00.002-08:00

Hey, I'm deep in Thesis stuff tonight (mostly proofing and reformatting all the transcripts), then tomorrow I need to make up some TGP core hours since I missed most of this morning because I was in several meetings discussing my current job opportunities. I met with a bunch of faculty and staff to try to get the counsel of some more experienced industry professionals. More or less it boils down to deciding between a bird in the hand and a turkey in the bush (the analogy seems holiday appropriate). I am still thinking through it a bit more, but I think I've reached a decision and when I let the companies involved know, I will let you all know (in vague terms, of course). Until then, I better get back to work. Later!

It's DONE! (20 Days)

2008-11-22T12:56:00.001-08:00

The first draft of my thesis is done...

Weighing in at just under 300 pages it is almost three times as long as my Mechanical Engineering thesis...go figure. I still have to add in another thirty or so pages of transcripts too, but for right now I am just going to drink in the joy of having the vast majority of thesis work finally done. Now it's just some revisions, corrections, and the defense.

HOORAY!

Ummm, what?

2008-11-21T15:44:00.003-08:00

So, apparently my job search just exploded...

One company wants to hire me really bad (and I really like what they've had to say)
One company is about to extend me an offer (and their scripting environment sounds awesome)
One of the biggest game studios in existence wants to give me a test
My dream company just called to setup a phone interview

I'm freaking out...with joy and anxiety. The first on that list (and potentially the second) want decisions before 3 and 4 have even gotten to know me. Still, it's a good problem to have, I've no doubt about that...

And, right now I really should be finishing my thesis...Cripes!

A Very Special Post (21 Days)

2008-11-21T07:43:00.002-08:00

I just want to say thank you to all the people who have helped me with the transcripts in past couple days, especially my brother Rick and his wife Sharon who will have completed 14 interviews when this is all done. The outpouring of support has been really amazing and more than I ever expected so, thank you...

Rick Hoeg
Sharon Hoeg
Trace O'Connor
Matt Higgins
Chris Wood
Matt Auen
Erin Spencer
Amy Pickens
Cassie Flint

Without your time and effort, I never would have had a chance of finishing this on time. Thank you so much!

Alright, now I should probably get back to actually finishing the doc. Later!

Zombie Apocalypse (22 Days)

2008-11-20T22:34:00.002-08:00

I worked all day on thesis and organizing transcripts (which has gone really well so far) so I rewarded myself with a couple hours of zombie killing. We got totally owned on the movie we tried to complete, but we tried out versus mode with was pretty awesome. Nothing quite like getting to be the Tank and bat your friends around like dolls. Anyway, thesis is moving along pretty well, and I had a good discussion with the company that is interested in extending me an offer. Also, the company that wants to give me a test said I can do it pretty much any time I want, which is encouraging. Alright, now it's time for bed...

4,716 Zombies (23 Days)

2008-11-19T18:53:00.002-08:00

Wow, 23 days, really? I guess I hadn't really thought about it. Only a few more weeks to freedom, that's so cool...

So the subject for this post really should have been the subject for last night's post if I hadn't been so completely exhausted when I got home. Yesterday, I had finally made the decision to hire a transcription service to do the transcriptions for my thesis which meant I would have plenty of time to complete the actual document. As a sort of celebration, I played through the first movie of Left 4 Dead on Advanced with a few friends at school, a herculean task that last until just shy of the building closing. There's definitely something to be said for such a challenging co-op experience. By the end it felt like our team was really in sync, as we deftly moved around each other while throwing an unfathomable number of bullets into the zombie horde. I also got my grade back on my most recent DFS milestone, which was pretty good, especially considering the average for the class was oppressively low for this milestone.

I also got invited to take a test with perhaps one of the most well known developers in America (some of you already know who this is), which is just outrageously awesome, though I have no idea how I am going to fit it in my schedule, but that consideration will have to wait. We got some bad news on our recent Dissonance milestone, which was upsetting considering how much I think the team really has managed to accomplished a lot in the limited time available. Fortunately, the Producer/Instructor seemed to agree with me today when we walked her through the game, where it is, and what he are trying to do with it before RTM. Apparently the game also went up in her esteem after she actually played it, which is a good sign, right? We managed to fix some really critical bugs today during core hours, which is good, but they took up a lot of people's time, preventing them from actually moving forward, which is unfortunate.

My day also started with a sad note, but has ended on relatively happy one. The transcription service I was working with pretty much fell through this morning. They were trying out one of my interviews, but the "poor quality" of the recording meant the job was going to be more expensive, take longer, and ultimately produce something of a lower quality than I would like. I got this information about five minutes before our core hours for the day. So I spent most of the morning freaking out about it, but unable to find the necessary time to collect my thoughts. After that, I decided to pass with the transcription company, and try to do it using myself and incredible support from friends and family.

You know when you were a kid and you had to sell magazines and stuff to raise money for school? It felt a lot like that. I basically sent an email to all my friends at school, plus my brother and his wife, and I immediately got a cavalcade of responses, with people requesting specific numbers of transcripts to help out (most refusing the pay I had offered). At this point, 14 of the 30 transcripts have already been claimed and are being worked on as we speak, with a number of other volunteers offering to help out during the day tomorrow. It's really heart-warming to see people willing to devote a significant amount of their limited free time to help me out with this, and their sacrifice is greatly appreciated. Anyway, I think that's all the time I have for now, as I too should be trying to complete a couple of my own transcripts so I don't feel like a complete bum. Later!

The Thesis Blitz (25 Days)

2008-11-17T18:55:00.002-08:00

I think today was a good day overall. I got another phone interview with a AAA company, my thesis advisor was relatively encouraging about my new, aggressive thesis schedule, I even managed to make some reasonably good progress on my TGP goals despite almost the entire team being checked out for the day. As the term (and our time at the Guildhall) slowly winds to a close, everyone is starting to check out a bit I think. Less so for the Master's students, who are still trying to figure out how they can possibly finish in the time left (at least, those that still have the possibility of finishing on time), but I think pretty much everyone has been affected by some level of weapons-grade senioritis.

That being said, my thesis schedule is now very, very agressive so I need to focus all the extra energy I have available to get it done on time, perhaps even taking my precious Friday night this week so I can hit my Saturday afternoon deadline. Now, I'm going to try to do some work though so I can avoid or at least mitigate that as much as possible. Night!

Weekends... (26 Days)

2008-11-16T19:38:00.003-08:00

Well, I got done with my milestones last week and I sort of collapsed. Not a physical collapse where I just can't wake up (although I have been sleeping a lot the past couple days), but more of a mental collapse where I just can't manage to squeeze out the productive weekend hours I used to. I'm not sure if I am burned out by the constant Guildhall workload or if I'm just using that as an excuse to slack off. Probably a little of both and having a job offer in hand doesn't really help matters much. That being said, I've still gotten some good work done the last few days, even if there wasn't much of it.

After the milestone on Thursday, I was completely wiped so I went out to dinner with some friends, took the rest of the night off and went to bed early. Friday I sent out the last of my job applications. I know, I know, I have an offer... but I want to make sure I at least talk to all the companies I am "really excited about". So far I don't think I've heard anything from any of my email applications with the exception of the fact that I am not eligible for a Canadian work visa. I did get to meet a Guildhall alum who is now a lead designer at Insomniac which is pretty awesome since I would absolutely love to work there (this was actually on Thursday, so I'm kind of bouncing around a bit here). Anyway, I've sent my last cover letter for the time being so that's a relief.

After that I took Friday night off as per usual, and I went out with friends to see Quantum of Solace. I have to say I was rather unimpressed with the movie. I thought the pacing was really off and it just didn't hold a candle to Casino Royale. Daniel Craig is pretty badass though, so he's got that going for him. After that, I played a little Left 4 Dead with friends, then went home. I've been playing a lot of L4D with people at school, which is pretty remarkable considering there are only two levels at this point. We've gotten pretty good at it now and we can consistently get through Expert provided we don't have a rookie with us shooting up the team (the friendly fire is brutal). It's hard to explain why it's so fun, especially to someone who just doesn't see it (believe me I know). I guess I'd just have to say there's nothing else out there quite like it. It requires some of the most co-op coordination I've ever seen. If you're on steam you should check out the demo before they take it down on Tuesday.

Saturday just got obliterated in a wasteland of unproductive time. I tried to play some L4D with my brother, which turned into my desktop needing a driver update, which turned into two hours of fixing my broken computer. After that I was incredibly frustrated so I spent the next hour or so killing Locust (i.e., Gears of War 2) with Rick (the new Horde mode is brutal, at least with two people on Hardcore). Then I went to school to pick up some thesis docs I needed, which turned into a trip to the Best Buy (I needed a new microphone), which turned into a stop at the ice cream store. After I got back I worked on Thesis for about two hours, then played games with various people for the rest of the night. Like I said, horribly unproductive...

Today was a little better. I woke up and got right to work setting things up for my Thesis draft which is due tomorrow. I got all the data organized and analyzed the way I wanted, all I needed to do was write it up. Then I got caught up in various multiplayer requests from my friends (beating up some old work friends at Resistance then trouncing my brother at Red Alert 3). I had to pick up some groceries, then I finally got back to work on my Thesis at around 6:00. At this point I've completed everything I said I would have done from my supervisor tomorrow, but not a whole lot else, which defitely puts me behind where I'd like to be. I think there are still a few productive hours left in the day for what it's worth...

Anyway, like I said the weekend has just been a sinkhole. The sad part is, if I was working a normal job this would probably be a "productive" weekend. Go figure. Anyway, I'm not going to go lamenting that, because that would just be silly. I haven't had a "normal" weekend in almost 18 months, why would this one be any different. The high note is I can truly see the light at the end of the tunnel now, and its glorious. The only real thing standing between me and it at this point is this Thesis and I feel confident that I can get it done in time. It may be a few long nights to get it there, but I mostly did that to myself with weekends like this, so I can't really complain.

Oh, I almost forgot, with that in mind, I want to offer a standing invitation to everybody to come to my graduation ceremony on December 13th. I originally wasn't planning to make a big deal about this, in fact I wasn't sure if I was even going to walk, but I guess I've changed my mind. This place has been such and ordeal to overcome that I really want to celebrate and enjoy a little well deserved adulation. Plus, the speaker's going to be pretty awesome, so you should totally come out. Anyway, I'll post up additional details once I have them, but I'd love you all to come, the more, the merrier! Alright, well this has gone on long enough, and my docs aren't going to write themselves. Later!

The Push (30 Days)

2008-11-12T18:00:00.002-08:00

Well, I don't have a lot of time to write, as I have a big milestone in DFS tomorrow (about 16 hours from now) and a lot of ground to cover. Yesterday, I talked to the company that wants to give me an offer and it sounds pretty tempting overall, and it certainly doesn't hurt that it would mean I could stop worrying about the whole job hunt thing. Still a few leads I need to follow-up on, but very tempting. We had a TGP milestone that went pretty well today, it was down to the wire and there are still a lot of things I think we can stand to improve, but I think we've managed to accomplish a lot (and Sandy Petersen agrees!). N0w, I need to work on improving the visuals of my level A LOT. It's gonna be a long night...

Bad Day, Good Day (32 Days)

2008-11-10T20:07:00.002-08:00

I GOT AN OFFER!!! (sort of, read on...)

I'm going to keep this brief, as I am very tired and I want to actually get home and get to bed (yeah, I'm still at school). I didn't sleep very well last night, so I was tired all day, a TGP day no less. I spent most of the day running around trying to fix bugs and help people keep moving on their tasks, so I didn't get much done on my task list, which is unfortunate. I went out to dinner with some friends to sort of get away from the day for a bit. About the time our food was arriving I got a phone call from one of the studios I've been in contact with, and they are interested in extending me an offer. I'm actually talking about the specifics with them tomorrow, but it's pretty exciting to know someone is actually interested in me. I can breathe a little easier knowing I don't need to be afraid of not finding a job, now it's just a matter of where I end up. That's a really reassuring thought, and maybe now I can sleep a little better. With that in mind, I think I am going to wrap things up here. I'll let you all know once things are settled. Night!

Get Back in There! (33 Days)

2008-11-09T16:57:00.004-08:00

I think somewhere along the way, a portion of my mind sort of broke, or at least got confused on the order of things and thought the Guildhall was already over. While it's true that the worst of it is probably done, there are still a number of reasonably large hurdles to overcome before I think my mind can truly relax. I've definitely been letting myself get away with more "recovery time" than I have in the past, and I it's all starting to add up.

That's all there really is to say, I just need to get my head back into Guildhall mode for just a little while longer, and remember that after that it's all going to get a lot better: holidays off with the family, job of my dreams, free time on most nights and weekends. These are the things I need to remember, and somehow I think I lost along the way. I know that I am definitely ready to be out of here, but that doesn't mean I'm literally ready. There's still some work I've got to do, and it's time I remembered that.

As a side note, I picked up my last two, "last" games before Christmas this season: Valkyria Chronicles and Gears of War 2. The games are both top notch, and I don't think Valkyria Chronicles could really be more up my alley. It's a very unique, fun strategy game with a lot of story and and interesting set of characters. I played it...well, more than I should have yesterday, and I definitely look forward to checking it out more, probably over the holidays. Generally, I think Gears of War 2 improves on just about every aspect of it's predecessor, which was already a pretty good game so that's saying a lot.

The stop-and-pop gameplay of the first game is just as good as ever and the game is even more epic and awe-inspiring. In addition, the multiplayer matchmaking is vastly improved, which was probably one of my biggest gripes with the otherwise fun multiplayer of the first game. Co-op is just as good as before, but the drop-in/drop-out system has made the expereince much more streamlined and enjoyable. Finally, Horde mode seems really cool, I only played it a little on splitscreen with a friend while I was waiting for an interview, but it was a good time, so I look forward to trying it out more in the future.

Well, that's my game update, and hopefully now I'll be able to keep from having another until after the holidays. Well, I might allow myself to buy one more if there's something I'm really interested in right around the same time I get a job, but maybe I'll just reward myself by playing something I already have instead :). Alright, now I need to eat some dinner and really get to work. Night!

You Like Me, You Really Like Me! (34 Days)

2008-11-08T20:12:00.003-08:00

Well, it's been quite a long week, but I don't think I could be much happier with how things went. I got lots of positive feedback during the career fair and the networking reception, and I've already been contacted by a couple of my interviewers, which is definitely a good sign. In addition, I've been working with some of my other contacts and I think I have a good lead on a position that would be just perfect for me, so I am pursuing that opportunity as diligently as I can.

With the career fair over and about 20+ applications to almost all my favorite studios, I think I am going to scale back my job search for a little while, at least the part where I apply to new companies. There are still a few places I want to make sure I hit, but then I want to leave time to work on my DFS, my thesis, and I design tests or interviews I end up landing. I have reason to believe that the career fair may result in at least one test if not more, so that's another thing I will be looking to complete on top of everything else, and I want to make sure I have at least some time for it.

Unfortunately, all this career stuff has made working on my DFS difficult from a time and motivation perspective. At this point, it seems like I have enough to get companies interested, which is what I want my portfolio to do, so I'm not sure how much value my current DFS has beyond its necessity for graduation. It's not that I think the project is unimportant, just not as important as the actual job search or trying to finish up my thesis. It's a hard decision to make, but it seems like something has to give right now, and DFS it's the most "bang for the buck" as it were.

Also, it looks like I'm almost definitely going to have to defer my thesis defense until after I graduate. I've been running over the thesis schedule I would need in order to defend before I graduate, and it would basically mean my entire thesis needs to be done within the next two to three weeks. That might be possible if I put DFS on the back burner and my job search doesn't become to intense, but one of those I don't have any control over and the other seems like I am playing with fire a bit. I've talked about it with my thesis advisor and supervisor and they have different views on the matter, so it's kind of a toss up. I may try to talk to my DFS professor just to get his take on it, and at least try to reassure him that I am not just blowing off his class. It's kind of a complicated juggling act right now.

All that being said, I'm pretty happy with where I am right now, especially when I consider where I was about 18 months ago. I mean, at GDC 2007 I was pratically begging for a job and I had absolutely no idea how the industry worked or what a game developer actually did. Now, I have a bunch of interviews and people emailing me to tell me how impressive a candidate I am. I'm not trying to sound conceded here, quite the opposite, the transition just amazes me so much because these two points in time, GDC 2007 and now, really stand out in my mind, and things have changed so much. Anyway, suffice it to say, I am very pleased with how the career fair went, though all the positive feedback on actually getting a job has made working on school projects a little more difficult.

The Calm (37 Days)

2008-11-05T19:26:00.002-08:00

Well, tomorrow it begins...The first five interview of my job search within the next 24 hours, not to mention an important networking reception to cap things off. I'm feeling pretty confident about everything. My portfolio is strong and my mock interviews have gone very well, and the faculty and my fellow students have been very complimentary. I haven't been sleeping very well lately and I'm a bit under the weather, but I guess you can't have everything. I intend to drink a lot of water tonight and get as much sleep as I can force myself to before tomorrow. And on that note, I think I'll go do just that...

Wish me luck!

Red Alert (38 Days)

2008-11-04T19:06:00.002-08:00

I'll keep this brief, as there as some work to be done and a game to be played. I had two mock interviews to day and they both went very well and also I've been getting positive (though very vague) feedback from our placement director, so I am feeling pretty good about the career fair. My DFS is coming along, but there's still a lot more I want to do before our milestone next week. I think my thesis work may have put me a bit off the pace for this milestone, but I hope I can pick up the slack before RTM. After our DFS class, I went out to dinner with the level designers, and afterwards after some poking and prodding, one of the designers decided to pick up Fallout 3, which led us to the local Gamestop. Long story short, I now own Red Alert 3. I left it up to fate to decide when I asked the Gamestop if they had a collector's edition of Red Alert 3 (fully expecting that they didn't) and when they did I decided to pick it up. Anyway, that was basically my day. I am feeling pretty confident for the career fair and a little less so for my DFS milestone next week, but ultimately things are going pretty well. Now, I am going to try to do a little work before I take a couple game hours for the night. Later!

The Plot Thickens (39 Days)

2008-11-03T19:46:00.002-08:00

I'm not sure that the plot has actually thickened, but I don't really have a lot of time for tonight's post, and it was the first thing that occurred to me. Things have been going pretty good lately. I finished testing for my thesis last week and the data is all entered into my database so I can analyze it. Now, I am working on improving my DFS for my milestone on Nov. 13th. I've started building out the 3D skybox, then I'll move on to improving the visuals inside of the building. My focus for this milestone is on trying to make the environment more real and immersive. Mostly that's visuals, but there are also some little scripting bits like soundscapes and ambient effects that can help as well. There's a lot to do, but it's progressing, so that's something.

My big mental focus right now is on the career fair this week. We got our list of interviews for Thursday and Friday. I got seven in total and I am really excited about a few of them, which is pretty cool. There's also a networking reception on Thursday night where we have a chance to interact with the recruiters on a more informal level and also potentially line up interviews for Friday. I'm not extremely tense about it as I usually feel pretty comfortable doing interviews, but it's a lot of interviews in a short amount of time, and probably my best odds of finding a job for a while. I mean, how often do you get to talk to this many companies who have actually already expressed an interest in you? Anyway, I am excited and a little bit anxious about the interviews, but I ultimately need to focus on my DFS right now, so it's a little mental tug-of-war. Alright, on that note, I better get back to it. Later!

The Wasteland (41 Days)

2008-11-01T19:09:00.003-07:00

Well, I guess I've let the blog lapse a little over the past few days, though this morning I figured out why when my playtime came up next to my save on Fallout 3. Apparently I've played the game for 18+ hours, which is pretty remarkable considering I got it on Tuesday. Actually, to be perfectly honest, I don't think it would be that remarkable if I wasn't at the Guildhall, which is pretty much how the number got to be that way. I've been pretty much maintaining a sort of "normal" work schedule the past few days. You know, the whole 9 to 5 thing. I think it's done wonders for my mental health, but I'm not sure about the effect it may be having on my current projects, most notably my DFS.

I've been throwing all my weight into my Thesis the last couple weeks, and with that I have managed to get all my testing done and all the objective data entered into a form that I can easily analyze. In addition, I've been trying to keep up a manageable level with my job search, about 5 applications a week, plus any other follow ups and networking. I might be able to increase that a bit now that I'm not spending 3+ hours a day doing testing, but that really depends on my other major project, my DFS. Basically, even though my level was done enough to test it for my thesis, there's still plenty I need to do in order to consider it "portfolio quality."

It's funny, I've typed this paragraph about five times now, but I keep changing it because it keeps coming out too negative. I think I'm a little stressed at this point and it comes across as a bad attitude. I mean, we've got the job fair this week, but we still haven't heard who if anyone is interested in even talking to us. Admittedly this is because our placement director is still hard at work scheduling new interviews, so it's not a complaint just something worrysome. I haven't done much on my DFS the last couple weeks because I've been focused on my thesis, so I am worried about that upcoming milestone. Finally, I think there are just some long term effects of this place. The high stress and long hours just eventually take their toll and you have to start letting go before it consumes you.

It's weird, as I write, I find myself very introspective, so as I try to find the right words I keep realizing certain things I don't think I've consciously thought about before. I mean, probably about a year ago, I felt like the best thing to do was just to work all the time and get everything as good as I could with the time I had, but now I feel like it's more important to try and stay happy and positive and do what I can with the time available. I'm not really sure what that means. I'm not sure if it is some revelation about life in general. That ultimately I would rather by happy than great (if I couldn't be both of course). Maybe it's just the realization of someone who is mentally worn out and needs a real break. Not one where he is working. Not one where he is "between projects" or "getting organized," but a real break, a real chance to let things go for just a little bit.

Sorry, this post has been all over the place. I guess I'm just in a strange place right now. Blame it on a lot of Fallout 3, sickness, and a healthy dose of prescription strength medicine for said sickness. What I can say is, Fallout 3 is awesome, probably my favorite game of the year if not the last few years (time will tell how the main storyline actually develops). If you like Oblivion or Fallout I'd definitely check it out, and just generally I think the game is pretty amazing in its own right. It's immersive, it's engaging, and above all it's fun. It's kept me up at night, and away from my homework on a few occasions, which is probably both a blessing and a curse. I also picked up Little Big Planet this week, but I haven't spent very much time playing with it. It seems like a cool little game, and the concept of an infinite number of platforming adventures is an exciting one (not to mention the opportunity to create some of my own).

Anyway, it hasn't really been a long week, but it's been a long program, so I'm gonna see if I can milk that for a little more time off ;-). Hey, at least I get a bonus hour tonight! Woo, daylight savings! Sorry for the random, rambling post, hopefully when I am finally cured of the C9 plague pt. 2 my posts will start making sense again.

No promises...

More Small Victories (44 Days)

2008-10-29T19:29:00.002-07:00

Sorry for the lag, I'm sure you are all waiting with bated breath for my next amazing post. The last couple days have been busy, but not overly so. I was working for a while on my Thesis data on Monday until about 12:00 and then I came home and fell immediately to sleep. Yesterday, Fallout 3 came out so outside of class I spent some time hooking my computer up to my fancy TV and then just played that until about 1:00, which I am going to count as a sort of small moral victory (to let myself off for a night)

Today was TGP day all day. We had a milestone presentation which went alright. The game crashed during the presentation which is of course unfortunate, but overall I'm really quite proud of what the team has managed to accomplish in the short time we've had available. None of us has a lot of time to devote to it considering everything else, but I think the team has really put a lot of thought, time, and effort into the game, and it's really starting to come together. No we need to see if it finally manages to gel together or just remain potential sadly unrealized. The fact that yet another illness is rapidly sweeping its way through C9 isn't helping anything, especially with the job fair next week.

That's right, next week the company's that have decided to come visit the GH will be interviewing potential candidates all Thursday and Friday. We haven't really heard anything on who, if anyone, wants to interview us, but I figure I really don't want to be sick for that, so I'm trying my best to take it easy over the next few days, for what it's worth. Hopefully a week will be enough time to get over this thing. Anyway, that's about it. Now, I think I'll enjoy a little more Fallout before bed. Then tomorrow, I should try to work and stuff...I guess.

Small Victories (47 Days)

2008-10-26T18:17:00.003-07:00

Well, this weekend got sidetracked a lot by various things, not least of all Fable 2. I don't know why, but that game has this addictive quality for me as I am continually sort of pursuing my own goals rather than those of the game (I think I've finished like five story quests including the prologue). It's funny because that is totally not how I play games usually, but the environment of Fable 2 seems so explorer centric that I guess it just brings it out in me. Other than Fable 2, I've been doing more Thesis testing and job search stuff (I sent out five more apps yesterday and today), but still not as much as I wanted to get done. Both tasks ran longer than I wanted, which precluded me from doing any of the Thesis data entry that I really need to do before I can realistically analyze anything.

In truth, the objective data (i.e., the numbers) shouldn't take that long to capture, it's the qualitative data (i.e., the interviews) that will take much longer to document and analyze. I think I can potentially keep moving without completely capturing the interview data though. The interview responses don't really need to be "analyzed" so much as I just need to think through them and use them to support my conclusions on the objective data. The more I can get done on the front end the better, but I'm juggling a lot of tasks right now, so it's important to determine which are the most critical.

As for the small victories thing, I guess I have two. The one is just that I managed to send out about as my applications as I wanted to despite delays. I'm aiming to send out a few a week to stagger any potential design tests I receive, and also to avoid driving myself crazy trying to fill out 10 - 20 applications every week. I'm not sure what is necessarily the correct approach, I'm not sure there is one, but this is the tact that I have decided to take. Also, I've been having trouble with my DirectTV so I called them about it, and after a somewhat lengthy troubleshooting phone call they resolved they had to send someone out to look at it, meaning they were going to charge me for the privilege.

Since I wasn't too keen on that plan, I told them I'd think about it and just decided to fix the thing myself. I unplugged the box, moved some cables (which I may have admittedly put in the wrong places during the phone call), plugged it back in and it worked. I realize that I may have been at fault at some point during this process, but the fact that they wanted to send someone and charge me for a problem that could have easily been fixed over the phone, really irritates me. Anyway, it's fixed now so, woo! Small Victory! Now, I am going to try to get organized for this week (and the rest of term to some degree) and try to get a good night's sleep tonight so I can be ready for the days ahead. Night, all!

Something's Gotta Give (48 Days)

2008-10-25T20:46:00.002-07:00

I worked a lot today, but didn't get as much done as I would have liked (it's amazing how that seems to coincide with days I work on the job search). As I examine, what I've managed to accomplish, what I still have left to do, and the time I have remaining, I am really starting to realize how hard it is going to be to get everything done. I keep plugging away at thesis, but even after I've tested everyone, I still need to get all the data captured electronically. Also, as I focus on that my DFS gets less and less attention, which it needs if I am going to have any chance of making our next milestone. Anyway, I don't think this is a terribly productive line of thought, so I think I will cut it off there.

On a side note, I am really enjoying Fable 2. The best thing I can say about it is I think they have really created an interesting world that I just like to hang around in. Most of the time I'm not doing quests, I'm just wandering around exploring or trying to make money in less conventional ways (like stealing, trading, or owning property) than standard employment. The world has a lot of interesting nooks and crannies to explore and it seems like there are tons of things to find if you really start to look. Very enjoyable and very soothing, which I need right now as the ongoing job hunt continues to stress me out. I know it's only been a couple weeks, but it just feels like everything is riding on this, even if it really isn't. With that I think I will go let Fable soothe me a little more before I head to bed. Later!

Some Fable Morality Math (50 Days)

2008-10-23T19:38:00.002-07:00

These last few days of preparing and testing my thesis have been really grueling, so I took some time off (too much, in fact) to play Fable 2 (and I may do so again tonight, though at a much more responsible scale). I came across the following amusing bit of Fable morality and I just felt I had to share:

Stealing a Condom = 5 Evil points
Having protected premarital sex = 10 Good points

Stealing in order to have safe sex = 5 net Good points for society

Remember that kids...

Moving on, thesis testing has been going pretty well, but it's definitely been tiring me out. I've gotten 14 tests done so far, which I think is a little more than half of what I expect in total. Tomorrow, I've got to run about 6 more, and also send out a few more applications, at least three. Then, this weekend I need to start entering all the data into something I can analyze and I should probably do some work on my DFS in order to start making progress toward our next milestone. Anyway, for now I'm going to spend a little more time with Fable 2 before I turn in for the night. Later!

Thesis 'til you drop! (52 Days)

2008-10-21T23:17:00.002-07:00

Well, my thesis is sort of semi-deferred right now. Basically, I am currently planning to finish on time as originally intended, but I have contingency plan in place in case I need a little time to get everything organized. I managed to recruit a bunch of testers today and I ran a few tests which I think went extremely well, so I am actually pretty happy with everything. I still need to do some organizational stuff before I can go to bed though, so I may not be the happiest person tomorrow morning. Maybe, I'll buy Fable 2 tomorrow to make myself feel better... ;)

Rough Start (53 Days)

2008-10-20T22:09:00.003-07:00

I'm too sleepy to even think of anything really interesting to say right now. Suffice it to say the start of term didn't pull any punches, and now I am really looking forward to getting some rest. Night, all!

Back in the Saddle...Again (54 Days)

2008-10-19T20:14:00.003-07:00

When you were a kid, did you ever make one of those chains out of construction paper where you pull one of the rings off each day until Christmas? Well, I've decided to do that electronically (and to perhaps make an actual chain) until my last day, December 12th, so you'll see that parenthetical day counter from now on...

Today was a good day overall. I've gotten some good work done on my Thesis, helped make arrangements for the Dissonance playtest tomorrow, ran some personal errands, and even had time to play through a chapter of Dead Space (which still continues to impress) and play some SOCOM with Rick. Now, I'm still working on cleaning up my Thesis/DFS level to run through it tomorrow morning with my advisor so I can finally move on to testing it. It's going to be a busy semester, but I think I'm up to the challenge. I've come to far to crap out now...

Alright, work time! Later!

The Beginning of the End

2008-10-18T20:36:00.003-07:00

It's funny...for some reason, this break has consistently made me think of my first break at the Guildhall, the one between Terms 1 and 2. I can't figure out why. Maybe it's just because they both occurred at around the same time in the year or maybe it's because of big game releases in and around that week, maybe being at the end of something makes you think about the beginning, I'm not really sure. Anyway, I spent the day getting some personal stuff in order, arranging some materials for our Dissonance playtest on Monday, and finally taking advantage of the Toys R Us deal. I ended up picking up SOCOM: Confrontation, Saints Row 2, and Tales of Vesperia.

After a somewhat lengthy setup process (ok, maybe it actually was lengthy) and some technical hiccups I got to play a little SOCOM both on my own and with Rick. I've been enjoying it thus far for it's slower paced more team-oriented, tactical approach to combat. Unfortunately, I'm a total rookie and the result is that I spend a lot of time dead...A LOT. I've definitely improved since my first match, but I still have a strong tendency to "spray and pray" whenever I see an enemy. Also, the servers are still a bit...unreliable at this point, so getting into a game is sometimes difficult, but I'm hopeful they'll have that ironed out soon, probably before the next time I have time to play anyway. I've only played a little Saint's Row 2 and most of that was customizing my character, but so far I enjoy it's tongue-in-cheek, over-the-top approach to sandbox gangster gameplay. Now, I'm going to try out Tales of Vesperia before I finally call it quits on what is effectively the last day of my "break."

Tomorrow I really need to hunker down and finish up with the Dissonance testing materials, not to mention getting everything ready to start testing my Thesis next term. With Dissonance, my DFS, my Thesis, and the job search, my next term is sure to be a busy and stressful one, but I'm only eight weeks away from freedom (not counting any minor overtime my thesis may require I suppose) and that's I very reassuring thought. On that note, I'm going to go enjoy what's left of the night. Later!

I Have Fans? Who Knew?

2008-10-16T18:10:00.002-07:00

I recognize that I haven't posted in a while (obviously) and the reasons are numerous and varied, though they can't be distilled down to some mixture of exhaustion and forgetfulness. Ths lapse however apparently did not go unnoticed, so I figure I should attempt to explain it at least somewhat. This last finals week may have been the most difficult yet and the fact that it let out into this psuedo-break hasn't been much help either. Admittedly, the day after our last final, I took the day completely off, I played videogames all Saturday and pretty much avoided anything even resembling productivity, and it was one of the best days ever. For the first time I can remember in the last few months (maybe longer), I was completely without stress. For that magical day, I was able to completely forget about my Thesis, and Dissonance, and my DFS, and my job search, for that one day I felt really "free."

Unfortunately, my freedom may have been a glimpse of what lies ahead, but I am not there yet. The following Sunday, I basically worked on my portfolio from about 2:00 P.M. until 5:00 A.M. Monday morning in order to get everything in order before they went out to potential employers Monday at 9:00 A.M. The "final" version of my portfolio (at least the one that has now been submitted) is now available, and you can get to it through the same link as before or the more easily remembered www.thomashoeg.com. Since then, I have been spending a lot of time relaxing and recovering from last term and trying to get caught up on my life, the stuff I let slide during the term until I have time during these breaks.

After recovering from the Portfolio crunch I slept in pretty late on Monday, went in to Gearbox to pick up a leftover paycheck, then played video games during the afternoon and hung out with friends that evening. Tuesday I played Starcraft: The Boardgame with friends (and I won) and then concluded the evening with more video games ( I am currently working my way through Neverwinter Nights 2). Yesterday, I ran a bunch of errands like renewing my automobile registration and picking up various necessities like soap and detergent, but I also took some time to shop for video games (unsuccessfully attempting to take advantage of Toys R Us' "Buy 2, Get 1 Free" offer on all videogames) and I ended up picking up Dead Space and playing it a fair bit in addition to cleaning up my email and watching the final presidential debate. Then today, I spent most of my day researching companies, writing cover letters, and submitting job applications (three in total thus far), with a little Company of Heroes thrown in for good measure (which took longer to get setup than it probably should have).

There's still a lot I know I want (or wanted) to do with this week, but time is quickly running out. I feel like I need another week just to get everything in order, but I guess everybody probably feels that way from time to time. With pretty much two projects to focus on next term (not counting Thesis stuff), I am hopeful that it will be a bit easier to manage things, but who knows what the whole job hunt is going to throw at me. Tests, interviews, applications...it's all very exciting, but a little bit scary at the same time. I mean, in the next two months I will basically find out if the last year and a half have really been worth it. Maybe I'm placing a bit too much emphasis on it, but that's definitely how it feels.

About the job hunt, I suppose I should state this now to avoid and questions or comments in the future. I have decided NOT to post any specifics about my job hunt (where I am applying, who has interviewed me, who has rejected me) to avoid any potential negative fallout should a potential employer stumble upon my humble blog. I'm not really sure if anyone would care if I got an offer from Company X or never heard back from Company Y, but I figure I'm better safe than sorry. If you want to hear how things are going, feel free to email me or leave me a comment and I'll let you know privately. I may decide to summarize how things went at the end, but only after I am certain about where I am going.

Finally, I will leave you with this: Dead Space is awesome, it's probably one of the most immersive games I have ever played, and the team should be commended for the HUD-less interface they've managed to put together. It's a genius setup that I hope more games move toward if they can. It's so good that I considered putting subtitles on (because of some heavily accented audio logs), but decided not to because it seemed like a slap-in-the-face to the rest of the interface. Add all that to the fact that it feels like a real, honest-to-goodness survival horror game (unlike what certain Capcom franchises have slowly become), and I think you've got something really special, which is saying a lot considering its leading off against some heavy hitters in the next few weeks. Alright, well hopefully this long, rambling post, will somewhat make up for the last week, but if not....well, you'll just have to live with it. Now, I'm off to shoot some space zombies...