I was recently laid off, it sucked, the end. I wish that was the whole story, but it never is. Fortunately(?) life moves on and we have to pick up the pieces and find other opportunities out in the wild. This entire process has taught me a lot about a lot of things, and certainly a lot about myself right here and now: My interview skills are about as smooth as a cat’s penis The industry sure has changed in…
This might be a “Come to Jesus” moment for me… I haven’t had to look for work in over a decade; I’ve been too busy making educational games to lift my head and peer into the belly of that beast. A lot changes in this industry, but there’s also a lot that stays the same. What hasn’t changed with video games is what worries me more than anything. Here are a couple of posts to help explain where I’m going…
If you are a young hopeful looking to join the game development community, here are some things to consider as you hone your skills for the future. All of these are especially true if you want to develop games as an indie. 1. Don’t reach out to your friends for validation It’s highly likely that your friends don’t share your excitement or enthusiasm for a particular area of interest that you do. We are all unique people and some ideas…
I’ve been making games my entire career, but it’s been a constant struggle. I’ve been constantly having to justify myself to the next employer. Because 1 game is popular and another is not, it doesn’t mean the engineering was bad, it means the design was bad or the publisher was cheap and corners were cut. A game could be a marvel of engineering and still be a bad game, but somehow the Engineer has to take that hit to his…
“Are we there yet?” That is the sound of your children in the back seat, grueling over the long drive as you stare in your rear view window. You can still see your house as you pull up to your destination. How did this happen? Are we in some sort of time paradox? That seems to be how video game technology feels right now. There is a very wide breathe of visual innovation; colors, shapes, sizes, and scale playing large roles….
I saw Logan with the wife this week. It was too violent for her but I really liked it. I’d say it’s easily one of the best Marvel films to date – it’s certainly one of the most brutal and gritty Marvel films to date – and though that might not fit every character I feel like it fit Wolverine. He’s always been the savage of the bunch, the one who towed the line between justice and self interest. …
Sometimes… Well, to be honest often times, we have to get outside of our comfort zones if we hope to grow as individuals. The problem with “growing” is that most of us think of personal growth too literally. We see a guy in a suit and tie, driving his freshly waxed car, and we have no idea that he is screaming inside because he’s up to his neck in debt. We see a family of 5 and can only imagine…
This is a short story in the life of Pomper, a dragonborn adventurer. It’s also to help build some backstory to why Pomper does or says certain things; for example, “how’s your day going?” But before he became a daring lawful adventurer, he was a young recluse who wandered the deep forest that he called home… “Pomper! … Pomper!” a sweet voice called out. The familiar song of his mother’s voice echoed through and out of the shallow cave. After failing to…
Do you still dream? I used to. I used to dream all the time when I was younger. I was brimming with hope for the future, and like an old stone standing against the ocean waves, my self has eroded to something very different today from where I started. From what I can tell SK-II is some sort of makeup line or something.. but wow they make great little documentary shorts that expose a lot of cultural stigmas and practices….
If you thought video games were about passion, you’ve never made a tabletop game. This is a lesson I recently learned while creating a 2-player card game about sword fighting. But I’m not here to write about the game design process, I’m here to talk about the business side of tabletop. When I first started playing games there was only retail, shelves upon shelves of boxes and cartridges. The distinction between video games and tabletop games was a banner over…