I've been playing my game this week - Mass Effect.

It's pretty cool to go into a store and see it actually there for sale. 3 years of work by 150 people encapsulated in one little package.
What's a good sign is that I'm playing it at all. It's the first game of ours that I've actually played after it's been released. Usually I'm so sick of a game after playing it continuously for the last month of production that I don't even break the cellophane on my own copy when I get it. But for whatever reason, I'm still finding the fun in ME. (the main reason is that it's a freaking awesome game!)
Hopefully we get some good sales from those turkey-eating americans this weekend and we'll all have some nice big bonus checks coming next year.

Happy thanksgiving my american brothers - now put down that drumstick and get down to the store.

Yay for us!

The Mass Effect release party was last night and a great chance it was to meet up with everyone away from the office. I am always amazed when I step back and look at the number of really nice (and incredibly talented) people I work with. Makes me remember another reason why I don't want to work anyplace else.

Mass hits the shelves on November 20th - and as positive as everyone is about the game, I still get some butterflies in my stomach when I think about it. Will people see the little faults I do? Will people like the characters and the story? Will people buy it (and buy lots of it)?

I almost want to go down to the game store on the 20th and just spy on people and see what happens. Openning night is almost here...

Graduation day

I'm off to my new project today (whenever they eventually get around to moving me upstairs).
It kind of feels like the last day of school/first day of school combined.
On the one hand, it feels sad to be leaving all of the friends I've worked with the for the last couple years. We've shared all the laughs and frustrations and rewards of being on a huge project like Mass Effect. We've all bonded through the shared pain and pressures of crunch these last months.

I feel like I should be getting them to sign my yearbook or something.

On the other hand, I'm excited to be starting a new project, with new challenges and new people to get to know. A chance to start out fresh again. A chance to once again be early enough in a project to effect change. A chance to be revitalized by new outlets for creativity - not be forced to compromise due to deadlines or any of the myriad other reasons that affect decisions when making games.

I hope the kids in my new office will be friends with me.
At least I have a new set of crayolas.

Workmares revisited

The last couple nights, I've discovered a new type of workmare (a dream related to work, in case you were unaware).

I'm not just dreaming about being at work, or people I work with - but now I'm dreaming about being inside my work. Last night I was actually in a videogame. Sounds like fun you say? Apparently you don't know our video games - they involve a lot of shooting and stuff. Great fun when you're doing the shooting. Not so much when you are being shot at.

I'm taking this as another sign that I've been working too much this summer.

PG Ratings (or how Bioware learned to stop worrying and love swear words)

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Sad Wednesday

I thought I was sad when they told us our deadline had been extended from April to July. Oh well, I thought - at least I'd get a bit of summer. Then the deadline got pushed back to the 1st of August. And now - the 'real' deadline has just been changed to September 1st. So much for summer.

So I've been looking for a picture to express my sadness. Up until now, this picture was the best one for encapsulating that emotion. (Sorry for the unauthorized use of the photo, Jen - it was just too perfect).

At least, it was the best...up until now. The new champion comes from another friend of mine who sent me this when I told him we probably couldn't do our annual camping trip because of my new deadline.

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West facing windows

I like having a window in my office - even though all I've got to look on is a busy street and a big pile of dirt across the way. A little bit of light makes you feel alright.
My problem is in the afternoons. With the sun beating down on the window, I start to get a serious case of the head bobs going.
Nothing worse for your keyboard than a puddle of drool either.

Dog days of spring...

It's getting close to the end of our project. Almost too close.
I can see that light at the end of the tunnel - the promise of no more crunch hours - the promise of being able to enjoy the rest of the summer and spend some time enjoying life a little more.

The problem comes with staying focused for these last few weeks. The light in that damn tunnel is so bright, it's hard not to step outside and enjoy it. And I also find it easier to get the wind taken out of your sails when little obstacles - things that 4 months ago wouldn't have bothered me at all - when these little obstacles come up.
Now they're like a punch in the gut - like someone laughing, telling me 'you'll never get this game done....ahahhaaha'.

Grrrrr, need to be done this project. Damn those gutpunchers!

Walk into the light...come into the light...it's so close....

Do you speak computerese?

I thought that computers were all about 1's and 0's.

I want to know where the shades of grety come into it. Why is is that if I try the same thing, repeating all the same steps, I get different results?

Somewhere in this little metal box underneath my desk a tiny imp sits and laughs at me.
(I've tried a good stiff kick to the hard drive, but trust me...that doesn't fix things).

Anyone know a good exorcist?

Drug time

I really can see why people take drugs. I was full of energy this morning, but I seem to have hit the 4 o'clock wall. Maybe this wouldn't normally be a big deal, but since I'm working for another 4 hours - this might be a problem.

Really, there's two ways to go. I could find a couch and try and nap-out the tiredness, or...try to wake up. The question becomes, how work-acceptable is it to be seen sacked out on a couch, dead to the world. Is that the kind of thing you can pull off? And also - do I want to let everyone catch me snoring?

What I need is some kind of work-acceptable drug. Maybe some kind of liquid made from the roasted seeds of some plant. If only...wait...maybe it's time for a coffee run.

Perceptions

I find the perceptions with which news and events are reported to be quite fascinating.
So much of what we are told or read is totally subjective. Take this latest case, which has some relevence to my own job.
The FTC (Federal Trade Commision) in the States recently issued a report on marketing media violence to children. In it, it gives mixed reviews to the video games industry's efforts at limiting sales of violent video games to children under 17.
The wide range of spin in how this story was reported is quite amazing. Here's a couple samples.

FTC says content curbs fall short - L.A. Times
FTC: game industry self-policing improving - GameSpot
Report says the young buy violent games and movies - NY Times
FTC: self-regulation of violent content working - Beta News
Report: Violence still aimed at kids - Variety
FTC: Game are better regulated than music, movies - Ars Technica

It makes me wonder who or what influences are behind the reporting we see on most subjects.
If you haven't had a look already - check out my link to Spin Cycles, CBC Radio's fascinating story on the history of PR.


A link to some reporting on the FTC report.
http://gamepolitics.com/2007/04/12/breaking-ftc-report-praises-spanks-video-game-industry/
http://www.gamepolitics.com/

200 DHU Monday

We have an informal unit of measurement here at Bioware, the DHU, otherwise known as the David Hasselhoff Unit. It's a measurement of stress level around the office, so that 5 DHUs could be getting interrupted on your way out for your morning coffee. 40 DHUs could be your officemates nattering on incessently while you are in the midst of concentrating on some problem or another. 1000 DHUs is the level of stress when we're in full on crunch time, 6 day work week kind of hours.

Usually at our company meetings, one of the producers incorporates the Hoff into his presentation. It's like watching an accident about to happen - you know what's coming, but you can't turn away.

I think Mondays in general rate about 200 DHUs. They are just plain annoying. The weekend is still fresh in your mind and here comes Monday to ruin all your fun. It takes at least until Tuesday to get back in the swing of things.

And just so everyone knows - this is what 1000 DHUs looks like.

Conspiracy theories

Have you ever felt like someone was out to get you?
Having one of those days at work where I seem to be thwarted at every turn. I try to work on one area and my editor crashes. I get my editor fixed and my area crashes. It's getting towards dinner time and I have the feeling that it's been the most unproductive day of my life.
Trust me...coming from a guy who held the high school record for skipped classes, that's pretty unproductive.

Superpowers

There was no working late last night, they had the building evacuated a little before nine. Apparantly they are putting new wiring in and needed to X-Ray the entire office. Not just the old flash x-ray you get at the dentist's office, but they were going to leave the rays on for a few hours.
Now who doesn't think this is perhaps the greatest chance you'd ever get to pick up some extra super powers? I chickened out though and went for a drink at the Dog instead.
My friend has a pet frog on her desk, Leroy - I should go check if she remembered to take him home.
Hmmmm - well, either he went home or he's suddenly developed enough intelligence to escape from his bowl and is now eagerly plotting our destruction for keeping him captive for so many years. What would be a good name for a mad frog supervillain anyway?

Firedrills

Mondays seem like a good day for a firedrill.
Now, around here, a designer firedrill is called whenever it seems like people are in need of a quick work-break. The word is spread, office to office, by whoever calls the drill. We file, in an orderly fashion, to the pub downstairs as quickly as possible whereupon we launch into a discussion of our evacuation techniques and other topics du jour. Of course, as our evacuation point happens to be in a pub, these meetings usually take place accompanied by some sort of frosty beverage. By the time we get back to work, most anything that has been bugging our team is out in the open and we are usually ready to be creative again (creativity CAN be wobbly, damn it!).
So next time you're at one of those points where the day drags out much longer than the laws of physics would seem to allow - remember your fire safety.

Profane Power!

The best part about working late at night is that there's no one else around.
That means I get to swear as loud as I want.
Isn't it George Carlin who refers to the seven words you can't use on radio? Well I think I've expanded the list to at least eight today.
It's amazing how refreshing it is to be able to swear out loud. No social conventions to follow, no easily offended co-workers, no visiting press or families happening by at inoportune times in the hallways. Just me and my computer.
Of course, maybe that's why my computer misbehaves so much - it's sulking.

Crunch Time

So here I am...still at work. Ok fine - I'm not actually working while I'm posting this, but rest assured - I've been working. We're in the middle of crunch time. For anyone not familiar with that term - it's the time of a project, especially in software development, when your deadline starts looming and the bugs seem to pile up and the hours grow long and the nerves grow short.

Today - all the little guys I had sitting down nicely in their stations on our starship decided to each move about 2 feet to the left. Damn union disturbers. Between that and my constant battle with the laws of physics and it's been a long week. And it's only Tuesday! By Friday, I expect a total state of chaos.