gewgaw

                                                               . . . a splendid plaything

7/2/2009

Slick!

DP’s latest venture could be the solution to piracy and resale that the industry is looking for! Comments in the thread re: performance seem short-sighted. However - it is interesting to think about the implications for “flash developers” as Dave points out in the demo. What would one-click access to AAA games (many man-years invested in the content/scope) do to people’s perceptions of the standard PopCap or iPhone fare?

More importantly - how can smaller, more agile devs take advantage of the opportunity, when streaming finally hits big? If we can create new experiences that also harness the amazing look & feel (and SOUND!) of giga-team games… we might just get to have our cake and eat it too!

:)

6/28/2009

Flower… in SPORE!

Wow!!


6/26/2009

Interesting!

Some how the phrase “easier to manage” fails to fill me with glee. Maybe… “simple & fun” would have generated a warmer feeling?

:)

6/24/2009

To Dos

Danah interviewed on the concept of an “email sabbatical” impact of email on relaxation and vacations - and life, in general. What’s so interesting is that it really does surface the tension between email for connection vs. email for work vs. email for obligations in the future - as she says “getting into the queue”.

Very similar to sentiments expressed at Lift, in and around discussions of technology addiction - such a phenomenon that you can get some pretty neat stuff out of the phrase on Google Images.

:)

6/18/2009

Synchronicity

Once again, Jones is bending and reshaping the mold of minds with his preso on The New Negroponte Switch. Included is new excitement from Shulze/Webb re: mapping and visualization. Now, everywhere I look I’m seeing adventure! New perspectives, new ways of seeing - new messages for a new time.

It’s funny how things work out. Images from HOME burned into my brain yesterday, and today it turns out I’ll be seeing it premiere here next week, thanks to Hollywood Hill. It’s easy to get sad when thinking about how much work we have to do to fix the bugs we’ve introduced in the last few generations - but at least we know now that the bugs exist. Maybe it’s the producer in me talking - but I feel hopeful, and inspired! Creativity at the office, brainstorming with the Impact Lab, IndieCade planning, new pets, happy garden, loving friends & family - there is just so much to be connecting to and grateful for.

Thank you, universe. I am working to give back as hard as I can!!

6/17/2009

Epic!!

So it’s been 2 weeks that I’ve been at TGC - and that has been an awesome 2 weeks, indeed. So much to learn and do - so many fun things to start thinking about. And… on top of the inspirational team, welcoming vibe at Sony Santa Monica and general boost that comes from exposure to new ideas… I still have time to play and enjoy some of my favorite games! So tonight, Ben and I decided to check out the latest in downloadable levels for BBBP.

OMaMothaf*inG!! We have been playing JReflex93’s “Labyrinth” for the last 30 mins and loving every second of it. Warning: if you want to avoid spoilers, try to solve this level before watching the vid!!!


After playing this for about 10 minutes, Ben said “This is exactly the sort of thing we imagined people would build!”

When BBBP began production, Ben spent a lot of time working out how we could merge the design tool we had at the time (which was actually a text-based editor) with the shipping in-game editor from the original Boom Blox. I remember helping him outline the plan, and making the case that this solution would be worth (what seemed at the time) to be a heavy time investment. Looking back, it’s hard to believe that this was even discussed - because integrating these two tools has been incredibly beneficial for both the design team and the end users.

But never in a million years would I have forseen the designs out there now. That, as Will has said, is the power of a great editor!! And the levels just keep coming. You can check out a bunch just surfing the YouTubes.. or search for highest rated in the Download area. We love “Justice Served” and “Wicked Tower” (by our very own STV), the Color Match levels of CheeseJam… and too many others to mention.

Ben and I created a level for y’all a while back (Level ID 349 - you can also search for “Message 4 Fans”) when BBBP first shipped - and it is still as true today as it was then. To all of you Boom Bloxers, we send huge hugs and lasting gratitude. Your continuing creativity makes us so happy!!! Keep making great levels! We <3 you all!!!

6/8/2009

Rocking E3

Super wonderful times this week and weekend - everyone in LA for the show, and then some staying over to attend the annual “Missed My Flight” BBQ & impromptu afterparty at Casa de Roja.

In addition to a fantastic first week at TGC I was able to meet up with tons of fun Indie friends (including some quality time with team Scary Girl), rock out with our lovely Harmonix peeps, hang with Mark, Kim, big Ben - and of course, take some great photos!

Here is my favorite triple so far: from our evening with The Beatles - in which Lulu rocks her inner Joan Jett and Ross… just plain rocks!

Even better than having a whole week of seeing my leading lady and man - they will be back in town next weekend for a spectacular birthday BBQ (both she and Juli are celebrating!) that doubles as a shipping, job change and engagement celebration. I would wish for a copy of The Beatles to round out the event - but I’m pretty sure that it would cause Ross to explode in a puff of unicorns, rainbows and 3-part harmony.

Special shout-out and superthanks to our house guest Crankyuser… who not only helped Lulu clean up the whole place today, post-brunching - but also fixed the kitchen tap and front door - so that next weekend’s soiree will not include the sound of continual slamming. Should have known that our favorite UI designer & Project Natal schemer would have great ideas for improving the Casa’s user expereince. Rock on!!

6/2/2009

Girl Reaches Mars!!

Sugoooooi!!!! Keita sent this link to celebrate!!


:)

Congratulations Nobi fans, creators and most importantly Mars! You have a new friend now!!

6/1/2009

Team HP Delivers!

On time, as always! Congrats to ma, pa and babe!!

5/28/2009

Wienerisms

Scott’s begun posting op-eds on Gama - and today’s excursion is pretty good! Ladies, look past the laddishness and man-crushing to find some really solid wisdom about managing people and teams. Snippet:

The 12 Laws of Wiener

1. Be Part of the Solution, Never a Part of the Problem. Quite simply, it’s much easier to be critical than it is to be correct. If you can’t to help solve problems, then leave so quickly that there is nothing left but a you-shaped hole in the wall.

2. First, Do No Harm. You have to treat each decision as if you are a physician: First, do no harm. Make sure that while you’re being part of the solution, you’re not causing other problems as a side-effect.

3. It’s the People, not the Products. Intellectual Property and hard assets are nice, but talent is the most valuable part of your organization - and talent should be treated as such. Ten smart people in an empty room can do more and better than a hundred dumb people charged with the care of a great product.

4. Align Utilities To get the best from people (and, to wit, the best from other organizations), their utilities must be aligned with your own. Create win/win situations and you will win, win, win some more.

5. There are No Laurels What you did yesterday doesn’t entitle you to bad office coffee: It’s what you are doing tomorrow that makes all difference to the team.

6. Execution, Execution, Execution The road to hell is paved with pretty PowerPoint slides. You have to be honest in your ability to execute on a strategy, and then you have to execute on that strategy and then execute some more.

7. Remove Obstacles A manager is there to remove obstacles to execution: Let other people run with the ball while you block for them.

8. You’ll Have to get Blood on Your Hands. If an obstacle to organizational execution is a member of the organization, you’re going to have to get blood on your hands - you’re going to have to remove or reposition that person, even if doing so causes immediate pain.

9. One-on-One Gets it Done. The best way to make a decision is to poll individuals in one-on-one conversations - where individuals are more likely to give you the straight beef. Speak to as many people as is possible, synthesize, and react.

10. Do the Due. Preparation, preparation, preparation - do your due diligence. Know what you’re talking about: If you’ve been asked for a meeting concerning a topic about which you know nothing, it’s time to hit the books like the books owe you money.

11. C.Y.A. Saves the Day. Always cover your ass - know who your attackers will be and what weapons they will use against you. Have your shields ready. My favorite corollary to this is the evidentiary hearing: Never make one complaint. If you are going to complain about something, be ready to lay down a stack of evidence supporting your concerns.

12. Mea Culpa. The three sweetest words in the English language are not, “I love you,” but, “it’s my fault.” If you’ve screwed things up, you have to bite the bullet, bite it in half.

Beyond the basic “how to’s of management” there is an interesting segment on publishers using
Scrum-like processes to manage internal process for external projects.

Scrum is lauded and applauded for its management of complexity in workflow, its leveraging of the Surowieckian Wisdom of Crowds to result in better decision making. But where the hammer really meets the nail is that Scrum does a lot to trivialize the flawed monkey in all of us.

Well, what’s good for the developer is also good for the publisher. How many times have you heard of a project put at risk because, “Our publisher wanted us to switch to an engine that didn’t suit our purposes mid-project.” Or, “Our publisher insisted that we stop everything to add a certain feature.” The stories are litany. And in the end of the stories, it’s usually the developer and/or the consumer who have suffered the most, which is probably why publishing organizations look today a lot like they looked yesterday: No pain, no change.

Also litany are the incessant comparisons of “business,” to “warfare.” General George S. Patton knew a lot about warfare, was considered one of the greatest battlefield commanders in history. In the movies, General Patton can be seen rallying his men, “When you stick your hand into a pile of goo that used to be your best friend’s face, you’ll know what to do!”

The movies have done the world a disservice: General Patton’s greatest quote is, “Don’t tell people how to do something: Tell them what you want and let them surprise you.”

I’m by no means suggesting that we crash Amazon.com with the world’s largest order for books about Scrum, but wouldn’t it be great if more organizations ran by not telling how but by telling what? Wouldn’t we achieve more great things more often if organizations observed the military doctrine of Commander’s Intent?

Scrum-like reporting has become a very strong element in my own personal production toolbox. In fact - the Commander’s Intent statement was written in huge letters on the white board above my desk for the entire course of BBBP. And it does seem like something that could transform higher level management.

Someone should figure this out on a production-managment team and publish a few articles on it. That would be very benificial to the industry.

*cough* Lulu *cough*

5/26/2009

New Things

Two good links today - one from Phil and one from Kyle. Both focused on the same idea: small is beautiful.

Spent the morning over at Sherman Gallery getting some pictures framed. It’s probably not a shock that I had almost 200 hours of paid vacation just sitting there, waiting to cash out. So I spent some of it on pretty frames for art prints - including a long-format Brian Ralph from 2001 (I love you Million Year Picnic!) …

…and my amazing new MAKE THINGS poster via 20X200 and Mr. Matt Jones.

After some discussion, we decided to go with the most regal, impressive frame we could find - hand finished (Italian!) on the outside, with a glided, raised offset on the matting. I couldn’t be more pleased.

This is now the first thing you see when you come into the Casa de Roja. Muchas gracias, amigos!

5/25/2009

Thankful

It’s always the little things that make a day great. A cool breeze, the sound of a bird, something delicious and made with care. When I am busy busy busy, I miss these moments - and I am less happy because of it. Thankfulness = watchfulness, in a way.

When rushed to finish too many tasks, I also brush by visual delights - like the light in Mika’s eye that glints just before she pounces. Moments, movements, feelings - these are what I labor to capture with photographs, when in a more contemplative mindset.

I’ve finally made the time to unearth the digital disc-archives of my photos from 2001-2004… what can now only be referred to as the dark days of the Sony CD-R digicam. I can still fearing the heft of it after my first E3… knowing it would be a bitch to carry around on the floor.

Looking through the years (mostly spent in Chicago but with trips to Austin, SF, LA and Tokyo) - I’m surprised (and yet not-so-surprised) to see patterns in my eye. And… in my routine. Days captured “just at home” or about town tend to be from snowstorms, blackouts… times when there was nothing better to do.

Here’s to keeping an open eye, when my break is done. And to Edgar - the latest addition to Casa de Roja - who inspired some photos today. Thank you, Edgar!

5/22/2009

Design Tribute

Reviews continue to come in for BBBP, and once again I’m genuinely thrilled to see and hear how much people are enjoying the game. Whether it’s a mainstream media outlet, a core gaming site or a customer review - pretty much everyone is saying the same thing: more, better, fun for everyone, and fairly priced. With a sequel, that is pretty much the best you can hope for.

But BBBP isn’t really a sequel, per se. As some reviews have mentioned, it’s more like the distilled, enhanced, perfected form of the original game. And for the most part, that feeling of clarity and focus comes from one place: it’s design.

Boom Blox is, at first glance, an easy game to design for. Blox, characters, explosions - the glory of physics at your fingertips, right? But time and time again, we saw that building interesting, challenging and engagingly replayable levels is just *not* as easy as it looks. Keeping it fresh for everyone from the “just-throw-and-sees” to the “perfect-shot perfectionists”… especially in multiplayer…. that’s particularly difficult.

We were blessed on BBBP by an incredible group of designers - some contract, some full-time. And at the helm of this team was the Lead, Steve Riesenberger - a cabinets-to-consoles guy with patents hanging up next to his kids’ artwork and shipped-game schwag.

At the beginning of the project, the team brainstormed new blox, toys and game modes - and spent roughly 2 months prototyping in the first game’s editor and engine. During that time, Steve worked tirelessly to funnel the best ideas into “game styles”. These went to the distributed design team, which iterated to see if balanced, fun, blox-worthy gameplay could gel.

So many great ideas! And when we pruned the project tree to shape the final, shipping levels - Steve went through the cruft to single out “best of the rest” opportunities for the design team to polish, post-beta. When many other bunnies would have been home recovering from a solid 8-month sprint of prototyping, production and polish - he was down in the trenches, digging for more gems and inspiring the rest of us to do the same.

Energizer, hooooo!

So when you do go and pick up BBBP, and begin sampling some of this handiwork, take a minute to ponder what’s behind your favorite challenges. Head online, and sample some more - 40 official EA levels have been released to celebrate the game’s launch, already! Then - try and build a game or two of your own. Can you create something that holds up to 2,3 or 4 players… maybe tuck in a few crazy topples or explosions for good measure?

Give it a try!! That’s a tribute the STV & the design team (you know who you are) truly deserve!

5/21/2009

Even More Progress!

Dug up some more random things that have been sitting in the “to post” pile - some of them for a looong time:

The Power of Mimicry - an interesting post from a while back on how some games capitalize on this fundamental human drive. A snippet:

The vast majority of modern videogames have a large component of mimicry. It added enromously to the appeal of a game like Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (although this game was designed and structured in such a hardcore, challenge-oriented fashion that it could never appeal just for its mimicry), it is probably the chief reason that World of Warcraft is now outpacing the Everquest brand in terms of subscribers, and it is perhaps the principal reason for the astronomical success of the recent Grand Theft Auto branded games.

The power of mimicry can be seen in the success of games for which this is the primary form of play. Sim City had impressive success for its day by offering the mimicry of building a working city, but was limited by its focus: although creating a city was entertaining, it didn’t engage a great many players for an especially long time, in part because of its inherent complexity and emotional distance. In creating The Sims, Maxis offered a game of mimicry with a much wider appeal - and critically, a game with the potential to appeal to women.

It is not that mimicry appeals more to women than men, rather, it is that the types of mimicry that we are culturally indoctrinated into differ by gender. Boys tend stereotypically to play with toy cars and weapons - and games incorporating mimicry of vehicles and weapons tend to have an agonistic (competitive) bias. Girls tend stereotypically to play with figures (dollplay) and domestic situations (playing house). These play activities had not been provided as the focus of play prior to The Sims, because no-one had considered women a worthwhile target audience - thanks in part to gender biases in games industry employment. 10 million units and many satisfied customers later and (astonishingly) the industry still doesn’t recognise the significance of mimicry to hitting a wide audience.

Consider this: MySims & the Blox’s both include an element of playing with toy people, animals and blocks - which kids in Western culture do regardless of gender. Coincidence? It’s a long read that I still haven’t fully unpacked - but since I’m waiting for my Wii Update (so I can play my copy of BBBP!!) I figured I’d post it.

- - -

For all my photo nerds out there - have you seen this awesome article on variable focus photograph technology?! This tech makes it possible for you to digitally re-focus a single exposure. Blade Runner - here we come!!!

- - -

Here’s the link to the Introduction to Game Development - a huge book made from the IGDA Education Committe’s Curriculum guide! Longtime readers will remember the guide as my first IGDA contribution… a project that lasted over 4 years and introduced me to the developers who have shaped my life. At the time, my advisor warned that focusing too much on the curriculum would delay my graduation date. D’oh!!!! Ian - why are you always right??

But on the flipside: that was a decade ago - when, as a graduate student in CS, I realized that there was no way for me to study games, other than to talk to actual game developers in person (and build them on my own - blindly, slowly). Our first Education Summit at GDC 2002 (that’s right - I didn’t *always* have red hair!) introduced developers to several brand new college and graduate-level programs including one at MIT and another at CMU.

And today? I work at a company FOUNDED BY USC GAME STUDIES PROGRAM GRADS!

Is that not *awesome*?! If that much change is possible in just 10 years - imagine what the next 40 will be like!!

The Blind Watchmaker

Opened my copy of the official BBBP today - to find a MySims insert in the front:

Funny!

Progress!

Lots of great things going on that I have been meaning to post… especially as we roll up to EEE.

For starters - Ari and Ori over at Hollywood Hill have announced their latest awesome program: THE IMPACT LAB!

We are pleased to announce THE IMPACT LAB - a new joint venture between The Hollywood Hill and USC’s Games Institute, to build a new generation of videogames for real-world social change (aka Games for Change).

The Hollywood Hill’s event Social Change Videogames: The Next Frontier” on May 7, 2006 at Lawrence Bender’s home introduced our members to this new movement. Among the speakers were the founders of the NYC-based Games4Change trade association, as well as some of the game developers who have pioneered the early-stage games.

With our focus on the role of innovation in social change, The Hollywood Hill has always seen tremendous potential in the development of new types of videogames that can tackle the significant problems the world faces - from global warming to hunger and disease. Over the past year we started exploring a partnership with USC’s Game Institute that would combine the strengths and resources of The Hollywood Hill and its entertainment community, with USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, Viterbi School of Engineering, and Annenberg School of Communication.

This new lab will focus on the development of games that have real-world consequences - where the user’s actions in the game directly translate into real-world change. We plan to ramp up to an output of approximately 10 games per year, helping to develop a set of standards for the industry as well as measuring the real-world impact of the games as they are launched.

The Impact Lab will be based out of The Hollywood Hill’s new event facility and HQ, The Catalyst Center. Funding for the lab and its games is provided by Armchair Revolutionary (www.armrev.org), and partner foundations and sponsors.

Games for change, built in collaboration with USC’s awesome game design talent! Wish them luck - or better yet, contact the ‘Hill about sponsorship opps!

- - -

Next up: IndieCade is ramping up for E3, and has also just closed submissions for the fall festival - to be held in Culver City this October… did you remember to submit?

I have joined the ‘cades advisory board - and am SUPERSUGOIEXCITED to announce that Keita will be joining us at the event as well!! Right now I am trying to whip up a few cool, on-site events for the weekend days of the festival (outdoor games, especially events that are fun for kids). Ping me if you have ideas and would like to participate… and I will certainly posted more info as the program evolves!

- - -

And LBNL: Jennifer’s new story just posted on the Escapist today - you can read it here!

5/20/2009

Moving On

It’s official - I’ve got a new job! As of June 1, I will be working at ThatGameCompany - purveyors of fine interactive, digital experiences the likes of Flow and Flower:

On the one hand - this is a superexciting development. But on the other - it is a sunset of sorts. The conclusion to a series of discussions, inquiries and internal musings… evidenced by the post below, which I wrote in November of 2008 but never posted.

Today started at 8 am with a Spielberg meeting - and ended at 11 after a 4 hour focus test. From morning till night, every hour of today was about making sure things went smoothly, getting things out of the way for my team, and generally staying focused on the important discussion at hand. Exhausted at the end of this day, I took a long bath, curled up with the HBR - and ended up daydreaming about the future.

I have gathered a lot of experience in my short time as a professional developer. And because of my cross-disciplinary nature, I am atypical. Happy in a brainstorm creating new IP or hashing out a budget, I’m also quick to jump at a chance to play something new, offer tuning advice, or build a level. I love designing user experiences, but have discovered that I enjoy growing people & teams. And just getting things done, of course. If it’s a challenge, and the cause is good - I’m in.

This makes career planning a bit difficult. If I were soully focused on climbing the ladder - I’d hop from short project to short project, asking for title bumps and raises. It’s a common strategy for managers and (it seems) fairly successful within larger companies. But because I care more about ideals (good game, good team, player/creativity focus) than ends - I often have a hard time articulating exactly where I want to be in the next 3 years - let alone 5.

Lately, it seems like I’m facing a crossroads. I can continue to hone my skills in production and creative direction…. or begin looking beyond single teams, dealing with larger group and even, possibly, company cultures. I can keep contributing to a single, large organization - or branch out to touch a variety of businesses, in a more advisory role. Stay in product or branch out to process. Ship or consult.

This dissatisfies me. My ideal job is a lot like the one I have now: I teach part time, I work on a small, creative and iconoclastic team, and travel to consult on games when needed for higher-level, blue-sky thinking. If I could find a bit more time to sleep and exercise - I’d be very happy. Especially if I recieved recognition for all facets of my contribution.

But it seems that the further “up” you go, the harder it is to maintain a cross-contributor role. Maybe it’s about scheduling - but I also think it’s about being in the right culture. So I’m thinking a lot about where I am, and where I might like to go.

Reading this HBR article on recruitment, I was struck by this “Talent Compact” - a framework of key strategies for attracting and keeping high-functioning, cross-contributors like myself:

  • Brand: Known for excellence; Leading global company; Inspirational leadership
  • Opportunity: Challenging work; Accellerated career track; Continual training/development; Competative pay
  • Culture: Authenticity; Meritocracy; Connection; Talent-centricity
  • Purpose: Guiding mission; Global citizenship; Committed to the region
    A closer look at our interviews gave us new insights into how these four factors work in concert. We found that they could be united under two guiding principles: promises made (the combination of brand, opportunity, and purpose) and promises kept (most significantly, employees’ day-to-day experiences within an organization’s culture). All four factors play a role in all aspects of the talent management process, but each influences recruitment and retention in different ways. (See the exhibit “A Framework for Attracting and Retaining Talent.”) Promises made and kept affect any quest for talent, but the intensity of competition in the fast-growing BRIC and other economies makes strong differentiation urgent. Most companies continue to believe that a big salary and a name brand will suffice to meet their needs, but a local company that creates genuine opportunities and exhibits desirable cultural conditions will often win out over a Western multinational that offers higher pay.

This article was focused mostly on growing talent in emerging markets: thus the reference to a commitment to the region, and global citizenship. While reading - I asked myself what the ideal organization would be committed to for me. What is key to retaining my passion for games, for user-focused design, and overall - great entertainment that breaks the boundaries of what has come before it?

It’s got to be a commitment to the customer. A drive to create games for people - not just games that we know they will buy - but games that will inspire and delight them in new ways. I’m fine with selling product - and understand that good business drives our opportunity to create games at all. But underneath it, I yearn for dedication to creating what’s next, new and fresh. Taking that risk - because it’s the best way to new business.

Will my next job be in line with this goal? Can this promise be made - let alone kept? Especially now - when times are tight, and playing it safe seems like a good idea: where can a passionate contributor like myself set her sights?

I remember the night I wrote this post - I was tired and uncertain of what I was really “trying to say”. Read once - it sounded a bit like the whambulance to me. Read the following day, it sounded more like an open call for job proposals. And in a week’s time… honestly, I was too busy to really bother figuring out what it meant. File for later, under “something will happen”…

Well - it’s clear now what happened, in hindsight. We made a kick-ass game and with the help of some extremely dedicated individuals shipped it on time. Everyone, from the most seasoned execs to the newest of newbs brought something unique and special to the game - and then, we were done. Looking up from my computer, I knew it was time to move on.

Can the Talent Compact be made in our industry? I’m not sure - but there is surely only one way to find out. Wish me luck as I step off the cruiseliner that is EA and onto the schooner that is TGC. Open waters ahead may mean hard work - but it is certainly an adventure worth looking forward to!!

5/19/2009

BBBP Ships Today!!

Boom Blox Bash Party ships today in North America! Our very first reviews are rolling in and looking good! It’s the moment you hold your breath for. What a feeling when it all comes together (or in this case - blasts apart!)!

It’s especially great to think of folks toying around with Create Mode and submitting playable levels to the new online community. Regular readers will know that this has always been my favorite feature… and that I’m *superpsyched* to see new levels popping up on the game’s official YouTube channel, some of our fan channels, and Facebook page.

Damn, it’s a great time to be a gamer!! From Bonsai Barber and MadWorld to Deadly Creatures and Boing! Docomodake… there are a bunch of crazy new ideas out there! As each console settles into it’s own online niche, strange fruit can (hopefully) flourish. Heck - Even the King of All Cosmos has a new lease on life, after a little plastic surgery! Rainbows! Sheep! Everyone hustle!!!

Here’s to innovation and experimentation in all its forms! More small, strange and crazy games! GO GO GO!!

5/10/2009

EG ‘09

Random tidbit of the day: I found a pretty awesome writeup of this year’s Experimental Gameplay session in the Onion AV club coverage of GDC 09. I knew we had a great piece up on Destructoid but the Onion?? Who knew?!

I also dug up a few pix from this year (was busy with Boom Blox press so didn’t have the Nikon handy) - most of them very flash-y (sad). This one is my favorite because it shows Derek presenting, Jon & me semi-freaking-out about time (we were over this year!) and the words “dead mother” all in one frame. If you took pix this year can you drop me a note and a link to anything cool? I’m trying to get a bunch of stuff together for the site. Thanks!!

It truly was one of our best years - something I’ve been thinking about a lot since GDC. There is a supervibe of positive energy in the indie games scene now compared to even just 2 or 3 years ago. There are just *so* many great expereimenters out there, and so many of our favorite people have begun a second wave of games (Daniel immediately comes to mind here - his presentation just blew me away). I have a feeling that we are going to see more and more “Vitamin E” in games coming out in the downloadable space this year…

PS: Kudos to everyone who made the time to send in a game. If you didn’t get your game done for 09, there’s no time like the present to begin work on our ‘10 submission!!

5/1/2009

Vacation

I love you, summer vacation! Why? Because the one thing I like most about taking time off from work is having time to do all the other stuff I’ve been stacking up on my to-do lists!!

This included: visiting Ben’s family up in Oregon, unpacking, framing and hanging art, re-organizing the garage (we can DDR in there now!!), weeding & landscaping, reading, hiking, biking, rock climbing, scuba diving, hosting the lovely Lulu for her brief LA visit and cooking a ton of great food. Some of the pix (but not all, by a longshot) here.

Time off isn’t just about chores, tho. I’ve had a lot of time to look at life from the 50,000-foot view, and to spend quality time grounded in a simpler, more thoughtful daily routine. I’ve been daydreaming a lot about future projects - and enjoying the simple work of my awesome Birthday Garden. Fresh ideas and fresh veggies have slowly crept in and cleared a place for themselves, as finaling, promoting and planning the launch of BBBP gives way to new things.

I’m also working on my dissertation - which I’ve set a goal to finish asap. To stay focused and get it done, I’ve decided to bail on a mid-May trip to IT University (missing Nordic game jam as well - boo). I’m not sure I can make it to Games for Change in NYC, but will be at GLS and E3 (ok that’s a gimme). UK friends - it looks like I’ll be out your way in September for a conference in Brighton and then, hope to make that visit to Sweden.

Wow - suddenly I feel like I need another vacation!

:)

Happy May!!!

4/29/2009

Shove it

Been listening to Santogold again - this record is unstoppable!

I pay for what’s called
eccentricity and my will to evolve
I hear them all say
that I got heart
but not everything that it takes

Taint my mind but not my soul
Tell you I got fire
I wont sell it for no payroll
Let ‘em hold me down
I know if I know another way
I can’t look the other way
I know another way
I’ll tell them so right to their face

Rock on, dude. Rock on!

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