I Heard You Driving In My Car

Earworms, we've all had experience with them at one point or another whether desirable or not. I find that on most days I wake up with one song or another stuck in my head. Instead of loathing the endlessly repeating tunes, I've learned to take this as a suggestion from my brain for what I should listen to on the way to work that day. Granted I realize that not everyone carries their entire music collection around with them like I do (iPod Classic FTW), but I've found that acquiescing to my brain's song selections is a great deal easier than trying to fight it and I often end up listening to something I would have never thought to have played otherwise.

PS. The title of this post comes from the Failure tune "Stuck on You" ... a song about an earworm.

E3 2012 - Part 4

Here it is, my final E3 post. When all is said and done, while technically we didn't see a lot of new stuff this year, we saw a lot of stuff that was still in early production or only mentioned in passing last year and it's all stuff that is on the horizon for the next 12-18 months. I'm coming away from E3 very excited, even if I know I'll never have the time to play all these games.

Hawken (video link)

These guys have got to be annoyed that a new Mechwarrior game is finally coming out because before that, this was going to be the only stop for giant pilotable mecha action. If you like big robots (and if you grew up with Robotech and Voltron like I did you damn well better like big robots) then Hawken is a dream come true. Even with a new Mechwarrior game in the works, I think there is still plenty of room for success for both projects. If history (and source material) is any indicator, Mechwarrior is likely to be a much more detailed game, bordering on simulation. Based on what we've seen so far of Hawken, it's less heavy on the simulation and instead concentrates on kicking ass. Hawken looks like it could be the Counerstrike of mecha games and I'll gladly take that and still enjoy the brutal simulation I assume we'll get when Mechwarrior Online launches as well.

Deadlight (video link)

Zombies may come and go in TV, Film, Comics, and Literature, but in video games they seem to be a mainstay. At the very least zombies are a humanoid enemy that it's totally OK to kill. Personally I can't get enough of zombies; they're easily my monster of choice when it comes to horror regardless of how they're portrayed. Deadlight not only gives me zombies, but it does so with in the style that seems to blend part point-and-click adventure with the "metroid-vania" formula. The end result is something that (if it works) will likely constitute pure digital crack for me.

Metro: Last Light (video link)

The first Metro game is one whose premise and visuals I loved to death, but that turned me off in several other ways. The town sections were boring, the barter system was confusing (mainly due to a UI that didn't let you see what ammo went to which guns you currently had), and the shooting itself wasn't quite tweaked enough. It was 75% of a great game though and someday I may finish it. From initial impressions I've heard regarding Last Light, it would seem that at least some of my issues have been addressed. If anything, the video (above) that I've seen of the game features some interesting first-person stealth and that's always going to turn my head. Along with the aforementioned visuals and setting of the first game, if Last Light has indeed smoothed some of the edges off its forebears, then that 75% of a great game may get to 100% quite fast.

Miner Wars 2081 (video link)

When it comes to space games, I'm something of an aficionado and that generally leaves me clamoring for information about anything new in the genre since it has been by and large dead for over a decade. Once a PC staple, the space genre didn't evolve quickly enough away from requiring pricey peripherals and towards keyboard and mouse and just sort of disappeared. Every once in a while a new space game will come out, but they're usually small and seldom very innovative. Miner Wars 2081 doesn't look like it's going to save or reinvigorate the genre at all, but it's breaching the MMO space in an interesting way and it's utilizing game play that reminds me an awful lot of the hallowed Descent series, specifically the third installment. It may be nothing more than a curiosity of mine at the moment, but I'm interested to see how this one plays. It seems like a sound formula for a genre I enjoy. 

A Game of Dwarves (video link)

This is another game that I didn't take a look at until several days into E3. Once again the name turned me off. "A Game of Dwarves"? It just sounds like they're trying to blatantly associate themselves with A Game of Thrones and such pandering doesn't sit well with me. The thing is, I kept seeing posts about this game all week and so eventually I had to see what the fuss was. I have to say, I like what I see. It appears that what they've done here is combine Dungeon Keeper (the classic dungeon builder/defender game) with Dwarf Fortress (the indie 4X-style micromanagement simulation). What they end up with is a game that has the sim and management elements of Dwarf Fortress, with the direction and ease of Dungeon Keeper. I've gotta say, it's a damn brilliant combination and I can definitely see myself spending some time with it.

Quick Thoughts - Prometheus

I'll have my final E3 report up later, but I wanted to give some quick thoughts on Prometheus while they're still fresh in my mind.

Ultimately, you should go see this movie, but realize that while the production is magnificent, the same cannot be said of the script. If you are willing to comb through the details of the film in search of rumored symbolic elements then you may have a better opinion of this film, but regardless those elements do not excuse the script for it's flaws.

It's a well-made movie though and more head-scratching than disappointing. It should make for a very interesting Blu-Ray, assuming it gets the proper bonus features.

E3 2012 - Part 3

I'm back with the penultimate installment of my E3 coverage. First up, another game about zombies:

ZombiU (video link)

Nintendo (like mobile phone game developers) is largely trying to entertain an audience that is not me. Because of this fact I believe I should be forgiven for thinking that the Wii U was simply a Wii add-on for the past year. As it turns out, this is a new system entirely and as with most Nintendo systems, I have found it difficult to muster any enthusiasm for it. That is, until I saw ZombiU. While it may not be the best example of the Wii U out there and it may not even be that great a game, ZombiU is the kind of demo that gets someone like me interested in something like Wii U. It seems that Nintendo has realized that while motion control is cool, people still like real controllers. That tactile part of gaming is still very important to us and until we start using haptic holographic displays like in Mass Effect, it is likely going to be. The Wii U seems to combine the good parts of motion control with the tactile usefulness of a controller and the augmentation capability of a second, personal touch screen. ZombiU appears to put all of these elements to good use and while the trailer is very heavily produced, I'll at least keep an eye on it and the Wii U over the next several months.

XCom: Enemy Unknown (video link)

I actually knew about this game a bit before it was announced last year. A co-worker knew someone at Firaxis working on it and spilled the beans. Make no bones about it, I can't think of any developer better suited to finally bring us a real XCom game than Firaxis. For one thing, they understand that turn-based gaming is a choice and not a relic of the past. For another, they have a track record of releasing top-quality products such as the Civilization series. From everything I've seen of this new XCom it looks to be both a faithful adaptation and a much needed modernization for this series. I am very much looking forward to playing this and saving the world again like it's 1994.

Company of Heroes 2 (video link)

I had some really good times with the original Company of Heroes, most of it in multi-player. While my circle of friends were waiting for Relic to release Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War II (a game we thought we'd all spend a lot of time with but didn't) we played a ton of CoH. As far as multi-player RTS games go, CoH is easily my favorite of all time. Where other games rely on gimmicks and require non-stop micro management and twitch RTS skills, CoH was a decent meld of old and new. With tactics, area control, approach, and timing all being crucial factors, CoH reminded me of the old days of Age of Empires II albeit with a much more modern approach and an excellent supply line/control point system. There isn't much on display from CoH 2 at the moment, but I have to hope that it will follow closely in it's predecessor's footsteps.

The Unfinished Swan (video link)

I don't think it was until day 2 of E3 that I actually checked out the video for this game. The name spoke to me in a way that turned me off. "The Unfinished Swan", it just sounds like one of those obtuse Japanese games meant only for native or serious otaku consumption. Eventually curiosity got the better of me and I took a look. What I found at first glance looks like some kind of first person version of the PS2 game Okami or Epic Mickey for the Wii. The Unfinished Swan is a game where (at least initially) you are presented with nothing but a blank white screen. Without any visual cues, there is no way to know where you are going or even if you are going anywhere at all. The player can throw globs of paint at the world though and when they do, the shape of the level is partially revealed. Apparently there is more varied game play later on, but initially it's a concept that's intriguing and one I'm surprised we really haven't seen up till now.

Aliens: Colonial Marines (video link)

Aliens is the movie that made me an unapologetic James Cameron fan. I probably watched Aliens more than any other movie during high school and I was very much into the extended universe that could be found through books and comics. To my adolescent mind the world of Aliens had so much more going on than what was being shown and I wanted to explore those Stygian depths. Aliens: Colonial Marines is more or less a direct sequel to the Aliens movie. From what I can gather (and based on my knowledge of the film) the titular marines are likely the rescue party that Ripley and the others were going to have to wait 3 weeks for on planet LV-426 until it was revealed that the fusion reactor for the atmosphere processing plant was damaged and was going to blow. Gearbox has been working on this game for quite some time and I have to assume they've just been shifting around resources between it, the Borderlands games, and Duke Nukem Forever because it seems like this should have been out a year ago. Still, the game looks great and I trust Gearbox quite a bit so they can go ahead and take their time to give me the best xenomorph extermination simulation around.

Next: Mechs, Mines, and Mutants!

E3 2012 - Part 2

And so we continue our journey through my E3 experience from afar with the next 5 titles on my watch list for the next for 12-18 months:

Watch Dogs (video link)

The first two people I encountered at work this past Tuesday had only one thing to say to me "did you see the Watch Dogs video?" I hadn't even heard of this "Watch Dogs" before they mentioned it so no, I hadn't seen the video. The tone of voice used by my co-workers insinuated that I needed to see this video immediately and the comment that it was "as if it was based off of William Gibson's novels" only amplified this fact. I went back to my desk and spent the next several minutes with my jaw dropped completely open. Drawing on the kind of modern cyberpunk espionage action that's been at the forefront of William Gibson's latest trilogy of novels, Watch Dogs is just grounded enough in reality to be approachable and familiar, but goes off on the kind of paranoia-induced information distopia spur that nudges it just over the line into the realm of sci-fi. While there still aren't too many details about exactly how the game plays, how open world it is, and how their unique multi-player spin actually fits into the big picture, I'm nonetheless excited for this game and I'll be glued to the Internet for more further information in the coming months.

Star Wars: 1313 (video link)

I don't even know what Star Wars is anymore. There was a time not so long ago when this IP was fairly easy to nail down, but as the expanded universe has ... expanded, Star Wars has really just become an all-encompassing sci-fi universe. I guess this technically isn't a bad thing, the only problem is that the non-Jedi elements of the Star Wars universe just don't seem to have the same branding and unique flavor as the rest of the IP. A lot of times it just ends up feeling like generic sci-fi. Still, if it's fun to read, watch, or play, I guess I can't complain and Star Wars: 1313 looks like it may have the right formula to succeed. While the game play they've shown so far appears to be very tightly scripted, it nonetheless looks like a step in the right direction. Utilizing the now traditional cover-shooter play style and incorporating some Uncharted-style platforming is definitely a much better choice than the dial-a-combo snore-fest mechanics of the Force Unleashed franchise and stepping away from Jedi altogether is both bold and somewhat refreshing choice. What remains to be seen however is how this title is going to make itself relevant to the Star Wars universe and steer away from being just another sci-fi 3rd-person shooter. Back in the day the Dark Forces franchise had the same obstacle and ultimately gave way to the Jedi Knight games and one of my favorite expanded universe characters: Kyle Katarn. Does Star Wars: 1313 have the potential to do the same thing? Perhaps ... if The Force is with it.

Assassin's Creed 3 (video link)

I liked the first Assassin's Creed game, though as most people seem to agree it was a bit repetitive. Still I really dug the idea of the setting and the mechanics; platforming, plus light stealth, plus inventive melee equals a win in my book. I've heard that many of the weak spots in the formula were strengthened or dropped from Assassin's Creed 2, but I never got more than an hour or so into the game to see them. Someday I will finish it, but at present time I still haven't gotten around to it. Regardless of that minor road bump and regardless of the fact that Assassin's Creed 2 spawned something like a half dozen mini-sequels, I'm looking forward to the franchise's third big installment. One major reason for my excitement is the shift in time and location to Revolutionary War America, an underused time period in games and certainly one that's never gotten the action/adventure treatment in recent memory if at all. The other reason is the video (linked above) of the naval combat. I don't know how big a part of the game the naval game play will comprise, but it certainly looks like they spent a decent amount of time on it and it's easily one of the best ship-level representations of naval warfare I've ever seen. Otherwise I expect the game to follow a similar format to the existing Assassin's Creed games, but the setting alone makes this all the more interesting in my opinion, so it looks like I'll have to be getting back to Assassin's Creed 2 sooner rather than later.

The Last of Us (video link)

What is it about the post-apocalypse that so captures people's imaginations? Is it the age-old psychology of learning to face real fears in the safety of a fictional world, or is it simply a power fantasy wherein we long to believe that we have what it takes to survive where others have failed? Regardless of the reasoning, there's something about the alien but familiar nature of a post-apocalyptic setting that I find compelling. The Last of Us takes place 20 years after a strange fungal outbreak ignites a sort of zombie apocalypse. The protagonist is tasked with escorting a 14 year old girl outside of a militarily controlled quarantine zone and what follows seems to be part Ico, part Uncharted, and part Resident Evil. Did I mention the game is being developed by Naughty Dog, makers of the Uncharted games? Based on the E3 footage they've shown this year I'm expecting an action/adventure rollercoaster ride that will likely run the emotional gamut. Naughty Dog have shown a certain affinity for engaging video game characterizations and situations and judging by what's on display in The Last of Us, they don't plan to disappoint.

Beyond Two Souls (video link)

No, I still haven't played Heavy Rain. Having just bought a PS3 a couple months ago there simply hasn't been time. Not to sound like a hipster or anything though, but I was playing David Cage's games long before anybody gave a rat's ass about him and his company Quantic Dream. Having experienced both Omikron and Indigo Prophecy (aka Farenheit) I have a pretty good idea of what Mr. Cage and crew are all about and I'll get to Heavy Rain at some point I assure you. His latest game once again appears to be in the same vein as his more recent offerings in the sense that the "game play" is all about controlling real people in more or less real situations. I have to hand it to him though, many developers (cough ... Hideo Kojima ... cough) make the mistake of sacrificing game play due to their cinematic and story-telling ambitions. David Cage makes finding and/or injecting game play into cinematic story-telling his primary design goal and he is more or less successful. These games may not be for everyone, but as a fan of the classic point and click adventure genre, I see this as a recently grown branch on the evolutionary tree. This latest game seems to be heading back into the sci-fi/paranormal territory covered by Indigo Prophecy with a young woman (played by and modeled to look like actress Ellen Page) on the run from some agency or other, seemingly due to the telekinetic powers at her disposal. The trailer offers us but a brief glimpse into the narrative, but it's enough to pique my interest and put this one on the watch list for the future.

Next: Aliens, zombies, and ... swans?

E3 2012 - Part 1

Let me start by saying that I haven't personally attended E3 in about 10 years. I went once about a year after being laid off from Turbine with hopes of networking (something I'm not good at and have since learned is a lousy way to get into game development) and while that effort didn't quite pan out, I did get to see the floor show. The best way I can describe E3 is that it's like being stuck inside a giant pinball machine. E3 is all loud noises, flashing lights, and wall to wall people. If you've ever been to PAX or a big comic book or anime convention then you've experienced only the barest hint of what it's like being at E3. Simply put: it's a madhouse ... a MADHOUSE!

Viewing E3 from afar is a much saner activity and these days it's easier to do than ever. Sites like e3feed.com do a great job of acting as aggregates of E3 information from across the web and gaming news blogs like Joystiq and Kotaku are jam-packed with info on everything their teams see. As a gamer and game designer I can't get enough E3 news. This is the week when many of the biggest announcements that will direct the path of the industry over the next year are made and it's also when all types of titles due to launch within the next 12-18 months are unveiled or on display.

We seem to go through cycles in the game development biz. First there's the console cycle where every 5-6 years a new batch of home gaming systems are released. The beginning of a console cycle is always a little shaky, but by the end people are pulling out all the stops. We happen to be coming to the end of a console cycle right now. Another cycle is a bit more discreet and it's tough to put a finger on it. Still, it seems to me at least that every other year is a great year for games, with tons of amazing titles on display. Last year was decent, this year seems to be one of the great years.

At this point in the week most of what is newsworthy has already been posted as the big developer press conferences have come and gone and the floor is now where the action is. Usually you'll hear about a few lesser publicized games in the last couple days, but these days the majority is unleashed right up front. With nearly 20 titles on my watch list from E3 this year, I figured it was as good a time as any to start talking about what I've been following. We start with the relaunch of a classic PC franchise:

Tomb Raider (video link)
Truth be told, I was never a fan of this series back when it was a "thing" in the late 90's. For me the controls were always awkward and the save system infuriating. Luckily this genre has come a long way, with perhaps the most perfect expression being the Uncharted series of games by Naughty Dog. Watching footage of this new Tomb Raider, it's impossible not to see the Uncharted influence. The nice thing is that from what I've seen so far, it seems like they've done a good job with it. While I hope there's a little more exploration in this game than is usually on offer in the Uncharted series, I think I'll be happy with whatever I get from this title.

 

Splinter Cell: Blacklist (video link) 

Not even a full week before E3 I had remarked to someone in my office that maybe one of our co-workers who was leaving for a job with Ubisoft, was going to work on an unannounced Splinter Cell game. It turns out that our co-worker will not be working on this game, but Ubisoft did indeed have a Sam Fischer in it's hat. The original Splinter Cell was one of the game I spent a bit of time with at the E3 I attended 10 years ago and it was the first game I bought for my original XBox. I sort of lost track of the Splinter Cell series after the 3rd game however, which incidentally also seemed to be the point where they started messing with the action/espionage formula. Even with that in mind, it's nice to see the franchise return and even though there's no stealth in the portion of the game that they've been showing off, I'm interested nonetheless.

Sim City (video link) 

What can I say? I'm a Sim City fan way back to the Super Nintendo port from the mid 90's. I've played every version since then and even though not a ton changes, I still get drawn into crafting a bustling virtual metropolis. Since Sim City 4 several years back there have been a few attempts by other developers (and even Maxis itself with Sim City: Societies) to innovate in the city building genre. Perhaps the closest to Sim City itself is Cities XL, a series that while lacking in some of Sim City's nuance and polish, pushes boundaries and adds features that the genre was sorely lacking. I was happy to see in the footage shown of this new Sim City that many of these features appear to be incorporated. Even more enticing is the online option where you can connect to and bargain with your friends cities. A really good city sim has been a long time coming and the game that started it all looks to raise the bar again here. I know I'll be spending some long nights pleasing my virtual citizens and crafting a sim utopia.

Dead Space 3 (video link) 

I was a big fan of the original Dead Space. Not only was it artistically interesting, it utilized an interesting new IP, and polished its survival horror game play to a brilliant shine. Dead Space 2 (which I finally finished just recently) was also an amazing experience. While it featured a bit more action in the mix, it was still survival horror and made me jump more than a few times. Having seen what's on offer in this latest installment, it's not difficult to assume that they're adding even more action elements and while it may be true, I'm not willing to jump to that conclusion just yet. A lot of what they've shown off is co-op and a lot of what they've shown off is shooting. I know from experience that horror is a tough sell not just on the E3 floor, but on video in general. It's tough to make a sizzle video of anything horror related and seeing as how they obviously want to feature the new co-op feature, I'm not surprised there's a lot of action. Even if there is more action in the mix and the horror is tamed, I'm still going to dig this title. There's more to this series than getting scared and I enjoy those other elements just as much.

Dishonored (video link)

Just hook this game straight to my veins. With its mix of stealth and action and its unique steampunk setting this game is basically the ideological successor to the venerable Thief series of games. In fact, I'm pretty sure the guys in charge of Dishonored would agree with that given that Harvey Smith actually worked on the last Thief game when he was with Warren Specter at Ion Storm. Dishonored goes a step and a half beyond Thief however with a much more stylized world and a much more open game play feel. Unlike Thief's Garret, the protagonist of Dishonored has access to an assortment of supernatural abilities, allowing him to teleport, possess living creatures, see through walls, and more. This is the first time we've seen any Dishonored game play at work and it fully lives up to the expectations set by their CGI teasers last year. As far as new IP's go, this is one I'm looking forward to in a big way.

Next: Ubisoft reads my mind with Watch Dogs, there's a 3rd person Star Wars game that doesn't look like it will disappoint (re: Force Unleashed), and we find the best looking boat-level naval simulation I've ever seen in the least expected place.

For the Fallen

It seems like lay-offs are an inevitability in game development these days. I personally have never worked for a company that hasn’t had to deal with them as part of the reality of this business. In my experience there are two simple reasons why this is a fact: 1) Every year it seems to take more and more money to make the kind of triple-A entertainment the public demands and 2) It takes more people to finish a project than it does to maintain one after launch or to pre-produce the next, meaning that at some point you're going to have more people than you have actual work. While the cold, hard facts may add up to logic in the end it doesn't change how much it sucks for everyone involved. 

In the grand scope of things It wasn't so long ago that I found myself on the losing end of the lay-off equation. It was late April, 2001 and I had been working for Turbine Entertainment in Norwood, MA for almost 3 months. I had spent the previous 2 years both finishing my film degree at the Massachusetts College of Art and working via the internet for then fledgling Crytek Studios on a project that would ultimately never see the light of day. With my “If we ever make any money you get significant royalties” contract for Crytek running out that February and the future still uncertain for them, I decided to go the route of my buddy Scott (who is currently a big deal art guy at Bungie) and try to find a real game development job. Scott had landed a gig at Turbine a few months after graduation and he let me know that they were looking for designers. To make a long story short, I applied for an entry-level design position on Asheron’s Call 2 and somehow (thanks a lot to Scott, a lot to my future lead, and a little bit to luck) landed it.

There was no formal training program at Turbine at that time, my lead was INCREDIBLY busy and maybe just a little bit in over her head and I didn’t know who/how to ask for help, so I spent quite a bit of time familiarizing myself with docs and teaching myself the AC1 tools. You see, we were so early in development on AC2 that our tools were virtually non-existent. Heck, I can still remember the day we got a flat, featureless world running in a server-based version of the engine for the first time. During my brief time at Turbine I did what I was told and I did it well (or so they told me) and I even took the new Lugian player race under my wing and developed a sprawling pre-Asheron’s Call 1 backstory for them. And even though they only kept about 0.1% of the material I wrote in the final game, I’m still rather proud of it.

The sad fact of the matter is that the Turbine I had joined at that point in 2001 was in a bit of a pickle. At the time AC1 (and AC2) were still under the watchful eye of Microsoft and while I wasn’t there long enough to grasp the nuance of the situation, I understood that it was no fun. About 1.5 months into my employment, Turbine ousted its current CEO and installed a new one; someone who I will not name, but I think most people who had to deal with him would agree was an ass and while I suppose at the time it seemed like the right move, time makes fools of us all. To round out this cul-de-sac of kismet, Tubine had been working on a project that would have been a PS2 MMO, but due to a number of circumstances had to cancel the development.

This all brings us to the aforementioned late April in 2001. I was almost 3 months into my first paying game development job and I was finally feel like I was getting the hang of it and really starting to contribute. That morning, my lead grabbed me shortly after I arrived and told me she needed me in a meeting. This wasn’t entirely unexpected because, even though I had only been there a short time, I knew that impromptu meetings often sprung up and as one of only 4 designers dedicated to AC2 at the time I might be needed. I entered our largest meeting room and took a seat around the rectangular arrangement of tables with a bunch of other people. Once everyone was seated and the doors were closed we were told that everyone in the room was being laid off. I can remember feeling like the blood had completely drained from my head. The last thing I expected that morning was to come into work, only to leave with a box of my belongings and a severance package. In fact it had been only a week or two before that my carpool buddy had remarked (on the cancellation of the PS2 project) that “at any other company those people would be out of jobs right now.”

As the lay-off meeting proceeded there was a short explanation of Turbine’s financial situation and why the lay-offs were necessary. I don’t remember the details, but it all amounted to something along the lines of: if they didn’t get rid of people by that June, they’d be out of money. We all waited in that conference room watched over by our leads and senior staff while they called a couple people at a time to speak with HR and to sign the severance paperwork. I can remember one of the senior people - a producer maybe - asking me what was going through my head. I can only assume that the question was raised due to my looking as shocked as I felt at the time. I remember saying something about trying to recall my personal philosophy, which is the kind of dumb thing a 22 year old, idealistic kid says in a situation like that. Incidentally the philosophy I was trying to recall was “What is, is”, which any decent X-Men fan will recognize as the prime tenet of the Clan Askani. Anyway, eventually my time came and I went through the HR process, cleaned out my desk, went to lunch with a bunch of people from work and then went home. I had spent half my life to that point dreaming of making games and had even spent 2 years doing it with no recognition or pay and then less than 3 months after landing my first paying, professional gig … I was let go.

They told me they would try to get me back, but as an older, smarter, and much more in the loop person now at the age of 33, I realize that this had been a pipe dream at best. My former lead did try to set me up with another local company, but the interview went badly (my own damn fault really) and nothing came of it. I spent the rest of the summer trying to get my portfolio together. MMO’s were fine, but at the time it was a 3 dog race and I had just gotten cut from the guys bringing up the rear. I figured I needed to re-dedicate myself to getting into FPS development, which is what I had been doing for Crytek. I ended up wasting about 2 years in that direction before turning back to RPG’s, but this time for writing, yet another wrong move.

During the next few years I moved back to Connecticut to live with my parents and then back to Boston, all the while spending too much time trying to get a so-called portfolio together than applying for development jobs. Eventually by the time 2006 rolled around I knew it was time to get serious. The previous summer I had been disavowed of any notion that I had the chops at the time to write dialogue for games and eventually refocused my efforts to what I was actually good at: quests and game design. I worked up a slick Neverwinter Nights Mod to use as a portfolio piece, spent some money to have my resume professionally done, and that summer I sent out a shotgun blast of applications. It worked and 6 years later I’m in Austin working for a developer I idolize and alongside the best people in this industry.

To make a long story short: I got myself a job in game development right out of college, got laid off, and took the long way to break back in. The point is that even though I only had 3 months of actual professional experience on my resume and even though I had never shipped a title, I was able to prove myself as someone worth hiring and within a year of my return to game development I was leading a team and I’ve never looked back since.

It’s easy to blame your publisher, your studio, your fellow devs, the fans, yourself or anyone else for getting laid-off. I’ve seen my fair share of people let go both in person at studios I’ve worked at and peripherally via friends at other locations and you can spend a lot of time looking for someone to blame. In the end it’s just how things work at this point in time. Even at a studio and on a project that is doing well, it is often the price of doing business. The thing to remember is that getting laid off is not the end. It sucks, but it’s not the end and for those of you who find yourselves divorced from their former jobs right now, you owe it to yourselves not to give up hope. If there's one thing I know it's that game developers are a community and when we get hit by hard times we tend to band together. If I can give any advice it would be this: don't hesitate to get your resume out there. If someone is hiring you should be applying. My other advice would be to not be afraid or hesitant about relying on your friends and former teammates. It's at times like this that I like to recall the following:

This guy's walking down a street when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep, he can't get out. A doctor passes by, and the guy shouts up, “Hey you, can you help me out?” The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole and moves on.

Then a priest comes along, and the guy shouts up “Father, I'm down in this hole, can you help me out?” The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on.

Then a friend walks by. “Hey Joe, it's me, can you help me out?” And the friend jumps in the hole. Our guy says, ‘Are you stupid? Now we're both down here.’ The friend says, “Yeah, but I've been down here before, and I know the way out”¹

I know the instinct a lot of people have in these situations is to just quit games altogether and for some, maybe that’s the right call. For me, it was never an option and for those of your who lost your jobs today, for my friends here and elsewhere, know that I will do whatever is in my power in order to help you find a new job in game development. I will be your reference, your advocate, and your friend; not out of some kind of survivor’s guilt, and not out of some holier-than-thou altruism, but simply because you deserve it and I’ve been down here before, and I know the way out.

¹The West Wing “Noel”, dir. Thomas Schlamme, writ. Aaron Sorkin, perf. John Spencer, DVD, Warner Bros., 2000.

 Disclaimer

The views expressed on Plenty For All are purely the opinions of Brian J. Audette and are not at all affiliated with, representative of, endorsed or supported by BioWare, EA, it's shareholders, partners, or subsidiaries.