Longtail Studios: A Great Place To Work

Cool video showing the team (and myself) working hard and having fun!

A Great Place To Work from Dale Furutani on Vimeo.

My First Two Retail Levels

I found a video online showing gameplay of the two Extreme Ski tracks I designed in MotionSports Adrenaline.  The aspect ratio on the video is a little weird, so things look a bit stretched, but it's the only video I could find.  It shows the version for PS3 Move; of course it's also available for Xbox 360 Kinect.  The video is 8 minutes long, and shows both courses.  The second course is the one I'm most proud of.  Hopefully this video inspires you to go out and buy the game!  Enjoy!

By Design

This month a lifelong dream of mine came true.  After years of hard work and dedication, two moves taking me across most of Canada, countless hardships but also great memories, overcoming many self-doubts along the way, I was officially promoted to Game Designer.  Accomplishing something you've wanted your whole life makes you take stock of everything that led up to it...

I wish I could say I remember the very first time I played a video game.  I find it hard to picture any version of myself having difficulty understanding controls, not intrinsically knowing to go right in a side-scroller, knowing falling off the screen usually means death or that enemies are almost always killed by jumping on them.  But I imagine it must have been the case.  I do remember the era I got into gaming though.  I was exposed to it through my cousins, Bill and Rick.  Bill was especially into gaming.  I remember we'd go over and play Mario 1 & 2 for a while, and then our moms would play some NES spelling game together.  I even have a memory of going over to their place the night Mario 3 came out for the NES.  We were all so excited.  I remember finding a secret in level 3 and being so proud.  It wasn't long after that I got my own NES for Xmas.

From then on I was hooked.  And even from an early age I loved the idea of being able to design levels for the games I loved.  I'd see the game's levels and get ideas of my own I wanted to implement, but obviously this wasn't possible to an 8 year old kid in a time before internet offered all kinds of hacky solutions.  So instead I started drawing elaborate Mario levels in pencil in giant note pads.  I'd have entire games drawn, split into worlds and sub-levels.  Whenever my friend Tim would spend the night my Mom would drive to pick him up, and as soon as he got in the car I'd hand him the notepad and he's start playing through my "levels" right there.

As I grew up some games started coming out with level editors.  I remember finding an old NES game with Mario in it called Wrecking Crew, and I used to make levels for my brother to play.  Then I found a PC game called Jetpack, and again designed levels for Tim and my brother to play.  It was shareware and only let you save one custom level at a time unless you bought it, but I quickly learned I could move the level files to a  backup folder and just put whatever level I wanted to play/work on in the proper folder with the right filename.

When I was entering my teen years Duke Nukem 3D came out for pc.  And with it came the Build engine.  This was before the days of youtube training videos and online guides, the internet was still in its infancy.  But somehow I managed to teach myself the Build engine through trial and error.  I must have designed dozens of levels for that game.  By then Tim lived in Saskatchewan so once I'd finish a level we'd play it over the modem.  At first it was all deathmatch levels, but I started to find coop levels with NPC enemies really fun to build.

Eventually I decided to design an entire Duke Nukem 3D campaign.  12 maps that could be played either single player or coop with an over-arching story/theme etc.  It took 6 months but when I was done I played it with Tim and we had a blast.  I then submitted it online to several Duke Nukem 3D custom maps communities.  It quickly became one of the highest rated campaigns.

For a few years after that my level design hobby, and even gaming in general, took a back seat to teenage drama, girls, drugs, booze and music.  This lifestyle left me lost and directionless.  I was getting older and had no idea what to do with myself.  I knew I wanted to make something of myself, but I was also afraid of failure.  I tried once or twice to get back into Level Design as a hobby, but the tech had come so far I felt left behind and gave up.  For a while I tried to convince myself I was happy where I was, but it was a lie anyone could see through.  Then I found joy in photography and for a while tried to make a career out of that.  As I was beginning to see success I quickly realized I preferred it as a hobby.  Still, my sense of adventure and ambition was growing, with nothing in sight to spend it on.

I still didn't know what I wanted out of life, but I knew I wanted much, much more than I was getting out of it at the time.  I was in my early 20's now and hadn't made much tangible progress since I was a teenager.  I decided to take an epic road trip to try to find myself, and get some answers to these questions.  I went by myself, something that terrified me.  I'd been a pretty sheltered, dependent person my whole life so to do something this big by myself was scary.  And that was the point.

The road trip was a huge success, though I didn't realize it immediately.  When I got back I knew I'd grown, changed in some fundamental way.  I just couldn't quite define it yet.  But as the months went on I realized how claustrophobic I was feeling in Winnipeg.  I didn't fit in my old life anymore, and needed to get out.  I decided to move to Edmonton, for a change of scenery and a new experience.  I made some calls and my cousin Bill, who now lived in Edmonton, said I could stay with him.  This was the same cousin who'd let me come over and play his NES when we were kids, and now he was living in Edmonton working in the video game industry for a studio named BioWare.  He then told me he could probably get me an interview for a term tester position.  I still didn't quite know what I was looking for in life, or what exactly I had to offer, so I didn't recognize the opportunity I was being presented, it just sounded like a cool job for a few months.

I had a going away party with all my friends, had a dinner with my extended family, and prepared to leave.  At the time I assumed it would only be for a few months, but that would still be the longest I'd ever been away for.  When the night of my departure came, I packed as much of my belongings that would fit into my car and headed off.  I'll never forget that moment, walking down to my car with my friends, hugging them all goodbye as I got into my car, fighting back tears.  And as I drove off I watched them waving at me in the rearview mirror.  I think on some level I knew I'd never be coming back...  One of the hardest, most emotional moments of my life.

I arrived in Edmonton and got settled in, and started at BioWare.  Within a few weeks of working there I started to suspect this was what I was meant to be doing, and that I wanted to make a career out of it.  The first game I worked on was Dragon Age: Origins and I knew it was one I'd be proud of the rest of my life.

At the time I figured QA was good enough.  I'd gotten this far, and I shouldn't get "greedy".  I knew I wanted to be a Designer, but even after everything I'd been through recently and all the growing I'd done I still wasn't ready to believe in myself that much yet.  And maybe I was right not to, I had a lot to learn.  I had no idea how office politics worked, how industry in general worked, let alone this industry.  But I didn't believe I ever would, and that was a mistake, but one I would soon begin to remedy.

After a few months I knew this was something I had to do, and made the hard to decision that I would not be moving back home to Winnipeg.  I fought hard for a contract extension and then immediately set my goals to taking on more responsibility to prove myself for an eventual permanent full-time QA position.  By constantly volunteering for extra tasks, and making it known I was interested in QA Design (where your feedback is more about design elements than technical glitches) I was eventually moved to the PRC team.  PRC stands for Post-Release Content.  In this case I would now be working on Dragon Age: Awakening, an expansion pack for the original Dragon Age.  My role was now QA Design, and once the acting QA Lead moved on to another position I took on a lot her responsibilities, and was essentially doing the job of a full timer.  I was giving design feedback that was incorporated into the game, running my own meetings, training and assigned new QA Term Testers, etc.  I loved the new responsibility and the professional growth it afforded, and I really loved getting to give Design feedback.  I still wasn't quite ready to see what should have been obvious though, that what I really wanted was to be a Designer.

I was told several times they were looking to get me a full-time position, but honestly, BioWare was somewhat bloated, and the economy was in tough times.  EA instituted a hiring freeze, and I knew things were going to be tough.  That meant for me to get hired, someone else had to be let go.  I just kept on working hard knowing sooner or later, in some way or another, it'd pay off.  But then I also found out an EA policy stated that anyone on contract couldn't stay on contract for more than 1 year without 3 months off in between.  It was a policy instated to prevent the abuse of contract workers...  As Dragon Age Awakening was finishing up, so was I.  I'd managed to get my contract extended 3 months past my 1 year mark, the only term who managed to do so, but even then, my time came and I was let go for 3 months, though I was promised I'd have a job waiting for me once those 3 months passed.

I decided to go on EI for those 3 months since I knew I'd have a job waiting for me in 3 months, and looked at this as an opportunity.  I decided to spend my 3 months off learning the Unreal Engine.  As I mentioned, I'd tried it a few times before, but this time my cousin pointed me to some excellent free training videos (3DBuzz).  I forced myself to follow a strict routine of waking up by 10:00 AM, and spending most of the day learning the engine.  Within 2 months I was designing professional grade levels, and documenting my progress on Facebook, my blog, and other mediums, and got feedback from many people at BioWare.

When I returned to BioWare after my 3 months off I was put on the Content Team of Dragon Age 2.  I had several people comment that they'd been following my Unreal Engine progress and were quite impressed at how quickly I picked it up, and the initiative to do so during my 3 months off.  Chad moved out to work at BioWare as a term tester like I head, hoping to get into the Art Department, and life was going great.

Then, within a few months into my second contract another EA mandate reared its ugly head.  I, along with all the other QA Terms I'd been hired with now on their second terms, found out EA had a strict mandate that states no contract workers could be used more than twice on contract.  Again, a rule in place to try to prevent the exploitation of contract workers.  The idea was that if they were good enough to use twice, they should be hired.  Of course the hiring freeze was also still in effect...  So things weren't looking good.  But then 3 QA positions within BioWare opened up.  Two in Edmonton and one in Montreal.  I of course applied for all three.

The application process was pretty intense, mainly because so many people were applying.  I have to imagine close to a hundred people applied for the positions across all of BioWare's studios.  They made a short list of candidates after taking a preliminary test.  I was ecstatic to learn I'd made it to the short list for two of the three positions, the only person to do so.  The positions I was considered for was either the Edmonton Dragon Age position, or the Montreal Mass Effect 2 position.

Around this time I was also contacted by an old work acquaintance about a job possibility as a QA Lead at a smaller studio in Halifax called Longtail Studios.  While my goal was to get one of the BioWare positions, I wasn't about to turn down opportunity in an industry that presents it so rarely.

When the results came back from the BioWare hiring committee I hadn't been selected for either position.  I was told it'd been a very close call on both counts, but that didn't change the fact.  My options then were to either stay at BioWare as a term tester hoping for another position to open up, which I knew was incredibly unlikely, or pursue the Longtail Studios offer.  I obviously did the latter.  And after being flown out for an interview, seeing the studio and the city, the idea started to grow on me.  It admittedly felt like a consolation prize at the time, but a consolation prize was more than many of my fellow term testers at BioWare were getting, so I couldn't pity myself too much.  By then I was just beginning to believe MAYBE I had what it took to get into Design.  During my interview with Longtail I was asked what my long-term goals would be and I said eventually I'd like to try my hand at Design (I also said maybe Production, which I think I could be good at but would probably find much less rewarding personally, though certainly not financially).

Once I got the call telling me I was accepted, it was a whirlwind of change.  My start date was in 2 weeks...  I gave me notice to BioWare, started packing and making moving arrangements with Longtail (they paid for moving expenses), and getting everything in order.

I decided to stay in Winnipeg for a week before moving on to Halifax, so I left Edmonton early.  After a nightmare fiasco with the movers, Chad and said our goodbyes and I drove off, leaving Edmonton behind me.  This time I knew I'd probably never be back, and it was heart breaking, no easier than leaving Winnipeg.  I'd grown so much in Edmonton.  When I'd arrived I had no idea what I was looking for, or really even who I was.  Now I was leaving with a clear vision of myself and my goals.  Edmonton will forever be the city I found myself in, and I miss it to this day.

After a great week in Winnipeg it was off to Halifax.  I won't lie, I was terrified.  This was even scarier than moving to Edmonton.  This time I had no one I knew in the city to make me feel at home or show me around, and it wasn't for some low responsibility entry level job, this was a full-time salary position with some high expectations.  I was nervous!  The city felt much different than the prairie cities I was used to.  In fact working on a peninsula meant driving really didn't make sense, so I was forced to start taking the bus and eventually sell my car.  But as the months went on I began to realize I was not only capable at my job, but that it was really beginning to foster confidence in myself.  I'd implemented and rolled out a new bug database for the studio, handled relations with our off-site QA team in India, interviewed and hired new QA Term Testers, begun researching and implement ion new Agile Scrum software for sprint planning, and more.  And I was getting great feedback.

After my first project with Longtail Studios shipped, a PS3 Move dancing game Dance On Broadway, we had a wrap party.  During this party it was made clear to me by some higher-ups that I was definitely being eyed for Design after I'd volunteered to help the Design Department a few times in my down time.  I was excited, but also nervous.  After all these years and successes, I was still afraid I'd fail when it came to what really mattered, my lifelong dream of being a Game Designer.  But I didn't let it show, and expressed full enthusiasm for the chance.

I was put in the Design Department for our next project, the one I'm on now, an extreme sports game for Xbox Kinect and PS3 Move, Motion Sports Adrenaline.  I was eventually made the Acting Level Designer on the Extreme Ski tracks.  I spent the past five to six months designing some awesome tracks I can't wait for people to play.  All this was in a Junior position however.  My title within Longtail was still officially QA Lead, and I was still making QA Lead salary.  I helped hire and train more QA to replace me in my absence, but for the most part I was no longer in QA.  But this was an amazing opportunity to learn what exactly being a Game Designer meant, and to then prove that I had what it took, not just to the studio but to myself.

Our acting Lead Designer, Nick, mentored me, and I owe so much to him for doing so.  He really took a chance for me, and I think saw something in me before I fully saw it in myself.  As the project was coming to a close it was time for my probation review.  I don't want to get into specifics, but it was very positive.  I was told I'd done great work, given advice and direction on how to continue to grow as a Designer, a never-ending process, and then, at long last, officially promoted.  The kid who drew Mario levels in notepads, hacked Shareware games to make levels, and taught himself 2 game engines to design levels, was now officially a Game Designer.  Three years climbing within the industry paying off.  The countless pitfalls, self-doubts and legitimate reasons to quit along the way weren't enough to keep me from achieving this.

Not many people get to say they grew up to do the thing they always wanted to.  Not many people can say they truly love going in to work in the morning.  I don't know many people who wouldn't love to get paid to be creative.  And even though I worked my ass off to get here, and made countless sacrifices along the way, I still feel incredibly lucky.

Updating my LinkedIN profile I realized I think this is the first time I finally feel like I "made it".  I have a well-respected job-title in the industry I love, the work is extremely rewarding, and I get paid a handsome salary that I can live quite comfortably at.  This is the first time I don't feel like I'm just trying to get in, to prove myself.  For the first time I truly feel like I'm in, I'm here.  It's also the first time I've ever really felt like a grown up, a man.  A man covered in tattoos who makes video games for a living...

Sometimes I wish I could go back and tell previous versions of myself it was all leading here.  I could tell the kid who thought of Level Design as a hobby that someday he'd get paid to do it, the teen who was anti-establishment that he'd some day work at one of the few industries that accepts you for who you are.  Or maybe I wouldn't tell them at all.  because all that uncertainty and confusion is what drove me to search for more out of life.  It's what led me here.

I turn 28 this week and I'm a Game Designer.  This entry was written on a plane on my way to Winnipeg for a vacation.  Returning to where it all started.  To recharge between projects, and celebrate with friends and family.  And when I get back to Halifax, I will begin a new chapter.  One that starts with me as a Game Designer, and takes me to new places, presents new challenges, and new adventures.  I have plans for my career, and it's only just now beginning.

Labour Of Love

Let me preface this entry with a simple fact.  I love my job.  I love the industry I work in, and I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else.

Often when I tell people I work in the video game industry I’m met with the same response.  They think it must be the easiest job on the planet and that it’s nothing but fun.  They imagine my life as one without the challenges that come with a “real” job.  The truth is, the video game industry is one of the biggest economical juggernauts out there.  It brings in more than Hollywood, or the music industry.  This year it was worth almost 75 BILLION dollars.  With those kind of numbers involved, you better believe it’s not just a bunch of kids dicking around on computers, this a high stakes industry, this is as real as it gets.

But it’s also a young industry.  As the cost to make a single game spirals deep into the millions and production times begin to exceed 5 years in some cases, the industry is consolidating and going through a phase of vertical integration.  At this point, almost all studios are under a handful of major publishers like EA, Activision, Ubisoft, etc.  Independent mainstream developers are vanishing as they’re absorbed by the big players.  All this change as the industry matures with its audience means it’s still a very volatile industry.

Third-party studios pop-up every day, and just as easily they get shut down.  With the overhead for a single game digging deep into the coffers, even if it’s successful, one miscalculation on the projections for that game can lead to a studio closure, and 100s of people out of work, falling back into the job market, competing with each other, and new members to the workforce fresh out of university, for a new job.  Or if the publisher decides to cancel your game mid-project, this can lead to mass layoffs, not to mention a major drop in morale.  The video game industry is easily one of the most competitive fields out there, even more so now during the recession, which is another way of saying it offers some of the lowest job-security around.  And with the relatively small amount of studios (compared to to the amount of job applicants) being clustered across the globe, be prepared to relocate for work, and often.

The video game industry, unsurprisingly, attracts people who are passionate about making games.  And there’s no short supply.  As the industry consolidates under a handful of major publishers who invest millions in single SKUs, more and more is demanded of employees.  Overtime to meet a deadline is not unique to this industry, but stories of year long crunches with mandatory 80 hour work weeks (in some cases with no paid overtime or comp time) are becoming more and more common.  And individual employees can’t do much about it, because there’s a long line of people either out of work or just out of school dying to take their place.  As a young industry, and one that’s grown with immense speed, it’s largely unregulated.  You hear stories of shady practices all over.  Sham-contracts seemingly being the big one right now.

Sometimes you feel like you live at the office.

All of these factors take a toll on employees, and their families.  There have been a few high-profile instances of this coming to a head.  This industry, if you want to get in and stay in, has to come first.  It’s not for someone looking for a balanced life.  You will spend years trying to get in, you will never feel totally comfortable that your job is secure, you will have to go through periods of crunch where you only go home to sleep and if you have family you won’t see much of them during these periods; you will have to move often either due to studio closures or downsizing or to climb due to limitations at the current studio, and in some cases you may even need to deal with shady practices, etc.  It’s not the easy lifestyle many imagine when I tell them I make games for a living.

Many talented workers decide the big publisher model just doesn’t work for them.  They want to retain creative control, they don’t want to compromise quality for a release date, etc.  So they decide to start their own studio, and go at it independently.  And fortunately for them the blockbuster game trend has left the market wide open for indie games to make a large impact.  And while the indie game market is experiencing its golden days, it’s still the wild west.  With no publisher to back you with marketing, or give you what often ends up being valid criticism, combined with the inherent niche market these games tend to skew towards, for every successful indie game with a new vision, there’s hundreds of confused messes that flop miserably, if they ever even see the light of day…  And without publisher backing, the development costs are out of pocket.  If the game doesn’t turn a profit you default on your mortgage.  It’s hardly a high-security alternative to mainstream game development.

While going for a walk with the Design team at work the other day, we started talking about the phenomenon called “Smoke-Bombing”.  Due to all these trials and tribulations that come with working in this industry, every other day you hear about someone who decided they’d had enough and just vanish, poof, to a new career.  We shared a few stories.  I’d once heard of a guy who’d been in the industry for over a decade and one day just quit to give bike tours in Europe.

This past week Chad smoke-bombed.  After nearly 3 years fighting to get into the industry, and knowing full well he was in all likelihood less than a year away from a fulltime salary position at a studio, he took stock of his priorities, looked ahead at the kinds of sacrifices it would require, and said no.  He is now in the midst of completely re-planning his life, no easy task.  But I totally get it, and in his case, I believe it was the right decision.

Personally, I don’t see myself ever leaving.  Sure, this industry takes a lot from you.  Sometimes almost everything.  But having a job you’re passionate about is a hard thing to walk away from.  Even if that passion can be used against you.  And the money ain’t bad either.  It’s an extremely volatile industry, and it requires hard work.  That’s just what it is.  Whether or not it’s worth it is something each individual must ask themselves.

I spent years fighting for a fulltime salary position.  Now I fight for a designer position.  I’ve already moved to 2 cities in 3 years, leaving behind 2 great lives in the process to start over.  I’ve been laid off.  I’ve had a project I was passionate about get cancelled.  I’ve worked a few 80 hour weeks, and many more 60 hour weeks.  But I do it all willingly.  I love this industry; I love the work, I love the community, I love the product.  I can’t see myself doing anything else.  And Longtail has done nothing but right by me.  They’ve given me recognition, fair pay and steady opportunity.  All crunch has been voluntary, and making the transition into Design is not something I was expecting to be available to me so soon.  In a lot of ways this industry saved my life.  I was lost until I found it.  Despite its taxing requirements, it’s an exciting time for me in this industry and I can’t wait to see what my career has in store for me, and the places the industry is heading.

As Chad drifts away from the gaming industry into some new career, I will miss sharing this adventure with a friend who was with me before it all started.  I will miss hoping for the day we once again worked together at the same studio, living in the same city.  But this industry isn’t for everyone, and he needs to do what he needs to do to find a life that suits him.  And I wish him all the best in it.  We’ll always have the DA2 credits!

Dragon Age II: Legacy

Dragon Age 2 Legacy DLC Trailer

DLC for Dragon Age 2 is coming.  Chad did a lot of art assets for Dragon Age 2 DLC, and in fact the sword that is prominent through the entire trailer, and even gets its own scene basked in light, was done by him!  Here’s the asset he made in its own image:

Pretty cool!

Indie Game: The Movie

Pre-ordered this a while ago, take a look and if you like it you should pre-order too.  You don’t actually pay until it comes out.  God bless Kick Starter.  Watching this trailer, I can tell I will connect with this movie deeply.  A proper documentary on game development has been a long time coming!

P.S. I just realized the startup making this movie, Blinkworks, is based in Winnipeg!

I want to see this movie!

E3 Impressions

For those who don’t know, E3 stands for Electronic Entertainment Expo, and for gamers it’s like Xmas.  For people in the industry, it’s also the time of year when you get to see the landscape ahead.  What trends are popping up, what is the competition coming out with, and what new hardware will we be developing on?  This year is no different, and as a gamer, and someone in the industry, I have my fair share of excitement and anxiety!

First off, here’s the games that stood out:

BioShock Infinite:

While not a true sequel, but a spiritual successor, it appears to have the same intelligent combat, a political narrative dealing with Utopian idealism and domestic abuse, and some beautiful level design which incorporates a lot of verticality, something I love to see in level design. Looking forward to this one!

The Darkness II:

I was skeptical about this game. I quite liked the original, but a new studio is developing this one. But I have a few friends working on this title and I trust their talent. And Mike Patton is back doing the voice acting. But once I saw the gameplay, I started to get excited.

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

While it definitely looks cinematic, I’m getting really bored of the army shooter, modern or otherwise. Still, this franchise and its ilk are a license to print money, so I’m sure it’ll be the best selling game of all time, like it’s 2 predecessors were. Interested to see its reviews after the mass exodus from Infinity Ward.

Battlefield 3

While there’s no arguing the graphics are absolutely beautiful, as I said in the previous one, I’m kinda done with the modern war shooters. From an industry standpoint I’m interested to see if EA manages to take the throne of the modern war genre from Call of Duty, as they’ve clearly invested a lot in Battlefield.

Far Cry 3

I enjoyed the other 2, but this one looks like it takes it to true AAA level. As always for this franchise, the graphics look great. The gameplay is hopefully as open as the previous 2. But the narrative looks particularly compelling. I like that they address the “immortal hero” of games that never seems to die. An interesting dynamic. One of the highlights of E3 for me, really looking forward to this one.

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations

I personally find it kind of rediculous that Assassin’s Creed has a trilogy within a trilogy (Ezio’s trilogy within the Assassin’s Creed trilogy), but to be fair the quality has been pretty solid. I had some pretty major complaints about linear level design and instant-fail missions in Brotherhood, but it was still a great game, and progressed the plot quite a bit. Gameplay was shown, and it was quite pretty, but this trailer is too cool not to use as the video. Some interviews hinted at the future of the Assassin’s Creed storyline and I like where it’s going.

Tomb Raider

A true Tomb Raider reboot has been a long time coming. I’ve never cared too much for the franchise, but this looks like it’ll draw me in. A more realistic, vulnerable and maybe naïve Lara Croft, gameplay and cinematics that look to borrow heavily from Uncharted (which is OK since Uncharted borrowed heavily from the Tomb Raiders before it), and an intriguing premise. These are things that make a game I look forward to. A surprise hit for me.

Halo 4

Meh. Even though the franchise was supposedly over, it’s back. Being developed by Microsoft after Bungie bowed out. This on top of a full on remake of Halo 1, it’s a good time to be a Halo fan. Shame I’m not, at all.

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

I missed out on the previous entries to the franchise, including Oblivion, but I did get into Fallout 3 a fair amount, which was often called Oblivion with guns. The new engine they use here makes for some truly breathtaking expansive environments. I think this will be the game that finally gets me into Elder Scrolls.

Ninja Gaiden 3

During the previous generation of consoles I was on PS2. The Ninja Gaiden franchise did very well for itself but it was Xbox exclusive, so I never really got into it. I tried to later, but the games are known for their “old school NES difficulty”, and frankly I don’t like my games frustrating. I know a few people quite excited for this title though, and it certainly looks to have stayed true to it's gory roots!

Hitman: Absolution

I really respect this franchise for the varied approaches the player can take, and the uncompromising importance of smart gameplay. However, as I said in my previous entry, I don’t enjoy frustrating gameplay experiences personally, and these games are built on them.

Darksiders II

I absolutely loved the original. I love the design of Zelda games, but its focus on the younger audience leaves a lot to be desired for me. Darksiders was like a Zelda game re-skinned for adults, and that was fine by me! You played as War, one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Looks like in the sequel you’ll be playing one of the other riders, Death. And I hear it takes place simultaneously to the first. I can’t wait for this one.

Prey 2

The original Prey was a game of walking on walls and ceilings, and portals before Portal. You played a Native American abducted by aliens trying to save his girlfriend. In this game you play an intergalactic bounty hunter, taking in targets. The gameplay shown matched the trailer. A lot of people are really excited about it, I’m not sure that I am. I don’t want to chase people for an entire game… During an interview it was said the lead from the first game is still present in some fashion, and the game isn’t “just” chasing. But I still have my doubts, personally.

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

Now that I’m making decent money I finally plan on buying a PS3 and getting into the other side of the hardcore gaming market. I’ve missed out on the Uncharted franchise, even though I’ve heard almost nothing but good things. I’ll have to play the first 2 first, but this game will be a must play once I get a PS3. It’s been advertised as amazing in 3D, and that’s how I plan on playing it when the time comes. Naughty Dog does such an amazing job of seamlessly blending cinematics and gameplay.

Batman: Arkham City

Batman: Arkham Asylum was a surprise hit from an unheard of studio, RockSteady, and it ended up winning a ton of Game Of The Year awards, and justly so. I LOVED the first. It’s one of the very few games I went back to play through again. The new one is bigger, it’s now an open world. I am giddy with excitement for this game. I hope they do it in 3D as well, as the GOTY edition for the previous one was great fun in 3D!

Mass Effect 3

I have a few friends at E3 pushing this game, including Reid, so it was great to see it get so much attention. Mass Effect 2 was one of my favorite games of all time. A game that raises the bar of what a game can be. It told a story complex and emotional in a way a movie just can’t accomplish in 2 hours. The fact that I worked at BioWare with the people that made this game for 2 years has no bearing on that statement. One of my favorite games ever. So Mass Effect 3 is something I’m dying for. I knew all of this before the announcement but now I can finally talk about it. Kinect support in Mass Effect 3! This is a common theme in Microsoft’s E3 conference. Kinect is not just for casual gamers, but hardcore too! While I’m not a fan of the idea of responding verbally, then having Shepard paraphrase it in-game, the idea of voice commands for squads instead of having to pause combat is a GREAT idea. The trailer does little in showing off the epic story that will take place in Mass Effect 3 (we finally see Earth in the Mass Effect franchise, but under dire circumstances as the Reapers are finally out of hiding, hell bent on culling intelligent life from the galaxy, for mysterious reasons), but I chose this video to show off voice commands in use. One of the most highly anticipated games for me.

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier

This game was nowhere on my radar. Then they showed a pretty nice CG trailer, but anyone can make a cool CG trailer. But once I saw this gameplay footage of 4-player coop I was sold. This will be a great game to play with friends. Another thing shown off (not in this video but you can find it if you look) is Kinect support for weapon customization. Basically it has a Minority Report type interface for customizing your weapons, which appears to have insane depth. This game is one I’ll be forcing my friends to buy so we can play together. I love me some co-op.

Twisted Metal

This game will get 10/10 from me if on nostalgia alone. From what I’ve seen though, it’ll hold up as a great game for newcomers too. In an era where realism reigns, it’s nice to see some games that aren’t afraid to go over the top. They focused a lot on the single player story mode at E3, which looks interesting, but honestly, no one’s buying this game for the single player… I can’t wait to drive down memory lane with this game, and blow things up!

Saints Row The Third

I played the first Saints Row, and liked it more than GTA3 at the time. The controls were tighter, the action was more satisfying and the customization was great. I missed the second somehow, but the third is looking great. Like I said for Twisted Metal, I love when a game studio isn’t afraid to take it over the top. You can beat someone with a giant purple dildo in this game. So ya, there’s that. It looks fun, and I’ll play it.

Dead Island

This footage isn’t technically from E3, but it’s the best gameplay footage out there. Open world zombie survival game with heavy RPG elements. For those that haven’t seen the cinematic cg trailer, google Dead Island Trailer and prepare to see the game trailer that spread through the gaming community like wildfire. An amazing trailer! Anyway, after seeing gameplay, I’m looking forward to this game, even though first person melee is not something I generally like.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City

Aside from this idiot interviewer, this video gets the game across pretty well. 4 player coop, very arcade like. Looks to be cashing in on Left 4 Dead. Honestly, not too excited for this one. Looks a little too frantic for me. But I’m sure many will quite enjoy it!

Motion Sports Adrenaline

And look at this! A casual game being made for Kinect and PS3 Move. I wonder who’s making this game… And I somehow have the feeling the designer for the Extreme Ski levels is gunna nail it! Just sayin…

Also, I found this to be awesome, and a great deal for 499$!

PS3 3DTV Bundle

Not many people seem to agree with me on this, but I think 3D gaming is the future! I had Nvidia 3D Vision for my pc in Edmonton and used to love playing WoW in 3D. It just drew me into the environments, and brought the level design to life! So I'm happy to see Sony pushing 3D so hard. And the 2 player full screen features is awesome!!

And let’s not forget Nintendo.  Everyone was waiting for their conference because Nintendo had confirmed they’d be unveiling their next console, tentatively called Wii 2.  Nintendo’s conference came, and for the first 80% it was fluff.  A few new games, nothing amazing or even worth putting in this list.  Then they announced the console:

Wii U

Yep. It’s called the Wii-U. Sometimes I feel like Nintendo is trolling the gaming community. Or just seeing what it can get away with. But after the Wii went from being a joke at it's announcement to a revolutionary console that finally brought gaming to the mainstream, I don’t know what to expect. All I know is I was not wowed. One surprise came after this trailer though. Nintendo, while staying loyal to its casual market, is re-dedicating itself to the hardcore market. Many of the games on this list, it was announced, will also be release on Wii-U. Batman, Darksiders 2, Ninja Gaiden, etc. Of course they’ll come out way after their initial releases on other consoles, since the Wii-U doesn’t even have a release date yet. I do like the screen controller idea. It leads to some very interesting design possibilities. Especially in multiplayer. Finally a player can have a secret from other players. In it’s simplest form, imagine a game of poker where other players can’t see your cards! None the less, most people agree Nintendo’s conference was pretty lackluster, even including a new console!

So that was the bulk of E3.  I missed a few things, but got the major stuff.  It was a great E3, and I was really happy with the focus on the hardcore gamer crowd. The past few years have been all about the casual gamer. As someone who works at a studio that makes casual games, I have nothing against them, but it was nice to see my main gaming interests being served at E3 this year. E3 is still going on so I’m sure some cool gameplay footage is coming and some informative interviews, but the bulk of the announcements have been made.  I’m super jealous of my friends there this year.  One of these days I’ll make it down there!

Rome: 3 Dreams Of Black

A few years ago I had just moved in with my cousin Bill in Edmonton and started my job at BioWare as a QA Term Tester.  I was realizing this was the industry I was meant for, and was really excited about it.  Many nights when I’d get home I’d talk Bill’s ear off about how exciting it all was for me.  He gave me great career advice and of course shared my passion and we often talked about random ideas or directions we’d like to see the medium of gaming take.

One idea I’d had for a while was for a band to release a “game” as a music video.  A heavily scripted, interactive scene set to the band’s new song.  It had a lot of artistic potential.  Well a band finally did it, and they did it well.  They took it one step further with adding user generated content to it, so it’s not just interactive but networked.  I love seeing gaming as a medium branch in new directions and try new things. 

Please check out the “video”!  All you do is move around the mouse when the icon changes to look around and effect your environment.  It is meant to be run in Google Chrome.

P.S.
A video of the making of:

Making the interactive video.

Magicka Sprint

A friend at work got the game Magicka and played it at work today.  As soon as he launched the game her burst out laughing.  One of the first things he saw was this:

This game was clearly made by a bunch of people who love the industry they work in and have a sense of humor.  For those who don’t know, that’s a sprint board behind them, used in Scrum, a form of Agile Management used religiously in game development.  As someone who uses this every day, I found this a great nod to others in the industry.

HB Studios: Small Studios in Small Towns vs Big Studios in Big Cities

Today we had another film crew in the office filming a segment about women in non-traditional careers.  It focused on a few of my very talented female co-workers.  I ended up getting recruited to dance with them in some  wii games and have a Nerf war with them in slow motion.  Should be good.

This is after a few weeks ago a different film crew was in doing a segment on us for Studios in Nova Scotia.  I posted a video by them before about the industry here, and it focused mainly on HB Studios, another studio here in Halifax.  Here’s another video by the same crew about HB Studios and what it’s like working in the industry here in Halifax.

HB Studios

I can’t wait to see the one they do about Longtail with my co-workers and I in it!  I’ll post it as soon as it’s up!

Hooked

Nerdgasm to follow:

So when I first got Rift it was just cause Chad was pestering me to try it, and I figured I was pretty bored on the weekends anyway since Ryan moved so I’d give it a shot.  I did not expect to get into it much, I thought I was done with MMOs.

Wrong.  I am hooked to this game.  It feels like the first game to do MMOs RIGHT since WoW.  And it’s learned from WoW and other MMOs along the way.  It has the best of WoW, Warhammer, Aion, etc all in one with beautiful graphics.  And it does a few new things really well.  The fact that you can have 3 “roles” and re-spec on the fly out of combat is great.  And the rifts are awesome.  Rifts open up throughout the world and they’re like mini raids / public quests. 

It was a free-play weekend so Chad and I convinced Brett and Linda to give it a shot and they’re now seriously considering picking it up too.  Over the weekend we all played together and it was a ton of fun.  Facetime on iPhone is an awesome addition to gaming together! 

It just seems everyone is at a weird time in life where they have a lot of free time.  Chad doesn’t do much on weekends other then spend time with Olga, Brett and Linda are biding their time until they move to Vancouver, and I have a lot of free time on weekends now that Ryan has moved.  It lets us play without any guilt!

Today Chad and I did our first instance.  It was hands down the coolest instance I’ve done in an MMO to date.  It starts in summer and as you progress the seasons change.  At the end you’re climbing a mountain in an insane blizzard where you can barely see in front of you, adding to the epic feeling and sense of confusion.  Incredibly well done instance, and it was only the first.

The world is beautifully done and the graphics are amazing.  The game feels amazingly polished and balanced, especially when you consider it just came out and from a no-name studio!  There’s always something to do as well.  Plus my friends are playing.  Not just close personal friends, but friends from BioWare and Longtail play too.  I think I’ll be playing this game for a while…  In fact, I’m considering getting a new PC next month to run it better.  My PC is 5 years old, it’s been time for a new one for a while, and I can afford it.  But it’ll have to wait until after I pay for my wisdom teeth coming out and then my plane tickets to and from Winnipeg for my Dad’s wedding.

It’s exciting to be into an MMO again.  Forgot how fun they can be.
Nerdgasm over.

Designer

So I didn’t want to write about this until it was a bit more substantial, but that threshold has been crossed.  Last week at the Dance on Broadway release party, once everyone was nice and drunk, the Creative Director came up to me and we had a chat about my career options.  Since Dance on Broadway is complete we’re in pre-production for our next game (un-announced and therefore I can’t be too specific on any details).  During this period generally QA doesn’t have much to do.  I’ve been keeping myself busy implementing Agile software and other things, but a lot of it is busy-work.  One thing I’ve been doing is helping out with prototyping and giving design feedback and suggestions.

Apparently the Lead Designer had told the Creative Director that my feedback and suggestions had been really helpful.  The Creative Director and I had discussed this before, so he told him I eventually wanted to get in to Design.  So long story short, they decided to give me designer work until my QA tasks start ramping up again.  The next week I talked to the Lead Designer, and the Producer about my intentions to eventually make it to Design, and that I’d LOVE to take on the extra responsibilities to try to prove myself.  So they gave me my first design task, helping build our first playable prototype. 

Back in Edmonton, after my first term at BioWare had ended, I had to take my 3 months off.  I went on EI since I’d been told I’d have a job waiting for me as soon as they could hire me back, and during those 3 months off I put myself on a strict schedule of learning the Unreal Engine.  By the time I went back to work I had learned the entire Unreal Engine and made several professional grade levels for Unreal Tournament 3.  It was an invaluable skill to learn because most engines out there share similar principles, and knowing one of the industry-standard engines means you have a solid foundation for learning other engines.

This knowledge came in handy for my design tasks, especially the stuff I’d learnt in scripting.  So for the past week I’ve been doing designer work, and so far everyone I’ve dealt with has been very impressed.  I’ve heard more than once that they can’t believe how effortlessly I fill the role, and that I could already be a Designer.  Very exciting. 

I’ve known I wanted to get into Design for some time.  When I told my friend Tim the news he pointed out to me I’ve always been meant to get into Design.  When we were kids I used to draw Mario levels on paper and have him play through them.  And once we got a bit older and started playing modem games of Duke Nukem and Blood, I taught myself the Build engine and made entire episodes to play together online.

Even though I’ve wanted to get into Design for so long, a part of me always wondered what EXACTLY the job entailed.  Would I be able to do it?  Well now that I’ve been doing it for a week, working closely with programming and art, and getting positive feedback, I’m very confident this is the job for me.

It doesn’t mean I’ll be a Designer tomorrow though.  I’m still QA Lead, and those responsibilities will remain my priority as long as that’s my title.  But next time a Designer position opens up, I’ll be applying for it immediately, and hopefully by then I’ll have done enough Design work to have earned their confidence.  And from what I’ve heard so far, I am confident I will do so.

When I got into the industry I had a realization:  This is where I want to be.  This past week doing Design work I had another realization:  This is what I want to do.  It’s exciting.  Yes, it would be a pay increase, yes it would bring with it more industry respect, but honestly, I just want to do it because I LOVE doing it, and I believe I’m good at it.

It’s also good to have a tangible career goal again.  At BioWare my goal was always to get a permanent salary position.  Once I got it at Longtail and adjusted to the role, I was worried I’d start to become complacent.  Now that I’m working towards something again, the ambition is being fed.  It’s a very exciting time.

New Blog Design

I redesigned my blog last night.  Been helping a few other people design their blogs and felt it was time to redesign mine.  The old layout was made when I was younger and a bit…  quirkier.  I was looking for something a bit more subdued, with at least a semblance of professionalism (despite the content of my posts )

I was up very late last night working on, and it’s still a work in progress.  There’s a few final things I want to add and tweak, but the bulk of it is there.  I added a nifty new comment system too, you can still post anonymously if you prefer, but now you can login using your facebook or twitter ID easily, without leaving the page!  So leave a comment and let me know what you think so far!

Your Studio Here

We have a film studio at the office today.  They work with a Nova Scotia initiative to get the word out that Halifax is an up and coming videogame industry hot-spot.  Longtail Studios is their featured studio this year.  They did a video last year featuring HB Studios, a studio down the street from us.  Check it out!  Can’t wait to see the new one featuring us!

Kinda cheesy, but also make me love living and working here!

Dragon Age 2 Demo

The Dragon Age 2 demo is now available for Xbox, PS3 and PC!  Go download it and see the last game I worked on at BioWare, the follow up to Dragon Age Origins, the first game I ever worked on!

Click here to download the PC version.

I’m in the process of downloading it on Xbox.  It’s gunna be surreal to play it.  Last time I saw the game it was still a major work in progress, in something known as whitebox.  Lots of place holder assets and very barebones.  To see the game completely fleshed out will be awesome.  I’ll get to enjoy the game from both sides.  I worked on it enough to feel a sense of pride, and know the “behind the scenes” that went into it, but it will still be new enough that I can enjoy it with the excitement and curiosity of a consumer.  Cannot wait for the full game to come out!