Given that I have now finished a month of work (well, not really, as I started on the 10th, but c’mon — polka with me, here), I thought I’d write a bit about it. After all, defining what a Game Designer does can actually be rather difficult at times.

Currently, however, it’s quite easy: I do a lot of writing.

I mean, a truckload of writing. A busload — wait! A speeding busload that will explode if it goes under 55 mph! And has to jump a bridge! Yeah!

You get the drift.

Pretty much since I started, I having been hammering away at the keyboard, building up the Game Design Document (GDD). This lovely clump of text describes, at a high level, how the entire game operates. It needs to basically be the equivalent to a TV series Bible. Every question needs to have an answer within; every detail needs to be cataloged; every nook filled with a delicious butter.

This is not as simple as it sounds, because what always winds up happening is that as you start writing up the details of one aspect of the game, you begin to discover ten new elements of the game that need to be addressed, ranging from the programming, to the networking, to the UI, to the actual game mechanics, themselves. And, of course, each of those elements leads to yet another ten things to sort out and settle, at which point you realize that having figured them out, now half of your original statements need to be revised and/or updated to keep everything in line, and so on.

Furthermore, when you write the GDD, you also have to keep in mind that probably about 25% – 50% of what you write is going to need to be adjusted and revised once Q&A starts, and people actually start interacting with the entire system. That’s when you get the explosions of bugs and features that need/should be added, and you suddenly understand why pretty much every piece of software made these days needs a series of patches and updates.

That said, I should note that I’m actually having a ball. I’m pretty much in charge of developing the system; there was some ground work in place when I started, but there has been a lot that has been since added and expanded. Others have been sounding boards and have definitely helped, but still, there are large chunks of the game which, as it currently stands, I can point to as pretty much my idea. That’s both really cool, and really scary. The game’s development time means it will be a while before we complete it, but I’m really interested in seeing this thing developed. It’s a really big project — not so big that it’s overwhelming, but definitely something that is honestly right in the sweet spot of “difficulty.”

This upcoming Thursday is my next big deadline; I’m feeling pretty confident about it, but just need to make sure I don’t get to self-assured. As I mentioned, a lot of new questions might need to be answered as we continue to pour over the GDD for completeness.

By the end of March, we should actually see some of the game in action, and I have this feeling that it’s going to be like when you work for days on a 2-second animation piece, and then see it for the first time. So much time spent for such a brief moment, but that moment is so incredibly awesome that you can’t wipe that idiotic grin off your face.

Well, that’s my gut feeling, anyway. Check back in about a month, and we’ll see!

Last night, coming back from basketball, I lost my winter hat. This is disappointing, but given that the last two times I lost something after basketball, it was $50 and my backpack with a number of writing projects, losing the hat isn’t as much of a problem.

Naturally, though, today it snowed something fierce, and apparently shall continue well into the weekend.

But despite the missing ski cap (which will be replaced soon, I promise you that), I still can’t quite lose my wonder at a beautiful winter’s day. No joke, man. This morning when I stepped outside, I was honestly stunned are how beautiful it looked: big, thick, fluffy white flakes, and that gorgeous white lining on the tops of all tree branches, bushes, and railings, throwing the whole world in a sharply defined high-contrast setting. I was half-tempted to run back in for my good camera, but since I was running late for me train, I just moseyed on into the painterly quality of the day.

And, coming home, I arrived just after a fresh snowfall, and could not help but grin — again, despite the cold wind and lack of a hat — for there is something undeniably joyous about being the first person to walk across an untouched sheet of snow on the ground. As if you are the first person in human history to ever stride across that parcel of land.

I’m showing my Midwestern roots, aren’t I?

Oh, and although I did not have a hat, I did use the hood on my jacket. The hood is actually quite large, with a generous amount of drop to the front brim. If you think about those monks from “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” who kept hitting themselves in the head with planks of wood, that’s pretty much what I looked like. Minus the head-banging.

As I was washing dishes tonight (chores — oboy!), the classic track “Introduction – Manor” from the renown album “An Introduction to AD&D” came on, and as I listened to the adult actor attempting to be a 14-year old boy, the following line caught my fancy: “..you quickly tire of the safe life here in town. Just over the next hill must be danger, wealth, and fame.”

This brought to mind a discussion I had with Mark a little while ago about some of the difficulities I’ve had dating:

“A lot of the girls that I had an interest in, I would lose that, because it seems that they are more concerned with my job status and income,” I explained. Keep in mind that this discussion was happening during my unemployment phase, so I was rather sensitive to a potential date’s money-grubbing tendencies. “And it bothers me to think that this girl, who otherwise seems really cool, would then dump a guy should he lose his job or something.”

“But,” Mark countered, “remember that what a lot of girls are looking for is the stability of a guy with a steady, secure job. Someone who is settled into their career and will be there for years.”

“well, then,” I muttered, “I’m pretty much screwed.”

See, working as a Game Designer is not something that anyone could consider to be a “safe” profession. Not even counting to risk of being in small start-ups (like my last and now current job), even larger studios can be merge and shed jobs, and beyond that, often people, upon completing a long project, will move on to something else. Pretty much straight freelance/contract work, and there’s no guarantee of continued work via that model.

Now, personally, I’m fine with the uncertainty of being a Game Designer. But now I do have to think that maybe in the world of D&D, I would most likely be an adventurer, roaming from gig to gig, never entirely sure where my next meal is coming from, and accept that a path such as mine is fraught with peril and the knowledge that I walk it alone.

The dangers of cramps in my WASD hand are my sole burden to bear.

So, a few days ago, I was riding the subway down to my job, and as I’m standing in the car, I’m taking the time to check out the art that they have currently up:

Hmm... interesting....

Given where I am standing, I can see that this piece has the name of the artist, and so I look closer:

Andrea--wait, Andrea?!?

And then I realize — I know the girl who made this! She was a fellow classmate in my days at Parsons, and extremely talented in world of information design; I had completely forgotten that her skills also extended to illustration. What really made this an ironic moment is that only reason I recognized the name is because just a few days prior, I had actually gotten a Friend request from her on Facebook. It was the first time that I ever really saw her last name spelled out, so it had stuck in my mind.

Ah, the wacky small-town life of NYC.

So I have a job now. Mind you, not completely, as we still have to sign all the papers and the like, but the offer was extended, and I accepted.

In the truly ironic twist, I had to really think over it, as I actually had 2 job offers competing for my attention. Both were for great companies, with people that I had a good vibe with, and for projects that I thought were really, really cool. But, in the end, I had to choose one, and after a weekend of deliberation and some chatting with various folks in the industry (and the family) I settled with the guys at OneNine Studios. A small group of around 5 or so veterans from the industry, I think I’ll have a bit of a better chance to work on a number of different types of games.

Oh, and yes, the job title is Game Designer, so it is offically a “FTW!” moment.

Tomorrow I am supposed to start, assuming that the city is not paralyzed by the approaching snowstorm. Good thing I have my new boots, jacket, and scarf, eh?

Otherwise, I just feel like it will actually take a little while for me to settle in fully; after the rollercoaster ride of the past 6 months, I’m not taking anything for granted. And, let’s also remember, that I won’t be getting paid until the end of the month, either. But I think that once we are into March, I just might start to get giddy.

I just want to note that things are happening on the job front.

Naturally, we have to wait and see how everything is going to play out, but regardless, it almost — almost — feels like a watershed moment.

So far the past couple of weeks have been a dramatic departure from what was going on most of last year. Whereas things in 2009, particularly the last three months, seemed to be mainly stagnant or, at best, just a slow, agonizing crawl over salt-coated glass shards spread through a wading pool filled with lemon juice, 2010 has shown a bit more hustle, both on my part, as well as “outside forces.” Now, I have significantly upped my own drive, making an average of 50-75 “approaches” (resumes, cover letters, phone calls, interviews) over the past 2 weeks, but beyond that, there appear to be forces at work beyond my understanding. I have been hearing from companies and people that I had contacted months ago — in one case, all the way back in August.

Again, I want to stress that I’m not taking anything for granted; I still have to make sure I do the proper follow-up work to keep as many possibilities alive as possible.

Still, this is basically a level of weird-good comparable to suddenly getting a number of calls from girls that had only dated you once, and are now asking if you’re up for some brunch.

Feast or famine.

So heck, let’s eat!

The Jets and the Vikings lost.

Check that:

Braylon Edwards and Brad Childress lost. And to me that’s the important thing.

Yes, Edwards did get that 80-yard touchdown pass, but I was applauding wildly when, later in the game, he had that beautiful drop where the ball went right through his hands. It was a moment of beauty, and just reinforces for Jets fans yet again what they are getting with Edwards. Last I heard, Edwards will likely get a 1-year offer from the Jets this offseason, which is probably going to be a good deal, but the fact it’s a 1-year deal doesn’t exactly speak volumes of their faith in his consistency. Of course, Edwards could sign with another team, but with the likely new rules coming in plan in the absence of a new CBA, free agency this year could be very anemic.

As for Brad Childress, I never liked the way that he approached the whole Favre courting ritual. Yes, it is without question that he went out and got a vast upgrade at quarterback. I do not, however, agree that the ends justifies the means: he lied, repeatedly, to his team, and while these are professionals, they are also not stupid, and will remember that when he tells them that they are important, that he is counting on them, or that he has thier back, that in actuality he will not hesitate to throw them under the bus if it serves his purpose.

And as many others have already pointed out, Favre ends this run as he did with the Packers — his last throw is in the NFC Championship game and is an interception that leads to the opposing team winning on a field goal. I bet you a lot of Packers fans felt immensely better when they watched that play with less than 7 seconds in the game.

For the Vikings, this offseason could be tense. Favre was beaten to a pulp in the game, and may well decide to retire, only to change his mind after training camp (by then he will have healed up and be getting the bug to play, again). So, it’s quite easy to imagine this scenerio: the Vikings let Favre skip all of the meetings and camps and everything (which sends a lovely message to the rest of the team, doesn’t it? “I’m way more important than you”), expecting that he’ll come back for the season, but then Favre decides that he really is done, leaving the Vikings with no back-up plan.

It’s way too early to tell right now, but I get the feeling that the Vikings — having pulled a Wall Street (trading long-term success for short-term gain) — will not have as good of a year in 2010.

Oh, and one more thing.

If someone was to ask me what American football is all about, I’d really have to point to the ending of this game as a prime example. The whole game itself was actually a good example, filled with drama, fantastic plays, and brutal hits, but overall, both teams played a bit sloppy, hence I wouldn’t say the game as a whole is the ideal.

But the ending pretty much sums up, to me, what makes for great games. Both teams fought tooth and nail through the game, the momentum shifted back at forth, so you never really could say for sure what was going to happen. Near the end, points were getting to be a premium. So the Saints manage to get down the field with the combination of some close plays (some might argue questionable), and are in place to kick a 40-yard field goal. Now keep in mind that besides the slight sloppiness in the game (with muffed punts, botched handoffs, etc.), kickers this postseason have not been playing well, with more misses than hits. Out trots the Saints kicker, who is a rookie, no less. While he should be able to hit it fine, there’s no way to really call it one way or the other. This is the height of drama in the game. And he winds up splitting the uprights.

It’s the stuff of NFL Films.

This morning I was up early; probably the earliest I’ve been up on a Sunday for a long time (not counting the times at my parents house, where I tend to be up early regardless of my original intentions). This was a planned event, however: I went to bed at around 11 PM. A little before that, actually. I was able to get some sleep, and then was up and out of bed at about quarter after 6. See, I wanted to get a number of things done, but more importantly, I have an important meeting (so to speak) in the city at 9 AM. That means I’ll need to be up and out of the house in time to catch the 8 AM train.

Hey, I might run across Dex on the train. Wouldn’t that freak him out?

Anyway, I decided it would be good to get my sleeping schedule warmed up for this. Tonight I’ll be in bed before midnight, definitely, and probably around 11 PM again, so I can be up early again tomorrow. Then, tomorrow night I have basketball at 8, and thus will be leaving right afterward to get home. So I can get to bed! Yay!

[ S H I E L D B R E A K ! ! ! ]

So Bill Livingston of The Plain Dealer posted a column about how Eric Mangini is not getting the credit the coach deserves for building the Jets into a Superbowl contending champion.

I find this rather bizarre given that I seem to recall Livingston making a lot of disparaging remarks about Mangini earlier in the season. Certainly, the man is allowed to change his mind, but it’d be nice to actually see him say something like “I was wrong about Mangini….”

[ S H I E L D B R E A K ! ! ! ]

I’ve been making some progress on my side video/animation project. Slowly, to be sure, but a good part of that is just refreshing myself on how to use Maya, AfterEffects, and Illustrator. So that alone has been good — nice to touch up those skills — but also this method taking the project in bite-sized chunks is also handy as it’s keeping things moving forward.

The really hard part will be coming up soon, though, which is trying to do some hand animation. I’ll have to do some tests and see if I can do the rough approach that I would like, but otherwise I may have to go the (very) long route of scanning in the drawings, then redrawing them in paths via Photoshop/Illustrator.

Stay tuned.

Some of you may recall that my remote for my VCR/DVD combo was officially kaput after that bad battery acid trip,  and that my original plan of replacing it with a universal remote wound up being a nice and big fluffy ball of fail. I finally resorted to ordering a replacement from Sony a couple of weeks ago, and was just starting to wonder about it when I received a message this morning from DHL. It read, and I quote:

Hello!

The courier company was not able to deliver your parcel by your address.
Cause: Error in shipping address.

You may pickup the parcel at our post office personaly!

Attention!
The shipping label is attached to this e-mail.
Please print this label to get this package at our post office.

Please do not reply to this e-mail, it is an unmonitored mailbox!

Thank you.
DHL Delivery Services.

Since I had been just wondering about my delivery, I assumed this was the issue. I couldn’t remember if the shipping company had been listed when I made the order, so DHL was as good a thought as any. Attached to the email wasa zip file, and while I thought that was odd that a printing label would be in a zip, I opened it up to take a look.

That’s when I saw that there was just an .exe file inside. Oh sure, it said something like DHL Tracking Label or something, but still.

Now, granted, I had literally just gotten out of bed five minutes ago, and I’m never my sharpest at such times, but even I know when to hit the delete key. And honestly, if I hadn’t been thinking about the remote, I might not have ever gotten to the point of opening up the attachment. After all, another re-read of the message shows that the person who wrote it A) doesn’t have a functional spell-checker, and B) likes exclamation points a little bit too much for their own good.

But the really ironic part about this is that later on, at around 11 AM, FedEx Ground stopped by to drop off my remote. Talk about interesting timing. I have to wonder if the hackers knew about my incoming delivery and scrambled to throw something together really quick in hopes of duping me before the real McCoy arrived. That’s unlikely, but hey, you see stuff like that all the time on TV, right?

Too bad for them, though. The plot was foiled.

Oh, and yes, I checked — the new remote works just fine. And this time, I take the batteries out after using it.