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The Power of Matt Compels You To Clear The Lanes!

Games, Interactive, Life in General, Stuff I Made, Work, Writing 2 Responses »

May 112011

You can tell when I am in a zone for basketball these days: I run into, over, or through at least two of my teammates.

Tonight, one of the teams did not show, so that meant our team played the other team twice, in 20-minute games. Which each got 2 wins for the other teams forfeit, but we really needed to work to get any other wins — 20 minutes is quite a bit of a push. The first game we lost as we had a slow start, but more importantly, a slow finish; they pulled away with three free throws to make it 17 to 12. Second game, however, we shut down their drives to the baseline, and topped them by a score of 12-4. Also, in the second game, I really had another good game. I played for about 10-8 minutes at first, and when I can out for my break, I was really tired. Probably the most winded I’ve been in a long time. But, it was great, because I was a monster on defense, using my height and size really well. In fact, I don’t think anyone I was covering ever scored, so that was pretty nifty.

I also jumped into a pick-up game with some guys from work yesterday, and played for about 90 miniutes (60 total playing time, really) and again managed to do fairly well.

It’s worth a thought if I might have missed out on playing basketball in high school, but honestly, I really don’t think so. The big difference between now and then is that I have the motivation to do this, and that only really came about because I was hit by that damn car and broke my leg. As I was grunting my painful way back to recovery, it wasn’t until over a year later that I got clearance to try any sports, and I swore to take full advantage of that. Also, I think a big difference is that rec leagues are more relaxed and fun, whereas playing competitively probably wouldn’t have been quite my thing. Here you can make some mistakes and generally shrug it off. In more structured programs, you get benched — assuming that you even see any playing time.

In any case, summer leagues are signing up, so I’d better grab a few sports. Laura T from work actually is on a soccer team, so I think I’ll try signing up for that. I’d also like to do another basketball season, and maybe football. Just anything to keep playing outside.

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

So I finally got my 1st byline! The marketing team at work has put out the calls to writers for articles we could send out to various print and online publications, and after a slow start, I wrapped up a short opinion piece concerning the role of reality within games:

http://www.develop-online.net/news/37615/OPINION-The-designers-need-to-forget-reality

It’s nice to finally get something up and in “print,” and I definitely own Tina at work a big thanks, since she’s the one who is contacting all the possible locations for publication. Now, the trick is whether or not I can maintain a steady pace of articles. I have a couple of ideas for more, but the question is whether or not they pertain enough to the business/industry. I’ll need to write up the basic ideas and bounce them off Tina to get her feedback.

If nothing else, though, this was really nice.

Wow

Games, Life in General, Uncategorized, Work Comments Off

Jan 212011

So, Area/Code has been bought by Zynga, and is being established as Zynga New York. This is pretty big news, on a couple of levels.

First off, this may represent the sea change we’ve been waiting for in NYC, where it becomes an established location for game companies. It’s something we’ve been waiting for many years.

But secondly, and much closer to home for me, this is now the second of the “Big Three” of early NYC game companies to effectively disappear from the map. Gamelab shut down, and now Area/Code has been bought. In my original view of NYC game studios, that leaves Large Animal. Yes, I know there are more, but these were the three that everyone I know worked at, or worked with the people in charge: Eric Zimmerman, Frank Lantz, and Wade Tinney. We may well be looking at the end of the early era of NYC game studios, and the start of a new one, one of growth and depth.

More game work

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Dec 102010

And the game ideas keep coming. Which is quite cool, so long as I can actually finish them all.

We had a meeting today to narrow down some of the ideas for our internal pitches. Both of my favorites got through, so now I just need to flesh them out enough for the 2 minute pitch next week. Due Friday. I suspect I’ll be tinkering around with them this weekend; when I’m not knee-deep in World of Warcraft, anyway.

Also, I had an idea for a sequel to one of our games today — one of those moments that really came out of left field. I bounced it off of some coworkers, and I think it’s got some battleship-class-weight to it. So, I just want to write up a quick draft of the idea so the whole game design team can look it over.

Naturally, I was already planning to work on some other stuff as well, this weekend, so if I can pull it all off, I’ll be impressed.

And tired.

Party in The ICC

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Aug 102010

It’s been quite a while since I wrote up a parody, but this one was stuck in my brain and refused to vacate the premises until I actually put it to paper. Or to a word processor file, at any rate. It’s a song about the final raid instance of World of Warcraft, so, yeah — might not make a lot of sense to many of you, but it’s still fun.

Party in the ICC
(parody of Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA")
By Matt Plotecher

I hopped off my mount in Icecrown's map
Stoked! Close to an aneurysm
Welcome to the land of level cap, (boo)
until "Cataclysm"

Just to be honest,
My last raid was Molten Core
Look to my right and I see Jania Proudmoore
This is all so crazy
Gear is all over 270!

My tummy's turnin' cause all the Scourge kinda smell sick
Too much pressure but I right-click
That's when the Vento chat turned on in my headphones
And the leader called our spots
And we skipped the story plots
And the leader said "More dots!"

So I get my buffs up
They're calling out "tank"
And the thunderclaps are set free
Tauntin' the shades like yeah
Pullin' the wraiths like yeah,
And I got my threat up,
They're focused on moi
The restro shaman's healin' me
Yeah, it's a party in the ICC
Yeah, it's a party in the ICC

Get to The Spire as DPS
Everybody's lookin' at me now
Like "Who's that bro, that's drawin' aggo?
He'll get killed like a Goldshire cow."

So hard with my guild not around me
It's definitely not a Outland party
Cause' all ore drops are saronite
What happened to adamantite?

Bone Storm is spinnin' and I'm bleedin' from that Coldflame
If we wipe now it'll be a shame
That's when Marrowgar dropped 2 Emblems of Frost
Now it's time for Deathwhisper
Then a Gunship Battle tour
Finishing with Deathbringer!

So I get Thottbot up
I'm searching my class
Also hittin' up WoWWiki
Readin' 'bout Rotface, yeah
Checkin' Festergut, yeah
And I got add-ons up
With my cooldown times
Tracking my threat will be easy
Yeah, it's a party in the ICC
Yeah, it's a party in the ICC

Feel like hoppin' in a PuG (like a thug)
Gather lots of loot to lug (bags are snug)
Something tells me it's worthwhile (in style)
As long as we don't get all wiped by Defile!

So I put my heals up
All on Dreamwalker
Here comes a Blistering Zombie
Floatin' through orbs like yeah (Emerald Vigor!)
Stackin' buffs up like yeah (Healin'!)
Now Sindragosa's up
Battle for survival
Damn Blistering Cold, time to flee (that damn icy grip)
Yeah (brr cold), it's a party in the ICC (ouch)
Yeah, it's a party in the ICC

And now there's the Lich King
Just chilling in his throne
But then summons Horrors with glee (and Drudge Ghouls)
Quakin' the floor like yeah (collasping the floor, yeah)
Plaguin' the raid like yeah (stacking us up like yeah)
And I got those DOTs on
of Plague and Infest
I hope we reach Phase 4 quickly (Where the hell is Terenas?)
Yeah, it's a party in the ICC
Yeah, it's a party in the ICC (Party in the ICC!)

I know I’m late to the party….

Hybrid, Stuff I Made Comments Off

Aug 042010

So the whole Tiger Woods infidelty is ancient news by now, and I realize that there have been plenty of “Tiger Woods endorses condoms” parody ads on the web for a while, but after a discussion with the guys at work today, we came up with a few slogans that I liked too much to not do anything with. Hence, I whipped up some quick and simple ads for Trojan brand condoms featuring Tiger Woods. I know, highly original, right?

Audio — “Empire Craft” Intro

Audio, Stuff I Made 3 Responses »

May 272010

So, some of you may remember my reaction to an online game that was going by the name of Empire Craft. Well, I had meaning to try a somewhat dramatic reading of that “intro” blurb that they had on their site for a while (looks like it’s down by now). A quick reading followed by some classic background music, and taa-da!

Intro to Empire Craft! Dramatic!

Blackberry Photos

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May 042010

Nothing like some half-and-half in the morning....

Took the above photo this morning at the train station. You have to imagine, too, that this was honestly a sky that was split in half: everything on the right was overcast, while everything on the left was clear. It was like the whole sky was overcast until someone just ripped half of the cloud cover away, like “Heck, it’s a lovely day, let’s open the shades, eh?

Friendly political discourse

I have to admit, this one actually made me laugh.

Something to keep in mind, ladies, the next time you're out at a bar.

I wonder if Ben Roethlisberger could use this as part of his next night out on the town?

For those not aware, this is Diesel’s (a trendy clothing maker) latest ad campaign. I can’t say that I think it’s all that great of one, personally. True, I’m not probably not the market share this is aimed out, but ye gads, are they really trying to encourage people to be stupid? If so, how about some more straightforward ads like, “Be Stupid. Buy Our Stuff,” “Only The Most Idiotic Morons Would Spend Money Here,” or even “You Braindead, Mindless, Dolts! Get Away From Us!”

Then again, maybe they are trying to turn “stupid” into a compliment. But if so, they’re about a decade behind the times: back when she had a show on ABC, Ellen DeGeneres covered that in an episode. Sorry, Diesel, but you’re not worthy of being called “stoopid.” But keep on tryin’, ace!

Just a typical day at Penn Station

Ah, the joy of commuting….

Stylish display stand, eh?

So, who exactly loses a shoe in the subway and doesn’t realize it?

Actually, I like to pretend this was some MFA Grad Student’s thesis project; cryptic, unintuitive, and vague enough that they can BS about it for the entire thesis year.

(Why, yes, I am a MFA Grad; why do you ask?)

Mind the gap

As someone who was hit by a car, I admit this thing always makes me wince.

Gaze into my eyes, helmet....

This is not my photo, but I love it because it looks like Mike Holmgren is hypnotizing the Browns Helmet. “You will install components of the West Coast Offense….”

And It Continues to be Easy (For a Change)

Games, Interactive, Stuff I Made Comments Off

Apr 272010

First off, the link for my “officially completed” UT3 level:

Engine Room

This was a bit of a relief in that I was finally able to wrap things up. As I mentioned in my previous post, being able to test on a separate machine was, indeed, very handy. And, it’s also one of the biggest pains as a game developer — getting playtesters and ways to beta test your work. In this case, not having a separate computer to test on really slowed me down. Consider: if I was not able to test the game at work, I would have had to wait for either someone from the forums to download and test, or one of my friends. in both cases, that could take weeks, if it happens at all. Being able to “cook” the map last night and upload it to the file site, then come in this morning and really quick test it on my work machine was sooooo much better.

This has also been hanging around my “To Do” list since the summer; I last really worked on it during October of last year. Boy, that feels good to strike it down! Smote the sucker! Boom!

Anyway.

I have ideas for a couple of other maps, but I think I might hold off starting anything until I wrap up a number of other creative projects that are floating around; like, for example, the Madness board game. There’s another thing that needs playtesters to fully complete, and hence, that’s why it’s be so friggin’ slow at moving forward.