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f13.net  |  f13.net General Forums  |  The Gaming Graveyard  |  Gaming Conferences and Conventions  |  AGC '05  |  Topic: Day Two - Suicide Watch 0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
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Author Topic: Day Two - Suicide Watch  (Read 14408 times)
Shockeye
Staff Emeritus
Posts: 6668

Skinny-dippin' in a sea of Lee, I'd propose on bended knee...


WWW
on: October 28, 2005, 06:21:49 AM

schild and I shared a cab over to the convention center with a lovely stars-in-her-eyes girl who wants a job in the industry. There seems to be many people like that here. Maybe too many. But I digress. We picked up our press passes and looked around for some place to get a bite. Not too much close to the convention center that's open at 8:30, but we did our best.

We decided to check out "Gaming the Narrative" that was being presented by Marc Laidlaw, an author and writer on both Half-Life games. There was almost no good information for a writer to hone his craft or any tips on how to become a writer. I swear I was about to stab someone with my pen each and every time he mentioned his "muse"; schild has no idea how close he was to bleeding to death on the floor of that conference room. Hey, kill who you know, right? There were only two points I thought interesting enough to pass along, but once I listen to the tape I might find another nugget to write up or I may get stabby with the "muse". Anyway, here's the two points I thought I should mention: With many development teams, writers are brought in at the last minute to tie something together or clean up some dialogue and secondly, writers should never go into things expecting to "fix" the game. Unless a writer is brought in at the beginning of the development cycle, your opinions may very well count for jack and shit.

Next up was a talk by Hal Barwood about writing. There were so many things wrong with what he said that I can't go into them here. After I get back I'll go over the tape and write up something that discusses his points and where he is wrong and where he is really wrong.

Lunch for us was at the Mongolian BBQ place down the street. schild and I over-did it a bit with the peppers and hot sauce. Something tells me I'll be yelling "fire in the hole" in a few hours. At least I was able to suck down a beer.

schild and I attended a talk held by Clint Hocking who is a creative director at Ubisoft. He was a scriptwriter and lead level designer on Splinter Cell and was scriptwriter, lead lever designer and creative director for Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. Currently Clint is creative director on an unannounced game for Ubisoft but assures us that after giving Sam Fisher 6 years of his life, he will not be working on another Splinter Cell game. Clint's speech was a rather dry but informative rundown of three stages of development for Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. The stages were Concept, Pre-Production and Production. He stressed a few key points that I think many people developing in the industry should take note of. Firstly, make sure your design documents are clear and concise. Secondly, make sure your teams are communicating with each other both inside the team and outside to other teams on the project. Thirdly, make sure you have the tools you need to building the game before you actually build it. Chaos Theory suffered in this respect because Clint did not have the tool he needed to efficiently write multiple possible script permutations. He thought that not having this tool slowed his writing speed down to 1/4 of normal. Finally, he stressed how important it is to not underestimate tedious work. Tedious work slows you down by how numbingly boring it can be. This drags down everything else you are trying to accomplish. Recognize that when you're setting your timetable.

For the next two hours I can honestly say that I have no memory of what we did. After talking with schild he has no memory of it as well. On to the next thing...

Teledildonics. Sex in games, specifically. Perhaps I'm weird, but the word teledildonics coupled with a vibrating dildo attached to an Xbox controller holds some kind of weird fascination for me. I know the presenter, Brenda Brathwaite, had other interesting things to say on the issue of sex in games, but the so-called "butt-plug of doom" definitely made me forget whatever else came before or after it. We'll be posting some pictures and audio with the creator of this device for your viewing pleasure.

The GamerGod guys told us about a party at Dave & Busters and since we didn't have anything else planned, we decided to tag along. Turns out Mythic is having a fan gathering there but that's not what we're here for. No, we're here for Unknown Player's party. As we are shaking hands I look the devil in the eyes and he took part of my soul. Who is the devil? David Bowman. I thought about running but it was too late. He had a piece me and there was nothing I could do. schild and I thought about scrubbing ourselves afterwards but this is something you can never get off. There is no purple heart given out for eating at a table with Bowman, there is only shame and disgust. I'm lucky the hotel does not sell nooses along with sodas and snacks because that night I might've bought one.
« Last Edit: October 29, 2005, 12:32:53 AM by Shockeye »
Llava
Contributor
Posts: 4602

Rrava roves you rong time


Reply #1 on: October 28, 2005, 01:55:52 PM

Heh.

Thanks for sitting through that stuff.  I was curious if there would be something particularly interesting.  Sounds like there wasn't.

That the saints may enjoy their beatitude and the grace of God more abundantly they are permitted to see the punishment of the damned in hell. -Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica
Sachant
Developers
Posts: 66

Wolfpack


WWW
Reply #2 on: October 30, 2005, 08:52:20 AM

Dave didn't strike me as the soul stealing sort when I met him a couple of years back.  I'm sure you have your reasons though for your perception.

Sachant
Bartle Test Killer  73% , Socializer  60%, Explorer  60%, Achiever  6%
Evangolis
Contributor
Posts: 1220


Reply #3 on: October 31, 2005, 10:12:01 AM

Dave didn't strike me as the soul stealing sort when I met him a couple of years back.  I'm sure you have your reasons though for your perception.

That's pretty damn optimistic of you.  Have you read many boards like this? 

Seriously, I never have understood teh hate.  I'd think pouring a few years of your life down a rathole that is commonly reviled as a dissapointment and a failure would be plenty of punishment.

"It was a difficult party" - an unexpected word combination from ex-Merry Prankster and author Robert Stone.
Sachant
Developers
Posts: 66

Wolfpack


WWW
Reply #4 on: October 31, 2005, 11:08:36 AM

LOL.. do I read many boards like this?  Yep.  I just chalk it up to having 'angst'.  The sort I seem to hang around always have plenty of it.  You're aware of the type of community SB has right?  I love my community but they are filled to the brim with angst.  I was around when everyone was at Waterthread as well and also hang now and then at Corp News.

I wrote the strat guide for Horizons too so have an interesting perspective on things.  The game like many had potential.  That's all I'll really say on it.

Sachant
Bartle Test Killer  73% , Socializer  60%, Explorer  60%, Achiever  6%
Sairon
Terracotta Army
Posts: 866


Reply #5 on: October 31, 2005, 11:20:29 AM

I think some of the hate steems from the fact that he lied about Horizon. Said it it was fixed and stable when in fact nothing was changed at all. Rumors also has it that he scammed the investors for Horizon. I wasn't really watching or playing Horizon but that's what I gathered from reading boards at the time.
HaemishM
Staff Emeritus
Posts: 42628

the Confederate flag underneath the stone in my class ring


WWW
Reply #6 on: October 31, 2005, 11:45:49 AM

You're aware of the type of community SB has right?  I love my community but they are filled to the brim with angst. 

If by angst you mean raging douchebag asshole vermin with the mental capacity of navel lint and the social skills of a Tourette's Syndrome crack addict, you're half right.

Sachant
Developers
Posts: 66

Wolfpack


WWW
Reply #7 on: October 31, 2005, 12:03:22 PM

Oh I don't know.  There are still quite a few of the old school people about still that have some value. ;)  It's all about perspective.  Every community has their special breed of angst ridden players.

Sachant
Bartle Test Killer  73% , Socializer  60%, Explorer  60%, Achiever  6%
HaemishM
Staff Emeritus
Posts: 42628

the Confederate flag underneath the stone in my class ring


WWW
Reply #8 on: October 31, 2005, 12:13:38 PM

Oh I don't know.  There are still quite a few of the old school people about still that have some value. ;) 

That's who I was talking about. I'm sure the new breed is just inferior clones of the previous generation.

Sachant
Developers
Posts: 66

Wolfpack


WWW
Reply #9 on: October 31, 2005, 01:09:07 PM

Kind of like there are no new good ranters anymore? The only good rants come from the old folks and most of them have ranted themselves into silence on many occassions because they've said it all already. ;)

Sachant
Bartle Test Killer  73% , Socializer  60%, Explorer  60%, Achiever  6%
Cheddar
I like pink
Posts: 4987

Noob Sauce


Reply #10 on: October 31, 2005, 01:18:33 PM

Good response noob!  Of course someone in this thread has potential conflicts of interest, so they may be bias. 

No Nerf, but I put a link to this very thread and I said that you all can guarantee for my purity. I even mentioned your case, and see if they can take a look at your lawn from a Michigan perspective.
stray
Terracotta Army
Posts: 16818

has an iMac.


Reply #11 on: October 31, 2005, 02:43:26 PM

Noob?
dusematic
Terracotta Army
Posts: 2250

Diablo 3's Number One Fan


Reply #12 on: October 31, 2005, 07:00:52 PM

Perhaps I'm weird, but the word teledildonics coupled with a vibrating dildo attached to an Xbox controller holds some kind of weird fascination for me.


Yes.
ahoythematey
Terracotta Army
Posts: 1729


Reply #13 on: November 01, 2005, 09:16:34 AM

On the rare occasion that I have felt compelled to write down a rant, it's generally been angst with the community at large instead of any developers.  Back in the day it was always "Fuck Turbine!" shouted from my mouth, but the truth as I see it of MMO-hell being other players, has generally been said often before through these years, as Sachant has pointed out.  Swearing more profusely with old arguments just reinforces the idea of there being no new ideas.

Of course, I could be horribly fucking wrong.
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