Sunday, March 22, 2009

Game Design is Hard, Part III

My education continues apace. Those who have been following my trail since leaving the exciting world of game journalism for the even more exciting world of game development know that I have, shall we say, "bounced around" since taking a job in the Sims division at EA in late September.

To be more specific, and to keep y'all current, I have just been transferred to my 4th project in what is about to be 6 months on the job. Note (and I am speaking specifically to my employers who are probably lurking on this blog) that this is a statement of fact, not a complaint. God do I love my job. Please keep employing me. The thing is, as I am coming to learn, is that, at least at a big place like EA, and, especially in times like these (ECONOMIC ARMAGEDDON), change is inevitable, and, as priorities are rearranged and forecasts are made and budgets are getting put under the proverbial microscope, one can't get too comfortable with one's current project. Or cubicle.

So last week I physically moved for the third time, and project-wise changed for the fourth. I can't really tell ya the why's and wherefore's, or even what particular projects I was on and am NOW on, other than that I am still in the Sims group, and am now, once again, on a project that I actually like. (Which has been the case every time.) My new one, in fact, may be the one best suited to my at least one of my abilities: I am going to be working on writing/rewriting dialog and other text for the game. So, yay! A writing gig! On the downside, the tools for doing this kind of thing in a game are monstrously alien to me, and my first attempts at dealing with them resulted in hours and hours of trial-and-error with not many concrete results--and that was just to change one or two lines of dialog. (In brief: The text doesn't exist in "script" form, but, rather, every line is a separate line in a database. Figuring out how to use this database, how to find the line I want to change, how to change it, how to get it submitted for translation, how to see its affect in game---this is the stuff that caused steam to emit from my ears this past week, which, if nothing else, was a great conversation piece for my new co-workers.

On top of all that, there's the time pressure. If I'm being tasked to polish a level, and a certain amount of faith and trust has been bestowed upon me that I will get it done...well, I need to get it done. Like, yesterday. But when one finds oneself being the New Guy, yet again, with all new co-workers with an all-new work environment and culture, it takes time just to get acclimated and feel comfortable and confident. I mean, when I have to once again ask people where the nearest coffee pot is...it's hard to maintain a sense of rhythm or continuity in my work.

But this is the world in which I chose to enter, and which, for the most part, is still incredibly rewarding to me, simply for the fact that it is challenging me--which is exactly what I wanted. Right now I do honestly have moments of "be careful what you wish for" going on--oh how easy it seems now to run a magazine!--but this experience is, for all the stress and bouts of insecurity its causing me--one I do not regret. Having just typed that, I realize it may sound like I'm trying to convince myself (and you) that this is true...but I promise! It is.

As David Byrne once sang: "There is nothing that is stronger than the feeling that you get when your eyes are wide open." Right now, my eyes are open wide.

In other news:
1) Still 1 episode behind on BSG, so I haven't watched the finale yet. But I am glad the show is over. It was great, but it was time.
2) Lost is better than ever. Amazing, really, given how crappy the show was for awhile. What a comeback.
3) My NCAA bracket picks are a disaster. I guess that's what I get for believing in Pac 10 teams. As much as I don't want to admit that to Dana and Brian.
4) I am not eating the same food night after night, I promise. My blog intern has failed at keeping that updated.
5) Still loving the Incredibad album beyond all reason.
6) Still haven't seen Watchmen yet. If nothing else tells you how busy I am--there ya go.

Peace, kids. I'll be back.

65 comments:

Jonathon Howard said...

Jeff,

I'm currently obsessed with Incredibad right now was well! Santana DVX actually came up on random while I was reading this post. Best of luck with thr new project, at least you get to work in the industry... That's okay though, I'm totally planning a life path that we'll get me into the industry through the back door, politics!

Anonymous said...

Great to read another work-related update, Jeff! It's been repeated several dozen times over now, but I love the honesty and openness that shines through in your writing (which, not so surprisingly, was also what I loved about your work on CGW).

That said, amateur editor time!

Third paragraph: "My new one, in fact, may be the one best suited to MY at least one of my abilities"

Take care and best of luck!

Anonymous said...

Whoa, a new blog entry (so Jeff's still alive, after all - I was beginning to think that he'd been mugged and thrown in a dumpster, and that the delinquents who had mugged him and thrown him in the dumpster had picked up his communication device and were continuing to Twitter for him).

That's great that you're actually writing stuff for EA now, Green. It sounds like you're just trying to figure out how to fit in there at E.A., and that your employers are trying to figure out where you fit in the best.

I'm sure that you'll figure it out soon enough (and if you don't, then good luck finding a new job, especially in this economy... can anybody say 'Safeway').

Myself, I'm looking forward to "Game Design is Hard: Part IV".

I'm also looking forward to hearing what you have to write about The Sims 3 - the release date was pushed back to June, wasn't it?

I'm actually happy that The Sims 3 was delayed because this summer, game-wise, is shaping up to be an incredibly dry one (I might actually be forced to go, like, outside and participate in recreational activities or something). If you look at the release schedule there's almost nothing coming out in the next five months. Thank god I haven't played Empire, Stalker Clear Sky, FEAR 2, or Dead Space yet - and I've happily just discovered this morning that Riddick, a game which I missed the first time out, has been re-made, and will be released in just two weeks (mighty fine looking game, that Riddick.)

I also can't wait to play Far Cry 2 on my new PC - I LOVED the 360 version of that title.

Anyhow, Greenspeak is always a great read - and it was really good hearing your voice on last week's podcast too, Green.

Keep blogging.

The Goose.

Anonymous said...

Hunting for the coffee pot should be a minigame in whatever you are working on now.

Agreed on Lost. I'm very happy that they backed off on their old plan to show two hours a night for a few weeks. I don't think I could take it.

Anonymous said...

In browsing this post via my Reader page, I saw 'EA' and 'ECONOMIC ARMAGEDDON' (as if you meant E.A. stood for the latter) and thought, 'Oh gawd, did Jeff get laid off already?'

Anonymous said...

RE #1: It was time for BSG to end and I think they did a great job with it. I hope you like the ending as much as I.
RE #5: Thanks for posting about Incredibad a little while back. It is the second album I have purchased on your recommendation and I'm very pleased with it.

garion333 said...

BSG is best watched with the last two episodes back to back . . . otherwise the flashbacks just seem like filler and you'll be left scratching your head over why we had a scene of someone using a broom to chase out a pigeon. Which is what the entire internet did last weekend. ;)

Jin said...

how bout this i'll pledge to buy 2 copies of whatever your making, if EA keeps you employed? if i am still employed at the time of release.

loved the OOTG podcast btw! but you should really youtube how to use skype or something.

John Rivett said...

Hang in there Black Dragon..

Anonymous said...

Keep it going, Jeff. As a fellow game designer (one who has felt both thrilled by your affirmation and disappointed by your critiques) I couldn't be happier that both you and Shawn are in the industry. To be totally honest, I'm also glad you're finding it at least a little bit difficult -- had you come into it guns blazing and glibly penned the next best thing, it would have made me feel pretty worthless.

There's a bit of one-upmanship at most gaming companies as a matter of course, and things what they currently are, everybody wants to be sure they aren't the team's least valuable player. Not a good way to create a unified, coherent vision, but there you are. Keep fighting the good fight!

Anonymous said...

"Why do all my Sims look like Eggbert?"

Anonymous said...

screw your job! we want to know what's for dinner! :P

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Gah, accidentally hit delete. Sneaky little trash bin.



Sage like advice for all developers.

When polishing that level just remember to use that sound from level three.

Will Templeton said...

Its "affect" in game, Jeff? :P

Jeff Green said...

Hey, I've said it many times.
Everyone needs an editor. :)

Tydigame said...

If the stuff the other former 1up staffers have been doing is any indication, you and Shawn will not disappoint when someday in the distant future you are allowed to actually talk about what you're working on in public.

Tydigame said...

That was an ugly sentence. I apologize to the editors.

Eduardo Rebouças said...

I think you'll enjoy Battlestar's ending, Jeff. Well, I did, anyway. :P

Samit Sarkar said...

Both Lost and 24, two of my favorite shows, have enjoyed spectacular renaissances (is that even a legitimate plural?) this year. I feel like I say this each year, but TV has never been better.

JSD said...

Hey Jeff, thanks for sharing as always. I'm glad to read your mildly sardonic posts; they brighten my day. Whatever happens, I hope it all works out with bestiness.

BTW, if any of you haven't seen this yet, it is probably the most inspired use of Twitter yet:

http://twitter.com/cwalken

(Yes, THAT cwalken. If you've ever seen him in interviews, never mind the parts he chooses, you know he's a unique mind)

Unknown said...

Milton was moved around a few times, too. Do you find you're being moved closer and closer to the basement?

Anonymous said...

Green wrote on his Twitter feed that he has FEAR 2 but hasn't played it yet - we're in the same boat on that one. I bought FEAR 2 on release day for the PC but haven't had the chance to play it yet.

The thing is, I saw FEAR 2 running on a demo PC at a tech store yesterday, and was shocked at how good it looked - I mean, it looked REALLY good.

Seeing that demo made me want to go home and open the shrink wrap on the package and install that sucker. Instead I went home and went to bed.

As well, I've learned to distrust tech stuff that I see on demonstration in computer stores because for some unknown reason that stuff always looks way better in the store. One time a guy was playing Assassin's Creed on the in-store 360 demo machine, and I stood behind him, watching him play (and trying to make him nervous so that he would stop playing and cough up the controller so that I could have a go). The graphics looked amazing - but when I played the game on my own machine at home it looked kind of ordinary.

How can that be?

I've noticed the same thing with women. When you bring them back home they suddenly don't look nearly as good as they did on the dance floor or at the bar or wherever - what's the connection there?

The Goose.

Anonymous said...

The writing in The Sims is absolutely top-calibre. The faux furniture catalogues, job and university major descriptions, and "chance card" situation stories are smart and hilarious. It's astounding how much adorable prose they cram into every nook of these games, and I've often fantasized about being one of the writers for this series. Jeff, you have one of the most awesome jobs I can think of.

Peter Fall said...

Jeff, reading your blog on game design (is hard) has really given me some crucial insight into the career I was pursuing. I'm in college and I've been going for a degree in Game Art & Design because I'm very passionate about video game design (since I was little!). But after hearing your stories of frustrating programing (which i'm not big on), and hours of mind grinding work, I've reconsidered. I wonder, you seem like the creative ideas type. do you ever just get to give gameplay ideas? what would they do if you wrote out a bunch of cool new ideas on paper every day!?
Seeing how the job really is, I might just become a Park Ranger. Thanks for the insightful stories and shaping a more realistic picture of the industry for me. :)

P.S. who's your blog intern?? or was that a joke.

also is this rumor i hear about a Brodeo Reunion true? I heard it's suposed to be live. I think it would be better not live. just you and the gang chatting randomly-not staged.

Anonymous said...

"Everybody needs an editor" - I've just finished reading a communication that was passed to me from my colleague in the next cubicle. Half asleep, I read the communication and corrected the spelling mistakes and the grammatical errors using my trusty green felt pen. It was only when I reached the end that I realized the communication had been written by my boss, the most senior editor in the building.

Two words:

Oh shit.

Oh well, it really is true, I suppose. Everyone needs an editor. Even editors need editors. But do all editors understand this. I think not, my friends, I think not.

Tristessa said...

Wha!? Lost was never bad! Why, Mr Green, why do you utter these blasphemies?

Nice post about your job. Bouncing around like that sounds mysterious but as long as I like the job, I enjoy a mountain of change like that. It keeps the new experiences coming and things stay fresh.

Cool to hear the current job includes writing - sounds like you're having a great time =)

Unknown said...

Jeff, a friend of mine is a narrative designer at Relic -- he deals with dialogue databases nearly every day, I could get you two in touch if you'd like, might be able to show you a few tricks for tracking down entries etc.

Slapshot said...

Admit it Green...you're working on Cudgel of Xanthor, aren't you?

TheMeanBoss said...

Happy PvP = Everyone the same, known maps, balance, 36 sequels all the same.
Happy PvE = New epic gear, high fantasy bosses, mass plies of monsters, unknown lands, deep dungeons, dragon on dragon action, mystery, intrique, requires WRITERS.

We worry, but think you are good.

Anonymous said...

Cudgel of Xanthor = Vaporware.

Cudgel represents everything that's wrong with the gaming business.

This attitude of 'it's finished when it's finished' has really harmed this industry, imo. And look at what's happened now with the PC version being released simultaneously with the 360 version - initially we were told that it would be a PC only game. But then we were told that, no, a 360 version was also in the works - and of course that ended up delaying the PC version. Does anybody actually believe that this game won't undergo design changes in order to please the console crowd?

I'm done with this game.

I saw the latest trailer on Utube - meh. Game looks repetitive, if you ask me. The graphics, which looked decent enough when the game was first shown to us, are meh. Initially this was a day one purchase for me. But now it's just a rental.

I'm far more excited about Dragon Age - but even THAT game has been delayed because it's being converted into a 360 title. Wasn't Dragon Age supposed to be Bioware's return to its PC roots? It's kind of sad that a game, which was meant to be a PC only title, has been delayed because it's being transformed into a console game. It's ironic that Bioware doesn't see the irony in that. My greatest fear right now is that, because of all these design changes that are happening, the PC version of Dragon Age will end up being delayed and will actually be released AFTER the 360 version. If such were to happen then it would be beyond ironic.

Anyway, to my knowledge, Cudgel is a European design - so, no, Green isn't working on Cudgel. He's on The Sims team, isn't he?

Why is he being so coy about this? Christ, you'd think that he's working for The Central Intelligence Agency, not E.A. And am I the only person here who's noticing a bit of arrogance creeping into these blogs: 'Oh I'm Jeff Green and I've been on every team here at E.A., running around like a jack of all trades and solving all the game design issues and putting out all the fires'.

Sigh.

TheMeanBoss said...

OnLive.com. I just found this. It may be so revolutionary, it could rate a full, 'dudddddde!'. All the PC makers are gonna be pissed, and they will quadruple the number of players on WoW! :) Oh, the gankage going on! People are gonna crispy-fry that internet cable 24/7 now. It looks like EA is getting a cut too. Then again, it would actually have to work (reference YouTube: Onion News: Sony.) And, pricing hasn't been set, so it might worth still buying a PC or a console after paying for a year to two. Wasn't this Bill Gate's diabolical wet-pc dream? Surround the world in sattelites, he retains the rights to even your smallest *.doc's, and you pay to use your portable keyboard on your cell phone access to the internet from space uplink? Anyway...if Intel doesn't buy them out to shut them down, the industry is gonna change big time.

Stephen said...

OnLive = Fail

Increased ISP costs, higher bandwith requirements, increased user lag, and a license for more weirdos to get online.

Oh, and welcome back to the real world, Jeff. We missed you.

forhamt said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Jeff Green wrote:

"Recording 2nd podcast 2morrow w/ @shawnelliott,@ncroal,@robertashley and the scarab lord. Woot! Now looking for better mic."

That's great 2 hear!

The only thing I'm worried about is that you chaps are recording on a Sunday, which, as E.M. Forster once wrote 'is always an equivocal day, and an excuse for slacking'.

Is it possible that a Sunday vibe might potentially end up infecting the podcast? Maybe close your eyes, or something, and pretend that it's a Wednesday morning, and that you're back in the offices of Ziff Davis.

Please talk more about your respective jobs - is it true, by the way, that E.A. employs a masseuse?

Jeff Green said...

Dude--don't post my phone number on the blog. Not cool. :(

Yeah, I made the dumb mistake...but come on!

Anonymous said...

"Dude--don't post my phone number on the blog. Not cool. :(

Yeah, I made the dumb mistake...but come on!"

When I saw that I assumed it was a joke - you're saying that it wasn't? The guy actually posted your real phone number? LOL!

But why would you provide that information to begin with?

I NEVER would have done that!

(I'll be phoning you in middle of the night, by the way.)

The Goose.

Jeff Green said...

Yeah. It wasn't a joke. :) I was trying to give the number to someone at 1up, who I thought sent me a DIRECT message. Turned out it wasn't. So I hit reply, and sent my REAL phone number out into the Interwebs. Wheeee! :)

Anonymous said...

Hey, it might have been a lot worse - you might, for example, have been sending a naughty communication to your wife... or worse, your mistress.

Have you ever seen the movie 'Master And Commander'? - I love that line of Russell Crowe's, when he raises his glass and toasts to all their womenfolk back home:

"To wives and girlfriends," he says "... may they never meet."

(Actually, I'm having a difficult time picturing you with a mistress... Ryan Scott on the other hand...)

The Goose

Budo said...

How much leftover Thai food can one man eat?

Anonymous said...

Jeff it was so crazy listening to you on Out of the Game last week- Great to have you back and podcasting.

It was funny hearing you talk about your daughter because I TOO am a freshman at an academic school in Oakland and am completing a ten-page term paper on world history. What are the odds?

Can't wait for the new episode!

Anonymous said...

Green, where are we supposed to go to leave comments about the podcast? (here, maybe?) - the whole podcast experience is only half as much fun if I can't write stuff to annoy you guys and make you want to ban me.

I haven't managed to listen to the whole show yet, but just from listening to what little I did, I was reminded why I loved listening to the old GFW/podcast so much (it's because you guys are articulate, intelligent, and so damned knowledgeable about the gaming business - it doesn't hurt matters that Robert Ashley is one of the coolest sounding guys on the internet... this guy should've gone into radio... I'm serious).

I have to say that Shawn Elliott's comment about John Mellencamp's song "Small Town" was surprising and intriguing to me. I love that song and have been listening to it, off and on, for twenty-years now.

I've never actually stopped and pondered the lyrics, however (dissected them might be a better way of putting it). But Elliott was right - why is it that Mellencamp feels like he can 'be himself in a small town'... well, it really is because he's a member of the ethnic majority there. In a big city, of course, there's much more diversity, and a greater chance that he's constantly going to brush up against people not like himself.

Maybe that explains why every small town I've ever visited feels like it's being run by the evil bastard child of Andy Griffith. The small town mentality really is 'act-like-everyone-else-here-does-or-get-the-fuck-out'. It's not surprising that people like Bob Dylan had only one true goal as youngsters: specifically, to get the fuck out.

Anyhow, I love it that Shawn Elliott thinks of stuff like that - he's a real thinker, that Elliott. What's he working on anyhow? - Bioshock 2.

You can tell me. I promise I won't pass it on.

(And if Elliott ever happens to read this comment, then thanks a bunch for ruining Small Town for me.)

Unknown said...

I'm patiently waiting on the next blog entry... I've got the title ready for you:
"Updating Blogs In A Timely Manner is Hard, Part MCMVII"

TheMeanBoss said...

Blizzard: China says undead get new patch or /bumped.

The economic crisis has just turned ugly. Forget taxing 1% savings accounts in Switerland, now countries want people spending their time and their people's money in their country, not on some dimly lit kiosk, connecting to the US.
The9, distributor of WoW in China, is bankrupt unless Blizzard will remove bones from undead and when people die they want them to turn into grave stones. China...e-hhhmmm /clearsthroat, (don't talk bad about China or they'll delete your YouTube Video) is worried about ethics? Pixels more important that people, they say? It's okay to kill 5,000 people a day, for 15,000 honor points, taking 8 hours each log in after work and school, assuming BattleNet doesn't keep matching 40 vs 10 over and over again, in 60+ days for that new armor set, but we want tomb stones, and no bones sticking out anywhere. Oh, the dinosaurs are gonna be pissed. Where is this all coming from? They don't even allow Bibles to thump over there.
Of the 11 million players of WoW, it is rumored 30% of buyers play once and just quit, 30% are Chinese gold farmers, and only 30% actually subscribe (MMOGchart.com). If China drops out, this could slam Blizzard with a lack of income at a very difficult time. However, the game might be a lot more playable without in-game gold selling whispers. And with this movment to a kinder gentler PvP, who knows...maybe one day not even Pokemon will not be allowed to faint.

(Source: Search MMOSite for 'the9 wotlk')

Unknown said...

I've been listening to the Incredibad album too. I'm a very very white male with no "Gangsta" elements in my musical lifestyle what so ever. I think the closest to Rap in my music collection is Blondie's Rapture. But I found, I could REALLY get in to rap with the right content and these guys really did it for me!

Michael Black said...

I remember you had issue with the GTA internet cafe name, TW@T, well... here is a real life billboard you might enjoy from Failblog.com

http://failblog.org/2009/04/07/acronym-fail/

rick e. said...

1UP reported Will Wright, developer of The Sims at EA is going...going...gone.
here

The Sims...that what EA had you working, right?

Anonymous said...

A four day weekend coming up.

If we don't get a new Greenspeak during the course of this religious festivity (it baffles me why people feel the need to celebrate the anniversary of nailing a reasonably nice guy to a cross) then I'm going to cancel my Greenspeak subscription.

On an unrelated note: I have two brand new games to play this coming weekend. One of them is FEAR 2, and other is Drakensang, a charming looking RPG which kind of popped up out of nowhere (how on earth did I not know about this game - I LOVE single player fantasy RPGs. You've got to see this game in action - the graphics are charming... and I mean charming!)

I'm going to shut myself in on Thursday evening and start gaming. I am not going to go outside, answer the phone or the door, watch television, or even read a book (though I will certainly read Greenspeak if we're provided with a new episode in the continuing saga of the blogger's life) - all I'm going to do, all weekend longs, is game. For four days straight. Which is something I haven't done in years.

I might even actually finish one of these gall darned games.

Unknown said...

[b]1UP reported Will Wright, developer of The Sims at EA is going...going...gone.[/b]

I saw some quote he gave when asked why and the response was to the effect of: "I can't believe the riff-raff EA has been hiring lately to work on my creations!"

:)

Anonymous said...

Felix, LOL!

Anybody in particular you had in mind?

(No, but seriously, be careful what you write. Green has the power to ban us all if he so desires.)

Anonymous said...

Jeff, just a heads-up.

I've no idea if you've already heard about this title or not - but Drakensang is a beautiful game. (It's a single player fantasy RPG.)

I've just spent four hours playing as a female thief, and right now am in awe of this game. (I could spend hours just watching my character walking about the countryside.)

Playing this game I almost feel as though I've stepped inside a beautiful children's storybook - I've never seen a game that looks quite like this. It resembles a very souped-up version of Fable.

For 30 dollars this one's a no-brainer.

(Ooh it's going to be a good weekend.)

Anonymous said...

It's official. Jeff hates us. I'm filing for child support. ~ Hamilton

TheMeanBoss said...

He's out getting his taxes done atm.

Stephen said...

Or once again he's fallen flat on his back and can't reach the keyboard.

Anonymous said...

Green wrote on his Twitter feed that he and his wife are celebrating their 23'rd anniversary.

That's a sacrifice, if you ask me - for his wife, I mean. She had to change her last name to Green. I've always considered green to be a somewhat slimy color.

So I'm guessing that that has something to do with his general absence this weekend. Although it doesn't exactly explain his absence the previous weekend, does it?

All of the other bloggers I read, however, seem not to be updating their pages this weekend either - you'd think that people would update their blogs during a four day weekend... but it's weird because most people seem to think that writing is work?

Not me though. I could blast away at the old keyboard all day long.

I think that people spend too much time thinking about what they're going to write - when what they should really be doing is just typing away. When something is no longer fun to do, you tend not to do it.

Right now, for example, I'm going to head on over to the TeamXbox forum and pick a fight with a 14 year-old kid.

See ya later, suckers.

mario66 said...

out of the gaqme podcast is awesome.

I would have suggested coming out of the gates with more promotion and a nice website however. the cast you have assembled is an allstar team and could probably get very big if the infrastructure was polished to match the names and talent.

TheMeanBoss said...

Your target audience....search google for "Theory of a Death Knight Machinima" Try not to ROFL.

Ally Train said...

I know how you feel about not seeing Watchmen.

But unfortunately for me, it's not showing in the cinemas near me anymore . Tell me if it's good (like I need to ask)

Anonymous said...

It's an undeniable fact, my friends.

Green's now using Twitter as his chief means of communicating with the great unwashed.

This is a sad turn of events. We've lost one of the best blogs on the net.

I'm going to write some really bad poetry to commemorate the occasion:

Ode To Greenspeak:

I'd come home late at night.
Hoping for some sort of delight.
I'd log right onto the net.
And Greenspeak is what I would get.

Sometimes the thing was a snooze.
So I'd open a bottle of booze.
Then I'd read the blog sometimes thrice.
And the beer would make it quite nice.

I'd post a comment or two.
Being an ass, what a rude thing to do!
Then I'd go to bed.
With a buzz in my head...

You know what, it's too early to be writing poetry. Also, I'm at work. And I'm hungover. Here, I'll end this lousy poem with a final thought.

Beer tastes good.
And beer tastes bad.
It all depends on how many you've had!

Unknown said...

I'm going to take over this blog... but I have to do it in the comments section of this last post by Jeff.

Stay Tuned for more later.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, Felix!

Let's commandeer the Greenspeak and use it for our own nefarious purposes.

I'm all for that - in fact, I think I might've already done it? I seem to be posting more stuff at other people's blogs than what they're posting themselves. When you've had at least ten people tell you to get your own god damned blog then you know you're doing something right!

Come one, Green - where the hell are you. Oh and by the way, I got a free ticket to see Leonard Cohen at G.M. place - but he's 75? Why would I want to go see that? Am I missing the plot here?

Unknown said...

What I ate last night -> Pepperoni Rolls from Double Daves

What I'm listening to -> Jim Rome on the radio

I played some DDO last night... levelled up a sorcerer to Level 13.

Anonymous said...

Well Jeff is gone. It was bound to happen sooner or later. Nothing to see here folks, move along, go home. Turn out the lights the party's over.

Anonymous said...

But he's not gone.

Haven't you seen his Twitter feed?

Anonymous said...

The comment he made on Twitter (about his dog) was interesting - basically he was wondering if his dog, when his dog chases squirrels, thinks that it's always the same squirrel.

That's residue from having worked on Sim Animals - I do that sort of thing all the time myself: I edited a book about the local trails last year, and just recently, as I was driving along in my car, I looked over and saw a path leading up Grouse Mountain. I automatically wondered if this path connected to the Baden-Powell trail, which was built by the boy-scouts in 1971 to commemorate British Columbia's one hundredth year as a province. Stuff like that annoys the crap out of me. I just don't want that stuff floating around in my mind.

I'll bet that somebody at EA said to Green, 'think like an animal', and now he can't stop, even though he's been shifted over to a new team.