Tuesday, July 21, 2009

San Diego bound

Just a quick post to inform you, The People, that I am off to San Diego for a not-Comic Con EA event, happening a day before Comic Con, to which I am not going. I say this with only a mild amount of bitterness. Following the not-Comic Con event, I will then be joining a sizeable chunk of my family for an annual family reunion, also in San Diego. None of us are actually from there, since, as I recently said to my co-workers, Jews aren't legally allowed to settle there. But we are allowed to visit and spend money.

Anyhoo: There could be bloggage from San Diego. There could not be. Only the Heavens know for sure. Meanwhile, I have just been informed that the EA Podcast Episode 4 is now up on ye olde Internet, for your infotainment pleasure! Yay! This one features Ben Bell, the executive producer of The Sims 3, and he was a great sport throughout.

So go listen. Lemme know what you think. I'm happier with this one, personally, but don't let me influence your opinion. Feel free to tell me it blows.

Oh yeah, links for the podcast here and on iTunes


Over and out!

33 comments:

Cliff said...

Have a safe trip!

Joonas said...

First of all, try not to get killed in the madness that is SDCC.
Second, the podcast is coming along really well. I was expecting some EA marketing PR bullcrap to emerge at some point, but nope...nothing...still you and awesome guests with awesome stories to tell.
Keep up the great work mr. Green :)

mario66 said...

have a good trip.

wish i could go. i purchased a Saturday ticket but the trip fell through. damn!

ALSO PS- I posted this on your EA podcast page:

You should really invite Dan Morris of EA to be a guest. Having the former PC Gamer EIC on the same show as Jeff Green would be awesome.

Please consider this it would get lots of attention as the PC Gamer fans miss that guy and he works for EA now

Ian U said...

I enjoyed this podcast, and was glad that having someone fairly important in the room didn't stop you from making the assless stormtrooper pants comment. More of that please.

Raf said...

Now that you mention it, and as someone who has lived in SD all his life, the only Jewish people I know of live behind me. That's it. Could what say be true?

Blake Lasslett said...

Your podcasts are getting me through my new house renovations.

Thanks Green!

riverfr0zen said...

this is yoo isn't it, you filthy old bastard? it sounds exactly like yoo. yoo voiced this damn synthesizer! i didn't know you quit ziff-davis just to end up being on call to voice the whims of the haphazard public's diarrhea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jtpWiK5x_k

damn you. i'm going to sue you. have a nice trip in 'san diego'. you r ... being s r watched.

Anonymous said...

I don't know if I've told you this or not, but I once knew a female whose last name was Eggo, and whose first name was Sandy.

Yeah, I think I might have mentioned that already.

You were in San Diego before for some reason or other, weren't you? Didn't you pick up some class of disease there or something? Or was that when you were in France?

I'm looking forward to listening to podcast number 3, as I happen to love The Sims 4. Honestly though, I'm really pissed off (sorry about the language - but I really am pissed off) that in The Sims 3 I'm experiencing the stuttering issue.

On a Core i7 - GTX 275 setup, this game should not be stuttering the way that it is. It's almost... almost... ruining the game for me.

It's not my system either. Every other game I have is running like butter.

Was any mention made about the first Sims 3 expansion on podcast number 4? My hope is that the expansions will take advantage of this new open world we've been given. I would love, for example, to be able to control my sims when they're at work.

Green, do you even know what the first expansion will be about - I mean, you must, right?

So here's the deal. You know us pretty well, yeah? You know that we wouldn't want to get you into trouble of any kind. You should tell us then what the first expansion will be - and we'll promise not to say anything.

Am I right about this, my friends? We can keep a secret can't we?

Yes, we can. I speak for all my friends.

Also, about the EA podcasts - yes, they are getting better. And yet I can't help but make this comment: when you and Shawn Elliott and Robert Ashley get together and start talking about gaming (or about anything, really) a kind of magic happens. It's just wonderful to listen to.

I'm still comparing the EA Podcast with those other podcasts you're doing, and the EA podcasts, in comparison, just don't match up (I almost hate having to write that).

Does that mean that the EA Podcasts are never going to match up - no it doesn't.

But I have to be honest about this.

Keep trying new stuff. I haven't listened to this new podcast yet, so maybe it really will be the best of the bunch so far.

Thanks for keeping up the blog, Green - we love reading about your life.

Jeff Green said...

Anonymous--
Thank you! And, you know, I totally agree with you that the EA Podcast doesn't match up--yet. It would be a freakin' miracle if it did. I mean, I don't hardly know my co-hosts yet, nor they me. It takes time to develop rapport, and the one I had with my OOtG and GFW Radio pals was one that came from working all day together every day for years. Also, as you know, I'm restrained by certain necessary corporate bounds from speaking as naturally and freely as I would (though of course I will always push it.)

I do very much want people to keep telling me this stuff, as I need to know and want to know--because my goal IS to get to the same quality bar--as much as is reasonably possible--with those other 'casts.

And, yeah, no word on the Sims 3 expansion yet. :( All still very hush hush with those secretive dudes. I *don't* know what it is myself cuz I'm with the MySims peoples, which is like a whole separate tribe.

Unknown said...

The EA Podcast is getting better. One could not know any better if it did not agree with above anonymous about the cast.

Listening to a self constrained Mr Green is still a bit.. is the word I'm looking for unaccustomedly perhaps? Still, a guaranteed listen among my weekly podcasts!

Anonymous said...

I forgot to mention this: but the one thing I noticed that you've been doing on the EA podcast is using the word 'they' in reference to EA.

Shouldn't it be 'we'?

When you were recording the CGW/GFW podcast you always said 'we', as in... we at the magazine.

Is it because you don't feel completely at home at EA yet - or are you deliberately using the word 'they' in order to convey to the listeners that you're the host of the show and are therefore willing to place yourself in the position of the devil's advocate should the need so arise?

Also, yes - it is very obvious to us that on the EA podcast you're holding back from saying certain things, as are the people you're talking to, which in turn holds you back even more. Obviously EA isn't GFW. We completely understand that. But that is exactly the issue here.

We all know and love the Jeff Green from those other podcasts, and here, in the EA podcast, we're listening to a slightly different Jeff Green - a more corporate Jeff Green, if you will. I would actually say a more subdued Jeff Green - is that fair?

Honestly, I think that that's probably the central issue that needs to be resolved: How do you assert your personality in a way that won't get you fired from EA?

God, it's a bit of a tough one, isn't it?

The only thing I can say is just keep on searching for something. We've listened to you for years now (and some of us have even read your stuff!) and we certainly know what you're capable of.

Also, I wanted to pass along something that I thought was slightly amusing: as of late I've been going through the PC Gamer podcast archives, and listening to older PC Gamer podcasts that I had missed out on. (I listen to these episodes when I'm riding my bicycle up the mountain.) I can't remember specifically in which episode it occurred, but in one of them the PC Gamer guys started discussing a recently published interview with Bill Roper, in which Bill discussed the closing of Flagship Studios - the PC Gamer podcasters pretty much dissected the whole thing, and I kept wondering if they were going to give credit to the person who had conducted the interview.

They never did.

I just thought that was kind of funny - here you have these guys who are writers themselves, and who know how rare it is for a writer to conduct one such interview, and yet they didn't even mention your name.

I had a laugh over that - although obviously I realize that their omission wouldn't have bothered you in the least. (Or would it have! LOL!)

The Goose.

Anonymous said...

What I would enjoy is if you continue having people with different development positions on the podcast. I would like to become a game designer and it would be awesome if you had somebody on with this position on the podcast to explain what they do in-depth and how they got to where they are today. Grabbing different people with different positions would keep the podcast fresh and exciting.

If you were to open up questions to us, who are currently not in the development community it would be very cool too.

Anonymous said...

Anon, I'm slightly confused, Jeff's already had people like that on the podcast - and he's already asked those questions: How did you get where you are, what games have you worked on so far, etc. etc.

Are you asking for more of that?

Stephen said...

So, I take it this is the 'Not-Next time: What I ride, and why.' blog post.

Have fun in sunny San Diego. Send a postcard.

Tydigame said...

I'd say the shows have been getting progressively better each time, so keep at it.

Anonymous said...

Green, completely off topic here (well, alright, I admit that I love to go off topic) - but I've just discovered that Frank McCourt died earlier this week.

Wow, I didn't know that.

I always thought that we were going to get a novel out of that guy. It baffles me that when people are placed in a position of power like that, that often times they'll just let the opportunity slide. The novelist Douglas Adams, for example, went years without writing anything at all: that guy had every opportunity to write fiction, but just threw it away. I guess I'm supposed to have respect for a person's decision not to write fiction (and get it published) when clearly they have the opportunity to do so - but I don't understand it. And I doubt that I ever will.

Did you read Angela's Ashes, Green?

You must have, right. I mean, I'd probably bet my life on it that you did?

It was a band-wagon book, but it was a decent enough read. Over-rated, but decent enough.

I read 'Tis as well - but the book of his that I probably should have read, and didn't (yet), was Teacher Man. I'll bet that there's something there though. I saw that book in the bargain bin selling for ten dollars a few years back and, like a fool, I didn't pick it up - and then of course when I went back the very next day it was gone.

Still haven't listened to podcast number 4 yet - but I will this weekend. I've been savoring the sight of the little download icon on my desktop - ha!

This guy from The Sims team, by the way - does he speak simmish during the podcast?

Goose, out.

(Thanks for allowing anonymous comments, by the way - secrecy conveniences me. Also, some of us don't have a family to ramble to, which is why I frequently ramble-on in other people's blogs. Sorry about that. Enjoy your family reunion, if it's still going on. Family is VERY important!)

Unknown said...

I'd love to go to San Diego, even if it's for a Not-Comic-Con event. Did you realize that could've rhymed if you made it Non-Comic-Con?

The EA Podcasts might not be GFW Radio-quality, but nothing really can, so don't take it too hard (holy shit, triple-negative; that English degree sure paid off).

I'm not a huge fan of The Sims, but the podcasts have seriously made it sound more enticing, so I'm probably going to buy it.

You can show that sentence to EA as proof that podcasts do, indeed, affect potential consumers' purchases.

Anonymous said...

Jeff,

On the last Out of the Game, you and Robert Ashley made some comments about the Republican party. It is not unfair to assume that Mr. Ashley may have implied that all Republicans enjoy the music of Jon Bon Jovi or are the equivalent of those who do. Though not a Republican myself, I know of at least two who despise the music of Bon jovi, and prefer the music of such bands as The Verve and Bloc Party.

Yes, I find the musical taste of most Republicans I meet questionable, but it is ignorant to imply that ANY group of people are Bon Jovi fans. I am sure none of you would knowingly make such a horrible accusation, but I think a clarification is needed.

Sincerely,
A concerned listener

P.S. To be clear, I do not see eye to eye with the Republican base. The only reason for the existence of Social conservatives and Neoconservatives is to show mankind what not to be like. There is; however, no reason for Bon Jovi fans to exist.

a person who knows how to fill out the name field said...

Dear "A concerned Listener", you sound like a douche bag. If you have been to any country club recently you will know that in the men's locker room a picture of Bon Jovi hangs prominently.

......And for all of you "Anons" out there, doesnt it seem ridiculous that you would go onto someones personal blog and write a lengthy diatribe without having the courtesy to at least fill out the name field

Unknown said...

Thanks for telling us about mysims for the wii! Your interview w/ Miss Sanchez was one of the most informative I've heard of mysims to this date. Thanks Jeff Green!

Anonymous said...

I agree!

People who post anonymously are cowards!

If you're going to post a comment - especially an antagonistic one - then, by god, have the guts to sign your name at the bottom of your post.

I would, however, like to thank Mr. Green for allowing us to post comments anonymously. (Especially since not all bloggers here at blogger.com allow for that... cough, cough... Shawn Elliott... cough, cough.)

Um, I was going to post anonymously, of course... a little jokey-pooh there... but then I thought, how lame.

So here I will post my name.

The Goose.

That's me, The Goose. There's a goose loose aboot the hoose!

Ha - I crack myself up.

ugotmurked said...

Wow never thought something stupid like that would piss people off. Then again this is the internet. And I was not trying to be antagonistic. If I was, then that would be pretty pathetic since I obviously listened to the entire Out of the Game.

Well, I guess that's all I needed to say. It was just supposed to be something stupid and forgettable, but not "antagonistic" I'll go away now.

Anonymous said...

Ugot,

Don't go! I was only joking!

Green's actually really good about allowing us to post our stuff here. (And in many cases, on blogger.com, that's quite frankly just not the case. There are a lot of control freaks out there.)

Just be careful about what you say about the Harry Potter books. I speak from experience.

That said, I wouldn't mind playing a really good Harry Potter game on the PC.

A Harry Potter adventure game might work.

That reminds me, did anybody here ever play "Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers Get All The Girls"?

That adventure game was very reminiscent of the Harry Potter universe in general - and it was actually produced about ten years before the Harry Potter books were even published!

In particular, I remember a sex-scene which took place in reverse. You began the sequence by experiencing... how shall I phrase this... an orgasm... sorry, but I don't know else to write that... and you ended the sequence, I think, outside of a home. Your goal was to start out having sex and just go backwards, typing in sentences for actions which you had just performed.

It was astonishing seeing the first (or rather last) action in the sequence, because you weren't quite sure what was happening. And then it slowly dawned on you that you had just had sex, that it was all over, and that now you were going to have to experience the whole thing from the finish to the start.

Steve Meretzky - even that name makes me laugh.

I wonder what happened to that guy?

I remember an interview Bob Bates once conducted with GGW in which he said that he and Meretzky, for each of the adventure games they produced, had fought over at least one puzzle sequence, which he, Bates, had vetoed. Bates laughed, and said to CGW that off the record he would say what those sequences were, but that he DID NOT want to see it in print.

Man, I would've killed to have heard what those puzzles were all about.

The Goose

JSD said...

Hey Jeff, did you hear about Andrew Baran's passing?

http://kotaku.com/5324249/egm-writer-passes-away

Troy Goodfellow said...

"Steve Meretzky - even that name makes me laugh.

I wonder what happened to that guy?"


He's now a Vice President at a company called Playdom. They make Facebook/MySpace social games

Anonymous said...

Wow, Troy, thanks for the information about Steve Meretzky.

I'm going to have to Google that.

Let me think... off the top of my head, without consulting Wikipedia, which games did Meretzky title...

Planetfall, The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, Spellcasting 101 and 201... was there a 301?

Wow, that's tough to remember - the 90's is starting to get a bit blurry from my advanced age of 41.

Oh wait! It's suddenly all coming back to me!

Steven Eric Meretzky (born May 1, 1957) is an American computer game designer, with dozens of titles to his credit. He has been involved in almost every aspect of game development, from design to production to quality assurance and box design. He is best known for creating some of the famous Infocom games in the early 1980s, including collaborating with celebrated author Douglas Adams on the interactive fiction version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, one of the few games to be certified "platinum" by the Software Publishing Association. Later, he created the Spellcasting trilogy, the flagship adventure series of Legend Entertainment.

His keen wit, prose and coding skill made him one of only three interactive fiction writers admitted to the Science Fiction Writers of America, and in September 1999, PC Gamer magazine named Meretzky as one of their twenty-five "Game Gods"; those who have made an indelible mark on the history of computer gaming.

Infocom
Planetfall (1983)
Sorcerer (1984)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1984)
A Mind Forever Voyaging (1985)
Leather Goddesses of Phobos (1986)
Stationfall (1987), Infocom
Zork Zero: The Revenge of Megaboz (1988)
Lane Mastodon vs. the Blubbermen (1988)

Activision
Leather Goddesses of Phobos 2: Gas Pump Girls Meet the Pulsating Inconvenience from Planet X!
(1992), (under the "Infocom" label)

Legend Entertainment
Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers Get All The Girls (1990)
Spellcasting 201: The Sorcerer's Appliance (1991)
Spellcasting 301: Spring Break (1992)
Superhero League of Hoboken (1994)

Ah... you see, it was all up there in the noodle, I just needed to access it.

The Goose.

Anonymous said...

Is Jeff alright?

His Twitter feed has gone dead. It's worrying.

Anonymous said...

Hey, on the most recent PC Gamer podcast, one of the PC Gamer guys said he had been listening to another podcast, called 'Out Of The Game', hosted by, and I quote, 'a bunch of guys who were formerly gaming journalists and now work inside the industry', in which mention was made that companies, like EA, have profiles on members of the media.

Really? So EA had a Jeff Green profile, and a Shawn Elliot profile, and a Shaun Malloy profile, etc. etc. on file?

Golly.

Did you guys know about that even when you were working at CGW/GFW?

How long has this practice been going on?

More importantly, can somebody tell me which episode this discussion took place in? Honestly, I must've missed an episode there.

Jeff, has anybody at EA ever asked you to write a profile on Ryan Scott - he's still a journalist, isn't he?

Would you write that profile if they asked you to?

MozartFX said...

I think over the next 7 years, the gov't will pass laws requiring game producers to abide by "guidelines" set up to "protect kids". We will end up with a situation similar to what they have in Germany. I just feel sorry for all these people who are marching towards this socialist state like they're in some kind of parade: smiling and waving and at the end they're all spinning around looking at the ground and saying "I must've dropped my wallet" "Wow I think we've gone too far, this doesn't even look like the same town" "How'd we get here, that was fast"

mackproject said...

Longtime listener of GFW Radio and current listener of Out Of the Game here,

Haha! I enjoyed your interview with Tina.

For those who haven't seen it:
http://gamevideos.1up.com/video/id/25660

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the video there, mack.

Er.

One person, in the comments section, for that demo video, actually wrote that 'Jeff looks pissed' - apparently this guy thought that Green was being kind of serious there.

I've discovered (the hard way) that when I'm at work, I really, really, really have to watch what I say when I'm making a joke.

There are people at my office who have never made a joke at the office, ever - and they're the ones who have often misinterpreted what I've said or done, and have even complained about it amongst themselves at the water cooler or even gone to the higher ups, demanding that action be taken (what's wrong with shooting spitballs at the guy in the opposite cubicle?).

The most inoffensive or obvious jokes can sometimes backfire on you - which is the reason politicians are told never to make jokes on the spur of the moment.

That said, I'll bet that, inwardly, Jeff is pissed that he's having to present these childish demos for games that nobody is ever going to buy or play, and that he's frustrated EA isn't taking advantage of his writing skills, which, in all likelihood, are eroding daily from not being put to use.

The Goose.

(Where the hell is Green, anyway? I'm a subscriber, and a follower! He's going to Germany, isn't he? Maybe he'll blog about going there and not seeing anything?)

Carey Peck said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Chrıs said...

Your podcasts are getting me through my new house renovations