Wrecking Crew v.2

I've been spending my nights (and early morning hours) on my side-project Wrecking Crew, a competitive timed-demolition game for FB. This new version is the first with two buildings, each with it's own leaderboard. The work I've done in v.2 paves the way for the continuous addition of more buildings in the future.

Wrecking Crew will eventually have a list of buildings that you can destroy. Every week, the world leaderboards will get reset, with a new chance to place.

Wrecking Crew

So, my first real attempt at creating a simple FB game has been going well. I have 223 users after 4 days, and today topped 700 games played. One guy played over 30 games himself, two days in a row. Just need to get 100,000 more like him, and I can get some capital for this thing! ;)

My plan is to keep working on it, eventually adding a monetization layer and see if I can make some $$ on the side. My pipe dream is to pay off my house by getting $1 from 500,000 people. On FB, that's possible(!)

My favorite things, together

Football and Boobs.

Want to be a Game Designer?

I'm having lunch next week with a young tester that wants to be a designer.

My first reaction to folks that 'have ideas' and want to be designers is surprisingly harsh. I mean, I'll have a fun brainstorm with anyone, but if you really want to be a designer, I'm going to rip your heart out and step on it right in front of you. Well, metaphorically.

This isn't out of cruelty...it's both fair and helpful. Having an idea, even a VERY good one doesn't make you a designer. Ideas are the easy part. As I usually say, "Coming up with the idea is like fucking chics...it's a blast, but the real design is like raising the baby."

Next, you'll also have to have a practical skill to help take those ideas and make them real. Oh, and day to day it's going to bore the SHIT out of you. Finally, you probably will never get someone to give you even $10,000 to make YOUR game, nevermind $30 million for your opus Call of Duty clone. If it is your game, it won't be for long. The people that gave you money will influence your design and change it, and the rest of the design should be changeable to some degree by to your peers / team to get their creative investment. No one wants to work in your kingdom. It's a team effort, son.

If you're still interested after this initiation rant...then we'll talk about how it's a really awesome job. :)

Adele

HOLY shiz, this Adele album (21) is out of this world. She sings with convincing emotion. I FEEL when I hear it.

Making Facebook Games

Looks like my first concept for a Facebook game may see the light of day. It needs a lot of work on the viral and accessibility fronts (way too hard for the FB crowd at the moment), but has a couple of hooks I'm excited about.

A Fine Day at Monterey Bay, I say!

My sister Colleen is in town from Boston, mostly to see Lisa, myself and our new baby Grace. I decided to take a one of her days here to show her the sights in Monterey, as well as Carmel, with the 17 mile drive between the two.

Life with Baby

Grace is 10 weeks old today. Here she is giving me the rasberry yesterday.

Every day brings new joys and new worries. Like someone told me recently, "Parenting is about worrying for the rest of your life". Yup.

She's now smiling at me, which melts me to the core.

New Adventures!

I start on a new adventure in game development on 5/25/11. I have no idea what this holds for me.

I was very comfortable and successful where I was, doing what I was doing. However, my instincts (which have seldom been wrong) instructed me to jump into the casual / social / mobile space, with a possible jump even further into AR.

Now, it's a matter of getting my head into the work, opening my ears to those around me, and closing my eyes and seeing visions of the possibilities.

I love having to define myself all over again. It's rejuvenating!

Augmented Reality

I think it's going to explode in 3-5 years. Just need a practical device.

There are worlds within our world out there right now. You just can't see them yet!

The Importance of a Positive Attitude

I've spoken before about the power of optimism when setting out on a new venture.

The greatest enemy of optimism can be experience. I suppose that could be a valid definition for cynicism. Where would we be as a people if we stopped trying things despite previous failed attempts? Look around your house...your TV, your radio, your medicine, your DNA...for Lisa and I, our beautiful baby girl Grace.

It is smart to listen to history, but it is unwise to let it kill your dreams.

Perhaps the greatest crime, and one I cannot abide is that of spending time assuming that history will repeat itself and using that experience to resist progress.

Virus + Asthma = BOOOOO

Got a throat infection a week back. Reared it's head again, this time triggering Asthma attacks. Neat!