Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Time goes by, tables turn

I need to blog more. I used to blog at regular intervals, but life has been busier, and frankly, I just can't bring myself to use Twitter.

I've been playing Borderlands. The depth and range of weaponry in the game keeps me playing. The storyline is pretty decent too. I'm usually quite averse to RPGs, but the first person shooter aspect in Borderlands makes it a lot more appealing. I'm glad to see they've patched the matchmaking tech in the game, it was a bit.. rough to begin with.

I bought a box of Coors Light in Costco at the weekend. It's actually not too bad, but I'm going back to Stella next time I'm beer buying.

Samantha reliably informs me it's 44 days until we arrive in Dublin for Christmas. Samantha will be in Ireland for the first time (in addition to meeting my family / friends etc.), so that should prove interesting.

Modern Warfare 2 is almost upon us. I will of course play it through out of professional interest. It's using Steam for distribution; first time in a long time the most secure SKU for any game has been the PC - usually it's the first to appear on various torrent trackers.

I've finally given up on the Heretic technique, and have joined the ranks of BEST shooters here in California. My friend Jeep coaches the USC archery team, and he recently completed his level 3 course with the man himself, Ki Sik Lee. He gave me some insight into the BEST method I had been unable to glean from the books. I dutifully gave it a go, and was able to get into much better line than previously. Still feels a little unnatural, but so far the results are promising.

Tomorrow (Thursday) marks the two year anniversary of my start at Treyarch. Time flies. I've shipped two games in that time, consulted for 6 weeks on a third, and generally made a reasonable niche for myself. I can't blog about what my job currently entails, but it should prove to be quite the challenge.

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Sunday, August 2, 2009

Going home

My boss emailed me to let me know my visa application has been approved, and I'll be able to start back at Treyarch October 1st.

This makes me immensely happy.

My life and career have essentially been on hold since April, when I said goodbye to Samantha at LAX and got on a flight to Vancouver.

I've been busy getting this game out the door. Nearly done. First time since Quantum of Solace that I've written production console code, it's proving educational.

Once I get back to LA, I've got to get my MX5 off the axle stands (thanks once again to my awesome friend Neil for babysitting it for me), and find an apartment to move into with Samantha.

I've also got to get my hands on some low poundage limbs, ( I left my archery gear in Vancouver when I jetted off to parts unknown to help finish this project ) and continue the form reboot. Before I left it was starting to come together - especially the new alignment of my bowshoulder - I'm hoping I'll get to try it at a low key competition like a FITA 900 at Woodley Park.

Living with an amazing, one of a kind woman I'm in love with, working on Big Games(tm), driving around in the LA sun.

On balance, it's not a bad existence.

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