Today's Quote #2

"// Not sure how this one works. Be careful of it."

~ One of our senior programmer decides that commenting can be too hassle sometimes.
(Found this today in a super super class)

Licensed Game

I'm working on a lincensed game, although all my life I have never ever played any licensed game (can you count Kingdom Hearts though?), because I thought they're simply lame.

However, to develop one is completely different story.

Working under a big publisher with big people backing up the characters and content are the safest path to publish a title under your belt.

Just heard a story of one colleague about him sacked after only 3 weeks because their project was cancelled. Someone came from UK just got to the airport when they told him the news! Then he worked with another company that did a game for 1.5 year before he finally quit because he didn't see they're going anywhere. They haven't published the game until now (if ever).

So I think I can consider myself quite lucky if we could finish this game at the end of the year.

I cannot wait to see the game, my game, the game I work on, on the shelf of EBGames, or shelf at my house. I will scream, I tell you! It's so surreal! =D

The Yellow Creature Caught Me!

These days I'm busy watching Spongebob series. I'm planning to watch all episodes on all seasons, hah! With 2 episodes in a day, I wonder when I would finish..

There are so many DVDs and games on Jimmy Neutron, Spongebob, and Timmy Turner in my office. So why not use the chance, I thought. =D

Perhaps when you look at this yellow creature, with holes in his head like ugly pimples, and silly smile, you may think like me at first: my, he looks so annoying, my eyes hurt!



But somehow after you watch a couple episodes or more, you start to love him.
I guess that's just the magic you could never find the formulae for.

I remember those times where I woke up at 7am in the morning every single day just to watch Pokemon. Aah.. Those lovely times. Again, no formulae. Just a type of new cute creature every single episode, with weird traits, and the same enemies over and over again with their same lame lines over and over again until it rings constantly in your head.

Voice From Low Peasant

When I read articles about women talking how they play "non-girly games", I pull myself down in my chair a bit.

First Person Shooter, survival, real-time strategy, are the odds of masculine games. Loud, hard, and straight to the point. Ones with a lot of explosion, blood, and mosters to kill. And women do play them!

But the fact is that some girls really do like "girly" games. Role playing games, puzzles, simulations, online, or simply CUTE ones.

For me, one thing that I have strong opinion of, I wouldn't play any game which the characters are not cute. If they're not, then it better have an extremely good gameplay that I wouldn't be bothered too much about the limited eye candy.

I don't like games that need good hand coordination. I suck at it. That's why I like turn-based, strategy or role playing.

I like games with strong story, and the longer it takes me to play it, the better it is.

So see, not everybody like the "sit-down and boom-boom" kind of game. And if we don't like it, so what? People have different taste of games. And what's wrong with being girly anyway (in game world, that is. Seeing from different point of view, I guess I'm pretty much un-girly being a game programmer :)

There's something awfully wrong when people point out these games as if they are only for non hard-core gamers (read: mostly girls). Apparently some people just think in any community there should always be the low peasants, ones with less skill and humiliating traits that bring the honor down.

Out of the Circle

Sometimes it can be hard to work in all-guys environment. Some guys don't care. Some guys are shy. Some guys might be interested in you because you're the only girl they talk with all week. Some guys are scared!

A few days ago there was an outing for the whole company. I was talking with the other 2 guys when I suddenly realized that I had to take a few small steps ahead for every few minutes, because they became farther and farther away from me!

We moved from right beside the table to a few feet from the original spot, before I finally decided maybe I should leave those guys alone. They may have gone outside the park to make sure they keep distance with this only little girl.. =|

GameWishlist #1

I want a GameCube with Animal Crossing. It's already out for such a long time but I keep delaying my plan to buy them =(

The Education of a Game Designer

"First, you must make a major career decision: training or education? Training gives you specific skills that you can use to get a job straight out of school. Education gives you broader skills that won't have immediate application, but will in the long run serve you better. It's basically a choice between a quickie approach and a strategic approach. If you're in too much of a hurry to plan strategically, then go ahead and attend a school where they'll teach you the details of handling the latest, greatest computer technology. Energy, not patience, is the strength of youth, so I can understand if you just can't stomach the thought of not plunging straight into your avocation. When I was your age, I too was impatient with all the irrelevant courses that the University forced upon me; now I blush at my impertinence and thank those teachers who pushed me so hard." - The Education of a Game Designer

Sure, in Uni I didn't learn anything directly to game developing. Instead, I learned foundation of programming with Java and C, very little bit of C++. I learned a little bit of math, but nothing near 3D algorithm. Didn't learn any API, only a glimpse of OpenGL, and that's an elective. I did heaps of documentation and software engineering practice!

I never had to use someone else's functions that much, everything was built from scratch, everybody was so nice and forgiving, no program was bigger than 20 files, my lecturer and supervisor would tell me exactly what to do when I had any kind of problems.

But you can't say that this is not useful. Uni is a stepping stone, and no matter how crappy is the stone, you can't say you don't need it. Because of that stone you can be where you are right now.

You learn to be idealistic optimistic fresh newbie when you're a student, and be a smart wise strong somebody when you work. Everything at its own time. Just don't rush to get somewhere, because you may miss the pretty view along the way =>

Uni was good. I learned a bit of everything, object oriented programming, web page construction, server script, machine language, operating systems, math foundation, software engineering, database, and a lot of other concept and theory. I learned how to work in a team, although we argued heaps number of times and I often did most of the work. I learned to communicate with different people, although everybody was so helpful because we're students.

I learned how to put my commitment on something for more than 4 years.

People say that this is about the biggest reason why in game industry degree is still so important. You show that you can consistently put your mind on something and finish it, even when it's getting difficult, boring, and tiring.

After all, making games is not just all about the fun =)

Don't Touch My Baby

I hate it when someone touches my code. It's like my baby. She's cute no matter what other people say. I don't mind if they tell me first. Just don't touch it without my acknowledgement.

Guess I have to change huh? It's kinda hard to expect nobody touches your code when you work within a team.

Just code and let go.
It's part of growing up as a programmer.

Playing Games? Really?

Often when people hear that I went into a game development school, or work in a game company, they thinkt it's so fun because I play game all day long.

Let me tell you something. I hardly play game at all these days. And what I meant by "these days" is since the day I started developing games. I started playing FFX-2 since the beginning of last year (2004) and have not finished until now. And that's the only game I play during that time (I don't really like to play multiple games concurrently).

Developing and playing game are just two completely different things. I don't know where people get this idea of treating them the same. If you play games too much, you probably won't end up being a developer of ones. It's eating too much of your time.

But to play a little is good. Is very good. Is a must! =D

After all, you are a game developer, right?

Anyway, another small fun thing is that I could read articles about games on the Internet during work and feel like doing research. In which other job you can call game browsing as research? hehe.. ;)

My Project

I was wondering whether how much I could tell people about our project. I decide to follow the press releases. They always send us a copy before it gets published.

So you can read some news about the project I'm working on here. Look for Nicktoons (working title). That's the one! Yup yup! :)

I may not be able to show the screenshots though =| We have to wait a little more while.