An Interesting Place
TWP #12 - New Beginnings
I find myself in an interesting place. I have spent so much time and energy the past few years interviewing, studying, building and preparing that I have had little time for my true passions. I really have struggled to find time for game dev and my pursuits in machine learning. I am moving to a new company doing more python API dev, but I can already feel my mind and brain clearing up and focusing more. Maybe this is what I needed. I do plan on making the next 12 months the most productive of my life. I haven’t shipped a game in 8 years, I have siloed myself away only to have produced nothing. I am going to finish something (below) and somehow Ill figure out how I can build AI along side it. Maybe a stable diffusion based image generator of player progress that are minted to NFT’s? Just kidding.
Game Dev Update - Project Pluto
(Previous updates on the greenhouse redesign)
I have been away from this newsletter for a couple weeks as I have been in between jobs and just generally find myself struggling to get back to my creative self.
This weeks update on Project Pluto (still working on names) I have decided to redo the Observation Deck. The OD, as I call it, is the first main room you enter when you exit your starting area. I want this to be the first wow moment, the first core experience of the game that tells the player a little bit about where they are. My favorite games use this type of setup: Oblivion when you leave the sewers to find the vast Cyrodiil in front of you, Fallout when you first leave the vault unsure of what the outside world looks like, Elden Ring when you leave the starting area to go outside for the first time. These setup moments I truly love, and if don’t right can provide a simple yet effective mood setup for the player. I want the curiosity meter to be off the charts.
There isn’t much to show now, but below are some in progress shots. I wanted to have a big open area, large glass windows so the player can understand the vastness of space. So they can understand the isolation of space, that they are alone.
An a side note, the move from Unreal 5.0.3 to 5.1 didn’t go smoothly, so I will give that a few weeks before I tackle that.
What I am Reading
Control Freak: My Epic Adventure Making Video Games - By Cliff Bleszinski
I have been stuck in a lull lately when it comes to reading, but with the recent release of “Control Freak” I have been pulled out of my slump. Written by someone who I really admire in the games industry, Cliffy B, provides a truly deep look into his life and his career and all the ups and downs that comes with that. I really found myself attached to this memoir as there are many parallels and things I could relate to from growing up and causing chaos as a child to falling in love with games and the comfort that those bring in hard times. I am about halfway and there are truly personal and powerful moments that Cliff delves into that I truly appreciate. Its been a great read and I would recommend this to any creative type or anyone just curious about the life of someone who had such influence on the games industry as we know it.
Control Freak is a hilarious, thoughtful, and inspiring memoir. Even if you don’t play games, you’ll walk away from this book recognizing them as a true art form and appreciating the genius of their creators. - Amazon Blurb
What I am Playing
So, I am finally playing something different that Destiny 2.
New World
I played this at launch for many hours but never reached endgame. They have had so many quality of life updates this past year and with new fresh start servers it was great to start over and experience the world again. There seems to actually be a main story quest now, and the combat was always fun and exciting. The game still suffers from the low cap servers, which means you can rarely find a group for anything, and if you do it takes hours sometimes. PvP is still hard to do. For a game I play only for the PvP aspect, I have yet to PvP at all. The modes that require a queue take forever because of the population, world PvP you are usually out matched and the “wars” are usually the cool kids table at lunch, you are not invited. Other than that rant, I enjoy the world, crafting, exploring and leveling. Leveling seems to be going much faster this time around, as I only do story quests and I hit 32 in maybe 5 hours.
Modern Warfare 2
Yep, CoD. I haven’t played a Call of Duty since the WWII one in 2017. After the debacle that was Battlefield 2042 I am finding MW2 to be a fun, refreshing experience. I love the new modes that focus on larger battles and populations. The campaign is fun and gorgeous on the PS5. I only dipped my toes into Warzone once yesterday when it launched, but I also had a blast there.
So Long
Winter is here, or at the time of writing this we are 5 hours away from Snowpocolyps in Buffalo, NY. Or at least that’s what I am told. I got food, beer, a shovel and lots of games.
