This little blog of mine has been gathering dust, but not due to my lack of blogging activity. I have just come to realize that I am spreading my blogging efforts a bit too thin. I have three right now and I think it is time to consolidate.
So, please visit me at http://www.newglobemedia.com
I am hoping to focus primarily there and keep adding my thoughts on what it means to be a knowledge worker in today's world.
All the best,
Owen
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Creative Universe Making
"I have never found... an enjoyment equal to sitting at my writing desk with a clean new page, a new theme, and a mind awake." - Washington Irving
I have had the pleasure of working in an intensely creative environment these past few months. I make no bones about the talent I am currently encountering in my daily work. It is fun, exasperating, inspiring, exhausting work. I am fortunate and blessed to be doing what I do.
Since last March and more specifically since the middle of November, when the funding finally came in, I have been part of developing a creative property originally called Technosaurs and more recently called the C.I.E. or the Central Institute for Exploration. The project is a creative property that invites tweens to join a secret "kids only" society that is dedicated to exploring the world around them.
One of my favourite tenets we came up with was "seek your own proof." This is such a cool idea and so important to kids growing up in a world that is more and more subtle shades of grey. By combining that tenet with "be respectful of everyone and everything," we are able to encourage our community to not just seek, but also pay attention to everyone around them.
While I enjoy waxing poetic about the ideals behind our project, I also can't emphasize how much FUN it is. The games and the stories we are planning to unleash are cool! I know they are cool because the little kid in me (who is well nurtured, as my wife often remarks) keeps thinking "Oh cool!" I also have two very capable litmus tests who tell me straight up whether something is lame or not. My daughters are both tweens who are merciless in their assessments. I can tell immediately if our team has hit the mark with an idea or not.
Time and again, though, I must take a step back from all of it and think, "does this all make sense?" Sure we are doing cool stuff, but is the world we are creating something our discerning and impatient audience will believe? Is our audience going to suspend their disbelief and buy-in? That moment in Peter Pan when Pan turns to the audience to get them to participate in bringing back Tink is a do or die moment. I think this is the kind of anticipatory anxiety that I have too. Is our audience going to buy-in? I hope so... it is so much fun to play in this place.
I have had the pleasure of working in an intensely creative environment these past few months. I make no bones about the talent I am currently encountering in my daily work. It is fun, exasperating, inspiring, exhausting work. I am fortunate and blessed to be doing what I do.
Since last March and more specifically since the middle of November, when the funding finally came in, I have been part of developing a creative property originally called Technosaurs and more recently called the C.I.E. or the Central Institute for Exploration. The project is a creative property that invites tweens to join a secret "kids only" society that is dedicated to exploring the world around them.
One of my favourite tenets we came up with was "seek your own proof." This is such a cool idea and so important to kids growing up in a world that is more and more subtle shades of grey. By combining that tenet with "be respectful of everyone and everything," we are able to encourage our community to not just seek, but also pay attention to everyone around them.
While I enjoy waxing poetic about the ideals behind our project, I also can't emphasize how much FUN it is. The games and the stories we are planning to unleash are cool! I know they are cool because the little kid in me (who is well nurtured, as my wife often remarks) keeps thinking "Oh cool!" I also have two very capable litmus tests who tell me straight up whether something is lame or not. My daughters are both tweens who are merciless in their assessments. I can tell immediately if our team has hit the mark with an idea or not.
Time and again, though, I must take a step back from all of it and think, "does this all make sense?" Sure we are doing cool stuff, but is the world we are creating something our discerning and impatient audience will believe? Is our audience going to suspend their disbelief and buy-in? That moment in Peter Pan when Pan turns to the audience to get them to participate in bringing back Tink is a do or die moment. I think this is the kind of anticipatory anxiety that I have too. Is our audience going to buy-in? I hope so... it is so much fun to play in this place.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Returning to my roots and discovering new growth
Since beginning this blog, my world has been growing and unfolding in strange and wonderful ways. Since June, I have been involved with and performing a play. This would explain the brief absence of entries I have had. So, I am pleased to be able to resume and share with you some experiences, observations, reactions and connections.
Prior to June, I don't know exactly when, I encountered an old friend at a recording of the CBC radio show "Quirks and Quarks." We were there because my eldest daughter had been invited to ask the panel of experts a question. The Timm's Centre was packed and a fine time was had by all, especially Naomi who had the pleasure of being the only person to say the word "gross "on air as it was a keyword in her question.
After the show, there was a brief reception in the lobby where I chatted with my friend. At one point in the conversation, he inquired if I was still involved in theatre or was interested at all. I replied that his question was an interesting one as I had not had many opportunities come my way to get involved again. Were I to encounter the opportunity, I would most likely embrace it. He told me that he was involved with a Fringe play and thought that I would be a good fit for the cast. He suggested that I get in touch with the director and see what came of it.
I did.
Then I lost the information.
Weeks went by and I got caught up in the activity of my life.
Then I found the information.
I had a feeling I should follow up.
I did.
The audition was the next day. Did I have a monologue. It seems that some memories fade and others are made of a more indelible type of memory ink. One of my old stand-by pieces was still there in my head. So audition I would.
And audition I did. I arrived and performed my old stand-by "Adam", a quirky poem by a farmer poet named Nicholas Biel. I don't normally offer up poems in auditions as they tend to put the make the audience a tad uncomfortable. Theatre directors have learned that "poetry" and actors don't mix well. Adam however is a delightful piece that performs as a monologue as easily as any Shakespearian soliloquy.
In the audition, I also did a few readings. These are referred to as "cold readings" as there isn't much time to review the play or prepare interpretations of the piece. You just read and interpret the words, their meanings and the emotional subtext of the character on the fly. It is a tricky kind of activity and can throw many off their game. I enjoyed the opportunity as the character was one whose thoughts were written directly on the page. I just played it as honestly and openly as I could.
It worked. The director called me a couple weeks later to offer me the opportunity to join the cast. I would play Victor, the oldest brother.
The rehearsal process was unique, but that is another blog post.
After an 11 year break, it seemed I was about to venture back into the bardic ways.
More to come...
Owen
Prior to June, I don't know exactly when, I encountered an old friend at a recording of the CBC radio show "Quirks and Quarks." We were there because my eldest daughter had been invited to ask the panel of experts a question. The Timm's Centre was packed and a fine time was had by all, especially Naomi who had the pleasure of being the only person to say the word "gross "on air as it was a keyword in her question.
After the show, there was a brief reception in the lobby where I chatted with my friend. At one point in the conversation, he inquired if I was still involved in theatre or was interested at all. I replied that his question was an interesting one as I had not had many opportunities come my way to get involved again. Were I to encounter the opportunity, I would most likely embrace it. He told me that he was involved with a Fringe play and thought that I would be a good fit for the cast. He suggested that I get in touch with the director and see what came of it.
I did.
Then I lost the information.
Weeks went by and I got caught up in the activity of my life.
Then I found the information.
I had a feeling I should follow up.
I did.
The audition was the next day. Did I have a monologue. It seems that some memories fade and others are made of a more indelible type of memory ink. One of my old stand-by pieces was still there in my head. So audition I would.
And audition I did. I arrived and performed my old stand-by "Adam", a quirky poem by a farmer poet named Nicholas Biel. I don't normally offer up poems in auditions as they tend to put the make the audience a tad uncomfortable. Theatre directors have learned that "poetry" and actors don't mix well. Adam however is a delightful piece that performs as a monologue as easily as any Shakespearian soliloquy.
In the audition, I also did a few readings. These are referred to as "cold readings" as there isn't much time to review the play or prepare interpretations of the piece. You just read and interpret the words, their meanings and the emotional subtext of the character on the fly. It is a tricky kind of activity and can throw many off their game. I enjoyed the opportunity as the character was one whose thoughts were written directly on the page. I just played it as honestly and openly as I could.
It worked. The director called me a couple weeks later to offer me the opportunity to join the cast. I would play Victor, the oldest brother.
The rehearsal process was unique, but that is another blog post.
After an 11 year break, it seemed I was about to venture back into the bardic ways.
More to come...
Owen
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
A Logo Story
I have recently adopted a logo that expresses a number of things about who I am and the perspectives I bring to a company.
My logo is a globe that appears to be bouncing on a large spring. The tagline I unofficially associate with it is, "I've got the world on a spring." This is a line that feels more like a line from a song (this is a not so subtle nod to Frank Sinatra's "I've Got the World on a String") that it does a marketing slogan. I wanted that feeling.
What are the ideas/sentiments that come along with this?
1) I am hard of hearing and it is a self-effacing laugh that I often have with those around me when I inadvertantly hear something other than what was said. It often leads to a mildly amusingly, but often hysterical communications hiccup.
2) This "creative hearing" helps me stay fresh. Ideas are always heard through the quirkiness of my unrealiable hearing. As such, I have learned to re-interpret my hearing in ways that are much like the way Wierd Al Yankovic re-interprets songs.
3) Springs are shock absorbers. Our world, our society, and we ourselves can use a shock absorber from time to time.
4) Springs are random. There are some properties that drive the bouncing of a spring, but if you have ever watched a jack in the box, or bounced on a bungee cord off a platform, you know the sensation of a little bit of uncertainty and random chaos that a spring can provide. Chaos is a wonderfully creative force.
All these ideas play into the logo that I use now. They sum up some key ideals that I wander around with and share with those I work and play with.
OB
My logo is a globe that appears to be bouncing on a large spring. The tagline I unofficially associate with it is, "I've got the world on a spring." This is a line that feels more like a line from a song (this is a not so subtle nod to Frank Sinatra's "I've Got the World on a String") that it does a marketing slogan. I wanted that feeling.
What are the ideas/sentiments that come along with this?
1) I am hard of hearing and it is a self-effacing laugh that I often have with those around me when I inadvertantly hear something other than what was said. It often leads to a mildly amusingly, but often hysterical communications hiccup.
2) This "creative hearing" helps me stay fresh. Ideas are always heard through the quirkiness of my unrealiable hearing. As such, I have learned to re-interpret my hearing in ways that are much like the way Wierd Al Yankovic re-interprets songs.
3) Springs are shock absorbers. Our world, our society, and we ourselves can use a shock absorber from time to time.
4) Springs are random. There are some properties that drive the bouncing of a spring, but if you have ever watched a jack in the box, or bounced on a bungee cord off a platform, you know the sensation of a little bit of uncertainty and random chaos that a spring can provide. Chaos is a wonderfully creative force.
All these ideas play into the logo that I use now. They sum up some key ideals that I wander around with and share with those I work and play with.
OB
Monday, June 05, 2006
The New Game Maker: what companies are looking for in new talent.
The New Game maker.
This session focused on the skills and knowledge that today's game
developers are looking for in new members for their team. The session
was lead by Ben Sawyer who took on the task of herding the panel
towards the more philosophical aspects of the new game maker. His
goal was not to focus on the technologies and tools that drive so
many of these conversations. Here is what I was able to capture from
the flurry of information that the panel was eager to share with the
audience. Understand that this is my paraphrasing of their comments,
not a direct quote of their statements.
What are the trends you see in the gaming industry?
Greg Zeschuk (BioWare|Pandemic): gap fillers are great, multi-purpose
type of person who can play easily in a variety of areas but also
able to be a specialist... a team player who does one thing great,
but can pinch-hit as needed.
Alan Yu: smaller teams that are more nimble and more innovative,
teams less than 7 seem to be the magic number.
Christopher Erhardt: neat new ideas; average gamer is 29-35 broader
age base; it is getting more challenging for small developers to
tackle new titles on AAA environment, the new game maker needs to use
a whole bunch of tools effeciently;
Sarah Branscom: challenges are about getting content into the games,
resources outside of the game industry to help, communications is a
challenge, potential skill set shortage in areas of communications,
writing and content creation
Amy Bendotti: layering, production team based as opposed to single
person, created more opportunities.
Haden Blackman: interested in how stories are told, simulation based
gameplay is a focus, caused a re-tooling, changing the way that they
think about what a game is
Where is the current state of talent? Where are we lacking?
What new skills?
Greg: Academic background, find a physicist to do game physics,
moving towards more specialized knowledge bases, attracted to a
biologist who codes rather than a coder who knows biology.
Christropher: wants students to have skills that go beyond gaming,
what happens when a person no longer wants to (heaven forbid) be in
the game industry? What transferable skills do they have?
Amy: DigiPen is preparing their students really well for the industry
As a sidebar a discussion ensued around process of game development
and how game developers are meeting the challenges of large team
based projects.
Agile Methodology & Scrum meetings are taking the spotlight in terms
of how teams organize and manage themsleves. One of the panelists
remarked, "I don't know how we ever got by without the scrum."
What can a person do to get attention from potential employers?
Number one: do mods, go do stuff with existing games to show your
passion for the industry.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Future Shock
Future Shock
This panel session focused on how money is being spent by today's
game developers. The comments here are what I was able to glean and
do not represent direct quotes from the individuals named.
$50 M to spend how would you spend it?
Todd: small company, $15M Development, $30M in the bank for interest,
not dictated by budget or time, but dictated by design goals, what do
we want to do, we look at what we want the end result to be and work
back. PC is core base for development. 360 is compelling platform,
architecture is like the PC. have a window into what PS3 devKits. 3
platforms (PC, 360, PS3). Work with Activision,
Ray Muzyka (BioWare|Pandemic): focus, investment in tools,
development of community. Online brand. Immersive worlds, Jade
Empire, Dragon Age, and Mass Effect. What are our core competencies?
Story, characters, etc. Long, rich games in order to build depth of
immersion. Build out game engine and focus on community building.
Continuous ongoing support, post-release, continue to support the
iterations of the game. BioWare's mission is to associate its brand
with quality.
Jon: Asian market focus, online games publishing operations
capabilities; mobile, online casual, These games cost about $1M per
game to develop, $50M goes a long way.
Lee: Start with asking "what do consumers want?" Look for trends
evolving, market analysis, portfolio analysis, internal studios work
on what has a high chance of success, market, portfolio, development.
Farm out the riskier projects to external developers.
Management strategy:
Todd: everyone at id is a "doer" let the stars be the stars in what
they are good at and not managers. These "stars" have high level
guidance with the teams, leverage the publisher's skills at being a
producer. Small developer, art, programmers, designers. Make tools
that makes people's time more efficient. The artist's will never be
done. Final artistic task at the end of the process, but managed in a
way that ensures the final artwork doesn't wreak havok with the
engine and codebase.
Ray: gamble is possiblity of the market not being ready to accept the
idea. having more than one focus helps deal with risk. Genre blends.
Multiple platforms...
Lee: there is no silver bullet, everyone is excited about project,
every project goes through stages ranging from excitement to
complacency, a realistic assessment of the game in development cost
compared to the appropriate amount of investment... when do you pull
the plug on a project that is going south.
Console?
Ray: Xbox 360: investment from the publishers needs to... publishers
need to have buy-in and be ready to distribute the title,
Jon: online is based on microtransactions.
Elevation Partners was an opportunity both ways. EP is a private
equity fund.
id is partnering to do a Doom RPG mobile app. Somewhat adversarial
relationship with publisher. Everyone want something more
valuable.... If you have lemons, make lemonade.
How do you feel about the new consoles?
Lee: stay agnostic. Wii is going to have its own market, its own
niche...
Jon: the new consoles cost more and take longer to make new games.
Nintendo DS is blowing away the PSP.
Ray: localization strategy is needed as we look to taking our games
to multiple locales...
What is a casual games?
Jon: 15 minute game play.
What are your thoughts on using Universities for R&D?
Todd: Don't really use for R&D, alot of companies in the area...
Prefer to use people who have experiencial knowledge even on the
amateur "mods" environment. Schools are trying to do real game
development.
What keeps you up at night?
Lee: Development cost. Quality versus cost effectiveness.
Ray: only time I get to play games.
Will Wright Interview at E3
An interview with Will Wright
Will Wright is the creator of cornerstone gaming environments SimCity
and the Sims through his company Maxis. His most recent creation is a
game called "Spore" that takes the user's exploration of simulated
environments beginning at the micro and through to the macro level.
In this presentation he spoke about gaming trends and the future of
user created content.
Will is trying to create a synergy of biology, chemistry, physics and
astrophysics in a single title. This game focuses on the immersion
experience and plays with a huge set of variables to provide the
level of randomness and chaos that represents the forces of nature we
experience in the real world. Will's experience with game creation
has spanned every level of macro and micro environments ranging from
SimEearth to SimAnts. These titles were true open-ended experiences
that allowed the users to impose their own desire to construct or
destroy the world they created.
Part of the challenge that Wright has faced over the years is
ensuring that the user's mental model of what the game is and how it
should work was consistent and congruent. "The user immediately
develops an expectation of what the game will do and the world they
will experience when they pick that box up off the shelf," says
Wright. The game experience begins well before the game is ever played.
The interview shifted to a production overview and a question of the
optimal development team size came up. The largest team that Will has
work with was around 120 to 140. At this size, many compromises were
made and the effectiveness of the team was questionable. As a result,
the peak optimal team size for Will is about 70 to 75 people. 25% or
less of this team size is associated with content development.
Some points of wisdom that Will shared included (I summarize these
ideas):
- In the absence of good design is bad design, not no design. This
applies the design of game.
- games, like cars, should be designed AND engineered. Don't expect
the player to be willing to learn a whole new set of controls just
for your game.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Perserverance
"None of us suddenly becomes something overnight. The preparations have been in the making for a lifetime." - Gail Godwin
Funny how some may look at the variety of my various careers, successes and failuers and wonder, "what is this guy doing?" My resume appears to look like a sequence of jobs that would only appeal to an ADHD person. I don't have ADHD. What I have is a desire to actively manage my career. I have a shelf life of two years. Either I am moving up or I am moving out. When I look at my resume, I see a sequence of growth choices. Every job has been a step along my path. I don't pretend to make all the right choices, but even the wrong ones prove to be a preparation for what comes next.
For example, my first foray into the world of work as an Internet professional was at the start of the "boom." The now infamous .com bubble was happening as I made my transition from theatre to IT. I was happy to have a foot in the door on a new career, and everyone else in the game was giddy with the new, fresh world of a wired weirdness. I wasn't out of place. However, my first foray was a bust. I partnered with a person who did not share the same philosophical outlook as I did. He failed me, and I failed him. Did I waste my time? Heck no! This was the first step. It lead to the next step which was an opportunity to build a customer help desk service for a cable provider. The key words here are "cable provider." In 1997, cable providers were not in the Internet Service Provider business and there were no existing models for how a customer help desk for an "always on" cable modem would work. The only metric we had for measuring our success were existing cable television support calls (simple technology with little troubleshooting), or telephony based internet support (complex technology, but short calls due to the inability to troubleshoot and connect at the same time).
I digress. The progress continues. Every step of the way has been some new skill, attitude or knowledge that is building who I am and what I do. So it is with all of us, I think. Each one of us grow, learn, and explore. This doesn't need to be career, some of us see our job as a tool to allow us to be our "true" selves. My grandfather worked his entire life as a custodian in a school. When he retired, he managed to distinguish himself as a wood carver and was quite well known in the Okanagon Valley (his name was Ernie Brierley). Could he have chosen a different path? Yes. Might he have acheived greater things? Perhaps. Was it ultimately what he wanted? I think my grandfather made the choices that he wanted to make. Even if they were choices that he felt forced into. He, on some level, accepted those choices. He loved his family, he loved his wife, he wanted stability and reliability. Did he die happy? I would like to think so.
What he did was persevere. He held onto his dream of being a wood carver for all his life. He was always handy with tools and practical things, but I never thought of my grandfather as creative. His creativity came in the last years of his life. In his own way, he persevered. He kept his dream alive so when the opportunity to persue it, he was able to realize it.
Perseverance is not success. It is not failure. It is neither. It is both. Perseverance, to me, is the doing of whatever that doing is, in whatever capacity you have to do it in. I am a dancer, singer, musician, or athlete. Perseverance is able actually doing those things regardless of the obstacles. I know many people whose perseverance outshines others who have managed to gain fame and fortune doing the same thing.
When we watch someone doing something, we only see the output of their present existence. We don't realize the history they stand on. We don't see the preparation, the growth, or even the starting point. We don't all start from the same place. The next time you decide to criticize, consider this. What is the individual's level of perseverance. Do they deserve your venom or your praise?
This may seem a corny example, but I recently watched some of the "Dancing with the Stars" television series. What amazed me was the fact that this awful dancer was in the finals. He even made it to second place! A much better dancer was cast out by the audience before he was! I had to think on this. It is rare that I am able to see wisdom on television, let alone "reality TV." But here was an interesting story. The audience appeared to resonate and reward this awful dancer because of his perseverance and the fact that he had zero dance training. What they didn't appreciate was the better dancer who had prior training as a girl. She was good, but not as heroic as the dancer who came from nothing and managed to win people over.
Find strength in the joy of doing. Perserve!
- OB
Funny how some may look at the variety of my various careers, successes and failuers and wonder, "what is this guy doing?" My resume appears to look like a sequence of jobs that would only appeal to an ADHD person. I don't have ADHD. What I have is a desire to actively manage my career. I have a shelf life of two years. Either I am moving up or I am moving out. When I look at my resume, I see a sequence of growth choices. Every job has been a step along my path. I don't pretend to make all the right choices, but even the wrong ones prove to be a preparation for what comes next.
For example, my first foray into the world of work as an Internet professional was at the start of the "boom." The now infamous .com bubble was happening as I made my transition from theatre to IT. I was happy to have a foot in the door on a new career, and everyone else in the game was giddy with the new, fresh world of a wired weirdness. I wasn't out of place. However, my first foray was a bust. I partnered with a person who did not share the same philosophical outlook as I did. He failed me, and I failed him. Did I waste my time? Heck no! This was the first step. It lead to the next step which was an opportunity to build a customer help desk service for a cable provider. The key words here are "cable provider." In 1997, cable providers were not in the Internet Service Provider business and there were no existing models for how a customer help desk for an "always on" cable modem would work. The only metric we had for measuring our success were existing cable television support calls (simple technology with little troubleshooting), or telephony based internet support (complex technology, but short calls due to the inability to troubleshoot and connect at the same time).
I digress. The progress continues. Every step of the way has been some new skill, attitude or knowledge that is building who I am and what I do. So it is with all of us, I think. Each one of us grow, learn, and explore. This doesn't need to be career, some of us see our job as a tool to allow us to be our "true" selves. My grandfather worked his entire life as a custodian in a school. When he retired, he managed to distinguish himself as a wood carver and was quite well known in the Okanagon Valley (his name was Ernie Brierley). Could he have chosen a different path? Yes. Might he have acheived greater things? Perhaps. Was it ultimately what he wanted? I think my grandfather made the choices that he wanted to make. Even if they were choices that he felt forced into. He, on some level, accepted those choices. He loved his family, he loved his wife, he wanted stability and reliability. Did he die happy? I would like to think so.
What he did was persevere. He held onto his dream of being a wood carver for all his life. He was always handy with tools and practical things, but I never thought of my grandfather as creative. His creativity came in the last years of his life. In his own way, he persevered. He kept his dream alive so when the opportunity to persue it, he was able to realize it.
Perseverance is not success. It is not failure. It is neither. It is both. Perseverance, to me, is the doing of whatever that doing is, in whatever capacity you have to do it in. I am a dancer, singer, musician, or athlete. Perseverance is able actually doing those things regardless of the obstacles. I know many people whose perseverance outshines others who have managed to gain fame and fortune doing the same thing.
When we watch someone doing something, we only see the output of their present existence. We don't realize the history they stand on. We don't see the preparation, the growth, or even the starting point. We don't all start from the same place. The next time you decide to criticize, consider this. What is the individual's level of perseverance. Do they deserve your venom or your praise?
This may seem a corny example, but I recently watched some of the "Dancing with the Stars" television series. What amazed me was the fact that this awful dancer was in the finals. He even made it to second place! A much better dancer was cast out by the audience before he was! I had to think on this. It is rare that I am able to see wisdom on television, let alone "reality TV." But here was an interesting story. The audience appeared to resonate and reward this awful dancer because of his perseverance and the fact that he had zero dance training. What they didn't appreciate was the better dancer who had prior training as a girl. She was good, but not as heroic as the dancer who came from nothing and managed to win people over.
Find strength in the joy of doing. Perserve!
- OB
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