WHAT I'VE BEEN PLAYING....

July 17th, 2008:

Game Informer Goes Behind the Scenes - They posted a few videos of some of our development processes at Raven.
Sorry but I can't seem to make them not auto play when the page loads.

Wolfenstein Teaser Trailer Released - Man, we sure like explosions don't we. Happily I scripted a lot of what was shown. :)
The project is really coming together. I think people are going to really like it.

Singularity Teaser Trailer Released As Well - They also released a little sample of one of the other projects Raven is developing.
Can't really say too much about it of course but I wanna play it when we're done so that certainly says something.

July 16th, 2008:

More Wolfenstein Stuff - Five screen shots were released. Can't really say much more than that or I'll
be killed. However the August Game Informer issue has a really great 10 page article for those wanting
more.

July 13th, 2008:

We Finally Get Some Press!! - The "hush hush" is starting to lift. The August issue of Game Informer has
Wolfenstein as their cover story! Pick it up and see what I've been working on for the past few years.

June 21st, 2008:

SPORE Creature Creator - Picked up the SPORE Creature Creator today. Really interesting. It's got issues
not really bugs but just the way things animate which I guess you can't help since it's so random. Really fun
though. My kids love to create character in games like WoW, not play them but just make them so they love
this. They just create one after another.

Little Insider note - Keep an eye on the August issue of Game Informer. ;)

May 19th, 2008:

GRID Demo - Tried out the GRID racing demo by Codemasters. Wow, it's a lot of fun! It worth it just for the
reply function. You can watch each fender crushing moment at about any angle you want. The demo wouldn't
let me reconfig the controls so I couldn't set them up the way I wanted but the racing still felt good. Graphics
are really nice as well with a great damage model for the cars. If you even remotely like racing games give
it a look.

January 19th, 2008:

- WOO WOO - Well I'm back on the WoW train. Not sure if it's a good thing or a bad one but I like playing it
so what the hell. I play on the Scryers with some other Raven guys. Thought I'd seriously try leveling an Orc
Warlock. So far at lvl 33 I'm still enjoying it. Also picked up the old GBA which I haven't touched in months.
I have Golden Sun and it's sequel that I haven't ever played. Not bad games, just a bit repetitive.

- Industry Unfairness - Recently I was talking with a few co-workers about a pretty cool game idea. It's fresh and
new and hasn't really been done. They also got excited about it and said if I wanted to explore it further let them
know. So I wondered, can I explore it? So I went to our Legal / Human Resources Dept. and asked. Turns out I'm
not allowed to do anything or it's instant Activision property which frightenly is a better deal than the newer people
have. The new contract agreement states that even the thought of something is their property. I've been with
Activision / Raven Software for over 10 years. I don't know what other company polices are but I assume they are
very similar. So how does anything new ever happen? I guess you have to risk everything, ditch your job and
create yet another start-up company. Not sure I have the dough for such a thing so there my idea sits doing
nothing. Such a shame.

October 19th, 2007:

- A rather big month for gaming. Valve release The Orange Box which included Half-Life2: Episode 2, Portal,
and Team Fortress 2. I played through them all rather quickly.

Portal is such a great concept. I completed it all in only 4 hours which didn't really upset me but rather just left
me wanting to play more of it. The voice of the computer and the things it said make it worth playing just for
that. Plus the sentry guns being so polite was hilarious.

Episode 2 was also really amazing. While I played my 2 daughters sat and watched as if it was a movie. At
one point my 10 year old said, "Man, this is awesome!" which is really a great testament to the story and the
character development. You really care what happens to Alyx and her father which is a rare thing in gaming.
My only real complaint is that the ending sucked BIG TIME! You can't leave me hanging like that man!

Team Fortress 2 I haven't played much. People are already so good at it that it's rather frustrating to jump
into. The design and characters look very nice with a great style. Hope to play it more in the future.

I heard Quake Wars came out but with TF2 out there I don't think anyone noticed. Way to go marketing. :P

Hellgate: London demo was released. Ummm, yeah. Really expected more from a company created from
people on Blizzard's Diablo team. There is a reason Blizzard holds thing so long before they let the public
look and they should have known that. The demo felt similar but not fleshed out. No dialogue?!? What was
with that?? I don't want to read.

Other than that I've been burning through Need For Speed: Carbon during my lunch hours. Gotta get it done
before Need For Speed: Pro Street comes out on November 9th.

August 13th, 2007:

- Added a link to a fellow designer Simon O'Callaghan who will be leaving Raven shortly to head back to Europe.
Simon made a cool little puzzle game that I'll be linking as soon as it's available. In the meantime check out some
of Simon's work on his site. Simon, keep in touch and good luck!

July 23rd, 2007:

- I've got some very sad news. My co-worker and friend Glen Angus pasted away July 19th due to an unexpected
health complication at the age of 35. Glen was an incredible artist and was known world wide for his work. He was
also a genuinely nice person. On top of all that he was an automobile enthusiast like me and we talk cars constantly.
He owned a show quality 1968 Chevelle 396, silver with black racing stripes. Very nice!

To say this was a shock would be an understatement. There is a strange heaviness in the air at Raven since his
passing and his talents cannot be replaced. He will be missed as a talent and a friend. He leaves behind his
wife and 2 children which is the greatest sadness of all.

June 19th, 2007:

- I updated my Madtown Muscle car site. Mainly because I had a few pictures to post from a
parade my car club was in. We got in a little trouble with the law there and we are banned from ever returning. I
guess some people have no appreciation for power. The crowd loved it at least. >:)

- Added a few co-worker sites to my links page. They are some very talented people so check them out.

June 18th, 2007:

- I submitted a true ghost story to Llewellyn Press and they purchased it for their online journal.
So I guess that officially makes me a published author. Read the story here.