One of Those Days
Ever have one of those days where you think your computer is better off defenestrated?
After my fifth browser crash, two lost posts, and my third crash while trying to play a CD, it’s clear that I’m having one of those days.
[heft] [crash] AAAIIIEEEEEEEEE! [thump]
Ah, much better!
After Work
Week Nine
I’m beginning the second week of my audition with the game company. Last’s week’s documentation and design meetings went very well, and I tried to manage the technical restrictions through my design. An interesting experience!
Weekend Roundup
Wednesday was Scott’s last day of his visit. He was feeling a little bit better after Monday’s bout with whatever bug I was hosting, so I took him out for breakfast, and then on a bagel hunt. One of the many deficiencies of Windsor living is, naturally, the absence of quality Montreal bagels, so Scott was obligated to bring a couple of dozen home with him, as are Dina and I when we go down for a visit.
(In fact, I’ve taken a cab to the train station and had the cab turn around and head back to the apartment, all because I had forgotten the bagels on the counter! Good thing I always leave in good time!)
We had a good morning, though I have to say that the bout of illness makes this the least relaxing of Scott’s visits to Montreal. I’ll wear a bubble next time he comes up [grin].
After Scott left for the airport, I jumped on the bus and headed down to the game company for an initial review of a concept document. I spent a good two hours in the lounging area of the office, brainstorming with the lead programmer and some reps from Marketing. I left with a couple of pages of notes and a strong idea of what to do for the second draft.
But my day wasn’t over. I had to hang around downtown until the start of the STC Executive meeting, for which I am the official past-president and official mail carrier. I had some letters and notices to drop off, and then the rest of the meeting to skip. Wednesday was little Robert’s third birthday, and Maggie and Andrew had invited us over for cake and ice cream. So, once my presidential duties were discharged, I hopped on the metro and headed over to their house.
Dina had done an excellent job of picking out Robert’s gift, judging from both Robert and Colin’s reactions: a little construction site playset, complete with crane, cement mixer, plastic rocks, bulldozer, and little mustachioed worker figures. Construction seemed to be the theme for all of Robert’s gifts. It looks like their new basement play area will fill up sooner than they might expect!
On Thursday, I hunkered down at my desk and worked on the second draft of the concept document, and sent it out for review. Then, while I waited for a response, I went to the living room, and continued to play Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliances on the PS2. Scott had loaned me that game, and his copy of Batman: Vengeance, and I have to confess a certain addiction to this game.
(Quick Review: it’s the Diablo-style RPG that I had hoped the PS2 would offer, combined with the best of the nostalgic AD&D monsters. The only downside are the femal characters, who all seem to be unnecessarily underclothed)
In the evening, Dina and I went out to shop for winter clothes, and then went to the Just For Laughs Cabaret and joined Maggie and Irene in attending the Working Woes Cabaret, an evening of comedy, music, and literature organized as part of the Montreal Matters event. The Cabaret was a benefit for an immigrant workers advocacy centre. The highlights of the evening were Terence, who did his usual excellent job, and Catherine Kidd, the brightest star during my turn at Concordia’s creative writing programme, and who I haven’t seen perform for at least six years. She’s still brilliant, and now she’s teaching at Concordia, and has a new novel and a new spoken-word disc coming out.
Yes, I’m still awed [grin].
When I arrived home, I received some very positive feedback on my concept document, which rounded out the day quite nicely, I think.
On Friday, I went on a penultimate shopping trip downtown (remember, November 1st is coming soon, and we all know what that means), searching for gifts for Guislaine, and whatever caught my eye for myself. I did pretty well, and I scouted out a couple of other items that interested me to pick up this week. It was a beautiful afternoon to be downtown, and I made the most of it.
In the evening, Dina had shopping plans with Bill, so I invited Dave over for some gaming. Andrew and Pete also attended, and so we had a quiet evening of playing with the new Warlord expansion (I’ll have to rethink some of my strategies and deck construction habits), and then we played Merchants of Genoa, which was a fun game of barters and auctions. It lasted much longer than it was supposed to, so we actually ran out of money, which is not supposed to happen! It’ll be interesting to play the game with the proper timeframe. I’m sure the negotiations will become more intense.
Saturday was a lost day of shopping, card sorting, and TV watching. It rained the whole day. Dina and I joined the crush of humanity at the Angrignon mall as we continued shopping for winter coats, and then retreated for a long day of catching up on all the shows we had taped through the week. During the shows, I went through my 7th Sea collection, and started to collate sets for all the expansions. I’ve gotten quite far along in the collection since I began last December.
Good thing we had that extra hour in the day!
On Sunday, we cleaned and partied. After a slow start to the day, we cleared and cleaned another portion of the apartment, taking out the winter clothes and putting the summer clothes away. Then, after afternoon naps, we went over to Le Flambard for Guislaine’s early birthday dinner (Happy Birthday, Guis!). This is Guislaine’s traditional birthday restaurant: we’ve been going there for three years now, and we can’t bring ourselves to visit at any other time. The filet mignon is fantastic, the escargots are a garlicky delight, and the chocolate mousse is a crime against dentistry. Yum!
The highlight of the evening has to be Dina’s phone call. It was Dad, asking to speak to “the pretty lady I met at my son’s wedding.” You see, Dad didn’t recognize Guislaine at my wedding (she had grown and straightened her hair since last he’d seen her), and it’s become a bit of a running joke, with Dad and Guislaine leaving pointed comments on some of my blog posts, even! I think Dad trumped her with that call, though!
He’s a card, that Dad o’mine.
Two New Games
Industrial Waste: This is a clever resource management about unscrupulous manufacturing industries. Each player has a tracking board that marks their level of resource, staff, and waste efficiencies, and total pollution production. These levels are worth a certain amount of points, and, as they are improved, they are worth fewer points. Another board tracks the value and employment costs of each company.
The goal of the game is simple: grow the company, make as much money has possible and avoid industrial accidents. The person with the most points and, if necessary, ready cash, at the end of the game wins.
Each turn , the dealer lays out four stack of three different action cards. Each player selects a stack of cards, and then alternates playing a card at a time until they have either one or no cards left. A resource cards starts an auction for raw materials; a hiring/firing card changes the company staffing level; a contract card converts resources to cash according to value of the company, but also produces pollution equal to the company’s waste efficiency; growth cards increase the value of the company, so it earns more money for each contract; innovation cards allow the player to improve the efficiency of one aspect of their company, so they require fewer resources and/or staff to fulfill contracts, and produces less waste as a result; recycling and dumping cards allow a player to remove pollution or give it to their opponents (hence, the unscrupulous nature); and the industrial accident card penalizes the heaviest polluters with fines and a reduction in profitability.
At the end of the turn, companies pay employee salaries, and if they ever can’t, they’re forced to take on debts. Just like in real life, it’s sometimes a good strategy to fire an employee before fiscal year end, and then hire them back after the bills have been paid.
The game ends when one company achieves maximum growth, and there’s one final industrial accident to level the playing field.
The game is won or lost according to how players choose their stack of action cards, where they choose to spend their dollars on improvements, and how they bid on resources. The rule that keeps action card stacks from having duplicates means that players are always short of something, so a possible strategy would be to do deny certain cards, such as resources or contracts, from an opponent.
Scott sealed my doom with some timely toxic waste dumping, pushing my pollution levels to their maximum, and leaving me at the mercy of the industrial accident and those pesky government inspectors.
Where’s Bob’s Hat?: This is hearts with only three suits of twenty cards each, a random trump, a simple bidding system, and a bonus/booby prize. Players are dealt a hand of cards, and then bid on taking the most cards of a particular suit or suits, or of taking the fewest cards in total, instead of bidding on a number of tricks. The dealer also selects one of the Bob’s Hat cards, which adds a bonus or penalty to final score. Possession of Bob’s Hat changes throughout the round. Players win points for making their bid, plus a bonus for the actual number of cards taken, a flat penalty for missing the bid, and play continues for twelve rounds.
Here’s the catch that makes it fun: players receive one more card in each subsequent round, so, in the late rounds, most of the cards in the deck are in play, which makes bidding very tricky indeed. It’s possible to bid, and win, both fewest cards and single suit, or to bid for all three suits. And, larger hand sizes means that the Bob’s Hat card changes possession more frequently, so you might want to select the penalty card if you’ve got a really good hand, because it might hurt your opponent more if he steals it/is forced to take it in the last trick.
This is a fun sorbet for a game evening.
After Work
Week Eight
I’ve got that audition project, which is great, but what’s even better is the fact that I don’t have to work at the office while Scott’s in town.
Understanding potential employers are certainly a step in the right direction!
Comics!
Midnight, Mass #7: Family is the theme of this issue. As the Kadmons put the finishing touches on the mansion repairs, their assistant fights with her parents over her choice of career. She left a promising career at a software giant on the West Coast over a broken heart, and her parents feel betrayed by her choice of the Kadmons over any other sensible employer.
Well, she’s being pursued by some manner of spirits, that’s why, so she’s probably sought refuge with the Kadmons without telling them why. Since the Kadmons have brought her into their family, this will be another betrayal, and if this series was ongoing rather that limited, then the consequences and importance of that betrayal would be played out over the long term. As it stands now, though, I’m not that invested in Jenny’s relationship with the Kadmons.
I was very interested, nonetheless, in the revelation that Adam’s father had himself abandoned the family heritage of occult investigation, and that he expressly forbade Adam from having anything to do with it. Adam’s uncle had to train him in secret, and then hypnotize him so that Adam would remember nothing but normal family outings instead of those training sessions–which raises interesting questions about how much choice Adam had in his own career, and in his own family betrayal.
Powers TPB: Little Deaths: This trade collects some smaller stories and ephemera from the first year of publication, and it makes for an interesting read, as always. The first story is a three-issue mystery featuring the death of a Superman-type figure, and the sleazy celebrity mid-world superheroes in the Powers universe find themselves: gossip magazines, scandals, and groupies. Everybody wants a piece of the hero, as we find out in this trio of stories.
It’s clear, from this and the “Roleplay” trades, that the residents of the city are more interested in how they can use the resident heroes for their own ends, than in the heroics themselves. Human nature, I guess.
The next story features Warren Ellis, one of the noted crazed Brit comics writers, riding with John Walker for research into a comic. It’s a story about the nature of comics narrative, its cultural importance relative to other media, and the strange proliferation of a single type of story within the comics market. I had read Ellis’ opinions on this subject before, so that fell a little flat, but this issue applies those opinions in an interesting way. A great single issue.
The final story has a confusing publication history. It’s called “The Shark” and has been published twice: first, as a regular short comic in a 1/2 issue giveaway (1/2 issues are usually promotional gimmicks), and then this same story is reprinted in the “Powers Annual” and padded with court transcripts of the subsequent trial. It is almost a “Law and Order” approach to comics, but the second half falls flat because the artist is limited to producing those ubiquitous artists’ renditions, instead of actual storytelling. It’s a good read, but I think I’d have been a little ticked off had I paid full retail for the “Powers Annual”.
And, as an extra bonus, they’ve reprinted the Powers Colouring / Activity Book.
Weekend Roundup
Thursday began with an early meeting with the folks at the game company, and ended with a case of the chills. The meeting had been scheduled for 10:00, but my eagerness to arrive on time, coupled with my reluctance to hang around in a coffee shop for a lengthy amount of time, had me wandering the grey, damp and cold Old Port for about an hour before the meeting. At that point, the chill had well and truly settled in, and no amount of coffee or warm office space was going to shift it.
The meeting at the game company went well, and I left with some notes and some sample games to explore. Then, I tramped around downtown for a little while, picked up my comics, picked up my usual minimal assortment of cards from the latest Warlord expansion, and headed back home on a bus full of coughing university students.
Once there, I really started feeling under the weather but, with a new project, new cards and new comics, I really wasn’t in any position to relax!
When Dina came home, we embarked on a whirlwind housecleaning binge in preparation for Scott’s visit. Unfortunately, my brother has allergy issues with our cats, so we always take special care to vaccuum and disinfect thoroughly before he shows up.
I continued the cleaning on Friday, and also cleared more boxes piled in the kitchen and put them either in the basement or in the stairwell storage area. Afterwards, I started working on my work project, and whiled away the afternoon.
Aside from Scott’s arrival, the big event of Friday evening was a surprise going-away party for Dina’s old Eicon buddy, Melissa. Well, the party itself wasn’t a surprise, but the number of people in attendance certainly was. Dina had invited more people than Melissa expected, and made reservations for the large party at Hot and Spicy. Scott was due to meet us there directly from the airport, and he fit in with the rest of the group pretty well. The evening was a pleasant and enjoyable surprise for everyone.
Saturday morning, I knew that I was fighting off the cold/stomach flu that’s making the rounds of Montreal, so I reached right for the vitamins and echinecea. Had I started this on Thursday, then it probably would have been more effective, but still, better late than never.
We spent the morning watching cartoons and videotaped TV shows, the afternoon shopping at Costco and playing Virtua Fighter 4, and then, in the evening, we, along with Maggie, went over to Terence and Irene’s apartment for dinner and conversation. They were, respectively, delicious and enjoyable.
The highlight of the evening, for me, came during a reminiscence of past comedy performances among Terence and his friends. Maggie had joked about a friend’s comment upon learning of her engagement to Andrew: specifically, that she would be “Mrs. Trinidad.”
Andrew’s stage name for stand-up comedy was “Dr. Trinidad.” I had a flashback to my CEGEP days, when a group of friends would go to the Comedyworks every Tuesday and watch On the Spot Improv (featuring Terence), and a number of opening acts. “Dr. Trinidad” was one such act.
I asked, sheepishly, if during his act, Andrew ever sang a parody version of “I am a Rock / I am an Island” that used the lyrics “I am a Wok / I am an Appliance” among other substitutions.
Yup, same Dr. Trinidad.
Freaky…
Sunday continued the trend of wet, cold, and unpleasant weather. Fortunately, we had nothing better planned than staying inside and watching television. Specifically, watching football, which we hadn’t done together for a while. It’s always amusing to shout improbable advice and complaints at the screen. That becomes a goal in and of itself.
But before we did that, we did, in fact, venture outside, to rent a DVD and scout Blockbuster for intriguing used PS2 games. I was lucky enough to find a copy of Metal Gear Solid II: Sons of Liberty, which I snapped up without much ado, and Scott found a medieval fantasty adventure game.
Then, we went home, had lunch, parked ourselves in front of the TV, and enjoyed some quality. Dina had some projects she wanted to catch up on, and so, with her dislike of televised non-golf / non-figure skating sporting events, she was happy for the opportunity to get them done.
As the afternoon progressed, it was becoming clear that Dina and Scott were fighting off the same bug that I had brought home on Thursday. Uh-oh!
I’m a very bad contagious husband / host.
In the evening, Francois game over with his suitcase full of board games, and the three of us played Cartagena, Industrial Waste, and Where’s Bob’s Hat?. As always, we can count on Francois to introduce to interesting and provocative and mildly addictive games, and these were no exception.
I should think that it’s no surprise that Scott, with his time working for a major automobile manufacturer, won Industrial Waste thanks to strategic innovations in materials and labour, propitious layoffs, good cash reserves, and timely dumping of toxic waste on Francois and I.
We had a good time, but we’re all feeling the effects of the bug. Dina is okay to work, but Scott and I have a very quiet day planned for today.
Maybe next time Scott comes for a visit, I can arrange not to be not quite so contagious…[grin].
Today\’s the Day!
Yep, Scott’s coming over for a four-day visit. I foresee much gaming, talking, splurging, dining in better restaurants than Windsor can offer, videos, fraternal punches in the shoulder, and perhaps scotch instead of Kool-Aid.
Good times ahead!
I May Have Broken a Promise to My Brother…
…but I think he’ll understand.
Scott’s coming for a visit from Friday through Wednesday, and I joked that I would try my best not to find a job until after he left.
Well…
That game company contacted me today and asked me to start work on a design document tomorrow. The success of this project determines whether or not they make me an offer for a full-time position.
Wish me luck!
After Work: Week Seven
I attended a very promising job interview at a computer game startup company in Old Montreal. The interview was for a position as a game designer, which, for the purposes of this company, has less to do with coming up with new and innovative game ideas than producing the best possible versions of existing game concepts and managing the production of those games. All the little consistencies in game design, all the aspects of interface design and clever terminology that I look for in games, would be in my purview. I’d be responsible for drafting a user-oriented design document that lists all the gameplay aspects that the programmers would have to follow, as well as managing the game project, playtesting the game, and writing the user doc, help files, and some of the marketing bumpf.
In other words, this job seems to combine my interests in game and documentation design, with my aptitudes for writing. It would also be a welcome evolution in my career path.
I hope I hear back from them. And if I don’t, at least I have an idea about how to shift directions in my career.