Back From GAMA

I made it back safe and sound from the GAMA trade show in Las Vegas. Our product SHARD was a great hit. All the retailers and distributors who saw it seemed to really dig it. That was a great relief.

I took some photos of various booths at the show (including our own). Here they are for your perusal:



This was our booth. My business partner, Scott Jones, who is also the Art Director for the books, is responsible for the amazing look of our booth. It got a lot of attention, and it's clear to see why. Many retailers asked for cardboard versions of the stand-ups of the Kramah and Krilarah (the lion and fox in our booth). They felt it would be a fantastic sales aid for our products. Guess what we're looking into having produced now. ;)

To compare, here is White Wolf's booth:



And Fantasy Flight Games' booth:



And our publisher, Studio 2's booth:



And finally, Hero Games' booth:



So overall, I'd say we did pretty good. The reception was so enthusiastic that we're going to bust our butts to try and get the Basic Compendium out by GenCon of this year. It'll be tough, but we're gonna give it the old college try.

My deepest thanks to Custom Creation who fabricated all our booth materials from Scott's wonderful design, to David Wheeler of Dragon's Lair Comics for his advice and generous help, and to Jim Searcy of Studio 2 Publishing for partnering with us on SHARD.

I'm looking forward to GAMA of next year.

Getting Ready for GAMA

So this coming Saturday my business partner and I drive to Las Vegas for the GAMA Trade Show. It'll be my first time, my business partner's second time. He's done some amazing things for our booth, which I have no doubt will look uber-cool. I'm putting myself into that head-space needed to deal with lots and lots of curious people. We'll get asked a ton of questions, naturally, and I want to be the perfect host: friendly, accessible, eager, polite, and interested in what you have to say. That's not too hard, since I'm mostly there already, but it's hard to maintain that for three days straight. I'll probably collapse when we get back home.

In other news, I'm prepping a new website with friend and comic collaborator Jim Daly. We're hoping to do some fun web comics. Nothing too fancy, just some stories we want to share with other folks. I'll give more updates on the site as we get closer to launch.

Web comics have come a long way and it's my belief that they'll continue to grow and become the way that most folks experience comics. Whereas printed comics are still alive and well today, I think their circulation will continue to shrink. They'll go the way of printed news magazines. Most people get their news online or on TV, so subscriptions for news magazines have decreased. They may even disappear altogether some day when folks start viewing comics on their PDAs or iPhones. We'll see.

IP Creation

So a few things have happened since last time I posted. First and foremost, I am no longer at Bioware. Long story, but the short of it was that it was time for me to explore other options, those options mostly involving doing my own thing.

See, I've realized for a while that there are two types of people in the entertainment industry (and by this term, I mean comics, video games, movies, TV, etc.). One type are the intellectual property (IP) creators, and the second type are the talented artists that work for those IP creators. Well, I've been in the second category for quite some time, so I thought I'd take a crack at the first category.

It was that decision that prompted me to quit Bioware and form a small company with a dear friend of mine, an artist I've known for many years named Scott Jones. Our company, Shard Studios, will be publishing a paper RPG (role-playing game) called SHARD sometime in August. With any luck, we'll be coming out at GenCon this year. The game is based on a world I created a few years ago and ran as a table-top RPG for several friends. The setting was enthusiastically embraced by several incredibly smart and talented people over the years, until finally we decided to try and publish the damn thing and see how it fared in the marketplace.

Who knows? This could become the next Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or it could become the next Jorune (and if you don't know what that is, you understand my point). Until our company becomes successful, times will be tough for me and my family. But we discussed it and decided it was worth the sacrifice. If it hits big, we're sitting pretty. If not, then I'll figure something else out.

But one thing I am certain of, and that's my desire to remain in the category of IP creator. I still intend to go on with my comic book ideas, and my film projects, but I must do so on my own terms and in my own way. If all my creative endeavors fail, I would have at least tried. I can live with that. If one of my IP's becomes well known and leads to bigger opportunities? Well, that's the dream and the hope, isn't it? Either way, I intend to make the journey as entertaining and fulfilling as I can.

Wish me luck!

Support the WGA

I'm sure by now most of you know that the WGA is on strike. There are plenty of sites describing the circumstances and particulars, so I won't get into them here. Suffice to say that I support the WGA in their endeavor and encourage all writers to do the same.

The big companies are just plain greedy. Simple as that. And they've gotten used to writers being pushovers. In fact, the studios in general seem to have quite a disdain for writers. The attitude baffles me. It always has. Without writers, there is no content. Nothing to shoot, light, perform, do FX for, do sound design for, edit, distribute, make money from. Nada. Zippo. Zilch.

I hope this strike is resolved quickly, but not if the WGA has to take it up the arse again like they did for video/DVD residuals. Strike until the matter is resolved to the benefit of writers.

Writers deserve to make money off their work. It's really pretty simple. And if studios are profiting from internet downloads of TV shows and movies, then the writers should too. This entire situation is so basic, it boggles my mind that the WGA even has to strike to make their point. But never underestimate the power of greed, huh?

In any case, the WGA did choose to strike so I say: "Godspeed, WGA!"

It's Been Awhile

I've been meaning to post for months now, but life has a way of intruding. It's funny that way.

As far as recent events, my wife and I got back from Munich at the end of July. I had been invited to attend IDG's Making Games Conference. I spoke on the topic of writing for massively multi-player games. The trip was wonderful. Munich is a beautiful city and we definitely intend to go back.

METROID PRIME 3: CORRUPTION was released a few weeks ago to great reviews. I'm proud to have this title on my resume. It looks like it will sell quite well. I haven't played it yet (still don't own a Wii), but I intend to rectify that situation as soon as possible.

I'll be attending the Austin Game Developer's Conference next week. Lots of stuff to see and do there. Quite a few Bioware folks will be there, so it should be a great "work" conference. Looking forward to meeting some of the Bioware folks from Edmonton.

Work on ANCIENT EVIL continues, a bit more slowly than I'd like now that I'm working full-time at Bioware, but progressing nonetheless. My buddy Jim Daly is wrapping up his work on BAD PLANET so we'll be turning our attentions back to GOOD GREEN EARTH next. I'm very excited to be back on this project.

So that's it for now. I'll try and update much more frequently in the future.

Once More Into the Breach

My manager goes out with my new spec next week. I'm still a relative virgin when it comes to taking out a spec. I've only done it once before with my horror script BLOOD WATERS. That went fairly well, I suppose, for it having been my first spec. It got good buzz on the tracking boards and earned me a few fans. Pretty much what I expect out of most spec take-outs.

My new spec, another horror feature, is titled REVENANT. I've been working on it for a little over a year. To me, that's a short period of time. Usually, I work on a script for several years. Or at least I had up to this point. I'm getting faster at it, no doubt. We'll see if I'm getting better. If the script doesn't go into any studios and gets passes from all the producers and production companies, I'll know I need to spend more time on my next one.

I'm determined not to think about it once the script goes out, but we all know I'm fooling myself. I'll think about it nonstop. I'm pretty sure I'll dream about it (well, it'll probably be more like nightmares). But honestly, what I expect out of this is more of the same. I hope it gets good buzz. I hope to make more fans. And I hope it leads to some pitch or assignment meetings. I don't expect specs to sell. Most industry folks don't. The spec market is really tough, especially now.

In other news, I've gotten the "band" back together. I'm teaming up once again with the crew that took out BLOOD WATERS last April. I'm determined to get this movie made, even if it's at a much lower budget. My allies are two dear friends: producing partner Martha Avedikian, and director Tim Cunningham. We share such a unified vision for the script that it would be criminal if I didn't continue to explore the possibilities with these talented individuals.

This is really the direction I've been steering in ever since I decided I wanted to go into the film industry. Well actually, that's not quite true. I always thought I'd be a writer-director but as I've gotten older, I've gotten lazier. It requires an enormous amount of energy to direct a film. I've never directed a feature, but I did direct several shorts at film school. And even those were exhausting. I got sick after each one, without fail. Not to say that a writer-producer wouldn't work hard, but much of that work could be done from an office or on the phone. Dealing with the cast and crew on location and with the day-to-day problems of production is a younger man's job. Or at least a less lazy man's job.

We'll see how it goes this time around. I realize it might take us years to get the movie made. But hey, that's okay with me. One of the benefits of being much more lazy is that I'm much more patient as well. Everything comes to he who waits, they say. Well, I guess I'm ready to wait for this one.

At least for now.

I have benefits again

I recently accepted a full-time senior writer position at Bioware Austin. They're working on a yet to be announced massively multiplayer online (MMO) game. It's a privilege to be joining a company with such a great reputation for excellent storytelling. There are some really smart folks at Bioware and I'm eager to start collaborating with them on something that I feel will be truly remarkable. Keep your eye on future announcements from Bioware about their MMO. It's going to be exciting.

I'd like to talk a little bit about Bioware's hiring process. I've been working in the video game industry for over eight years. I've gone on my fair share of interviews and have faced some tough competition for other gigs. None of that prepared me for what Bioware had in store.

When I became aware that Bioware was opening a studio here in Austin and hiring writers, I was already working on a contract for Retro Studios. I'd been hired as the writer for Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. A few of my friends, fellow screenwriters, applied for writer positions and much to my delight, two of them were hired. They had nothing but good things to report about their experiences and loved the company. That's pretty much what I had expected.

After my Metroid gig was over, I inquired if there were still any writer positions open at Bioware. There was one left. So I read their submission policy and sent in my resume along with the required Neverwinter Nights module. That was the first hurdle. As far as I know, if they don't like your module, it's pretty much over at that point.

Well, they liked mine well enough to advance me to the next stage: a timed dialogue test. I was given certain story guidelines and told I had to create another NWN module within a limited amount of time. I got to work. Unfortunately, I came down with a bad sinus infection the weekend I had set aside for the test, but I felt I couldn't really reschedule. I needed my wife to watch our two year-old while I worked on the module and I didn't want to keep putting it off. That same weekend, a freeze hit Austin and shut the city down for several days. As a result, we lost our power and my computer shut down right in the middle of my test. I almost gave up right then and there. Fortunately, cooler heads (my wife's) prevailed. When power was restored, I made up the lost work and turned in the test before my deadline.

A few days later, I received another email. They'd liked my module enough to advance me to the next stage: yet another timed dialogue test. This time, it was much smoother sailing. I wasn't sick and we didn't lose our power. Plus, I had learned the NWN toolset and knew basically what to expect. I'd also received feedback on my previous two modules. Part of this second test, I believe, was aimed at seeing if I could incorporate that feedback. I sent in my second module and waited for the results.

Apparently they liked the second one because a few days later Bioware contacted me to schedule a phone interview with the creative director. The interview went fairly smoothly. The creative director and I seemed to get along, at least on the phone. At the conclusion of the interview, he told me that the next step would be an onsite interview with the entire Bioware team.

About a week later, I went into the Bioware offices and interviewed with the entire writing team, the lead writer, creative director, studio director, lead combat designer, lead systems designer, and the lead worldbuilder. I went into the office at 9:15 and walked about around 1 pm. I was given a bathroom break during that time. As I was walking out, I was told: "We'll be in touch."

The very next week, I was contacted by the lead writer and asked when I was available to start. I felt that was a good sign. He said they'd contact me with my formal offer in a few days. Sure enough, a few days later, Bioware made me the formal offer via phone. I accepted immediately, of course. The paperwork would be FedEx'd to my home.

The entire time I was going through the process, I was evaluating it. I've seen how other companies hire their staff. Sometimes those hiring practices have been sound, and sometimes not so much. But I had never experienced a process quite like Bioware's. Ultimately, I deemed the process a very effective one. Do I think that good writers could get lost in the shuffle? Sure, no process is perfect. But theirs is pretty darn good.

One thing I do know. Having gone through the process made me savor the final result that much more. I felt like I'd undergone a "trial by fire" and come out relatively unscathed. I warn anyone considering a job at Bioware, however, that this hiring process is not for the faint-of-heart. But then any company with a rep like theirs probably shouldn't be easy to join.