http://www.kqed.org/weblog/joystick/ennoemail@noemail.org (Michael Cheng)Tue, 10 Jul 2007 07:31:14 PDTBlogger http://www.blogger.com74125noemail@noemail.orgnoThis is an XML content feed. It is intended to be viewed in a newsreader or syndicated to another site. Copy and paste the address currently in your browser address bar into a newsreader or podcast application to get the feed. There are a number of links at this address that can help you get started: http://www.kqed.org/rss/http://www.kqed.org/weblog/joystick/2007/06/mic-check.htmlMichael ChengThu, 21 Jun 2007 20:43:22 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027141.post-70821978945614300161,2,3...http://www.kqed.org/weblog/joystick/2006/10/respect.htmlMichael ChengFri, 06 Oct 2006 00:10:17 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027141.post-116011861716024175It's such a hard thing to pin down. How does one earn it or develop it for another? Is it through?... loyalty merit excelling giving taking sharing checking egos being judicious leading following setting examples effort tenacity strength flexibility smarts shrewdness Is it all of them? It's like everyone has their own weird way of developing or interpreting it. Regardless of how it comes http://www.kqed.org/weblog/joystick/2006/08/lesson-learned.htmlMichael ChengTue, 29 Aug 2006 00:43:10 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027141.post-115683739030698379As I grow through my learning experience of being a lead level designer, I have been taught a valuable lesson. Don't release control over any part of the level design. I thought that I could let an area of our game go with a level designer that I trust. Even after this disaster I will still continue to trust him. However by doing so it's like I opened the door to the sharks. Now that I'm http://www.kqed.org/weblog/joystick/2006/08/follow-your-dreams-or-get-real.htmld. changWed, 23 Aug 2006 20:48:34 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027141.post-115639069509796912At first I was going to subtitle this post "Follow your game-making dreams like a crack-crazed, howling, insensate lemming plunging from the peaks of Mt. Everest into the fiery pits of Hell itself." However, on learning more about the project, I will reserve judgement because I simply don't know all the facts. It looks like the tech demo might be alright. What am I talking about? I'm preaching http://www.kqed.org/weblog/joystick/2006/08/five-things-not-to-do-when-starting.htmld. changWed, 17 Jan 2007 11:01:17 PSTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027141.post-115635590958727157Damon's doing a lot RIGHT with Kaos War. He's working hard. He's motivating people just by his presence and his words. He's recruiting talented people from around the world - people he's never even met. This guy has charisma, and he's getting stuff done. For Chrissake, the guy actually managed to get real funding from a game company. He deposited a check. I've never deposited a check except as http://www.kqed.org/weblog/joystick/2006/07/light-at-end-of-tunnel.htmlMichael ChengSat, 29 Jul 2006 12:15:17 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027141.post-115420051713903524Last night I was at the office until some insane hour of midnight. Yeah talk about loserville on a Friday night. Thanks to how much I have been working lately my dating life has fallen off a cliff. So if there are any lovely ladies out there in Los Angeles reading this and can take pity on an overworked game designer email me. Anyway back to the point at hand. So even though I have been http://www.kqed.org/weblog/joystick/2006/07/im-meltinggggggggggggggggggg.htmlMichael ChengMon, 24 Jul 2006 19:42:35 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027141.post-115379535561747070Argh it is scorching hot in Los Angeles right now and our air conditioning in the office is broken. It makes it impossible to think, and it makes the day to day stress of development that much more explosive. I'm finding myself sweating (literally) a discussion even when I'm not even that concerned about it. Add the current overtime schedule and you get the idea. Calgon take me away.http://www.kqed.org/weblog/joystick/2006/07/why-hip-hop-sucks-in-96.htmlMichael ChengTue, 18 Jul 2006 00:22:36 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027141.post-115320735617856034As DJ Shadow puts it in Endtroducing, "It's the money..." A decade later. That's why video games suck in 06.http://www.kqed.org/weblog/joystick/2006/07/ode-to-thee-board-of-whiteness_18.htmlMichael ChengTue, 18 Jul 2006 00:17:20 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027141.post-115320704059696387Whiteboards are the best. I don't know how I've been able to survive without one by my side for so long. Instead of I've been amassing piles of paper that have endless sketches, doodles, and notes on them. Maybe it's the smell of the markers that makes me happy when I'm drawing and explaining ideas on one. I wish there was a whiteboard that could vectorize images drawn on it and dump it http://www.kqed.org/weblog/joystick/2006/07/simcity-los-angeles.htmlMichael ChengSun, 02 Jul 2006 11:15:41 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027141.post-115186414111384382I think that Will Wright is on to something good with the latest expansion of SimCity 4 Rush Hour. He should tie SimCity 4 Rush Hour into a city planning simulation of Los Angeles. Built into this game should be a tracking system that would relay the results to the urban planning department of Los Angeles. Due to the popularity of SimCity, researchers could collect a large pool of test data ofhttp://www.kqed.org/weblog/joystick/2006/07/embrace-chaos.htmlMichael ChengSat, 01 Jul 2006 11:22:48 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027141.post-115177816874356240Sorry I've been missing in action again. I've been struggling a lot lately with my feelings towards my job. Some days I wish I had a nine to five job where I wouldn't have to stress out at work and collect my paycheck. But then I remember when I was doing that at a bank and how I was driven crazy by boredom and monotony. That's what drove me to search and stumble across the video game http://www.kqed.org/weblog/joystick/2006/06/flash-play.htmld. changFri, 30 Jun 2006 21:39:15 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027141.post-115172875525856553I feel compelled to let you kind folks know about this webgame from the guys at the Wooden Robot (a comedy troupe in San Francisco that does web stuff and films too). While not exactly 3D splendor, it does encompass a significant portion of the human experience, if you know what I mean. It's a statement. Check it out. (You want to empty the bag.) If you're looking for something a little higher http://www.kqed.org/weblog/joystick/2006/06/gaming-vs-theatre.htmld. changFri, 30 Jun 2006 21:55:08 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027141.post-114997310636775587On Wednesday, I helped to judge a videogame contest here in Austin. It's a two-month project involving teams of aspiring game creators who collaborate, squabble, and ideate (isn't that a crap word?) in an attempt to generate something unique and marketable (aren't those antithetical?). Both teams came up with functioning demos using the Unreal Tournament 2004 engine, and both had some cool ideashttp://www.kqed.org/weblog/joystick/2006/05/you-me-and-wii.htmlDanielSat, 27 May 2006 00:16:19 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027141.post-114871417976298537You probably wonder what has been happening since I last posted. Well here is the abridged version; I got a freelance job. Then a got a contract job for Black Point Studios. Suddenly I had 2 jobs. I was working all day at Black Point and then come home to work on the freelance before I go to bed. Luckily this weekend I have downtime on both jobs. I also got a White DS lite from Japan (http://www.kqed.org/weblog/joystick/2006/04/pepsi-wrinkles-pixels-and-michael.htmlDanielFri, 21 Apr 2006 16:06:57 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027141.post-114566081753923401I have recently had to work on five different programs for making art. I remember in school people were either using Maya or 3d Studio Max for their 3d modeling. Students were so passionate about their one program, it was on the line of Yankees vs Red Socks, Coke vs Pepsi, or Jessica vs Ashlee Simpson. Come into the "real world" and peoples preferences are less intense but now its the http://www.kqed.org/weblog/joystick/2006/04/one-of-these-days.htmlMichael ChengFri, 14 Apr 2006 00:53:17 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027141.post-114500119711408309It's like the saying that money makes the world go 'round. The more success that video games garner the more money that is getting pumped into it and is at stake. Guess who shows up then? Marketers, producers, advertisers and people who have commercial interests yet have opposing "creative" visions typically. The industry stinks in my opinion right now. Everyone is clamoring to tie into http://www.kqed.org/weblog/joystick/2006/04/gameplay-and-playing-games.htmlDanielFri, 07 Apr 2006 23:57:18 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027141.post-114445989574565327I went to my local EB game store and looked at the demo of a baseball game. What got me was the delivery of the pitch. Fastballs, curve balls, change ups and some rising pitches. What hit me was that while I was watching this, I really wanted these styles of throws to be added in a first person shooter. Imagine throwing a curve ball or sidearm a grenade around a corner. Maybe adjusting yourhttp://www.kqed.org/weblog/joystick/2006/04/new-tack-on-thumbtack.htmld. changTue, 04 Apr 2006 01:28:52 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027141.post-114413933223518985Man, Michael, you're on a tear...! Very impressive. Well, I wanted to respond to Mike's post from March 6th with some new angles. Hopefully you folks will find it interesting to see two designers honing and whacking on an idea a little - and hopefully Mike won't mind. ;) On the 6th, Mike brainstormed up a bold new idea that pivots on something very common yet also very evocative - the thumbtackhttp://www.kqed.org/weblog/joystick/2006/03/inspiration.htmlMichael ChengTue, 28 Mar 2006 01:53:26 PSTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027141.post-114353960637179280It can be a slow burn that eventually catches up to you. Sometimes it never does. Other times it comes freely without effort. It's funny how we fool ourselves into thinking we have any sort of control over it.http://www.kqed.org/weblog/joystick/2006/03/gdc-and-me.htmlDanielThu, 23 Mar 2006 21:44:36 PSTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027141.post-114317907640371298I would have to say the GDC was a fun / productive experience for me. I arrived on Wednesday a bit before noon and immediately went to the job fair. I got to see some old friends and teachers, recieved good feedback from my portfolio, and even got a few interviews. After I dropped off my reel to the places I wanted to apply, I went with my friends to amass a bagful of freebies. My friend http://www.kqed.org/weblog/joystick/2006/03/god-of-war-2.htmlMichael ChengWed, 22 Mar 2006 22:24:09 PSTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027141.post-114309504906240125Woohoo! My game was officially announced today at GDC. It's nice to know that our game exists now, and we can all start working on it.http://www.kqed.org/weblog/joystick/2006/03/gdc-countdown.htmlDanielWed, 22 Mar 2006 20:30:37 PSTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027141.post-114302218751209073The Game Developer's Conference (GDC) is this week and I will be attending from Wednesday to Friday mostly for the job fair. I went last year before I graduated and was impressed by all the displays and products. Sony had PSP units you could play and Nintendo had Donkey Konga and their handheld Nintendo DS on display. It was a blast for me last year but this year is more serious. I didn'thttp://www.kqed.org/weblog/joystick/2006/03/gdc-gouge-developers-cash.htmlMichael ChengMon, 20 Mar 2006 22:51:09 PSTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027141.post-114292386900158475Why is the Game Developers Conference so f*&king expensive? It's not like you walk away with the magic potion that makes games fun. I went one year when my company paid for it. It was cool to network and listen to people rant. But seriously if this conference is about networking more than education, shouldn't it be a whole lot cheaper so it draws more people? Or maybe I'm just a cheap skate.http://www.kqed.org/weblog/joystick/2006/03/e3.htmlMichael ChengThu, 16 Mar 2006 22:52:44 PSTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027141.post-114257836409043996I haven't been to E3 since my first year in the games industry which was back in the year 2000. It's funny reflecting back on that time because I was such a different person back then. I haven't been to E3 since then. It was great seeing the expo first hand, but I felt like I could get the news and scoops faster through the internet. It would also save me a trip to Los Angeles and the http://www.kqed.org/weblog/joystick/2006/03/blinded.htmlMichael ChengTue, 14 Mar 2006 00:13:11 PSTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027141.post-114232399177767964I just finished reading EGM's review of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (GRAW). It's disheartening to hear what some reviewers have to say about next-gen games. A reviewer who gave this game a 10 out of 10 has this to say about it. "GRAW looks and sounds good. Really good." Wait a second. How does it play? Doesn't that matter? In the same review he says, "If you can overcome its fairly nonadult