 Spring
2008, So Far
Updates On Work I've Done
By Tim Carter (18 March 2008)
Some of the work I've done last year is
starting to emerge...
Frontlines: Fuel of War
A game I worked on, Frontlines: Fuel of
War, was recently released.
Check it out here. One of the reviewers mentioned the
weapons were well developed. Yay! I contributed a big hunk to
flesh them out. Anyway, it's a top-seller, so I'm glad for the
Kaos team.
Disney World Begins Testing Of DS Tour Guide
Another project I
worked on (I did first iteration core design, user-interface design
and design documentation for production)
is now starting to work its way into the media.
Here's a story about it on Gamasutra. I still can't talk
about this very much, but you can check out more about it.
Here's Disney's pamphlet on it.
ER One Conference
I attended the recent ER One Conference in
Washington DC - a conference that deals with hospital
preparedness for "mass casualty incidents" (MCIs). My most
recent client, SimQuest, was there as well.
Among the many presentations, one moment
stuck out. A manager with a hospital that received casualties
from the Virginia Tech shooting was presenting.
Before I get to what he said, that event was
particularly striking for me. Two days after that shooting, I
went to the Alexandria campus of Virginia Tech (I was living in
the Washington DC vicinity at the time) to attend a memorial
(the shooting did not occur there). On the way to the campus I
was on a bus parked at a bus station when the shooter's pictures
broke on the media. One bus driver ran from his vehicle to the
driver of the one I was on, showing the photos on his cellphone.
"Look at what that ***hole just sent NBC!" His anger was,
understandably, palpable. (While I was at
the event, a candlelight vigil, there was a VIP with Secret
Service agents nearby - which I did not realize for some time.) I
spoke with the VT students and offered condolences.
Anyway, back to ER One: the speaker was going
over MCI issues for rural hospitals. After the shooting, morgue
personnel were dealing with the fallen. He told us their
cellphones were ringing - loved ones trying to get through to
them. The audience around me, though hardened through exposure
to trauma cases and disasters, still gasped upon hearing
this. How small images like this can have so
much meaning... Needless to say, the morgue workers could not
bring themselves to answer these phone calls.
Well, at that event the Code Orange
project was being demo'ed. I also touched base with my friend
Bruce Milligan (whom I stayed with), and realized that he had
been on the original Civilization team (uncredited). It
was funny that he had not kept up with the changes to Civ
over its various sequels. Anyway, Bruce has a whack of stuff
he's up to (which I won't jinx by mentioning here).
SimQuest & The Pandemic RTS
Speaking of ER One, I heard word from
SimQuest that their project - which I'm involved with - is
advancing.
UOIT Game Design
Finally, I've been teaching game environment
design (plus filmmaking) at UOIT this winter, which I enjoy. I
find students' thinking less entrenched and indoctrinated than
that of many game development professionals. A few of the game
ideas some teams have come up with, while raw in execution (so
far), are very original.
Fire Zone
I continue to work on my labour of love:
Fire Zone.
That's all for now. |
