Wake Up

It has been far too long since I've taken the time to write out my cerebration, and while I think of this as a somewhat sad thing, there has been much to keep me busy (and happy!) in life. This has been the first wintertime since I believed in snow days that I've felt truly happy during this dark and dreary time of year. Time is flying by me faster and faster, and before I even realized it, I'm sitting at my computer blasting Gemini's Graduation track and gearing up for the new year. Time goes on and on.

The video above reminds me of all of the things I have to be happy about in this coming 2012. I have hope that the humanity of the future Carl Sagan speaks about is coming -- it's close, and I hope that 2012 will forever be remembered for playing its part in the betterment of humankind. I hope that we can begin to agree -- to truly agree, understand, empathize, and know what truths exist and how we can use those to be better, happier, and intelligent.

There are so many exciting reasons to be alive!

Stress Refief

"Go[ing] with the flow will make your transition ever so much easier."

I went out to dinner with roommates/senior capstone teammates Sara Seffels and Alexander May and received this fortune cookie. With graduation just a few weeks away, it felt very fitting to receive this (although unfortunately I couldn't eat the cookie.. explained later). We had spent the whole day working with our team on Mountain, and it's really coming together. We've finished up a lot of the meshing, and most of our mechanics are in and ready for Beta on Thursday. We are SO CLOSE, and I can feel us creeping towards completion.

Other than working on senior team, my other classes are going smoothly. I was a bit out of commission for a few days because I had a lot of dental work done. I had a root canal and crown put on and ended up being at the dentist for 4 hours. It was a pretty intense experience, but I'm happy it's done, and it was important for me to do. All in all it ended up being really expensive, but it could have been a lot worse if I had waited any longer. It's made it difficult to eat (yay soups!), and Advil has been my best friend. It was definitely something to remember.

Spending the day on Mountain was exactly what I needed to feel close to graduation. The mountain of work (no pun intended) I feel in front of me feels much smaller now -- even doable! And work on Arookoo continues to be exciting and interesting.

Job things have also been exciting lately on many fronts, and I can't wait to see how these opportunities pan out. I'm so excited for the future. Life is great.

GDC Reflection

The Game Developer's Conference this year was a blast. I always enjoy having the chance to network and learn new things, and when both of those things happen successfully I feel great. I took a lot of notes at the sessions I was able to make it to, and I think that they will help me prepare for the job hunt.

GDC this year was doubly exciting because I got the chance to spend some time with my boss, Mark Baxter, from Fit Brains. It was great to finally meet him in person and pick his brain about social games, the game industry, and life. We had a great time romping around the city, staying out late with some of my other colleagues, and getting a nice taste of San Francisco.

This trip was quite different from last year. I am graduating in just 7 weeks, and I could actually approach this conference as a way to seek employment. I have a portfolio website now, things that are completed that I feel proud of, and a few more years of experience under my belt. I actually feel ready to enter into the full-time industry world. And that alone made the experience quite different.

I hope that I can continue to go to GDC every year. I feel that staying connected with the development community is important, and it's a great way to do so.

February? Gone.

I'm sitting on an airplane on my way to GDC right this very second.

Somehow February seemed to go by in a blink of an eye -- maybe that's because those few days missing can make that much of a difference.

A lot of great things happened this month. Mountain made it through Alpha and has a fully playable game from start to finish completed. A lot of work has to be done still, but it's in a good state and is on its way to something greater. Many of the other senior projects are also looking great, and I'm excited to see them move towards completion. The reality of the closing chapter in my life is really setting in, and it's daunting/exciting/crazyridiculousscary.

I've put together most of my portfolio website. 4 projects are currently live, although 2 of them still need lots of work and could use some additional images. It's difficult to balance the want to explain my experience and the game in detail with the need to be concise and marketable. I've got some more I could put up there, and as the project with Vivity Labs continues I'll be looking to put that up as well. This is a fairly slow process, I'm finding, especially on top of all of my other school work, but it's coming along. I'm still working on it now, and I can only hope that it reaches a respectable state before the end of Spring Break.

Ryan and I have tickets to PAX East for Friday, and I'll be apartment hunting during the week of Spring Break. I've been job searching in the area and all across the US with the hopes that I'll have a job upon graduation. I can hope, can't I?

Anyway, my excitement is running high now. I'm happy to get some time away from Burlington, and I am looking forward to the weeks ahead.

Contract Design Work

I'm pleased announce that I have started another contract with Vivity Labs/Fit Brains in Vancouver and am joining the team as a Game Designer. This time I'll be working on content and systems design, and I'm really looking forward to that. I can't say much about the project yet, but it's in the works, and I'm excited.

You can check out what I worked on for Fit Brains in the past by going here. Word Power: The Green Revolution is the game I focused on, and it was an awesome experience. I'm so excited to be working with them again!

Brahma Kumaris

The Brahma Kumaris, or the BK's as they call themselves sometimes, are a spiritual group located throughout the world. I had the extreme pleasure of representing the Emergent Media Center with a small group of students at their Peace Village in the Catskills of New York state to brainstorm game ideas to help teach young people about their Spotlight Values. I had an incredible time.

Each morning started with a half an hour meditation; all of our meals were vegetarian (and delicious!); the place immediately felt calm, warm and relaxing, and the whole time I was there I felt more motivated, engaged and on point.

This trip was exactly what I needed.

It was great to meet Rene Hidalgo, an audio producer at Ubisoft in Montreal who came with us on the trip, and I hope that the positivity I took from this trip will resonate within me for the rest of the semester.

Portfolio Versus Personal

I'm going through a difficult debate.

My portfolio website is under construction and can be found at www.heatherconover.com, but I'm almost positive that if someone was to attempt to find me on a search engine that the first thing that would come up is this blog.

This is a personal space for me. It is a place where I can dive into the other facets of my life that aren't necessarily involving game design and development. So much of this web space has been a reflection of my growth as an individual and less so about my growth as a professional -- (perhaps those are one in the same?) Either way, I'm not entirely sure if I should directly link to this place from my professional blog. If I don't, am I denying a huge part of my internet presence? Should I just embrace it as part of who I am online?

These questions lead me to evaluate who I am online versus who I am in the real world. I'd like to think that they aren't different from one another, yet it's difficult to know. Doubting that differentiation leads me to believe that what I'd like to think is actually reality. There are many people that acknowledge and embrace their different persona that exist in the digital space. Perhaps I just haven't come to terms with mine yet :P.

I've only got 3 months left until a degree is in my hands and my life transition is kicked into overdrive. I have so many mixed feelings -- excitement, anticipation, relief, nervousness, anxiety -- I know they are all affecting me at the same time, and I'm in a weird place. I have to push hard to stay motivated now and finish my degree with no regrets.

Exciting Transitions

It's been a while.

Somehow it's a new year already. 2011-- bring it on. This is the year of many changes, and I can't wait.

A lot of exciting things have happened this past semester. My senior team project game went forward, which means that Mountain will see a full production cycle with new team members, new creativity, and new directions. I'm incredibly hopeful and excited for the future of this project.

I also purchased my GDC ticket. Another trip out to San Fran during the dingiest, darkest, most depressing part of the year will be exactly what I need to pick me up. I'm excited to get out there and see what the industry has to offer, and I can't wait to show what I have to offer it. It's time to polish up that resume, get that portfolio website live, and figure out the best way to present myself as a capable and enthusiastic game developer.

Damn... do I really only have 4 months left?