Monday, March 26, 2007

Know What I Hate about ADD?

When you are in the shower, thinking of game/engine design and then you stop and think to yourself, am I done with the shower or did I just get in? At that point, when you can't remember if you are coming or going...I hate that. So with a death fear of being dirty because you didn't actually take a shower, you start the shower routine all over again.

Yea...I hate that.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Chapter 1

My eyes don't open, but I hear the sprinklers going off. It must be around quarter to seven. Those stupid things are like clockwork, every single day, even on Saturday. I feel the effects of the alcohol from last night and roll over to fall back asleep. The cool breeze blows through the window as I fall back asleep.

The alarm blares in my ear and I reach over to turn it off. I grab the cell phone and attempt to go through the motions, the alarm is still blaring. I sit up and continue to fiddle with the alarm on my cell phone. The siren dissipates as it goes by the house down the street. I slump over and stare of my phone and toss it aside. It misses the nightstand and falls to the floor. I think to myself, "Man, what a gyp. Sometimes it sucks to live in Oceanside." I swing my feet around and wipe my eyes. I find the remote to the TV and turn off the music channel. Hey, what do you want from me, it helps me sleep at night. I pay a flat rent, so it's covered in the money I fork over each month. I curl my toes on the rug and attempt to stand up. Obviously, I lose my balance and sit back down on the bed. There are some days when it's good to be just 29 years old and then there are those days that it's bad to be 400+ pounds of fun. I bet you can guess what today is. I tiptoe through the clothes strewn about all over the floor and bang my knee on the computer table as I make my way for the bedroom door. The sun is shining through the curtains as I open my bedroom door and make a beeline for the bathroom.

I'm on the first floor of a two story, 3 bedroom home right at the top of the hill before the Valley. It's good rent and my roomates are nice. I never see them, so that is what probably makes it work out better. Nobody appears to be up yet, which is no surprise for a Saturday morning. The roomies like to party sometimes, nothing wrong with that. I finally make it to the bathroom and close the door behind me. The sun is glaring through the tiny window above the shower. I shield my eyes and attempt to make sure it all gets in the toilet. I wipe my eyes one more time and glance over at the sink. What the hell? There is blood all over the inside of the sink. Not a small amount of blood either, this was a fair amount of blood, just spashed everywhere, including some on the mirror. What the heck is going on here. I finish my business, flush and head back to my room. I peer out of the small hallway between the bedroom and the bathroom, nobody is around. I'm going to get to the bottom of this. I was told this is my bathroom and that the traffic would be kept to a minimum. Where did all that blood come from? Did someone get hurt? I toss some shorts and my Reebok sleeveless T-shirt on and re-emerge, looking for answers. There is blood on the front door handle and a trail of blood leading to the kitchen. Nothing good can come of this. As I enter the kitchen, the water is running and the sliding glass door is busted. There is plenty of blood near the broken glass. This must be where it all came from. The party got to rowdy last night and someone fell through, or perhaps put through, the sliding glass door. I guess they haven't had time to clean it up. The blood trail leads right out to the garage. I reach for the door handle and open the door. I can't believe what I am seeing.

There, right in front of me, are my two roomates, Shawna and Dee, eating the other roommate, Dee's husband, Aaron. They are devouring him by hand. Blood and entrails strewn about the garage floor next to the car he was restoring. They are kneeling over him, gorging themselves. I choke back a gag reflex, covering my mouth. I guess it wasn't quiet enough, both of their heads snap to me. Their green glowing eyes staring right through me, with pieces of the inside of Aaron in their hands. Shawna screams at me at the top of her lungs and lunges towards me. The blood curdling scream snapped me back into reality. I slammed the door and threw the deadbolt to locked right as she slammed into it. What the hell was going on? Has the world gone mad? I fall to the floor, slipping on the still wet blood that is covering the the kitchen floor. It's like an ice skating rink, I turn over, attempt to get my feet under me and scamper back to my room. I quickly slam the door behind me and push the computer desk in front of the door. I stop a minute to control my breathing, I am practically gasping for every breath. I fumble for my phone and dial my wife, Marnie. No answer, I scream some sort of garbage into the phone, the only discernable words being "call me as soon as possible". Where do I go from here. I pull back the curtains just enough to see out the window. They are everywhere. People walking with blank stares, seemingly mindless. A woman runs down the street screaming. The neighbor appears from behind the bushes and tackles her. Her screams are drowned out as he begins to tear into her flesh. A few other "people" emerge from down the street and they begin to rip her limb from limb. I had to get out of here...I had to get to Arizona to Marnie.

Friday, March 23, 2007

Mah Top 5


So Capt. Cheese started another one. This is my list of of my top 5 favorite/fun/interesting cards from a TCG/CCG.

5. *insert title here* - World of Warcraft TCG - This card is coming out in the next expansion and I can't spoil it yet. I will update this post when it has been revealed.
4. Wormhole -Star Trek CCG- I used this card to grief many opponents in Star Trek CCG 1st Edition. They often found their crew/ship at the Montana Missile Complex.
3. Howling Mine - Magic:TheGathering- Simple, elegant card design and a strong game effect. It has been a favorite of mine for years.
2. More Than Meets the Eye - Star Trek CCG 2nd Edition - This was the first card that I ever "officially" designed in my game design career that was printed. It wasn't the best card in the set, probably not even a "good" card, but it was my first and you always remember your first.

1. Droid Merchant - Star Wars CCG - This card almost single handedly jump my "TCG" career ahead 5 years. And it was probably the most fun I've ever had playing a deck.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

New Hire


This actually happened last week, but I waited a bit for it to be official.
I was hired on officially by Upper Deck this past Monday. I am an Associate Game Designer. A bit of a step down from Lead Game Design at The Company, but this is a bigger company and more room for advancement, so I'm willing to start out on the ground floor, etc.
I'm pretty happy and official now. For those of you that knew I had an issue, I will be posting a copy of my business card as soon as I get them. And I'll make sure to give Scott G. a couple copies, you know...for all those that he lent me over the years.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Grats!


Marnie's sister, Megan and her husband Craig are proud parents of a beautiful new baby girl. Her name is Addisyn. She was born this morning at 4:21am and was 8 pounds 4 ounces.

Friday, March 09, 2007

Go Tell a Spartan


This movie kicked so much ass I don't even know where to begin. There is plenty of blood, boobs, more blood, action, honor, and pride.
I definitely will see this movie more than once this year.
FOR SPARTA!

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Beep!


I miss the conversations that were had that I was able to give my 2 cents on.

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

YO JOE

Great News

I'm excited already. I think Mark Wahlberg would make a great Duke. The thing that I'm concerned about is the "prequal"ness of the proposed plot. I hope there will be plenty of action, with just a little bit of scheming.

Monday, March 05, 2007

April 23rd????? Noooooo!!!!!!


I don't know if I can wait that long. The cliffhanger at the end of this episode kinda gave some stuff away.
I do hope they off a couple more heroes for this season and start next season with just a handful of them.
My theories -
Peter doesn't die, but neither does Sylar
And I wonder if Soran still has the Trilithium or if there was even any trilithium to begin with.

Friday, March 02, 2007

Top 5 Baddies

Following in The Cheese's footsteps and listing my top 5 favorite villains. Now, I may have the definition wrong, I remember having a conversation back in the day with Mr. Lischke about what the term "villain" means and that it is not synonymous with "bad guy". Here is my list -

5. Nurse Mildred Ratched - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

4. Simon Phoenix - Demolition Man

3. Darwin and Minerva Mayflower - Hudson Hawk

2. Lo Pan - Big Trouble in Little China

1. Zorg - The Fifth Element

- I mean c'mon, did you really expect anyone else to show up as #1?