2006-10-12

Quakecon 2006

Quakecon Logo

On a personal level, Quakecon was an immense joy. There was always something entertaining happening. Even when a third of the network lost power for a short while the spirit was fun. I got to meet even more interesting people this year, including several game developers I considered prominent and highly respected.

On a development level things went pretty good, considering the circumstances. I was happy to see Carcinogen again, and meet his girlfriend for the first time (who was also great). However, it turned out that Carcinogen and I were the only ones there to represent Team Reaction. Likewise, Wirehead Studios was being represented only by Dr. Jones, Kenny, and Lee'mon.

I knew a lot of people weren't going to be able to make it this year due to personal issues, and Quakecon's late announcement, but to actually get there and see that it was just us was depressing. I'd have probably remained depressed if I lingered in the BYOC (Bring Your Own Computer, a several-thousand-man network) on my own trying to crack out an asset or two over the weekend.

That wasn't the thing to do this year, and I knew it. Usually these meetings are a good chance for a significant portion of the team to crack out a lot of code and art, as well as beta test. We obviously didn't have the showing for that, so we all moved on to more productive matters; socializing.

It surprised me to find how much I had changed since my last Quakecon two years ago. Whereas before I'd be shrugged off by the celebrities in id Software's world, now I could somehow get their attention, and keep it until we both agreed the exchange had reached it's end. Every id Software employee I spoke to seemed a lot more engaging this year. And then there was Splash Damage...

I approached Fluffy_gIMp, Splash Damage's Creative Director. I had a lot of questions about Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. Just how much was their map format changing? Were they forced to make major modifications to Doom 3's net code? How did they like having the atmospheric control they were striving for since RtCW:ET?

They were happy to take any questions they had answers to, and referred me to someone else, or the panel the following day, for answers they didn't have. But my questioning started to become ever more personal. I don't remember my last query before they came up with a question of their own. Fluffy_gIMp asked me, "so just who are you?"
"Oh, I'm just some mapper for Team Reaction--"
"Team Reaction?! Really?! How are you guys doing? How's Lifer doing? What are you up to?"
For the first time in more than a year I felt the excitement of being a member of Team Reaction. These guys knew our work. Hell, they knew it well! Many people that had been on the team for a while had played almost everything released by Team Reaction since Jailbreak.

We talked a bit more after that, and then I returned to our spot at the BYOC to relay the exchange to Carcinogen. We wound up calling Lifer who also seemed surprised to hear that a Director from Splash Damage had asked about him.

Things went great after that. We held a meeting with what few we had to bust out some definitions and brainstorm over our design documents, and initiatives we could take to get people working, and recruit. That was still a good meeting, we just need to act on the action items.

I would later meet up with Fluffy_gIMp again at the smokers' "oasis." There was some small talk about the weather in Texas, versus that of England, and other trivialities. It wasn't long, though, before we got into something more engaging. Height-maps versus models for local map generation.

We didn't necessarily disagree, no one was arguing one method superior over the other in a universal sense. Our opinions didn't align perfectly however. Due to their assets they found the speed of height maps preferable. Due to my assets, I found the complexity of models preferable. I could see where they were coming from, but I needed to illustrate where I was coming from with something more than language.

In the heat of the discussion, I asked them to come to my computer in the BYOC. I pulled up a texture set I had been working on recently to demonstrate geometry difficult to replicate in a height map, but not out of place in a realistic game. We each gave a try to recreating one of my examples in photoshop. I wasn't experienced enough with height maps, and them handicapped without their own workstations (and their own version of photoshop, and probably a wacom tablet), meant none of us could do it. However they were kind enough to demonstrate other geometry and we eventually parted ways (Locki located us out smoking again and insisted they worked too much, which I had to agree with by now).

In the midst of it all, they asked me for a business card! Me! Who the fuck am I to have a business card?! It was the first time in my entire life I regretted not having a business card!

Next year, I will have business cards.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

ESTIMADOS HERMANOS (SITIO AJENO AL BLOG):
Solicito la paz de la delincuencia a nivel mundial provisional a la firma de la paz en el pacto de Versalles y en el pacto de Boston como tambien en el pacto de Varsovia porque cumplí con los requisitos de paz popular y de union popular a nivel mundial como tambien de todas las sociedades secretas y de todas las sociedades civiles porque tambien salvé a 3 organizaciones criminales del exterminio mundial: la ley antimaras, el gobierno de Toranzo de los narcos y el caso Colmenares de las bandas de secuestradores porque iban a desaparecer del mapa si yo no hubiera intervenido a abogarlos.

COMENTARIO AJENO AL BLOG:
Solicito la paz de las naciones unidas con las naciones bolivarianas por medio de confirmarme como el alcaide de la organizacion de las naciones unidas porque resolví paulatinamente las constantes guerras frías de los países bélicos del mundo para evitarles a la tercera guerra mundial porque soy la encarnacion divina de los Dioses politeístas de las diferentes culturas mundiales como tambien extraterrestres y cristianas por la cual les solicito a ustedes a mi subsidio comunista de Venezuela y solialista de Rusia como tambien capitalista de los Estados Unidos de NorteAmérica por mi altruismo y por mi empleo laboral gubernamental de las naciones unidas por mantener la paz de las naciones mundiales y de los extraterrestres. Tal subsidio debe empezar en mi nacion Guatemala y seguidamente a nivel mundial.

Atentamente:
Jorge Vinicio Santos Gonzalez,
Documento de identificacion personal:
1999-01058-0101 Guatemala,
Cédula de Vecindad:
ORDEN: A-1, REGISTRO: 825,466,
Ciudadano de Guatemala de la América Central.

VINICIO SANTOS said...

Solicito la comunicacion de ustedes (las sectas) a la lidereza de las bandas de secuestradores de latinoamérica: MARTHA COLMENARES y el grupo 11 (11 caudillos raciales de latinoamérica) como tambien al grupo mundial G 400 (400 caudillos raciales del mundo) y a los colectivos de presos políticos mundiales (bandas de secuestradores locales del mundo), la siguiente informacion:

ESTIMADOS HERMANOS
Solicito una investigacion popular sobre mi oprobio sexual con Guatemala porque ya esclarecí a las regiones involucradas en la calumnia de prevaricador y en la calumnia de violador sexual parafílico por mis impostores surrealistas de los vórtices virtuales que me exploran esotéricamente desde el año de 1,992 para especularme apologalmente con actuales cómplices de mi colonia actual quienes tambien me calumnian de la ultima calumnia para improvisar a la gente. Notifiquenlo en las redes sociales y a la organizacion de las naciones unidas como tambien a la organizacion de los estados americanos y a los canales de television nacionales e internacionales del mundo incluyendo radiales nacionales e internacionales del mundo. Investiguen a las siguientes regiones esclarecidas recientemente por razones de sub-áreas omitidas de la controversia regional de cada region:

Valle Dorado y sector C-1 zona 8 del municipio de Mixco del departamento de Guatemala, San Lucas Sacatepéquez del departamento de Sacatepéquez, Antigua Guatemala del departamento de Sacatepéquez, Amatitlán del departamento de Guatemala, Ciudad de Guatemala del departamento de Guatemala y San José Pinula del departamento de Guatemala. Tambien soy la encarnacion divina y demoníaca de los siguientes Dioses y demonios nacionales de Guatemala e internacionales del mundo como tambien extraterrestres del cosmos:

GUATEMALA:
Dios maya Gucumatz, Dios quichelense Nahualá, Dios mam Pawahtún, San Simón Maximón, el Diablo, demonio maya Vucub-Caquix que incluye a todos los Dioses guatemaltecos de las restantes tribus de Guatemala como tambien garífuna.

EXTRATERRESTRES:
Arcángel Metatrón, arcángeles de la muerte Orifiel y Samael, demonio pleydiano Nabiru, Dios pleydiano Nidra, Dios reptiliano, Dios marciano, Dios alien, Dios depredador, Dios katchina pleydiano Kulkulkan, Dios siriano, Dios cielo divino Idumea, Dios universal extraterrestre Celsius, núcleo del Dios universal extraterrestre Estratos, Mundo híbrido.

INTERNACIONALES DEL MUNDO:
Clan zulú, clan chaman hopi, dorado apache, Dios padre celestial yoruba de los Dioses yorubas Olodúmare, Olofi y Oloru, Dios oboma, Dios masai, Dioses egipcios Ammón-Rá, Anubis y Seth, Dios vikingo Odín, Dioses griegos Cronos y Hades, demonio griego Medusa, Dioses romanos Vulcano y Neptuno, Dios asirio Baal-Peor, Dios chorotega nicaragüense Tláloc, Dios pipil nicaragüense, Dios papúa Kanaroa, demonio papúa Potoyán, Dios filisteo Aton, Dioses hindúes Vedamantra Gayatri e Indra como tambien Brahma y Namasté Bhagatam Bhagavan que incluye a Manú y a Ganesha como tambien a Gaura Purnima, Dios del shamballa hindú Kalkí, Shangri-lá tibetano, Dios Buda del río (Buda indonesio, Buda hawaiano, Buda tibetano, Buda blanco, Buda negro, Buda rojo y Buda azul), Dios hawaiano Honolulu, Dios confucianista Pangú, Dios taoísta de la larga vida de los 8 inmortales, Dios sintoísta Izanagui, Dios azteca Ometecuhtlí, Dios inca Viracocha, Tata Santiago quechúa, Dios amazona Amazonia, Dios chibcha Chibchacúm, Dios mapuche Mapudungun, Dios caribe Amalivaka, demonio hindú Ravana, Santa muerte hindú Jagganatha, demonio amazona Nugkui.

Dioses cristianos: Elohim, Dios Espíritu Santo, Arcángel San Miguel, Arcángel San Gabriel, Santa muerte de Toluca, Niña blanca de Toluca, Santa muerte roja, demonios: Luzbel y Azazel.

Atentamente:
Jorge Vinicio Santos Gonzalez,
Documento de identificacion personal:
1999-01058-0101 Guatemala,
Cédula de Vecindad:
ORDEN: A-1, REGISTRO: 825,466,
Ciudadano de Guatemala de la América Central.