Dev Blog

Feb 02 2016

Developer Bio: Garrett Amini

We can’t talk about what we’re doing, so we’re talking about the people doing the work. Garrett was originally brought on to do web stuff — in fact, if you remember when our website shifted from “amateurs who recently discovered blogging” to “glorious professional design,” then you remember when he was hired — but he turned out to be way more. He’s an artist, a designer, a deeply thoughtful person, and a super fun colleague. He’s also cooler than I will ever be, based on his music choices. Meet Garrett. — Sanya

The Soundtrack

by Garrett Amini

Nature abhors a vacuum, it is said.

That’s similar to how I feel about music, if my ears are nature, the vacuum is a lack of music, and “abhors” is maybe toned down to something a little less extreme, like “doesn’t hate, but really finds things more pleasant without”. You get it.

I couldn’t sit down to write this dev bio without a soundtrack, so I don’t expect for you to read it without one. Since this is my story, though, you can listen along to a song I loved at the time, if you like.

Feb 02 2016

Developer Bio: Alan Diekfuss

We can’t talk about what we’re doing, so we’re talking about the people doing the work. According to the employee spreadsheet, Alan is a UI artist. I did not actually realize that until I sat down to write this intro, because he defies categorization. He’s logical and methodical enough to be a programmer, he’s got the fast verbal wit of a writer, and an eye like an artist. He’s also tons of fun. I read once that you can get a good feel for a person by looking at what inspires them. Check out Alan’s dev blog entry and see what influences he’s bringing to our unannounced project. — Sanya

Now Playing

by Alan Diekfuss

Instead talking about how I got in games, I wanted to share what inspires me while I make them.

I’m a big movie geek and tend to always have one playing in the background as I work. Most of these I’ve already seen so I can follow along with the audio or catch a glance in my second monitor. Over the years I’ve found that having certain movies playing in the background can introduce new ideas into my designs.

Below are a few of my favorites I’ve played recently:

Jan 26 2016

Developer Bio: Jason Minters

We can’t talk about what we’re doing, so we’re talking about the people doing the work. When I sit down to write these introductions, I occasionally reach out to the developer’s friends and teammates to get more information. I mean, from my point of view, *all* of my colleagues are nice, laid back, approachable, hard working, “can do” people with good attitudes who are great at their jobs, you know? So I asked around looking for some dirt on Jason. Every single person responded with…nice, laid back, approachable, hard working, “can do” guy with a good attitude who is great at his job.

I pushed a little. I got back “maybe the nicest person in the whole Lab” and “but SUPER nice” and “a rigging wizard.” I give up. Read on to find out why we may love this guy, but we’re not letting him pack the go-bags. — Sanya

We Survived

by Jason Minters

Hey, y’all, Jason Minters here. Real fast: I’m a tech artist. Been doing this for a decade. Want to know more, just google me; I’ve been on some cool projects. Since that’s not enough for a dev blog entry, I’ll tell a little story.

For quite a few years I lived on the west side of LA. If the zombie apocalypse happens, and that is where you are, there is no escape. Or is there? That was a question I may have been thinking when my buddy took a group of us out to Catalina, an island off the coast of California, for a weekend camping trip.

We took an early ferry ride over, and upon arrival we found a kayak rental place. I chose a kayak that had a tether on the back for towing. The idea was to kayak around the island to a reserved cove.

Jan 19 2016

Developer Bio: Ben Scott

We can’t talk about what we’re doing, so we’re talking about the people doing the work. Ben is smart, funny, and friendly. He’s always one of the first to extend a welcoming helping hand to new people. Speaking of help, he was once my “man on the ground” and partner in crime when it came to delivering a singing telegram to our office manager…but I digress. He wouldn’t tell you about that. He won’t tell you about all the times he’s helped people or of the wonderful things he’s done and does every day, because that’s not how he rolls. In fact, he’s left a pretty major thing off of his bio here: He’s our Technical Director. Meet Ben. — Sanya

Father of Invention

by Ben Scott

I’ve always been addicted to games.

My love began when I was 5 and my parents got me a NES for Christmas. I was immediately in love, staying up hours to try to beat a game because, you know, save games are a crutch the kids of today don’t even know they are using. That love quickly turned dark, leading to dependence and loss, culminating when I angrily tossed my baby sister across the room because she happened to toddle between me and the TV. Thus began a dark period in my life whereby I was banned by my parents from playing video games for no less than five years.

I showed them by making video games my life. 😀

Dec 15 2015

Developer Bio: Ian Adams

We can’t talk about what we’re doing, so we’re talking about the people doing the work. Ian is one of our designers, which means by definition he’s creative, inventive, and intuitive. He’s also a great friend to have when the chips are down. He’s as affable and kind and quick-thinking after two hours of sleep on an airport floor in Detroit (it’s a long story) as he is after a full night. Read on to find out how that has gotten him where he is today. — Sanya

The Butterfly Effect

by Ian Adams

When you tell people you design video games for a living, one of the most common questions (after “so what does that mean”, which I answer by paraphrasing Liz England’s Door Problem) is “how did you get that job?” Here is an abridged list of things that needed to happen for me to wind up with the job that I have today: