Tag Archives: Insomniac

insomniac

Re: The Industry

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A viewer on our youtube channel sent me an interesting question:

Hey guys, first off, I really appreciate the videos for the insight they give about professional game development.

I have been wondering however, how did you guys get into developing videogames?

Not necessarily into the industry (although I’d find that interesting as well, I just figure you are asked that every few hours) but what made you want to start to develop games?
What were the first games that inspired you? How did you start out? Did you even plan to become professional developers and would you recommend … Continue reading →

Developer Commentary: RC2 – Episode 4

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We’re working towards a Monday, Wednesday, (hopefully) Friday update schedule for the Developer Commentary podcast that Tony and I are doing for Ratchet and Clank 2.

In that spirit, today we have posted Episode 4, a shorter episode (~18 minutes) wherein Tony and I finish level 2 (a long level) including Arena fights and some Electrolyzer puzzles. You can check it out at all the usual places:

The podcast website:
http://podcast.uselessopinions.com/

Our Youtube Channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/uselesspodcasts?feature=mhee

Or embedded below the fold:

Podcast Episode 2 is up!

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We go through the second level of Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando. By the time we recorded this we had settled into the task of podcasting enough that we could relax and talk more about development-centric stuff, which was pretty cool.

Of course, we still make lots of jokes, so it’s not all serious and crazy.

Check it out on our podcast site (once iTunes catches up — it lags a bit): http://podcast.uselessopinions.com, which now has a cool new look and feel.

You can also check it out directly on our youtube channel at: http://www.youtube.com/user/uselesspodcasts?feature=mhee#p/u

Or you could … Continue reading →

New Podcast Series

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My good friend and fellow developer Tony “Mr Sunshine” Garcia and I just began a series of “Developer Commentary” videos.

First up is Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando — our first game as REAL developers (we were testers on RC1).

So far we’ve put up one episode, which gets us to the end of the first level (Level 0).

You can see it:

ON YOUTUBE:
Part 1: http://youtu.be/lUwIYfykyss
Part 2: http://youtu.be/Wb4T7P57wAc

ON ITUNES (At some point):
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/useless-podcasts/id444076169

ON OUR NEW PODCAST SITE:
http://podcast.uselessopinions.com

Or… if you’re really lazy, you can … Continue reading →

Water, water everywhere…

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… and SO much to drink!

I just got back from JoCo Cruise Crazy. After 6 days on a boat with a bunch of my favorite musicians, a concert a day, and my very first ever trip out of the country, I feel GREAT.

I’ve been off work since December 21st or so and I go back tomorrow. I guess I really needed the time off, but I didn’t realize how much.

The last time I took more than a week off (not counting unemployment) was in 2007, a few months before I left Insomniac. … Continue reading →

Update on my brain

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[sarcasm]Because I know there’s nothing more fascinating than hearing people talk about their dreams[/sarcasm]:

They’re combining now. Frequent rerun dreams are starting to overlap with each other, or change. It’s very odd.

For example, I have a frequent dream that I went back to Insomniac. However. that one is now combining with the high school dream, so now I’ve gone back to Insomniac, but sleep in and don’t make it to work. Then I get fired.

I also have a recurring dream where I’m at Disneyland after hours. So now I’m having dreams about being at Disneyland after hours fighting … Continue reading →

Podcasticness!

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The guys over at the Insomniac Games Full Moon Show podcast were nice enough to have me (and my friend / fellow game developer Tony Garcia) on last Thursday’s show.

You can find it here: http://insomniacgames.com/podcast/podcast.php (episode 27).

You can also find it on iTunes, if you subscribe to the podcast.

That was a lot of fun — I miss a lot of people at Insomniac quite a bit, but James and Ryan have a special place. Those guys rock.

Pocket Change, Entitlement, and Bitching

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Kotaku posted an article today about the Resistance MP Map pack coming online tomorrow and, predictably, bitched about the price:

“This news, not so hot, as they’re going to cost you USD$7.99. For two maps. Give Sony credit, they’re learning some of Microsoft’s online tricks quicker than others.”

Now maybe it’s just because I worked on the maps, and I know how large they are and how much they cost to make. Maybe I just have a low opinion about what $8 can buy you. Shit, I have more than $8 sitting in the coin tray in … Continue reading →

Random Bloggage

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I don’t have much to muse on this week, so this’ll just be bloggage. I’ve got a post in the works about how to figure out what to steal when stealing from other games… but that’s not ready yet. Hopefully I’ll get that out next week. I’ve noticed that a lot of people “borrow” the wrong things from games. GTA clones are a good example — they’ve got the ‘beating up hookers’ part down, but they skimp on the things that really made the game fun. So hopefully I’ll have some neat stuff on that subject soon…

My first week … Continue reading →

5 Years is a Long Time

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Well it’s all done tomorrow. Friday is my last day at Insomniac Games.

It’s been an awesome five years, and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store.

I’m going to be moving over to Obsidian — they made KOTOR II and Neverwinter Nights II.

I get to work on this, how awesome is that!? And I get to be lead level designer. SCORE!

I’m really excited to see how s different company makes games. To this point, I’ve only seen how Insomniac does things. I’m looking forward to learning new things and working … Continue reading →