I wonder who is the oldest one here...I'm thinking it might be me...

In Reply To #196

In 1997 I was in HS, age 14.

In 1997 Dracion was _______ , age ______ .

Fill in the gaps please.

Hmmm, wait...this calls for a Poll!

In Reply To #196

I know Pseudo is older than I am by around a year.

In Reply To #199

You know wrong, biznatch.

[edit]Although even people who know me in RL think I'm in my late 30s (and have done since I was in my early 20s). Must be something about being a miserable cunt that does it.

In Reply To #200

Oh right, you are taller than I am. Not older. I get those confused sometimes...

Hey everyone!

You can thank/blame Cyrris for getting me here (sorry I'm late). It's been great to read up on all of you, thank you for having me.

A lot has happened; this is some of it:

2001 – I was in 10th grade, playing lots of Half-Life, TFC, Counter-Strike, Firearms, and Tribes. I was reading PC Gamer and posting on GSF. By this time I had started to dabble in editors (Unreal, Half-Life) and I was learning the ropes of Photoshop.

2004 – Started attending an art school after picking up some credits on the cheap from community college, focused on a bachelors in Game art and Design. Worked my ass off for the next 3.5 years. Started dating one of my closest friends from high school.

2007 – Married her, took time off school for the first time in 3 years. Honed in on animation and character rigging by this point, and did a little freelancing on the side. Six months to go.

2008 – Graduated college on a Friday, interviewed at a game studio and started working as a contract animator the following Monday; learned 3DS Max on the job. Hired a month later by a different studio; they wanted me to start an animation division for them to meet the needs of a new project.

2008-2010 – Settled in for the long haul, learned the meaning of the term “crunch”. Worked a few 120 hour weeks, 36 hour shifts. Many of my memories from this span are a blur. I was given leadership opportunities – went from animator to lead animator to animation director. Our studio landed a job animating for Telltale, starting with Sam and Max: The Devil’s Playhouse. We’ve animated on nearly every one of their projects since, with the exception of Hector, CSI, and Law and Order. Went to my first GDC in 2010 – mind blown, been every year since (and grateful for it). I learned how to manage projects and teams, slowly got better at it. We improved scheduling and process as a company, reducing the likelihood of OT on projects. We were becoming a well-oiled machine. Other projects and shenanigans ensued, but we managed to assemble a kickass team of artists from all disciplines. These people are like brothers and sisters to me. We survived long enough and performed well enough to gain the loyalty of key clients (and attract new ones).

2011-2012 – Three of us purchased the company from the original owner; we’re now independent, slightly nerve-wracked by the responsibility and pressure. We got to animate on Telltale’s The Walking Dead – this was a treat for all of us. Many other projects were running in parallel, including our first from-scratch game – for this, we partnered with 2 other studios (design and code teams). We provided all the art, went from prepro to ship in 11 months. Had our first real, honest wrap party for it last Friday. People seem to be happy to work here. So am I. Thinking about starting a family…

In Reply To #202

You made it! Welcome!

I remember when Taco first announced he was pregnant back in the day, I am pretty sure he was the first GSFer to start spawning. Now we have them popping up everywhere, Chiq's will be next.

So, there are plenty of people here who can let you know what it's like each step of the way, if you need help thinking about it.

In Reply To #203

Thanks man. We're pretty sure about it, it's more a question of timing for us :)

I have to say I'm pretty impressed that so many people came back, it's awesome that the GSF community resonated with people this much.

Edit: two more things, instead of resing old topics: 1) The fact that Shai-Chris came back is amazing. It was cool to hear updates on the old GS staff; I completely forgot that Jamie Madigan used to write for Gamespy (I read Psychology of Video Games on a regular basis and reccomend it to students). 2) The "I'm leaving" thread made me laugh out loud. Glad you guys are still hilarious.

Good to see ya Hamster! You've got it going on! That's awesome. My hubby may be on crunch my whole pregnancy and until after baby is born...but the perfect time will never present itself. You just have to make it the right time for you when you're emotionally ready.

Aside: I'm a psychotic hormonal beast right now. RAGE

Public service announcement:

I'm totally changing my name to my actual internet handle, because I haven't used "Unimaginative Pseudonym" for nearly a decade now.

I only used it here in the first place because Chris made me, but now I'm rebelliously changing it to my actual nick as a Christmas present to myself

(I've put the old one in my custom title though, so people who care (i.e. no-one) can still figure out who I am)

In Reply To #206

Soylent Pseudonym or Unimaginative Dave?

In Reply To #206

You rebel scum.

I've a feeling that one's quite close to the truth...



pew pew pew

Married in 2009. Build a house. Got a sweet baby girl. Another one is "on order". Switched jobs a few times, still developing electronics...