Wow - what a busy day.
[x] Apply for unemployment
[x] find out that the GameSpy / IGN escrow is finally paying out (yippee!)
[x] correspond with well wishers
[x] free lunch at Del Taco corp (thanks James!) and learned of an opportunity at their corporate HQ
[x] updated my resume (but there is still much to add)
[x] Scoured dice.com and Microsoft.com for all sorts of jobs
[x] Got an offer from my father in law to help out fiscally for a few months until I got a new job. That was a nice offer from someone that I thought didn't like me. I guess I was wrong. ;-)
[x] Laundry
[x] Learned of the posibility of contract work with some old friends at Zeno, after Bob comes back from vacation [insert feeling of forshadowing here]
[x] Had time to reflect on the situation.
So, how did I get here?
and since so many of you have asked....
2004 Post IGN "merger", I wasn't pleased with the new management situation and those managers I did have that insulated me from VP level management were quickly disappearing and I found myself reporting to two VPs. Yes, Aaron was the project manager - but that was only a job that was thrust upon him. He's really one hell of an Artist and a great guy - but he was often bypassed by the two VPs - which made my life a living hell. Project planning was a joke - because everything always changed, and deadlines were pushed up to meet some ill planed promise to a publisher that I only found out about at the last moment.
"By the way, censored promised blizzard (or some other big game company) that we would have the product available for them before the end of the month. That's not a problem, is it? You don't really need all that time for QA don't you?"
Then the next day there would be a HUGE design/feature change
That happened about 4 times before I left, and gave me an ulcer.
So in summer 2004 I tried transferring to the SDK department.
The SDK guys wanted me, but the VP of Engineering told me that if I didn't like my job I could quit.
Not the most motivating of moments in my career ;-)
That summer I faked a few sick days. Well, all but one - I did actually have a spasm in my back, but by the time I flew up to San Jose to meet with the undisclosed company - I felt much better. I think that the NDA may be running out on that one - so I'll talk about that one later ;-)
Bren and I even made a 3-day (that turned into a 4 day) weekend to do a scenic drive up the coast to the bay area where we scouted out homes and cities.
After repeated trips I learned a hell of a lot about how things of that nature worked (sorry - NDA). Sure I didn't get the job - but a friend did and I feel richer for the experience.
So I buckled down and refocused on the project - that only made the ulcer and stress worse.
I took my time and looked for a job were I could learn new skills and maybe recapture the spirit of the early GameSpy days. In December I found it, CodeIt Computing LLC. They were a small 10 man operation using python (scripting language now used in some games), Linux (common game server platform), corba(alternative to COM), mozilla plugins (I made IE plugins before) and they had that startup feel.
In January 2005 I gave notice, a week before Seamus was born. I would have given 2 weeks notice, but since Seamus was due any time - I figured it would be bad form to use up all my sick days when he arrived.
It was a big gamble and CodeIt was everything I expected it to be - with all the downsides. No project planner, loose if not disastrous concepts of release management and versioning, and since I was having so much fun - my ulcer disappeared. It was WELL worth the paycut to loose the stress and learn so much.
Then the other downside showed it's head. Low Cash Flow.
A few months ago they realized that selling server boxes for $15-30k a pop (depending on license count and features) wasn't cutting it. They were giving 90 day terms and no one was paying. I wish they took my advice and altered the contracts to include a non-refundable setup/customization fee and restocking fee in the event of return. ...as well as a bunch of other things to stop the loss. But I was the new "windows" guy in a world of Linux geeks - what did I know ;-)
I think that the freakiest thing was the similarities between the early days of GameSpy Arcade development and the development at CodeIt. Versioning, updates, ads, server load issues, planning, etc... It was entertaining to say "When this happened at GameSpy, we tried something along the lines of solution X", be shot down and then hear Scott describe his amazingly similar 'unique' solution. Hell, Scott is like crt without the focus to detail.
Lost track there for a second. So the big plan to save the company was to change from the "sell a box" model to a "shareware-ish" free software product that (1) delivered targeted ad units and (2) CodeIt acted as a reseller of loan leads.
Unfortunately, we go back to one of the previous problems - bad planning. Knowing that the product needed to be redone before the end of July in order to save everything - both founders went on vacation.
One went to Europe for 3 weeks and washed his hands of the Juncture situation.
The other went to Florida for a week with his girlfriend just after changing EVERYTHING and leaving me unable to work productively for a week. I would have had Forest's help, but he was re-assigned to work on another project. Again, another briliant planning move.
Then they ran out of enough cash to keep me on the payroll.
I had a feeling that it was going to happen, but I (incorectly) estimated that I had another two months before that happened. Damn that latent optimistic streek ;-)
I can't help but wonder if Coach and Scott expensed their "vacations" as business trips. ;-)
I learned a lot in these past 6 months, more than in the last 2 years at GameSpy, my only regret is to my family. I've got to reclaim that lost income stream or I've got to sell Camp Yorba Linda.
Washington looks nice, I could get a 4 bed 2 bath 20k sq foot house in the low $300k's - here, my neighborhood is in the mid $650k's
Now that the shock is over, here comes the fun part: INTERVIEWS! :)
I think tomorrow I'll make pancakes for breakfast, play with my son, and work on some code samples or even maybe fix up this sad web page. And then play some more with little Seamus. He's a cute kid.
Anyone looking for a Windows C++ or Python Programmer?
I guess it's time to update my resume.
http://1001010.com/resume/resume.doc
The problem with working for a startup is that they occasionally run out of cash :(
I can't pretend that I didn't know that this was going to happen. But I figured that it would be after the current conversion to the Juncture product.
words cannot express the initial feeling of shock that I am feeling right now.
Tomorrow I guess I'll dust off the suit - d'oh! I don't have a suit - swallow my pride and contact the headhunters
Revovering from previous events I have achieved productivity and am once again moving forward on my programming (instead of mucking about trying to get things working or being distracted by overflow tech support issues)
Yippie!
UPDATE 2005.JUL.21-18:45: Just read this
Fargo is a funny funny man
http://ps2.gamespy.com/playstation-2/grand-theft-auto-san-andreas/635241p1.html
This whole controversy just makes me laugh.
The only (apparent) difference between M and AO is that AO has prolonged scenes of violence/nudity
What would you call ANY FPS (First Person Shooter) where you spend the entire game blowing things up? I'd consider Doom3 to fit in the AO designation, but it doesn't. I don't want to get into the details of American history, but the short answer is that this country was founded by puritans. Have some gore and no one cares, add a little sex and BAM we can't let anyone under 18 see it. W. T. F.
If Dice came out with an AO specific version of GTA San Andreas with all these scenes unlocked - I would definitely buy it. Would I play it? No, I'm already 1/2 through the game and I would hate to start ALL over again just to see some low poly pr0n when I could just turn on HBO or Skinemax.
The only thing that I don't understand is why they're reclassifying the PS2 version? While it may have offending content on it, there are no hacks to get it.
Since this isn't an election year, I'll stick to the tried and true method of influencing our wonderfully capitalist culture...
I'll vote with my wallet by refusing to shop at any store that doesn't want to carry it any more
Tommorow we're flying out from ONT to SEA-TAC to ALW (via cropduster) and driving to visit with my grandmother for the weekend in Joseph Oregon.
According to the maps, there's a small regional airport only a few miles from her house - but it's one of those grass covered runways - it's much safer and faster to rent a car and drive from Walla Walla Washington (I love saying that)
But that's the biter - renting a car. I forgot to make the rental reservation last month when I bought the airline tickets. So this morning I shoped around and made my reservations. Most of the sites (expedia, orbitz, travelocity) have the same prices for car rentals - mostly in the $29 range for a mid-size car with the only difference being between hertz and budget for how many miles they offer.
So then I checked priceline. Did I miss a memo? I thought that they were supposed to be super cheap and that you could "make your own price" or something. All they show is Hertz (and no compeditors) for TWICE the price! $61.99 for an econo to $69.99 for a full-size. And there were no options for changing the price. All I've got to say is: Dude, I went with budget.
Dad's back!
but well, it doesn't look he was approved for the heart waiting list
[sigh]
Back at GameSpy, crt had a habbit of making redical improvements just before taking off on a weekend ski trip.
And of course - everything would break and we could never reach him because of the *cough*bullshit*cough* excuse that he was in the mountains and out of cell range.
It got so bad that if anyone heard that he was taking off, they would quiz him about any changes. Eventially - he learned not to tell anybody before taking off. Sometimes the only way we knew he was leaving was when he would send an email just as he was going or from the person that gave him a lift to the airport.
GameSpy was not alone in this behaviour. For I present to you my current situation:
That leaves me to reverse engineer all the changes that they made to systems that I've never touched nor known the existance of and create my own workarounds so that I can attempt to be productive today.
I'm living in a flashback, good times - good times.... :)
Even though I left IGN/GameSpy nearly 6months ago - I am still bound by a confidentiality agreement and can't say anything about the details of the IPO. Fortunately, I forgot them all because I never thought that it would happen ;-)
I've seen both sides of the PR experience, companies make vague statements, customers guess, and "industry experts" are usually wrong. What's a reporters to do but (subconsciously) speculate based on an inaccurate remark accidentally made.
I remember on a few occasions crt complained after being interviewed that the interviewer took a choice "wrong quote" that had absolutely NOTHING to do with the interview as the one line that was attributed to him in the article.
Since I can't say anything, here are a few of the more interesting, entertaining, and mildly informative news posts on the subject.
Great Hill Partners - Mar 22, 2005
IGN Entertainment Inc. has come on the block and could fetch from $600 million to more than $800 million
GameJournalism Mar 23, 2005
Gaming portal IGN is talking to suitors, and could be sold for between $600 to $800 million, the Wall Street Journal reports this morning
Gamasutra Jul 13, 2005 - free reg
The company's IPO filing reveals "we have experienced losses every year, including a net loss attributable to holders of common stock of $18.9 million in 2004 and $3.4 million in the three months ended March 31, 2005. As of March 31, 2005, we had an accumulated deficit of $23.3 million." However, the IPO for IGN Entertainment is expected to amount to as much as $200 million in common stock. The company is to be listed on Nasdaq under the symbol IGNT.
Gamers Jul 13, 2005
IGN owners Great Hill partners were recently looking for someone to purchase the company, and then priced IGN for over $800 million dollars
IGN Press Release Jul 13, 2005
IGN Entertainment is selling all of the shares in the proposed offering.
IGN Corporate History
Very entertaining. Since victors write the history books, I can't blame them to much - it is their site an all.
Wow, I guess this will be Mark Jung's second Initial Public Offering (IPO) with the same company?
That sort of logic may give you an ice cream headache, but that's ok - you'll live.
Gamseindustry.biz - July 15, 2005
This isn't the first time that IGN has been listed on the stock market - the company, then called Snowball.com, was originally NASDAQ-listed in March 2000 under the symbol SNOW, which was changed to IGNX after a major business reshuffle and name change in May 2002.
However, it was delisted in August 2003, when the firm was acquired by a group of investors in a transaction that brought the group private
I wonder where the other Mark is? Being the founder of GameSpy and selling it for a butload of cash to IGN over a year ago I imagine that he's hanging out somewhere in the Mediterranean right about now.
I think he could afford it - well, maybe not, after the very generous stock options that he gave employees (thanks Mark!), taxes and the lawyers, and paying off of original investors and other minority shareholders
IGN's IPO SEC Filing
In March 2004, we acquired GameSpy, a leading online entertainment and technology company serving video game enthusiasts and game developers, for a cash purchase price of $53.3 million
In fact, read all the filings IGN/Snowball ever submitted to the SEC here
To all my GameSpy friends, may your options vest early and not be tarnished by golden handcufs.
Ever hear of Yorba Linda?
Isn't it that where the nixon library is at?
Well, yea - but beyond it being the city my home is in - it's also where I have Camp Yorba Linda - a place for me to play with WordPress, look almost respectable, tell the family to go (why they can't type in 1001010 is beyond me) and focus on stuff relating to the home and family life in the land of gracious living.
Land of Gracious Living? WTF does that mean?
Accoring to Answers.com it seem to infer an area that is
6. Characterized by elegance and good taste: gracious living
Wow, sounds more snobby than it is.
/me picks nose and places the 'found art' on a lace doily next to the ear wax sculpture
So there it is, Camp Yorba Linda , my attempt to have a respectable looking site about the evil underbelly of Yorba Linda - In My Living Room!
As I previously mentioned, I was sunburned on July 4th during a pool party/bbq. If the pain of the burn wasn't enough - the ITCHING has kicked in.
I want to itch it - I REALLY WANT TO ITCH IT - but the skin is still so burnt and tender that touching it causes pain. And scratching it, well - I'm reminded of an extraction I had last year at the oral surgeon where I refused to do the twilight sleep because I had no one to pick me up and we spent 3 hours putting more and more pain killer into my face until it wouldn't work anymore and I was forced to just leave my finger impressions on the steel of the chair as a permanent reminder of the pain.
Wow - thinking of that pain blocked out the itching. Oh s**t that didn't last long.
THE ITCHING!!!!! WILL IT'S EVIL NEVER CEASE?!?
MUST... THINK... OF... SEVERE... DENTAL... Pain... with the drilling.... the needles... ahhhh....
It doesn't seem like last October wasn't to ago when I went with Dad to Salt Lake, but he's been at the SLC VA since Tuesday for yet another re-evaluation for a new heart. I hope he scores well in the middle ground of being sick enough that he'll die without a new heart and yet at the same time healthy enough to accept the new heart.
He was telling me that he would be back by today, but I knew that was wishfull thinking on his part. When I went with him last time - they had an entire work week of testing, diagnostics and psych exams. Unless anything bad happens (adjusting to mountian air, doctors messing with his meds) I'm sure I'll be picking him up at the airport on Monday.
I really wanted to go with him, but I've got a baby, Bren, and a job (that just switched to crunch mode) to think about.
:: sigh ::
I have been told by many that there is this thing known "screen of the sun". A topical lotion with the nearly mystic ability to not only block but repel the awesome burning power of the sun.
If only I had known this yesterday before jumping in the pool for "just a few minutes" yesterday durring our july 4 party.
It burns - AHHHH IT BURNS !!!