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Running GarageGames, Motorcycle Rides, and Finding Myself

Name:	Jeff Tunnell
Date Posted:	May 24, 2005
Rating:	4.3 out of 5
Public:	YES
Comments:	YES
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Profile Page:	View profile page for Jeff Tunnell

Blog post

After six years of running GarageGames the time has come for me to step back and let a smarter, younger guy take over the reins. Mark Frohnmayer, one of the original founders of GG and the lead programmer of Tribes, Tribes 2, and Marble Blast, has graciously agreed to become President of GarageGames.

Don't start laughing yet, you're not going to get rid of me that easily. I am going to stay with GG, but I just won't be making all of the day to day decisions. Instead, I will be working on more creative projects that allow me to be directly involved in the design and development process. This was my goal when we started GG, and I think the time has come to do so.

The future has never looked better. GarageGames now has three engines and our toolset is becoming better all the time, we have a killer casual game being developed in partnership with another company, and we have diversified into the console space. Our game development community is constantly growing, and, while it has taken much longer than I originally anticipated, we are starting to see some awesome games being completed on TAP. Commercial sales are growing, and these sales should give Indies confidence that Torque is the right choice for them. There are some other big announcements that will be coming soon, but I can't talk about them now.

I co-founded Dynamix in 1984. Since that time I have never taken an extended vacation or sabbatical while I have watched all of my friends and partners either retire to islands or pull way back. Starting and running a company is tough and it sucks a lot of your life energy. I need to recharge the batteries a little, so I will be gone most of the summer, coming back in time for IndieGamesCon 2005. While you are all slaving away, I'll be out riding my motorcycle and figuring out what I want to do when I grow up:)

Have a great summer!

-Jeff Tunnell GG

Recent Blog Posts

List:	06/13/08 - The "Better Assholes" Clause 06/09/08 - Working For Big Publishers 06/02/08 - First Day Of The Rest Of My Life 05/29/08 - Make It Big In Games Call For Help 05/15/08 - An Itch That Can't Be Scratched 12/20/07 - Blog O Fix 10/09/07 - Acquisition Fun! 09/14/07 - Design Journals Rule

Submit your own resources!

Anthony Rosenbaum (May 24, 2005 at 18:41 GMT)

Have fun on vacation, we hope to hear from you when you return

Andy Schatz (May 24, 2005 at 18:48 GMT)

Bye Jeff, congrats on making the leap... Can't wait to have you back!

David \"Fulcrum\" Wyand (May 24, 2005 at 18:57 GMT)

Have a great time on your vacation, Jeff. You deserve it! We'll see you at IndieGamesCon 2005.

Now we have fresh meat to torture. Oh Maaaaark...

- LightWave Dave

Matthew Langley (May 24, 2005 at 19:00 GMT)

Have a great vacation! You will be missed and welcomed warmly back :)

Hit the motorcycle for all us indies, you've worked your ass off for all us indies.

Josh Albrecht (May 24, 2005 at 19:01 GMT)

I think everyone in the community would agree that your years of hard work are greatly appreciated. Thanks for Torque and GarageGames and all the opportunities they represent.

Good luck with everything!

Timothy Aste (May 24, 2005 at 19:04 GMT) Resource Rating: 5

It'll sure be wierd not having you around for sure, but have an awesome sabbatical Jeff, I can't think of anyone else who deserves one as much as you.

David Montgomery-Blake (May 24, 2005 at 19:23 GMT)

About damn time! Get out and just enjoy living for a bit. You've had a great run working, but living is important, too! If you're ever riding down around Idaho, let me know and I'll buy you a beer! It's the least I could do for the dedication you've put into Dynamix and GG.

Gonzo T. Clown (May 24, 2005 at 19:31 GMT)

Hilarious. I suggested that you should do this EXACT same thing about 8 months ago and you deleted my post in anger. Funny how it worked out like that. Good luck to you no matter what paths you may ride.

Anton Bursch (May 24, 2005 at 19:31 GMT)

Have fun!

Logan Foster (May 24, 2005 at 19:33 GMT)

Jeff you sound very enthused by this change. I know that speaking from personal experiance having a few months to relax and unwind is great for both the creativity and the drive when you come back to go out there and give all that you can give... so knowing you I am going to be a little bit worried by what amazing thing you will begin work on when you return and how the heck the rest of us here in the community will keep up :)

See you at IGC (or if you pop your head in the community to chat) and enjoy a much earned vacation.

Keith Killilea (May 24, 2005 at 20:11 GMT)

Best Wishes Jeff, you dropped a peddle into the water that is GG when you started the company & the ripples have come along way since then, that the impact you have left today is only just beginning of something greater to come which could not not happened without you. Be what you want to be, after all you have given so much of that to so many people here in the community. Thank you

(Edit: typo again)
Edited on May 24, 2005 20:12 GMT

Nauris Krauze (May 24, 2005 at 20:25 GMT)

Have a damn good vacation.
Must be a good feeling having a company matured enough, so that you can leave it for a while and not worry about it meanwhile:)

Dunsany (May 24, 2005 at 20:25 GMT)

Have Fun!

Joshua Dallman (May 24, 2005 at 20:47 GMT)

First, congrats to Mr. Frohnmayer on the big promotion, and congrats to you Jeff for making the tough decision to step down from a lot of the macro stuff to focus more on the creative and fun stuff. Second, have a great trip Jeff, the sun is just coming out here in Oregon and I imagine you'll have a sweet ride and some great stories to tell come IGC time. And just think -- no EULA's on the open road! ;)

Josh

P.S. An old zen story I like: "A man is chased by a ferocious tiger to the edge of a cliff. In order to escape, he grabs a vine and swings over the edge. Looking down, he sees two more tigers below him. Just then, two mice start gnawing on his vine. Suddenly, he notices some strawbrries growing on the cliff wall, and plucks one. How sweet it was!"

Peter Dwyer (May 24, 2005 at 21:05 GMT)

Hey now Jeff you be careful out there! We do expect to see you back in one piece!

Joseph Euan (May 24, 2005 at 21:11 GMT)

Have a great time Jeff!

Stefan Lundmark (May 24, 2005 at 21:19 GMT)

I thought you were leaving at first, talk about disappointment.
Then I continued reading.. heh.

Congratulations Mark and have fun Jeff!

Peter Kojesta (May 24, 2005 at 21:21 GMT)

Cheers on your success with GG and the various products you've brought to market. I hope you enjoy your vacation. Seems you've certainly earned it.

regards,
Peter Khojasteh

Charlie Malbaurn (May 24, 2005 at 21:38 GMT)

Jeff, your vacation has been a long time comming. Hopefully you will be able to do it. It's easy to say your going to child to someone else to watch but it's not so easy to actually do it.

Who knows though? with this vacation, maybe you will come back with a fresh new view of things. It worked for Steve Jobbs didn't it?

Ivan Lazarte (May 24, 2005 at 22:04 GMT)

Congrats to both you and enjoy your vacation Jeff!

Thanks for many years of inspirational work, and can't wait to see what you're gonna bring when you get back!

Nick Zafiris (May 24, 2005 at 22:40 GMT)

Congrats Mark! Jeff, enjoy your time off, and if you decide to chill out in some of the Greek islands, let me know and we'll have some ouzo!

Nick

Mark Storer (May 24, 2005 at 22:42 GMT)

Have a great summer, you've more than earned it.

Garret "powdahound" Heaton (May 24, 2005 at 23:13 GMT)

Thanks for Tribes (and the other good games)! Enjoy your time off. :)

Josh Williams (May 24, 2005 at 23:43 GMT)

I cannot wait to see the cool stuff Jeff is going to work on when he gets back. It was awesome seeing him get this company up and running, and it's going to be just as cool seeing what he works on next.

Mark and the rest of the crew here will keep doing what we've been doing, and hopefully we'll continue doing it better and better. This is shaping up to be an incredible year, I can't wait until we pull off all the stuff we're working on right now. There are so many cool community projects too... if we all execute on our plans, that whole world domination thing won't be very far away at all.
Edited on May 24, 2005 23:44 GMT

Treb Connell (formerlyMasterTreb (May 25, 2005 at 00:06 GMT)

congratulations I hope you enjoy the well earned vacation!!

Craig Fortune (May 25, 2005 at 00:19 GMT)

Jeff,

It takes a lot of guts to trust someone with your baby (ie: GG) and I'm sure it'll go great cos of all the hard work you have put into it since GG was first conceived. You'll no doubt have a great summer and I cant wait to see what you do when you come back.

Btw, whatcha ride?

-Craig Fortune

Jeremy Alessi (May 25, 2005 at 00:40 GMT) Resource Rating: 5

Jeff ... WOW! I'm amazed and I'll miss having you to check in with as I have from time to time. However, I think you tought me very well ... the ways of the 'force' ... hopefully I'm ready for the trials! I'll be looking forward to showing you in person our current project when you return for IGC. As for now ... have an amazing time you definitely deserve it ... I know quite a few people (my own father for one) who've also watched their friends go off and retire ... relax etc... such is the way when you run your own business sometimes. You've picked a great bunch of people to work with though ... you can't go wrong ... excellent job!

Brett Fattori (May 25, 2005 at 02:41 GMT)

I want to be one to say... Thank you Jeff.

If it hadn't been for everything that you (and your fellow GG staff) stand for, I wouldn't be living my dream. You rock! Have a damn fine vacation, and we'll see ya when all of us gather for IGC'05.

- Brett

Prairie Games (May 25, 2005 at 04:21 GMT) Resource Rating: 5

Thanks Jeff!

GarageGames is a phenomenal indie resource... have a GREAT vacation!!!

-Josh Ritter
Prairie Games

Kevin Ryan (May 25, 2005 at 06:33 GMT) Resource Rating: 5

slacker... ;-)

James Laker (BurNinG) (May 25, 2005 at 08:52 GMT)

Have a good vacation! You've done an awesome job with GG! Something to be very proud of.

Adrian Wright (May 25, 2005 at 13:17 GMT)

Jeff, you have been a inspiration to me over the last several years, and I am very appreciate of your guidance and support. Have a excellent summer and I look forward to GG moving forward and look forward to seeing whats next for you.

Justin Mette (May 25, 2005 at 16:20 GMT)

Jeff making games again ... hmmm ... now thats something to get excited about! You gotta have some sweet ideas pent up in there dying to get out :) Here's to a great summer and a big ole' welcome back party at IGC. See you October.

Nicolas Quijano (May 25, 2005 at 16:43 GMT)

as others have said already, and I've said to you in private and public : thanks for enabling us to live our dreams, and make a living from them ;)
Enjoy your summer, and come back full of nifty game ideas ready to be produced 8p
Again, hearfelt thanks to you, Mark, Tim and Rick for starting on the road that brought us GG
Cheers, and Keep on Torquin' !!

John Kabus (BobTheCBuilder) (May 25, 2005 at 17:42 GMT)

Hey Jeff,

Congratulations - you definitely deserve a break! I'm really glad you're coming back at the end of the summer - GarageGames wouldn't be the same without the whole crew.

Remember to relax on your break, the company is in very capable hands!

See you at IGC,

-John

Phil Carlisle (May 26, 2005 at 07:46 GMT)

Hey Jeff! thats a great idea! :)

You definitely deserve a break and doing the whole "motorcycle trip" thing is one hell of a change from running an indie software company.

So are you going to do the whole route 66 thing? :)

I'll see you after the summer (personally, I'm off round the world, so its not just you who gets to go away :))

All the best and have a great time!

Phil.

Xavier "eXoDuS" Amado (May 26, 2005 at 16:26 GMT)

Hey Jeff, that's a very well earned vacations, I know the pleasure of just riding a bike/car and not worrying about anything, so I'm sure you'll enjoy it. I'm sure Mark will do a great job so you don't have anything to worry about. Just ENJOY! Have a nice time man, you've earned it, and thanks for everything!

Vashner (May 26, 2005 at 20:56 GMT)

It's good to see you guys evolving. Glad your not leaving GG this plan scared me for a second...

Anders Jacobsen (May 27, 2005 at 06:10 GMT)

Good riddance... hehe just kidding. Have a great vacation, you've earned it for sure. And I hope your batteries will be super charged when you come back :) Hope to see some more even greater stuff from you and the guys in the future :)

Edward F. Maurina III (May 27, 2005 at 16:45 GMT)

Thanks for everything Jeff. Garage Games continues to rock. Enjoy your time away.

Hall Of Worlds - For Gamers
EdM|EGTGE

Michael Cozzolino (May 27, 2005 at 19:32 GMT)

Congrats Jeff. I'm looking forward to seeing some creative stuff from you. Enjoy Vacation. I just got back from a rainy miserable Maine vacation.

Gina-Marie \"Netjera\" Hammer (Jun 18, 2005 at 04:54 GMT)

We haven't met yet, Jeff, but I've heard a lot about you through the community, and I greatly admire what you've done with Garage Games. I can't imagine the kind of work involved in what you've done, and I sincerely hope that you have a great time on your much-needed (and well-deserved) vacation! Best wishes. :)

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