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Plan for Benjamin Bradley
Plan for Benjamin Bradley
| Name: | Benjamin Bradley |  |
|---|---|---|
| Date Posted: | Jan 31, 2005 | |
| Rating: |  5.0 out of 5 | |
| Public: | YES | |
| Comments: | YES | |
| RSS Feed: |  or Subscribe with  . | |
| Profile Page: | View profile page for Benjamin Bradley |
Blog post
The ramblings of a PR guy after a trip to Orlando.
I have done it... Yes, that's right I have joined the Mile High Club. Several miles above the earth, somewhere between Phoenix and Seattle, the screams of excitement could almost be heard by the other passengers on the plane. Yes, the first ever Zap! LAN party took place on an American West flight. Ahhhh... what were you all thinking I was going to say. :)
Anyway, thanks to Jim and his trusty laptop (which actually only had about 15 minutes of battery left, so the LAN party was pretty quick) we had a wild Hunters match with Jim, myself and a map full of awesome bots. Jim's first response was, "I like the way you make things move." Ok...Jim wasn't the most game savvy person on the plane but Jay was out cold, so I had to find someone else to initiate my diabolical plan for Zap! LAN party domination through collaboration. This was an awesome ending to an exciting trip to Orlando to be a part of the G.A.M.E.S. Synergy Summit. (Government, Academic, Military, Entertainment and Simulation)
Jay and I, along with Matt Fairfax from Bravetree, headed out to Orlando to facilitate a Torque Bootcamp. With between 15-23 participants, Matt did an awesome job teaching people about Torque and how to use Torque in different settings. Stephen Zepp, who came down to Orlando to help us (and party with us) was a huge help with his military background that opened up doors and conversations.
During the rest of the conference, Jay and I were busy with many different meetings and it was exciting to see the interest from the government/simulation industry as well as the growing attention from educational institutions.
Several interesting things that happened:
** I was invited to attend a Full Sail final presentation project from a team who used the Torque Game Engine. So on Thursday, I went with Matt and Stephen in a car Stephen had borrowed to the presentation. With none of us really knowing the way to theater and only a simple map to guide us, we inevitably got ourselves turned around. Then to make matters worse, the car started to smoke and the temperature went through the roof. So Stephen pulled the car to the side and was able to perform some minor miracles with Ducktape, water and papertowls while Matt and I contemplated selling our Vietnamese jewelry "while we waited"...(or so the sign told us we could). We got the car going and a few more miles later the radiator blew again. With Matt needing to get to the airport soon, we decided it would be best to take a long cab ride back to the hotel, so Matt and I left Stephen at a gas station in way out in the NE of Orlando. (I have since heard he made it back ok). But our whole trip to hear this Torque Game Presentation was missed.
The funny thing was, on Friday evening, I was approached by Michael Perry. Michael was the project lead on the Full Sail presentation that we were heading off to see. So we were able to talk for an hour and he showed me his project that the team had put together in two months. To be honest, his team put together one of the best menu systems complete with animations and multiple cameras that I have seen in a while. Good job guys, and keep it up.
** I also had the opportunity to be a panelist for another Full Sail presentation of intermediate programmers. The three teams who presented to a panel of industry vets had to create a game from scratch in two months that included things like menu systems, enemy AI, particle engine, force-feedback control and more. I have to say after seeing and talking with several of these Full Sail Game Programming students that even though several years ago, Full Sail had a not-so-great reputation within the gaming industry, I believe they have made great strides and are starting to turn out some very creative and talented game programmers.
There is tons of other things to say, but I don't want to make this into a monster .plan. Needless to say, the Torque Development Platform is moving into exciting fields. The faces on people who seemed to "get it", whenever we talked about Torque 2D/TGE/TSE was so awesome. And in the words of Josh, "This ROCKS!!!". Anyway, those of you who were on IRC Friday night know what I'm talking about. And to all you future Mile High Zap! Club members....Party On!
Oh, and Joe, I was able to bring you back Deluxe Shower Cap and a bath and facial Sunflower and Grapefruit Soap.
I'm out.
Anyway, thanks to Jim and his trusty laptop (which actually only had about 15 minutes of battery left, so the LAN party was pretty quick) we had a wild Hunters match with Jim, myself and a map full of awesome bots. Jim's first response was, "I like the way you make things move." Ok...Jim wasn't the most game savvy person on the plane but Jay was out cold, so I had to find someone else to initiate my diabolical plan for Zap! LAN party domination through collaboration. This was an awesome ending to an exciting trip to Orlando to be a part of the G.A.M.E.S. Synergy Summit. (Government, Academic, Military, Entertainment and Simulation)
Jay and I, along with Matt Fairfax from Bravetree, headed out to Orlando to facilitate a Torque Bootcamp. With between 15-23 participants, Matt did an awesome job teaching people about Torque and how to use Torque in different settings. Stephen Zepp, who came down to Orlando to help us (and party with us) was a huge help with his military background that opened up doors and conversations.
During the rest of the conference, Jay and I were busy with many different meetings and it was exciting to see the interest from the government/simulation industry as well as the growing attention from educational institutions.
Several interesting things that happened:
** I was invited to attend a Full Sail final presentation project from a team who used the Torque Game Engine. So on Thursday, I went with Matt and Stephen in a car Stephen had borrowed to the presentation. With none of us really knowing the way to theater and only a simple map to guide us, we inevitably got ourselves turned around. Then to make matters worse, the car started to smoke and the temperature went through the roof. So Stephen pulled the car to the side and was able to perform some minor miracles with Ducktape, water and papertowls while Matt and I contemplated selling our Vietnamese jewelry "while we waited"...(or so the sign told us we could). We got the car going and a few more miles later the radiator blew again. With Matt needing to get to the airport soon, we decided it would be best to take a long cab ride back to the hotel, so Matt and I left Stephen at a gas station in way out in the NE of Orlando. (I have since heard he made it back ok). But our whole trip to hear this Torque Game Presentation was missed.
The funny thing was, on Friday evening, I was approached by Michael Perry. Michael was the project lead on the Full Sail presentation that we were heading off to see. So we were able to talk for an hour and he showed me his project that the team had put together in two months. To be honest, his team put together one of the best menu systems complete with animations and multiple cameras that I have seen in a while. Good job guys, and keep it up.
** I also had the opportunity to be a panelist for another Full Sail presentation of intermediate programmers. The three teams who presented to a panel of industry vets had to create a game from scratch in two months that included things like menu systems, enemy AI, particle engine, force-feedback control and more. I have to say after seeing and talking with several of these Full Sail Game Programming students that even though several years ago, Full Sail had a not-so-great reputation within the gaming industry, I believe they have made great strides and are starting to turn out some very creative and talented game programmers.
There is tons of other things to say, but I don't want to make this into a monster .plan. Needless to say, the Torque Development Platform is moving into exciting fields. The faces on people who seemed to "get it", whenever we talked about Torque 2D/TGE/TSE was so awesome. And in the words of Josh, "This ROCKS!!!". Anyway, those of you who were on IRC Friday night know what I'm talking about. And to all you future Mile High Zap! Club members....Party On!
Oh, and Joe, I was able to bring you back Deluxe Shower Cap and a bath and facial Sunflower and Grapefruit Soap.
I'm out.
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Submit your own resources!| Joshua Dallman (Jan 31, 2005 at 00:41 GMT) |
nice to hear torque and education comingling is making some good headway. would love to see an outline of the presentation that was given for the boot camp. imagine where things will be in 5 years... it's going places. just hope that someone who's now 13 isn't going to be taking your job then!
| Stephen Zepp (Jan 31, 2005 at 01:06 GMT) |
| Benjamin Bradley (Jan 31, 2005 at 01:09 GMT) |
| Joshua Dallman (Jan 31, 2005 at 01:12 GMT) |
| Benjamin Bradley (Jan 31, 2005 at 01:28 GMT) |
| Timothy Aste (Jan 31, 2005 at 02:25 GMT) |
| Jay Moore (Jan 31, 2005 at 02:57 GMT) |
Having Matt & Stephen keeping Benjamin and I from sounding too much like marketing guys it felt like a we'll be doing many more Torque Boot Camps, but doing it in one day is a bit of a stretch. I'd say for talented developers there is a large opportunity to take Torque skills into this rapid growth arena.
| Joshua Dallman (Jan 31, 2005 at 06:36 GMT) |
I am really interested in seeing where these boot camps lead. My guess is that they'll be more and more popular. Though not an "in the trenches" programmer, attending such an event would definitely enhance my ability to effectively project manage and know the strengths and limitations of the engine better. Eventually, I see the boot camps as something being popular enough to fragment: torque boot camp for artists, torque boot camp for programmers, torque boot camp for designers... but that's a ways off, first things first!
| James Laker (BurNinG) (Jan 31, 2005 at 08:42 GMT) |
| Timothy Aste (Jan 31, 2005 at 10:55 GMT) |
| Erik Madison (Jan 31, 2005 at 21:19 GMT) |
| Steve Oner (Feb 01, 2005 at 01:24 GMT) |
Edited on Feb 11, 2005 14:07 GMT
| Michael Perry (Dec 19, 2006 at 17:45 GMT) Resource Rating: 5 |
I can't begin to tell everyone how timid and frightened I was to sneak into Synergy Summit and approach GG employees with our rickety game. Of course, as it was and still is, you guys were wicked down to Earth and even offered for me to join you in some beers after I showed you our project.
Even with the encouragement you guys gave me that night, who would have guessed I'd being using Torque today to earn a living and make my dreams become reality.
Oh, and Orlando does suck. . .I hated when I first moved there, and I hate it still =).
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