It's been an incredible ride.
by Jay Moore · 07/29/2006 (2:17 am) · 63 comments
It is with mixed emotions that I'm announcing my departure from the Garage to pursue new opportunities.
I will always consider the last four years of my life a great legacy, pulling off the first IGC in 5 weeks, a few weeks later launching the first Torque games, first GG booth to GDC 2003... Now what seems like a moment later, we have a Torque community of over 70,000, new logos for GG and Torque, new website look, two additional engines, a bunch of content packs, MB on millions of Macs, more great games - even on console, more great IGCs and way too many conferences later, I feel like I've seen the most amazing years of GG even though I know there is much more to come.
Getting any company through the startup phase or as I like to call it for GG the starve-up phase takes a fierce entrepreneurial commitment and vision for how things can be different. It has been my privilege to be the Evangelist out spreading the word and connecting with our community and partners. Today, I find what we started out proclaiming as a vision for the future is now an anthem shared by the many in the industry including Microsoft. There is always more to do, but the question of if we could realize our vision, build this enterprise or build a vibrant sustainable Independent Game Dev. segment of the industry are all visions that seem inevitable if not already realized.
I count the relationships I've built with many of you to be my most important accomplishment. Seeing you succeed, as I'm confident that many of you will, is what will make this endeavor all worthwhile. I hope many of these relationships grow over time.
It is with a great sense of accomplishment I pass the Wrench off to my partners to take this enterprise on to be a mature well managed organization. I know that more great innovation is still to come out of the Garage and I'm glad to have been a part of Changing the way games are made and played.
I will always consider the last four years of my life a great legacy, pulling off the first IGC in 5 weeks, a few weeks later launching the first Torque games, first GG booth to GDC 2003... Now what seems like a moment later, we have a Torque community of over 70,000, new logos for GG and Torque, new website look, two additional engines, a bunch of content packs, MB on millions of Macs, more great games - even on console, more great IGCs and way too many conferences later, I feel like I've seen the most amazing years of GG even though I know there is much more to come.
Getting any company through the startup phase or as I like to call it for GG the starve-up phase takes a fierce entrepreneurial commitment and vision for how things can be different. It has been my privilege to be the Evangelist out spreading the word and connecting with our community and partners. Today, I find what we started out proclaiming as a vision for the future is now an anthem shared by the many in the industry including Microsoft. There is always more to do, but the question of if we could realize our vision, build this enterprise or build a vibrant sustainable Independent Game Dev. segment of the industry are all visions that seem inevitable if not already realized.
I count the relationships I've built with many of you to be my most important accomplishment. Seeing you succeed, as I'm confident that many of you will, is what will make this endeavor all worthwhile. I hope many of these relationships grow over time.
It is with a great sense of accomplishment I pass the Wrench off to my partners to take this enterprise on to be a mature well managed organization. I know that more great innovation is still to come out of the Garage and I'm glad to have been a part of Changing the way games are made and played.
About the author
#22
07/29/2006 (11:26 am)
Good luck with whatever it is you decide to do next :)
#23
-JR
07/29/2006 (11:33 am)
Thanks for all your work on Garage Games. I wish you a fun and rewarding future.-JR
#24
07/29/2006 (12:34 pm)
Wow, I am a bit shocked, you have been the face of GG for such a long time. Anyway, I wish you all the best, and thanks a lot for everything you have done for the indie community!
#25
07/29/2006 (1:05 pm)
Thank you for working to get this community where it is
#26
Thirdly, I know I can drink you under the table, so stop acting like I can't.
07/29/2006 (1:19 pm)
I can't really say anything that hasn't already been said, and its probably been said more poetic than Id be able to. I dont need to wish you good luck, as I know you'll have no problem making your life is an exciting one. I also know my life is richer for having met you, so thanks for being Jay, and welcoming me into your circle with such open arms.Thirdly, I know I can drink you under the table, so stop acting like I can't.
#27
I wish you all the best in the future where ever you decide to head off to. Thanks for all your work raising the visibility of small developers everywhere.
Fredrik S
Affectworks
07/29/2006 (2:32 pm)
Jay,I wish you all the best in the future where ever you decide to head off to. Thanks for all your work raising the visibility of small developers everywhere.
Fredrik S
Affectworks
#28
I have never had the chance to meet you, but I wish to thank you for sharing GG's dream with all of us, making this 'lifestyle' a possibility. I am not taking credit away from the other GG core members, I am simply thanking you for being a part of a movement that changed my life completely.
Best of luck with everything you choose to undertake
Simon Love
Overlord, Broken Toy Software
07/29/2006 (3:26 pm)
Jay,I have never had the chance to meet you, but I wish to thank you for sharing GG's dream with all of us, making this 'lifestyle' a possibility. I am not taking credit away from the other GG core members, I am simply thanking you for being a part of a movement that changed my life completely.
Best of luck with everything you choose to undertake
Simon Love
Overlord, Broken Toy Software
#29
And if you're not, the stock ticker symbol for your new company would be lovely so we can buy some shares while they're cheap ;)
07/29/2006 (3:52 pm)
Good luck with the future Jay, if you're staying in / near the industry i'm sure we'll all still hear of your exploits. And if you're not, the stock ticker symbol for your new company would be lovely so we can buy some shares while they're cheap ;)
#30
07/29/2006 (4:15 pm)
Good luck Jay. I wish you the best in all your new endeavors.
#31
I type this now ... still feeling shock, horror, and sadness over your departure. You have always been one of my primary motivators and mentors on this journey. You have helped our company grow and succeed in so many ways. You will be missed beyond words.
Thank you for everything Jay.
I do not believe GG will be the same without you.
07/29/2006 (4:53 pm)
Such a large disturbance in the force ... we all feel it. How can we not? Read all of these posts and know that we have all witnessed and often experienced your drive, determination, loyalty, and inspiration. Weston said it perfectly, "You are a giant."I type this now ... still feeling shock, horror, and sadness over your departure. You have always been one of my primary motivators and mentors on this journey. You have helped our company grow and succeed in so many ways. You will be missed beyond words.
Thank you for everything Jay.
I do not believe GG will be the same without you.
#32
07/29/2006 (5:30 pm)
Sad to hear you're leaving Jay. I'm sure you've got plenty of exciting adventures in the works though! 
#33
You will be missed, I can't imagine IGC or any meeting with GG without you. Best wishes with all your future opportunities.
07/29/2006 (6:26 pm)
Jay, You will be missed, I can't imagine IGC or any meeting with GG without you. Best wishes with all your future opportunities.
#34
07/29/2006 (6:39 pm)
hah mr surprising! Have fun wherever you are going...so...tell us! Where are you going? You've always brought a nice positive vibe to the community and company here, I'll miss it. Thanks for the free beer. Next time it's on me.
#35
07/29/2006 (6:58 pm)
Wow, it'll certainly be strange without Jay in the Garage anymore. Your enthusiasm is infectious and you're a big reason why I'm proud to wear my GG t-shirts around town. Best of luck in your new adventures. 
#36
Jay, thanks for all your support in the sim space. I'm sure I will see you around somewhere, sometime. Best of luck!
07/29/2006 (9:34 pm)
Ah, returning to your roots in working with macrotrons?Jay, thanks for all your support in the sim space. I'm sure I will see you around somewhere, sometime. Best of luck!
#37
A bit like the exception that confirms the rules, but allows you to live with those rules, hehehe.
As I've already told you privately, you're a good man Jay, a very good man : your enthusiasm, passion and atypical approach to PR and Marketing (while leveraging the tools of the trade) spurred quite a few of us into putting all we had at the time into that DIY/Indie vision of gamedev...
I mean, MacWorld San Francisco 2003 is not the only time I kept on working on a milestone after the "deadline", but it's one of the very rare times where the results made it to the expo floor, to the HQ honchos or the publisher : didn't want to rely on just sending emails to Dave and Justin of 21-6 to tell them there was a new Orbz MacOS X build ready on the FTP server, I took an educated guess that you'd be close to them and called on your cell to pass along the info, and you reacted as expected : with your expected enthusiasm, etc.
It was very important to me they knew about that, since I'd shaved a few more fps tweaking things around :)
I have plenty more anecdotes and memories in that vein, but I'll sum it up thus : if just the majority of PR/Marketing in the industry (or in the world at large) worked along your principles and with a fraction of your passion and idealism, the corporate world would be a much better place for it, and the game industry not the delusioned, hyped up creature it is....
I can't thank you enough for everything you've done since that late summer of 2002, not only for me, but more importantly for this community and GG as a company...
Cheers, stay true, and happy trails !!!
Nic
07/29/2006 (10:54 pm)
Justin said it all with the tacky SW methaphore, or allegory, the exact term being semantics, and nowhere important as the feelings expressed, the feelings he expresses beneath his words : Jay is one of the only, if not the only, PR/Marketing person(s) who made me reconsider my views on that all together crucial facet of business (ashamed to admit it, but I'm prejudiced against PR and Marketing people in general, hehe ;)). Getting to know him from the first IGC onward, the way he talked "shop", and would switch to way more personal stuff on a dime, endeared him to me from the get go, overcoming my usual disposition towards people who do what he does for a living. A bit like the exception that confirms the rules, but allows you to live with those rules, hehehe.
As I've already told you privately, you're a good man Jay, a very good man : your enthusiasm, passion and atypical approach to PR and Marketing (while leveraging the tools of the trade) spurred quite a few of us into putting all we had at the time into that DIY/Indie vision of gamedev...
I mean, MacWorld San Francisco 2003 is not the only time I kept on working on a milestone after the "deadline", but it's one of the very rare times where the results made it to the expo floor, to the HQ honchos or the publisher : didn't want to rely on just sending emails to Dave and Justin of 21-6 to tell them there was a new Orbz MacOS X build ready on the FTP server, I took an educated guess that you'd be close to them and called on your cell to pass along the info, and you reacted as expected : with your expected enthusiasm, etc.
It was very important to me they knew about that, since I'd shaved a few more fps tweaking things around :)
I have plenty more anecdotes and memories in that vein, but I'll sum it up thus : if just the majority of PR/Marketing in the industry (or in the world at large) worked along your principles and with a fraction of your passion and idealism, the corporate world would be a much better place for it, and the game industry not the delusioned, hyped up creature it is....
I can't thank you enough for everything you've done since that late summer of 2002, not only for me, but more importantly for this community and GG as a company...
Cheers, stay true, and happy trails !!!
Nic
#38
07/30/2006 (5:03 am)
Yeah, I definitely agree with Justin ... it feels like a disturbance in the force.
#39
Well you did a great job for GG and a service to the community so you deserve some kudos. Best Wishes for your future.
07/30/2006 (5:51 am)
Bummer man :( Well you did a great job for GG and a service to the community so you deserve some kudos. Best Wishes for your future.
Torque Owner James Thompson
Good luck and good bye