Hired by GarageGames! Level Up!!!
by Josh Engebretson · 06/03/2008 (4:59 pm) · 44 comments
Lara and I have been hired by GarageGames!!!
Wow, that feels like a really long time in the coming. The fun working with Brett Seyler and Matt Fairfax on TGEA 1.7 made the decision all that much easier :)
I'm really excited about the current projects and roadmap. Unfortunately, I can't quite talk about them yet... so, I'll (re)introduce myself a bit to the community and my new GarageGames comrades.
I was a founder and the Technical Director of Canopy Games. I wrote a couple engines in my time there and got to develop all kinds of games. I was the sole coder for the first few years (a mistake) and so ended up writing a LOT of varied code :)
Here's a sample of the titles I developed while at Canopy Games:
I really wanted to develop a role playing game, have creative freedom, and self publish a game. So, after leaving Canopy Games the next 4+ years of my life were consumed by my second startup: Prairie Games, Inc
I plan on posting about this experience in some detail as time allows. Though, the main thing Prairie Games and Minions of Mirth represent to me is: work, work, and then some more work. It was a hard won education both on running a completely independent game studio and developing "indie friendly" MMO games/technology.
The R&D leading up to developing and then launching Minions of Mirth was rather well documented in the GarageGames forums. There were a number of rather lively debates (and head butts)... The birth of MoM was plenty painful... tears were shed, food was charged on credit cards, lifespans were shortened... but in the end, I wouldn't trade the experience. I still can't believe that Minions of Mirth was Lara's first game...
I also developed the MMOWorkshop.com site and put together the Torque MMO Kit while at Prairie Games. which is a whole other story... which requires more time than I have right now :)
Here's a picture that somehow doesn't manage to capture my time at Prairie Games:
Alright.... there it is, a brief history, introduction, and my very first blog as a GarageGames employee. YES!!!! I'm really looking forward to working with the talented folks who make GarageGames so awesome!!!
-Josh Engebretson
GarageGames, Inc
(Oh, yeah!)
Wow, that feels like a really long time in the coming. The fun working with Brett Seyler and Matt Fairfax on TGEA 1.7 made the decision all that much easier :)
I'm really excited about the current projects and roadmap. Unfortunately, I can't quite talk about them yet... so, I'll (re)introduce myself a bit to the community and my new GarageGames comrades.
I was a founder and the Technical Director of Canopy Games. I wrote a couple engines in my time there and got to develop all kinds of games. I was the sole coder for the first few years (a mistake) and so ended up writing a LOT of varied code :)
Here's a sample of the titles I developed while at Canopy Games:
I really wanted to develop a role playing game, have creative freedom, and self publish a game. So, after leaving Canopy Games the next 4+ years of my life were consumed by my second startup: Prairie Games, Inc
I plan on posting about this experience in some detail as time allows. Though, the main thing Prairie Games and Minions of Mirth represent to me is: work, work, and then some more work. It was a hard won education both on running a completely independent game studio and developing "indie friendly" MMO games/technology.
The R&D leading up to developing and then launching Minions of Mirth was rather well documented in the GarageGames forums. There were a number of rather lively debates (and head butts)... The birth of MoM was plenty painful... tears were shed, food was charged on credit cards, lifespans were shortened... but in the end, I wouldn't trade the experience. I still can't believe that Minions of Mirth was Lara's first game...
I also developed the MMOWorkshop.com site and put together the Torque MMO Kit while at Prairie Games. which is a whole other story... which requires more time than I have right now :)
Here's a picture that somehow doesn't manage to capture my time at Prairie Games:
Alright.... there it is, a brief history, introduction, and my very first blog as a GarageGames employee. YES!!!! I'm really looking forward to working with the talented folks who make GarageGames so awesome!!!
-Josh Engebretson
GarageGames, Inc
(Oh, yeah!)
About the author
http://www.TheEngine.Co
#2
06/03/2008 (5:15 pm)
Awesome. Welcome aboard Josh and Lara! 
#5
06/03/2008 (6:00 pm)
Congratulations, man! Did you ever work with Gary Dahl? He also use to work for Canopy games and taught some courses I attended a few years back at college. 
#6
06/03/2008 (6:01 pm)
Congrats Josh! People like you and Lara will do great good to GG, and ultimately to us ("us" like in "ME") :D
#7
06/03/2008 (6:04 pm)
Welcome - I'm sure the denizens of the other side of the building will find a bunch 'o work to keep you two busy enough! 
#8
06/03/2008 (6:13 pm)
Very, very sweet! Congratulations to you both! 
#9
Awesome stuff. I feel really lucky to have Josh and Lara on board. Keep any eye out for some Josh-and-Lara-powered Torque magic in the future.
06/03/2008 (6:28 pm)
Booyah! I think GG just leveled up too. Josh, for those new to the GGsphere, is an absolute machine. For a very tiny peek into what he's contributed to GG over the years, check out the Prairie Games profile and his past .plans / resource submissions / forum threads here: http://www.garagegames.com/my/home/view.profile.php?qid=4280Awesome stuff. I feel really lucky to have Josh and Lara on board. Keep any eye out for some Josh-and-Lara-powered Torque magic in the future.
#10
06/03/2008 (6:30 pm)
Congrats - I'd wondered when they'd finally snap you up :P 
#11
06/03/2008 (6:31 pm)
That's awesome news Josh!! Congratulations!! 
#12
06/03/2008 (6:31 pm)
Big congratulations to you and Lara, Josh!
#13
06/03/2008 (6:35 pm)
This really deserve a 5-star rating!!! Simply awesome. 
#15
06/03/2008 (7:34 pm)
Dude; I actually bought a couple of those games, I didn't know you made them =O
#16
06/03/2008 (7:45 pm)
Excellent! Sounds great for both of you :) I still can't believe you did all those games and both of you came out with the mmokit...2 ppl = WOW! with GG now Sweet!! 
#17
06/03/2008 (9:12 pm)
Wow, that's awesome news! Congrats, I can hardly think of another Torque user who deserves it.
#18
06/03/2008 (9:58 pm)
Now you gotta move out of xxxxx Dakota? 
#19
06/03/2008 (10:06 pm)
Rock on Josh! 
#20
Weren't you guys the ones who found a loophole in the Quake 2 license that allowed you to release without paying for the license? I didn't read any follow-up to the story, but I seem to remember it ending with id stating "yeah, we got fucked, nothing we can do about it. The license has been updated..."
Does this mean if I find a loophole in my GG licenses, I can assume it's ok to take complete advantage of them instead of honoring the logical agreement?
Hopefully you've done more reputable projects since then. Or perhaps id won the political fight over that and you guys were completely ethical. If so, do tell!
Sorry for the agression, I just don't like seedy people...
06/04/2008 (1:21 am)
Ahh Juggernaut, the lousiest expansion pack for any game every ;p That game was rushed more than anything I've ever seen. The levels weren't even lighted properly, just the fast lighting was processed on them(whis is used for testing). No big deal really, I think everyone has been on a rushed project before, but there's more...Weren't you guys the ones who found a loophole in the Quake 2 license that allowed you to release without paying for the license? I didn't read any follow-up to the story, but I seem to remember it ending with id stating "yeah, we got fucked, nothing we can do about it. The license has been updated..."
Does this mean if I find a loophole in my GG licenses, I can assume it's ok to take complete advantage of them instead of honoring the logical agreement?
Hopefully you've done more reputable projects since then. Or perhaps id won the political fight over that and you guys were completely ethical. If so, do tell!
Sorry for the agression, I just don't like seedy people...
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