An internship was all I needed for graduation. The graduation ceremony sounded lovely, I was excited for it, but it would be all for naught if I couldn't get into the industry I loved. When I wandered into the Mad Otter lobby two weeks before graduation, I was excited, but scared. I'll admit it, I have a fear of rejection, particularly with jobs. I love working, and to be denied that pleasure is excruciatingly gut-wrenching.
When I arrived for my interview the next day I knew I was an silly, inexperienced young lady. I felt however, that whatever I lacked in knowledge I made up for with hardwork and enthusiasm. The prior two years of my life I had been devouring every bit of information I could, packing in as many credits as possible. I wanted to be ready. I wanted to be prepared. That dedication, along with the wonderful teachers I had along the way to guide me, brought me to the level that I could accept challenges with confidence.
I was more than honored to accept an internship at Mad Otter, and I consider one of my best spent summers. Not only has it given me invaluable experience in the game development industry, but it has been incredible to work on a team with so much camaraderie and legendary résumés to boot.
My entire résumé, in comparison, is dwarfed merely by fellow otter Chris Cole's list of educational honors! It is humbling to think that the combined game development experience of the Mad Otter team is over five times the number of years I've lived. A little known fact about Mad Otter: the offices are actually coated in awesome. True story! If you look closely, you will see a sheen of it on the furniture. My desk, however, is not coated in awesome. Shortly after arriving I wiped the entire thing down. Awesome cannot be borrowed or bought. It must be earned through long hours of screen-staring and the clickety-clack of keys.
Fortunately for me, I logged a decent number of hours doing that this summer. When not dodging pens thrown by Darren, taking part in the harassment of other otters, destroying the lives of NPCs (non-player characters) everywhere, or having otter fanboys slap me with large fish (don't ask); I was firmly planted in my office chair, contentedly indulged in some aspect of Villagers & Heroes (on dual monitors). Whether it be dialog writing, quest scripting, documentation, taking part in design discussions, herding cats, er, I mean, organizing testers...I tried to get my paws wet with whatever they were brave enough to let me touch.
Some days it took me being “brave”. There are times when I said “yes” to a task that I was about -4% sure I could do. There were times I ran genesis (which occasionally takes as long as reading the entire book of Genesis) and got nothing but responses likened to that of a technological Sodom and Gomorrah. I confess. My scripting mistakes were that wicked. Sometimes you have to keep running, keep trying: and don't look back.
Of course, now that I say that I have to look back. I look back and I am grateful for the programming classes I took, the endless hours of headbutting programs trying to get them to compile, and even Jim's “liberating” way of teaching. If I hadn't had him to drop seemingly impossible projects on my lap and then scurry off to the depths, I wouldn't have had the tools to even try to hack any software bugs into oblivion. Those lessons are what let me be deadly enough to cause major damage. Thanks, Jim.
If it weren't for my art classes, I wouldn't understand why Adam and Mark burn through coffee like it's jet fuel. They have to be hopped up on something to continuously rip out gorgeous artwork at the speed of light. A coffee an hour gives the artist their POWER! (Unverified at this time.)
I don't regret a single class I took. Granted, some of them were more fun than others (like my handgun class...), but all of them taught me valuable lessons. If I could pass along any of my lessons learned to other students, they would be the following:
Be passionate. Go to class like you want to be there. Better yet, want to be there. You're paying to learn (don't figure out how much an hour, it's sickening), so get your monies worth.
Go to office hours. Seriously. Otherwise teachers have to use that time for boring stuff like grading. If you're there showing your interest and dedication to their class, when they finally do get around to grading, guess who will get the participation points?
Be respectful of your classmates. You know those group projects? Those happen in real life. If you can't place nice with others, you better be independently wealthy. If you're not filthy rich, may I suggest learning to be a team player?
Oh, also, if you're a halfway decent team member, your classmates might buy you doritos. Positive-sum game for all involved!Your GPA doesn't matter. It's just a number. Kind-of like those numbers on paychecks. No biggy, right?
Don't be afraid of Discrete Math. Except at test time. Then you can be very afraid. All other times it's a blast though, really.
Above all, do what you love.
Speaking of love, wouldn't it be lovely if I stopped blathering on? I will grant the masses their wish and bid you adieu. If you were a part of my journey, thank you so very much for the aid you have given me. If you are embarking on your own journey I wish you all the best. Don't give up!
I took it all in: what books were on the bookshelf, the software and games I could see, the concept art, the two men I could see from where I stood...and I waited. Eventually the man on the phone (who was Damon) noticed me and my debacle began. He had to interrupt his phone call to go get another man (Darren), who warily wandered my way. He probably took me for a lost student, which wasn't too far off in reality. I blathered something about dropping off a resume, took off my beast of a backpack, and as I'm going for the zipper I introduce myself. So here I am, a little young lady with a backpack the size of her body, rummaging around while Darren is probably standing there thinking, “Why me?”
The best part however, was the bug on my backpack. Not only did I interrupt a phone call and tore Darren away from scripting (or *cough* Kingdom of Loathing ), but I had now brought another usurper with me. Just what a game studio wants: more bugs. I tried to keep the bug busy by coaxing it to crawl onto my hand. Now the stage is set. An epic fail is brewing. I finally find my resume, and as I am turning to hand it to Darren, the bug on my hand catches the breeze and seizes it's chance to be free, flying into the office. As any polite young lady would do, I lament it's parting by saying, out loud, “Bye, bye, bug.” Darren followed my eye line but I'm not sure he ever saw the bug. I sincerely hope he did. Either way I'm sure he thought me crazy.
So what's changed? I'm still a silly young girl. I still love games. There are two differences. I no longer just stand awkwardly in the lobby. I can now stand awkwardly in all areas of the Mad Otter suite; I am no longer be restrained to just one room. In addition, Darren no longer thinks I'm crazy. He *knows* I'm crazy.
That day I handed in my resume was what I considered to be a disaster. In my mind, nothing went right. If there's one thing I've been reminded of this summer it's that life doesn't usually go as we plan.
For the first time in a long while I do not have “plans” for this fall. I would like to get a job in the game industry, that would be my dream, but I'm not sure if that will happen. I am signed up for two classes at the community college I graduated from this Spring, but I'm not sure if I will ultimately end up taking them. It's all up in the air, which is really what it always is in life. Not having a plan (set in quick drying cement) is something I've never liked. It feels funny. I'm a fan of goals because otherwise I end up wasting time. I already waste enough time in life when I *do* have proper plans.
Sometimes I think that's because I never get past the planning stage. It's easy for me to notice and foresee problems. Some people call it pessimism, I claim it to be realism. Whatever it is, it must come in moderation. It seems that if you live in a state of all-optimism, you will be let down. If you live entirely in pessimism, you will cripple yourself. Like many things, there is a happy medium. I definitely haven't achieved that happy medium, but I like to think that I'm improving.
I have a tendency to say, “Hope for the best, expect the worst.” I'd say that after discrete math tests. Funny thing was, when I'd hope for the best, I'd end up getting the worst. Vice versa, if I expected the worst, I usually got the best score. In light of that I feel the need to alter my phrase. Perhaps it should be, “Anticipate problems, but persevere anyway.”
- Mood:
tired
I have every good intention for this blog and somehow it always ends up hilariously thwarted. That is my opening disclosure. I was going to make a witty subject using whatever name they call female otters. Upon research I decided that I wasn't doing that. Males are called dogs. Three guesses to what the females are called. The first two don't count.
There are so many topics I need to cover with this blog it's incredibly overwhelming!
Some things I wanted to cover:
- An update on life as an intern otter
- The CGDC overview
- Thoughts about the class system and RPGs
- Building a gaming community
- Religion in RPGs
- Lost Odyssey review (I'm almost done with disk two!)
- Flash game development
- Game development + college
I will do it. I will! I must.
...
But don't hold your breath. I'm not sure how long it'll take. :)
- Mood:
exhausted
Close up of the door man I drew. (You can kind-of see me in the reflection. Gaspeth.)
Larger shot of the door man I drew. (Still couldn't get his feet in.)
Me being a dork on the whiteboard in our office (note to the top right is Lucus' strange man, and on the left is Venus. She needs a shirt. A LOT.)
As you can see below, the entirety of my desk really can't be fitted into one cellphone shot. As for what's on the screen, I actually kind-of forgot about it till I took the pictures and then I *headdesked* about it. I don't think the menu is a huge secret though, so yeah. Sorry guys!
Here's a closer view of my dual monitor setup. :D I iz sew luckeh.
So yeah, that's the desk! I haz room to grow! LOL. And that hole in the er...pipe-looking thing was where the last guy's mirror was mounted. Sew he could see peoples come in (cause the door is behind the sitter).
I really wanted to take pictures of the body outline I drew on my glass office door (complete with severed arm), but alas I forgot/didn't think my cellphone could handle it. Maybe it'll still be there when I go back Monday. One can hope? Also need to take pictures of teh white board. Unless Lucus erases that too. Haha. I iz a menace to otter society. But Darren dared me to do the man on the door. So yeah. *feels justified*
There never gonna leave us alone in the office again. ;P
Favorite moments of today (sadly, few quotes because they're mostly in Skype):
Note: quotes are rough recollections. You cannot hold me or the quotees responsible.
Coming into work and starting off the day by asking Darren ten million questions. He hates questions. Especially ones that require him to make decisions. Added bonus if you ask him another one as he takes a deep breath to reply to the previous question.
[to Darren]
Katie: "So, do you have an epic list of things for me to do?"
[Darren takes a breath]
Katie: "You had all day yesterday while I was gone to make one!"
[breath]
Katie: "Oh, and do you know what a Zabrak is?"
Darren: "No."
Katie: "Darth Maul is one."
Darren: "Oh, is that it?"
Katie: "...also known as an Iridonian because they're from the planet of Iridonia..."
Darren: "How do you know all this stuff?"
Katie [on skype after being rather annoying]: *wonders if you could throw something over the wall and hit me*
[something whooshes and flops on the floor behind me]
[I turn around and see a pen fly over and land next to my desk]
Katie: "You missed!"
Darren: "Well I wasn't TRYING to hit you!"
Katie: "Well, I'm holding your pen hostage!"
Darren: "I was just going to ask, can I have my pen back?"
Katie: "No! I'm holding it hostage. It's been contaminated by my germs."
[I trot into the 'kitchen' and get a clorox wipe & proceed to wrap the pen in it]
[take it into Darren's office and hand it to him]
Katie: "There. Your pen will smell very lemony now."
Darren: "Thanks."
[few minutes later]
Darren: "You're right, these ARE lemony."
[after Darren tells me my project is broken]
Katie [to Adam, on Skype]: "...unless Darren is broken."
Adam: "Darren is ALWAYS broken."
Katie [to Darren]: "I think you're broken."
Katie: "I'm leaving. So you don't have to tell me, 'Are you leaving YET?' "
Darren: "Ok. I was biting my tongue."
Katie: "So feel free to dole out criticism."
[minutes pass]
Katie: "Or sigh loudly."
[many minutes pass]
Katie: "Or just disapprove silently."
[I tell Darren that I checked in something for him to look over]
[about 10 minutes later]
Darren: "Wait, did you want me to look at that? Best delayed reaction time ever."
Katie: "Oh, I thought you were just giving me the silent treatment like before."
Darren: "No, I just wanted to give it my full undivided attention."
Wow, some of those are so off. Maybe tomorrow I'll have time to change them to the actual correct quotes. But it's so much fun to put words in people's mouths! :P
Yeah, today was ridiculously productive and hilarious. Oh, and I hired Darren to harvest my crops on farm town.
[after he harvested my crops]
Katie: "You're a dork."
Darren: "You're fired."
Katie: "But I hired *you*!"
It's been a month this week since I got my internship. Good times man, good times. It's crazy to think that in a few months an MMO will come out that I can play and say, "Oh yeah, I came up with that skill. Yeah, I made that NPC. I wrote that quest. Yeah, I spawned those monsters and made them drop those items that I came up with." O.o
WEIRD!
And yet it makes me giddy with excitement. :D
- Mood:
giddy
Here are just a few quotes from Otterville. I really need to spend time at work gleaning the good ones out of skype and such, but I always feel guilty doing that. *shy*
"For you Damon I have as many minutes as you need." -Adam
"Pew pew pew pew pew! Walkby shooting." -Mark
[to Damon]
"Well, you're severly handicapped right now." -Darren
[on skype]
"Did you just tell Damon he's "severely handicapped"? That's not nice..." -Me
"Thought it was time to finally let him know." -Darren
[talking about the people who developed the rpg engine we're using]
"...they were working 7 days a week, 12 hours a day for 11 months." -Damon
"Well as long as they kept it to just 7 days a week." -Darren
[a few minutes later]
"Man, how did he convince HER to do that?" -Darren
"He proposed." -Damon
"So who diagnosed it? The doctor...or his assistant?" -Damon
"Shocking!" -Adam
"For the WIN! The assistant was an attractive woman who was wondering why my pulse was racing." - Darren
[to me]
"I love how on the sprints page it looks like you're doing more work than all the team." -Darren
"Well I think that's pretty accurate..." -Damon
[about some documentation I did]
"Yeah, you're making me look bad!" -Darren
That's just an appetizer of the good times we have at Mad Otter. :)
Hopefully more soon!
- Mood:
sick
01. Anyone who looks at this entry has to post this meme and their current wallpaper at their livejournal.
02. Explain in five sentences why you're using that wallpaper!
03. Don't change your wallpaper before doing this! The point is to see what you had on!
1. I found this today hiding amongst folders. I FELL IN LOVE.
2. There is a possibility of drool occuring if I stare at this long enough.
3. I am interning here! :D
4. I love otters. Trufax.
5. Though I'm not usually a fan of warmer colors, this is jolly.
BONUS: I plan to make this downloadable on the Mad Otter Website soon. :)
Okay, here tis!
My previous most awkward moment came when I was doing one of those phone surveys for voting stuff. When asked if I was, "Single, Divorced, or with a partner," I answered, "With a partner," because I have a boyfriend. It wasn't until later when I realized that's NOT what that meant. The best part about that was it was right after the question where I said I was a Christian.
Today's moment leaves that in the dust. There's a reason why I gave myself the middle name of "Awkward".
The best part is, I used that NPC's name SO MANY TIMES in this document....makes me want to cry but I can only hysterically laugh. You'll probably catch it. I didn't.
[EPIC FAIL]
EDIT: Every time I read this it gets worse. Especially with the NPC name fail + the player character name fail. It's like I planned to be a sicko but I didn't! Wahhhh.
Without further ado, I present to you...
A Day in the Life of an Intern Otter.
w/ character naming fail included.
*The feelings expressed below probably are NOT shared by Mad Otter. You have been warned.*
9:50
Arrive at the office and try not to disrupt the magical aura with my presence. Update SVN, open skype. Consider the pros and cons of holding my breath to prevent unneccesary noise.
9:57
Check email. Resolve SVN conflicts. Check SVN log to see what new goodies there are! :D
9:59
I would like to say two things. Firstly, Jim (my advisor/teacher from the Lane Community College Gaming program) only emails when he wants something. Secondly, it is IMPOSSIBLE to drink a java chip frappachino quietly. ESPECIALLY with a straw.
10:01
Check and see how many video views we have. Smile slightly.
10:02
Time to go visit Gobbo the NPC! Get on character Sourface...
Have I ever said how much I love having dual monitors? Yeah.
10:05
Something appears broken. Gobbo has created a force field space bubble so that I cannot talk to him. I didn't think Sourface was THAT ugly. Well, okay, I did, but still. This is going to be a fun day.
10:07
Time to check the wiki. Forget talking to Gobbo, I'll go read his DNA instead. I really need to find a good python editor. Trufax.
10:09
Gobbo has scurvy. That explains it.
10:11
Gobbo is a demanding little man! He's not my friend.
10:14
Let's try talking to Marilena and see if she's any friendlier.
10:15
Wait a second....Darren likes Marilena best? WTHack! That quest made me EMO after I wrote it. O.o Note to self: Stay away from Darren. He secretly likes feeding little girls to trolls.
10:17
I have a love-hate relationship with rhymes.
10:18
*cries* All the NPCs hate meee! Alright, who did this? Darren, did you turn all the NPCs against me???
At least I can still kill things. :D
10:20
Time to pull out the chainsaw and start destroying things till they work again. *halo*
10:21
While I'm waiting for this to compile, let me tell you a...whoops. Jas. Something broke. I knew it was Darren's fault! (J/k...)
10:23
Try again. So, the door to Lucus and my office is one of those mostly-glass doors. (WOOT, BEEP, it compiled!) So I want to draw (with a dry erase marker) an outline of a person, then bring a dart gun and shoot it. Cause what else would I do? Work or something?
10:24
The NPCs still hate me. D: It must be a Monday morning or something.
10:29
Beeps fill me with such joy and jubilation. I'm going to get on Patrick Stewart and see if they like him better.
10:29
Darren: If you can't walk up to an NPC by clicking on him, I just checked in a temporary fix.
Katie: Okay, I was just going to ask you if the NPCs just hate me today or if they were being overall haters. I mean, I know my character is mighty ugly but...still...
Darren: Are those the only two choices?
Katie: Well, maybe the NPCs don't think they're getting paid enough? They're probably forming a union or something.
Darren: Ha, that's something you don't see in a video game very often.
Katie: Maybe we should feed a couple more to the troll.
10:33
According to Skype, Darren is bad and Adam is delicious. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
10:34
Well, the NPCs are talking to me now! Except...they want my bones. Creepers. Who made these guys anyway? Oh...right. That was me.
Time to add these dudes to the cast of characters, and mess with script. Bbs.
10:52
It appears that Damon and Adam are MIA. I wonder if face punching was involved.
10:56
The cake is a lie, and so is the pie.
11:04
I wonder if Adam and Damon are in jail for blowing things up with fireworks over the weekend. That'd be pro. We could visit them on our lunch break.
11:05
Waiting for the beep...waiting for the beep....
11:06
Beep! :D
11:16
There is a con to writing dialog in code & not having a word processor. No spell check. Since when was "inconspituous" a word? O.o
11:18
I'm so sick of bandits attacking me! And the undead....and rats... I'm just trying to do my job dang it!
I like interpretive dances involving otters. Jus' saying.
11:30
I want to punch an NPC named Hyman in the face. Can I do that? I made him, so I can abuse him. (<- fail excuse for abuse)
11:36
Fuzzyhair was a bad name for my player character. But I have to make so many every day, I just go with whatever comes to mind first. It is a descriptive name, so that counts for something, right?
11:40
YES! Mental torture *DOES* work on NPCs! Hyman is now bending to my will. Smart move dude.
11:43
This looks like a good place to put a woman...
11:46
Why does it sound/feel like there are explosions going on below us?
11:48
I'm putting words in her mouth. Har har.
12:05
Invalid syntax? It spews forth lies! There's just something about sheep stomach it doesn't like.
12:14
It took me WAY too long to notice that missing comma. >.<
1:18
Just got back from lunch with my family--my niece turned 15 today. Crazy times. Back to sheep stomach.
1:21
Apparently in my leave Hyman has regained his cantankerous nature. I shall crush him under my iron heel of armegeddon!
1:48
It's almost nap time, right? I think Darren and I should throw a party since everyone has abandoned us. We should set off fireworks in the conference room. Woot!
1:50
Btw, friends don't let friends poison friends. Someone needs to tell Hyman that.
1:52
I'm flyinggggg! *Drugs not included with game.
1:58
Breaking news, Darren mutinied and stuffed Damon and Adam in the closet. Spread the word!
1:59
MORE breaking news! Darren has proclaimed me Queen of the office, and he is King. Hopefully he's not one of those kings that likes lopping queens' heads off.
2:01
Katie: So what's Mark?
Darren: Bald?
2:24
I watched Darren play the quests....apparently Hyman means something that I don't...know...about? And Darren said, "I really can't tell you." Sooooo concerned. I must google now. :S
2:25
ROFL. Oh my gosh. So glad I have my own office to blush in. Yeahhhhh wow. Hyman is not how you spell what he was thinking of, but yeah. I'm going to go die now. ROFL.
I think I am perishing.
Darren: I was thinking of the car company.
Katie: Oh yeah. Right. Copyright issues and all.
3:24
Well, I sort-of live. I don't feel as amused anymore. Mark found a new Mad Otter themesong. I am left wondering why Darren's nickname is "Frosty".
3:32
Today is strange. What can I say.
4:44
Well, Darren wants me to leave. So I shall.
[/end day]
As you can tell, I got extremely quiet after that event. I posted a few screenshots, did some website stuff, but couldn't bring myself to make anymore NPCs today. Thinking about finding a name made me want to puke.
Hope you enjoyed the debacle. I don't know if I'll ever do a "day in the life of..." again. I think it's cursed.
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