It's Science!

A thought I had today involved Punnett squares.

Flashback can be made here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punnett_square

I loved these. I don’t remember what grade I was in when I was first introduced. It instilled in my mind that as living creatures, it’s really an amazing thing that we come out as well as we do and we don’t have as many problems as we should.

Fast forward, I was reflecting on my current and past work experiences when this came to mind again. I started thinking of the final project as being a living creature and then tried to determine what “genes” make that creature what it is.

It’s not a stretch to think of people as those genes. But it’s the role we play that determines the effect it has.

Right now, in my current position, I consider myself Dd (Lead Designer).

My reporting director… he’s also Dd… but I almost think there’s an asterisk there that gives it a chance to be DD.

And there are some people that are Aa and aa. Others bump heads with PP and Pp and pp.

We also cannot forget MMs -marketers. :P They end up having an influence more than some people would like to admit.

So I wonder… if we put together a chart where everyone’s “alleles” are represented, would the highest percentage actually influence the type of game that gets made regardless of high concepts, first draft design documents, and the creative director?

I’d like to think that some people have control over the situation but is it a matter of they found the right genes for the project… or do we end up with a predestined product full of deformities?

Just something that jumbled around in my brain…

A bit unkempt in here...

It’s amazing how distracted you can be when it comes to updating everything that is available on the internet. Admittedly, most posts tend to be done through my Facebook so I forget about this venue more often than I should.

Finding Warmth in a New Year

I thought that now might be a good time to touch bases with my site - as it’s already half way past January and have not touched it since October.

A quick retrospect of 2009 finds me happy to leave behind a year that took away my father and gave me six months of unemployment where it’s easy to second guess your worth. On the other hand, I did meet some fantastic people and half way through I found a job that has kept me entertained and consistently learning.

That’s how these things go though. Amazing stellar years are rare as they are usually balanced out with somber occasions.

My biggest challenge was working with a larger team than I’m used to… 20+ people. The last studio I was at had five (seven at one point with interns) - far less room for game changing (pun intended) plans that have to be adjusted for on the fly.

I’ve really enjoyed the take-a-ways of working in a sports world. There are a lot of great things that can be done and I’d like to see this envelope pushed even more after the site re launches (hoping that people are inspired). After all, I don’t have a problem with competition. I think it’ll be good for the site and I like when people can improve my ideas.

As for what I want out of 2010, I want to continue down my path of learning incredible things and meeting incredible people. I hope to build stronger relationships and have more sympathy, empathy, and purpose in my designs. Perhaps I’ll take on some new projects that make use of this insane noggin attached to my neck. I fell out of drawing near the end of 2009 so I’d like to pick that up again.

I had “update personal site” on that list but I seem to have accomplished that tonight. I have a new template now. Credit for that is at the bottom of this page. The logo at the top, however, is mine. If you’ve received one of my business cards, you’ll notice it looks very familiar.

But on that note, my eyes are starting to feel like a bloodhound’s… so I sign off for now with a promise that the next update will come sooner than the last.

-Telka!