8/10/99

"A heart that's full up like a landfill, a job that slowly kills you Bruises that won't heal" -Radiohead You know, I really love designing computer games, and I'm assuming that if you're reading this you really want to know more about what it's like. We've talked an awful lot about the technicalities of doing the job, what the other designers and I look at every day, and what goes into the game from a creative standpoint. What we haven't really talked about is the personal aspect, especially when a game gets dangerously close to completion. Let's take an example from this weekend. I decided that I would take a day off from writing - no characters, nothing - just me and my dogs and my girlfriend, hanging out and relaxing. Maybe a walk in the park, a movie, dinner, a little yardwork, housecleaning - all the things that I've been neglecting lately. I did all those things, and settled back to enjoy a nice brainless night in front of the television. I thought that tickling sensation at the back of my skull was a spider. I slapped at it, and I realized it wasn't anything physical. It was that lingering guilt feeling. I wound up staying up til about 2 am writing dialogue. When we get this close to the end of a project, we really can't afford to take any real time off. The end is in sight, and no breaks are permitted - by our conscience, if not by the crushing iron hand of Guido... oops, I didn't say that. In other words, game design isn't just about creating dialogue and going home at the end of the day. It's about creating dialogue, items, creatures, movement patterns, movies, and NOT going home. Remember what I said about dedication waaaay back? (If not, you can always look in the archives) This is the time when it starts to count. I tell ya, if I weren't bald already, you can bet I'd be getting that way by now... At least we're getting close. Right? RIGHT? (please, someone say "right") ... tick... tick... tick... -Colin

Planescape: Torment & Design: © 1998 Interplay Productions. All Rights Reserved. © 1998 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Planescape, the Planescape logo, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Torment, the AD&D logo, and the TSR logo are trademarks of TSR, Inc. and are used by Interplay under license. TSR, Inc. is a subsidiary of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. Interplay, the Interplay logo, Black Isle Studios and the Black Isle Studios logo are trademarks of Interplay Productions. Exclusively licensed and distributed by Interplay Productions. All other trademarks and copyrights are property of their respective owners.