Last .plan I mentioned that someone was probably joining Midnight Ryder Technologies to work on some short term game development projects. Well, I can finally say who 🙂 Ron Yacketta has joined forces with me to do something rather different with Torque. Most of the stuff he’s working on will end up goin’ back to the community (for instance, the work he did on revamping the SQL connector) For the most part, it’s been “Here’s what the goal is…” and Ron comes up with and starts executing a plan to get to that goal. Ya gotta like that.
This is great, in more ways than one – while Ron tends to be very humble about his Torque abilities, his Torque-Fu is strong. It’s nice to work with someone who knows part of the engine very well (I know different parts of the engine than Ron, so, that works out pretty well too 😉 But from a company standpoint, it means that my Master Plan is finally moving ahead without me having to be on top of it. I can get TZ completed without stressing on how I’m gonna manage to get the next project started.
Of course, I’m not actually talking about The Master Plan just yet 🙂 It’s not that it’s completely innovative (well, no one is doing anything like it with Torque as far as I know) but I’d rather wait to show things off when bits and pieces are completed and the first games are ready for an image of the day. It’s not a matter of super secret, or requiring NDA’s (in fact, Ron asked about an NDA. My response was “Ron, don’t talk about it for now. There’s our NDA.”) It’s just that until something materializes, it’s still all talk 😉
Indies and thier fascination with NDA’s boggles my mind. I’ve worked on umpteen multi-million dollar projects for Industrial Automation, and only one of the industries I worked for had any similar fascination with ’em. Flour milling. And even then, they kept thier stuff super-secret right up until they chatted with each other – the technology and process is identical between mills. There are no secrets, but there’s these little pieces of paper that tell everyone to hush up about it, and stamps on the drawings saying how it’s proprietary information. I view the Indie fascination with NDA’s about the same way – it’s all the same stuff really, and when is the last time you saw something that was really different and required an NDA? Bleh. I’m sure some people are gonna totally disagree with that viewpoint. And I do have a slowly growing stack of NDAs – I generate ’em, I just sign others NDA’s when they request it so we can talk about projects, etc. So it’s not like I haven’t been involved.
Eric Forhan strikes again! Eric did all the texture work for TZ and a whole host of other things for TZ. Well, I paid him (up front for once! 🙂 to do some cover art for Midnight Ryder’s Panic! Pack Volume 1 (wow what a long name) One quick phone call that boiled down to “I dunno what the heck I want it to look like, but I want screenshots on the back of it.” and about 4 days later, Eric had completed it. I had a serious problem with inspiration for that, but it was completely nessisary to get it done one o’ these days so I could get the retail release out the door. Some days, it really is worth spending money to have someone else do the job, rather than procrastinating 🙂 (BTW: Eric also redid the graphics for BP!2 DX, so he’s not only getting a check for the cover art, but a percent of project for that contribution.) So, yet another project almost complete – I’m writing the manuals for it, and once that’s done it’s out the door 🙂 And the manuals are almost done…!
“‘Bout that shack outside La Grange…”
For the most part, I wouldn’t call IndieGamesCon ’03 a life changing event. Except for one little thing, and I blame this squarely on Justin Mette. I really want to find a band to sing with from time to time. Seriously. I even found the area that I want to focus on – blues / blues-rock. Stuff that’s nice and soulful, and way down on the scale. (Attempting to sing Sweet Home Alabama in practice a IGC ’03 resulted in nothing but giving me the giggles – sheesh!) But there’s a serious flaw with this plan (not including any debate on my vocal talents 😉 – how in the world does one do such a thing. I mean, it’s not like you open up the yellow pages, find a blues band, and call ’em up sayin “Hey, I’d like ta’ be a singer…” 😉 Since I know there’s a number of musically inclined folks here on GG (someone really needs to explore that connection – Indie game developers and music) I thought I’d ask to see if anyone had a thought on the subject 🙂
Davis Ray Sickmon, Jr  (Mar 11, 2004 at 12:09) Â
I know, replying to my own .plan again…
When it comes to the blues singin’ section: I’m one o’ those people with way too many interests. So, I’ve learned to try and wait ’em out – see if I’m still intensely interested in the same subject in 2 or 3 months. IGC ’03 was in October. So it’s been longer than 3 months, and I’m still intensely interested in it. Things that manage to pass that test normally become a part of my life. That’s how I ended up starting a game company, ended up being a registered minister, etc.
Nicolas Quijano  (Mar 11, 2004 at 12:10)
Local free weeklies are your number one source of Wanted Ads for Garage bands 🙂
Phil Carlisle  (Mar 11, 2004 at 12:12)
I agree on the NDA’s there Davey.. its all moot until you have to use it. Even then its moot, cus I cant afford to do anything either way 🙂
Robert Blanchet Jr. Â (Mar 11, 2004 at 12:33)
Ron Yacketta  (Mar 11, 2004 at 13:00)
I have no “Torque-Fu”, I am no master nor do I posses some ungodly Torque knowledge. I rate myself a 4 out of 10, there are chaps (Overman, Gift, Mey, Fairfax, Mette to name a few) who have a boat load more knowledge and know how then I do.
I just keep myself extremely busy and working on multiple things that allow me to gain a wealth of knowledge, experience and exposure.
Davis Ray Sickmon, Jr  (Mar 11, 2004 at 13:49) Â
Ron: LOL – ok, see, very few can compair themselves to Tim G. and Rick O. They get paid to work on it on a daily basis 🙂 You have Torque-Fu, though I didn’t compair you to FxMelv for instance. That’s a different class – those are like Black Belt in Torque-Fu 🙂 (And I most certainly don’t rank up that high myself, IMHO. I got a couple o’ areas I know REALLY well. And then huge areas that are a complete mystery to me 😉 Tim G. and Rick O. are like Grand Master Torque-Fuists 🙂
Robert: Or it can be used as Whoa. I know Torque-Fu.
Phil: hehehe – the lawsuit for breach of contract would be no small issue for some Indies if someone did break NDA – lawsuits, no matter which side you are on, are expensive. Personally, I just prefer “Hey, let’s not tell anyone about this for a while.” and keeping things friendly. If I didn’t trust someone, I wouldn’t tell ’em something important anyway 😉
Nicolas: Uh… I never thought of something that easy. Hm, guess I’ll have to do some lookin 🙂
Michael Cozzolino  (Mar 11, 2004 at 15:29)
Well it looks like you and Eric worked through the troubles you were having. That is a good thing. Good luck to both of you.
Justin Mette  (Mar 11, 2004 at 16:18)
A singer in a blues/rock band – you defaintely have the look! Back in the day, I found my bandmates by going to clubs that have live bands playing the type of music I was interested in. Just hung out – getting to know some of the other musicians (in the bands and in the crowd). Might be worth checking out if you have some appropriate local clubs worth visiting.
Davis Ray Sickmon, Jr  (Mar 11, 2004 at 16:38) Â
Michael: What the heck are you talkin’ about? I’m not talking to that B*****D anymore, I’m just sending him checks! 😉 Just kidding – though I almost screwed Eric outta his money for the BP! 2 DX graphics! I miss-understood what he said, and thought he handed ’em over for free. It wasn’t until later when we discussed fees for the cover art that the subject came up again – whoops! Now THAT could have caused a real problem.
Justin: Hm – I’ll have to find a new one. I used to frequent a place called Panama Red’s at one time (I always got a kick outta the name ;-). Awesome blues bar – and I never found another one like it after it closed up :-/ The problem with finding a bar that absolutely rocks is that later, it’s hard to find one that lives up to it. 😛 Guess I’ll start lookin’ again.
Eric Forhan  (Mar 11, 2004 at 17:31)
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Davis Ray Sickmon, Jr  (Mar 11, 2004 at 23:25) Â
LOL @ Eric!
Ron Yacketta  (Mar 12, 2004 at 10:18)
*sigh* helping out others sure is a double edged sword now a days, on one side your offering assitance to someone in need and on the other it is taken out of context sending a seemingly decent working relationship to hell in a hand basket. The joys of being an Indie 🙁
Eric Forhan  (Mar 12, 2004 at 13:17)
The sad part about text is that it removes facial expressions, voice inflections, and so on from the picture. You know: That which makes us human. 🙂
-Eric F
Edited on Mar 12, 2004 14:00
Davis Ray Sickmon, Jr  (Mar 12, 2004 at 14:30) Â
Aye – that’s one of the major problems with workin’ online -vs- workin’ face to face. It’s much harder to ‘read’ what someone is saying. Of course, there are advantages to it sometimes 🙂
Eric Forhan  (Mar 12, 2004 at 14:39)
Of course, there are advantages to it sometimes :-)Â
Especially after seeing your mug! lol… j/k.
(gotta keep the humor going, yaknow)
-E
Davis Ray Sickmon, Jr  (Mar 12, 2004 at 14:45) Â
Turnabout is fair play here – should I post the pic I’ve got of you, so we can decide which mug is uglier? 🙂
Hmm… here’s a new competition for IGC ’04 – Fugliest Garage Games Community Member 😉
Eric Forhan  (Mar 12, 2004 at 19:28)
LOL! Touch