Gearbox Community Manager

I noticed a few weeks ago that Gearbox posted a new Community Manager position.  Given my love for the industry and my vast marketing, sales, and customer management experience, I decided to apply for the job.  The question was, how can I stand out when Gearbox will receive thousands of resumes?

Well, I thought I found the answer - I spent the next couple of weeks putting together a video resume.  This was sure to stand out from the crowd, right?  Well,  much to my chagrin, it seems that the job has been filled and I didn't get so much as an email or phone call.

I haven't shared my video resume with anyone outside of my family and sending it to Gearbox - thought I would share it in my blog.

Let me know what you think.  ENJOY!



-BC-

Visit to Gearbox Software

Last Thursday I was invited to Gearbox Software, in Plano Texas, to play test one of their unannounced titles.  As you can probably guess, I can't talk about the game, but I CAN talk about my overall experience.

This was my first time in the office of a game developer so I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  I was greeted by a receptionist that had to be no older than 25 years old with bleach blond hair and a Monroe piercing.  Almost everyone in the office was wearing jeans and were pretty friendly. 

I was ushered into a break room where there was another room full of all types of candy/snacks and an equally large refrigerator with everything from soda, sports drinks, and energy drinks.  This couldn't have started out any better.

I was then brought into a room where there were at least 10 flat screen TV's and dev Xbox 360's.  I've heard through the grapevine that most cross-platform games are developed on the 360 and ported to the PS3/PC, and this was made even more obvious when talking to some folks at Gearbox.

I spent about 3 hours playing game X, giving feedback, playing more game X, giving more feedback, and then eventually participated in a a group discussion with the three main developers. 

When all was said and done, I was given a bag with some Gearbox swag - I was hoping for a t-shirt or a CL4P-TP action figure but settled on a Borderlands keychain and Brothers in Arms mug.  Overall, I had a great time at Gearbox and look forward to more testing in the future.

-BC-

Alan Wake: The Writer - Review

If you haven't played through Alan Wake and The Signal (free DLC), stop reading and go play the damn game.  Seriously.

Alan Wake is one of the most mesmerizing games I've played in recent memory.  The only thing I can compare it to is Eternal Darkness, which by most accounts, is one of the greatest video games ever made.  My jaw was on the ground when I finished my retail copy so naturally I've been anxiously awaiting the next DLC, which hit Xbox Live on Tuesday, October 12th.

If you are hoping The Writer will answer things such as where is Sara, who is Mr. Scratch, what's with the FBI agent, and where is Alan, then you may be disappointed.  But if you're wondering why Alan went bat-shit crazy, then you're in luck!

The Writer starts where The Signal left off - Alan is floating between sanity and insanity and may be teetering over the edge.  The "shine-your-flashlight-at-the-words" mechanic is still strongly at play and feels as fresh as ever.  This feels like the perfect extension (and ending) to Wake.  

[SIDEBAR ON]
Were you disappointed by The Signal?  So was I.  It didn't "feel" like Alan Wake.  Too much focus was placed on combat, it wasn't very creepy, and it didn't really advance the story much.  It felt like The Matrix: Revolutions; kind of confusing, the worst of the series, and probably could have done without.
[SIDEBAR OFF]

There are some huge set pieces that trump anything the retail game and first DLC pack have to offer.  The ferris wheel of death is one of many standout moments that in itself makes the DLC worth the $7 price tag.  There are plenty more "holy shit" moments, but I don't want to spoil it for you.

It took me right around 2 hours to complete, however, I didn't spend much time exploring.  The story was clear and targeted, answered one of the main mysteries, and introduced a few new ones.  Don't take that the wrong way, Alan Wake and The Writer are no Lost.  Everything feels like a perfectly executed plan with an end in mind.

With the underwhelming sales figures of Alan Wake, my only worry is that Remedy won't be given the opportunity to finish what is one of the best video game stories of all time.  If you liked Alan Wake, The Writer is a must have.

I give Alan Wake: The Writer 9 flashlights out of 10.

-BC-

Zero Hour

Back in 2004 before the Xbox 360 released, Microsoft hosted a contest called Zero Hour (Zero Hour) (Zero Hour #2).  The rules were simple - work individually or in a group of five to create a video/picture of something that's out of the ordinary.  Out of all of the submissions, a total of 360 videos/pictures were chosen by a panel of experts and the winners were given an all expense paid trip to California for the Xbox 360 launch event.  Oh, did I mention that all of the winners would be sent 360's along with 3 games?   Yea, pretty sweet.

My journey began when a friend and I found out about the contest - at the time were were both working in downtown Minneapolis and we decided to get together over lunch and brainstorm some ideas.  After meeting for an hour, one comment stuck with us; "we have access to SIX wiener dogs, how can we NOT take advantage of that??".

My idea revolved around the T3000 from Terminator 2.  What if a wiener dog had a flashback of war, and then started chasing people through the streets similar to the way T3000 chased Jon Conner?  This is certainly something "out of the ordinary".

We had the perfect combination of talent - I'm the idea generating Marketing guy and we also had a graphic designer, graphic animator, local actor, and two others.  We ended up doing all the filming on a Saturday morning/afternoon on the streets of a suburb in Minneapolis.  Long story short, we were one of a few teams that won the contest.

When we arrived at LAX, we were greeted by a Microsoft representative who guided us to a bus that would bring us to a nearby hotel.  Once we got to the hotel, we were once again greeted by Microsoft staff and given $20 for dinner and was told to be outside the following morning.  The next morning, we got onto a bus and were driven to another hotel in the Mohave desert where we were asked to quickly check into the room, get back onto the bus, and were brought to what appeared to be an abandoned airplane hanger.  

By this time, it was beginning to get dark and I was really starting to wonder what the hell was going on.  Just then, the airplane hanger doors were illuminated with a green Xbox 360 logo and a group of people wearing all white starting playing drums.

After a short speech by a Microsoft executive, the airplane hanger doors opened.  What I saw was, in a word, amazing.  Over 200 flat screen TV's, over 200 Xbox 360's, and over 200 games that have never been played by the public.  The next 48 hours was a blur - playing game after game - meeting some Mark Rein and Cliffy B, and probably most exciting, seeing Gears of War in person.

Mark Rein and I - really cool and down to earth guy

Marcus Fenix - AWESOME

Cliffy B and Mark Rein

I had the opportunity to get on stage and shoot the breeze with Cliffy B.  Also got him to sign my 360 memory card.

Me

Adam

Brendan - have to give him a lot of credit for winning the contest.  Fantastic animator.

Neil - he's my brainstorm buddy.  If it wasn't for Neil, I wouldn't have found out about Zero Hour.  He looks like a mad scientist in this picture.

-BC-

Top 10 Games I Wish I Would Have Played But Didn't

How about THAT for a title?  Don't we all have those games where you were excited after reading an article or playing a demo but, for whatever reason, you never got around to playing the full retail game?  Maybe it was because you were busy playing the most recent Call of Duty or God of War game.  Or maybe you were between jobs and didn't want to spend the money.  Either way, something kept you from enjoying what was probably a decent game.  Here's a little shout out to all those games that I wish I would have played, and hopefully still might.

1) Prey
2) Heavy Rain
3) Stranglehold
4) Halo 3: ODST
5) Crackdown 2
6) Too Human
7) Enslaved
8) Brutal Legend
9) The Darkness
10) Time Shift

Are there any games YOU wish you would have played but didn't? 

-BC-

Another Top 10 List? WHY NOT!

I may be in the minority here, but I love reading Top 10 lists.  Mostly because I enjoy the argument that ultimately follows - "Why isn't ____ on the list?", "___ should be higher than ___", "This list sucks!", etc. 

I'll do something a little different - I'm only including games from the current generation of consoles.  You won't see Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, PS1, PS2, Gamecube, or hand held games on this list.

Without further ado, here is my official Top 10!

1) Mass Effect 2
2) Gears of War
3) Borderlands
4) Alan Wake
5) Halo: Reach
6) Uncharted 2
7) Fable II
8) Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
9) Gears of War 2
10) Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time

Did I say Top 10?  I meant Top 15...

11) Call of Duty: World at War
12) Batman Arkham Asylum
13) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
14) Bioshock
15) Crackdown

WORTHY MENTION - Halo Wars

-BC-

Gearbox Softare Survey

Stumbled across a quick survey on the Gearbox forums - thought I'd pass it along.  The survey focuses on competitive multiplayer.  Here's to hoping Gearbox is working on Halo 4!

They also plans to give away swag to ten (10) random survey participants.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HPKFNWJ

-BC-