skysenshi.com

Sorta New Game
Well… Puzzle Pets Adventure, the second game I produced for 2012, is not entirely new.  I mean, it was softly launched at the end of March. (Yay, we released two of my games on my birth month!)  We’re still doing some tweaks based on user feedback and some other qualitative data we’ve been looking at, but I would like to urge everyone to try the game out and tell us what you think.  We believe the constructive comments would help in tremendously improving everyone’s gameplay experiences.

Puzzle Pets Adventure is a match-3, pet-capturing game published by Gamoji/6Waves and developed by Anino Games, Inc. I’ll post more about this on my portfolio site next week.

My First Anniversary in Anino
On 2 May 2012, I celebrated my first year anniversary as a Producer for Anino Games, Inc.  It’s funny how I remember introducing myself to the studio as a Ph.D candidate looking for a dissertation topic about games and I initially applied as a Game Tester (it’s my way of telling people I’m trying to become an intern).  The interviewer promptly laughed at me and gave me two options: I could choose to be a Game Designer or a Game Producer.  I chose the latter because that was a job I had not tried before and the teams I handled have assured me that I made the right choice, that it would give me the perspective I needed in writing my dissertation.

I had difficulties with paradigm-shifting.  Not only had I come from a vastly different, older culture (where I was among the youngest, plus organizational development and business processes were already smoothly in place for decades), I was also an academic director previously.  The job demands were different, even though being an academic director was cerebrally harder.  Being a Producer entailed a rather unique sort of creativity…and I’m not sure yet if I like being a Producer.

Don’t get me wrong.  I completely love Anino’s environment of geeks.  I feel right at home.  The creator/designer/researcher in me, however, is getting restless.  I kinda miss art and I do want to hold another exhibit.  I miss going to museums and poetry readings.  I miss writing for myself.  I miss designing systems and seeing them get implemented.  I miss the introverted me.  Luckily, I have my own room for when I need to recharge. (Yes, I have some sort of extrovert battery that runs out every two hours or so and only isolation could bring it back up.)

Heh. This is my new office space, which I moved into last month. I kind of miss the huge window in my old room, though, so I will have to do something to liven up the place.  I’d need shelves for my books…and toys.

I also need a couch.  Two couches?  Because for some reason, my office has become some sort of a guidance counselor’s clinic, where people could rest when they feel a little bit pressured or fatigued.  I also need those couches for meetings, so my developers wouldn’t have to bring their own chairs whenever they come.

Aaaand…this is a new FB profile photo I took just before lunch break yesterday.  The room may look like a scene out of Silence of the Lambs, but I’m obviously a happy camper.

So far my first year has been rife with ups and downs and I emotionally struggled at the beginning of my stay, landing in the hospital several times in 2011 because of the stress.  2012 has been kinder to me, though, and I hope it stays that way throughout the year.

As for my dissertation?  It’s about female social gamers and the images of identity and empowerment that their gameplay experiences bring.  I’m hoping to defend it on June 15, 2012 so I can officially call myself Dr. B by the end of the semester.  (And maybe finally have a social life.)  Heh.