27 August, 2012
Yeah, it's been quiet around here. A few things have been conspiring to keep me quiet. Some good, some blah.
But, I have been busy. Read on for a little glimpse of what my life is kinda like right now.
My laptop died
More specifically, the hard drive stopped working. Luckily I had made a backup of the really vital files when it was acting up earlier this year, but I did lose a few months worth of stuff. Most of my more recent work was archived as attachments to mail messages via Gmail. But, I really should work at setting up a better system for backups.
Anyway, I usually keep a browser window open on my laptop for email, my RSS reader, and things like Tweetdeck, etc. So, I wasn't even talking on most of the blogs and social networks I sometimes post to. So, yeah, it might have looked like I fell off the face of the earth.
The good news is I got a new laptop. It's a big 17" beast, with double the processor cores and RAM of my desktop. The only thing it's worse at is screen resolution, and the video card might be slightly less powerful. But, it's a nice machine overall. Just need a new case to carry it in because the old one is way too small now.
And I've been busy
Things were looking a bit dicey with Storybricks for a while, so when a few people came calling and asked if I wanted to pick up some work on the side, I said "sure".
Then Storybricks took a turn for the better. But, I'm still on the hook for these other obligations. So, I'm doing three separate projects right now. The problem is....
Silence enforced by NDA
Yeah, most of this is under NDA. I'm not overly fond of NDAs, but it's how the industry works. There's some cool stuff under one NDA and some legal case related stuff under another. So, yeah, you'll have to take my word for it that I'm busy, because I can't provide any proof.
As a further complication, some of the big news in the game industry lately has been stuff I'm not comfortable covering given my obligations. I'm probably worrying too much, but better safe than sorry in these situations.
The silver lining
I will say that Storybricks is doing pretty good. Part of what I can't talk about is related to that, which the experienced people out there should realize as a promising development. :)
Anyway, I'm still slowly getting life back in order. More news as it happens. Maybe I'll think of something to post on here that doesn't read dreadfully close to verboten topics....
You should try SpinRite on the drive; if it wasn't a mechanical failure, it should be able to recover the data. http://www.grc.com/intro.htm
For backups, if you only have one copy of something you don't really have it... any backup is better than nothing, but best to follow the 3-2-1 rule: at least 3 copies, on 2 different forms of media, one of which is kept off-site.
Comment by Indy — 27 August, 2012 @ 5:44 AM
Best wishes!
I can't help but NDAs in general seem to turn into eternal gagging orders lately.
Comment by Longasc — 27 August, 2012 @ 7:23 AM
You could try another game design challenge. ;)
Comment by Tesh — 27 August, 2012 @ 7:57 AM
Bah! I just lost $10 since you *weren't* abducted by aliens.
Glad you're back though. ;)
Comment by Ysharros — 27 August, 2012 @ 9:31 AM
Indy wrote:
You should try SpinRite on the drive; if it wasn't a mechanical failure, it should be able to recover the data.
Thanks for the link. I'm 90% sure it was a mechanical failure, though. I might do a bit more poking with diagnostic tools if I get a chance.
For backups, if you only have one copy of something you don't really have it...
Eh, it's the value of the data vs. the value of your time. As I said, most of the stuff was technically available other places. I am setting up a new system, though, to duplicate stuff a bit better.
Tesh wrote:
You could try another game design challenge. ;)
Careful what you wish for... ;) Okay, that's a pretty good idea, actually. I'll try to think of something for this weekend.
Ysharros wrote:
Bah! I just lost $10 since you *weren't* abducted by aliens.
Were these the same aliens than kidnapped you for so long? Is that how you won your freedom, by trying to sell me out? ;)
Comment by Psychochild — 27 August, 2012 @ 9:57 AM
"As a further complication, some of the big news in the game industry lately has been stuff I'm not comfortable covering given my obligations. I'm probably worrying too much, but better safe than sorry in these situations."
Back when I was in grad school, I had a blog where I actually talked about my life, politics, and various other topics. Then I got to the point in life where I actually started looking for work, right around the time when we started to see stories - anecdotal but real - of bloggers getting fired because something somewhere in their archives offended someone. I made a fateful decision to abandon my old blog and make a new one focusing solely on online gaming - a hobby in an industry where I had neither desire nor feasible prospects for employment. Maybe one of these days the studios will be paying people millions of dollars to have opinions about MMO's and I'll be kicking myself for having said unkind words about microtransactions, but somehow I'm not overly worried.
So yes, I've been there and can relate - though I suppose your dilemma is tougher since you actually work in a field that has the word "online" in the description and therefore might reasonably be expected to maintain a web presence.
Comment by Green Armadillo — 27 August, 2012 @ 4:20 PM
Yeah, I actually lost some legal expert work because I had said negative things about software patents online before. Not exactly the most gung-ho person to help enforce a software patent, I guess. :) But, even if I went metaphorically hungry, I did so with a clean(er) conscience.
Comment by Psychochild — 28 August, 2012 @ 1:40 PM