Scourge of War Boards

Here's a glimpse of the fun it is to be an independent game developer

1. end day job 5:30pm
2. eat dinner
3. homework,play,etc.
4. starting checking emails
- 3 emails about selling the game to answer
- go through seller sites to once again make sure the numbers are right
- 1 email about how to protect the game
- research methods available
- many team emails to go over & answer
5. tuck in and wrestle with the monsters
6. go over high score screens design
7. looks good, start coding high score screens
8. try to limit new code work, plate already too full
9. join mp test
10. two new issues came up, rerun tests until I'm sure what it is
11. search raknet boards for some wisdom on mp issues
12. continue high score screen work
13. finished custom, might as well code mp while it's fresh
14. go through tasks and request assets that I need to finish mp screens
15. build & post new release
16. check boards
17. let out foster puppy
18. it pooped in it's crate - kill foster puppy
19. try to get some sleep before starting over tomorrow.
20. post this
21. read for about an hour to get my head shut down so I can get some sleep....
22. forgot to work on the scenarios commands, get to that tomorrow.

If I had a magic wand to give you more time in the day, or night, I would gladly wave it for you.

At least being independent gives you the chance to realize your goals, by your hard work.

I appreciate the work you do Norb. You and your team are making the Coolest Toy Soldiers ever!!

And the fact this Forum has been up and running for over a year, is testimony to the loyalty of your enthusiastic, soon to be customers, and rabid fans of the Game.

I hope your schedule eases up after the game release. You must have a VERY understanding wife. Family comes first. Do you keep a picture of the wife and kids beside the computer to remember what they look like ? :laugh: Anyway..we appriciate all the work you and the team are putting into this game and hope the financial rewards exceed your expectations.

The hardest part is wearing so many hats. If I could focus on just one job, life would be much easier, but that's not possible. It is better than it was previously because I have a really good lead designer making sure that all the game content gets done. I barely even look at that stuff, where previously I had to stay on top of that too. But there's still too much on my plate, but there is no other way for now.

1. Project Manager - a lot of this is shared with Jim
2. Business/Legal - Sales/Contracts/Trademarks/Domains, Jim does what he can here
3. Web Master - Louie handles sow, but I handle this site
4. Tech Support - only level 2 though, the rest of the team handles level 1
5. Game/AI Coder - Lots of work to do here, constant bugs
6. Network Coder - half of network work is guessing, because it's so hard to debug
7. Graphics/GUI Coder - Most of this work is done, but there is still screen work
8. Installer/Security - done some work on security, installer should start soon

This is why it's so important to get good people on the team. This team of guys handles everything else. Many areas of the game I don't even get into. I just posted my night, but I know that the rest of the team were busy with their own jobs last night. I only popped in the mp test for a little while, it's as good as clock work that they were going to be there. Everything that I worked on last night required prep by someone else. I try to fly through the work, making sure that I get done what needs to be done to keep the rest of the team productive. They do the same for me. I offload as much as I can, trying to delegate everything possible. Being the only programmer makes me a huge bottleneck for almost every part of the game. Being the Project Manager makes me the ax man. At this point of the dev cycle I find myself constantly saying no to new ideas. Until we have the everything that we planned on in the game and working, we can't add new work. The main point is not to stress out. I only have so many hours a night and I have a ton to do, so I have a tendency to get a little crazy if I feel that my time is getting wasted or could be more productive. Since there is barely a part of the game that isn't affected by the code, I have to make sure to spend some time each night supporting all parts of the program.

My computer that I work on at night is right in the family room, so I have to work through distractions. But being there keeps me involved in the family. My wife makes sure that I don't shirk my family responsibilities, and my kids certainly have no problem interrupting me. Sometimes I wish they wouldn't, but it's better that they do