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Thoughts and Answers In this section, we like to comment on today’s game topics, or just concepts of gaming. OK, it’s just a chance to voice our opinion for gaming, but feel free to send us an email with your thoughts. We may post them. The other thing that we do is answer your questions. Since I teach gaming for Hagerstown Community College, I can answer a variety of technical questions. I may not want to go into 5 pages of Variational Calculus, but I can take time to try to answer anything that you are having a hard time with, even software issues.
Most Recent Topic - Overworked Excellence The interesting part of going back to school is the lack of time that I have to do all things. This includes school itself. I often wonder if this is the same for everyone. Many people who are in the gaming business often feel overworked either with fixed overtimes or crunch periods. There appears to be no balance. And yet, if we don’t do it, will our product make it out the door? For me, my product is sometimes teaching 7 classes in a semester. I can’t do that without getting lost in my work. I usually don’t have time give to other things. In fact, I have cut things that I’d like to do better in my courses and be a worse teacher. It sounds cold but it has happened. When people say I should reprioritize or work harder or fit something in somewhere else, I sigh or chuckle or worse. I know that my schedule is packed. If I fit something new in, something else has to come out. It’s that cut and dried. I’ve optimized myself as best I can. So, what do gaming companies do? The same thing. They cut something out in order hit a deadline or satiate a stake holder or to avoid going broke. Sometimes it testing, sometimes its art, sometimes it’s a level. An excellent game exists mostly in our minds. Reality compromises us down to great games … or yikes … worse. (1/26/2013)
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