Winter?

Allow me to quote the local weather man; “Nordic Blast 2008!” This winter has been just too funny for me.
It snowed today in the hills around Portland and by “snowed” I mean a layer of ice under and a crunchy flakey icy substance that resembles snow. I took the dog out first thing in the morning and I found the light layer of snow covered the thin ice. Most of the neighborhood was like this.
The drive into work this morning was slow at first. The thin layer of winter made most of the drivers drive extra slow which was a good thing but in truth they were overly cautious. The snow and ice was chunky and made for decent traction on straight stretches of the road until you reached an intersection.
As most winter drivers know, the stopped vehicles’ exhaust will warm the icy road and when temperatures are right, the road freezes back into a thinner slicker layer of ice; kind of a Zambonied effect. This was entertaining me as I followed a large truck who inched his way through a few intersections. I watched him slip and slide despite his good tires which made me smile because my tires are very bald right now and I didn’t slip at all.
I only saw one stuck car on the way in to work today. I think it was stuck or maybe it had slid off the road I couldn’t tell. I noticed the car at one of the intersections I stop at in my neighborhood. The car was at in a round–about with a cop flashing his lights (probably what I noticed first) already pulled in behind the car. This was a good thing for such “lousy driving conditions” only because it blocked the usual flow of traffic coming form that direction in the morning.
As I drove in this morning the condition slowly became drier and easier for others to handle. On days like this I think about the driving conditions I use to have to deal with and smile.

Great news!

I’ve completed* a version of Dave’s Adventure! Dave’s Adventure: Escape from Suburbia will be available online here and at alesserevil.com as soon as I can.

The Dave’s Adventure series was started during the summer of 2006. I wanted to design a game similar to that of Nintendo’s Zelda series with the main character exploring a large world, solving puzzles and finding secrets to eventually beat the game. Because Dave was my first attempt at this style of gaming I know that I would never reach that level of complexity or popularity but I wanted a similar series of my own.
My first attempt was foiled by a computer failure. Despite that set back I had learned a lot about how to program movement and simple character animation. The next version became to complex for me to finish. I was using similar ideas from the first one but soon realized this second version was becoming too much for my ability at the time. Even after programming difficulties and a computer failure, I never gave up trying to program a working game.
In September of 2007, I started work on the third version by coming up with a simple story. I scaled down the size and simplified certain programming issues which allowed me not to worry so much about the over all production and fix the minor problems that would arise. With everything working so well I knew I could finish this version of Dave’s Adventure.
And now I have.

Dave’s Adventure: Escape from Suburbia, brings Dave to the middle of what seems like an endless suburban neighborhood. In order to free himself from the monotony, Dave must find the missing Keys and Map Pieces to unlock and find the Secret Door. The following misleading labyrinth of Tunnels will guide Dave to the Hidden Temple where a Coded Mural awaits to be unlocked.

~

* The game is complete however I have a zillion ideas of extra things I would love to put in the game. I’ve decided to stop editing this version instead of taking another couple of weeks to add them. Perhaps following versions will be more elaborate as I perfect my programming skills and knowledge.

New Posts for the New Year

I know I promised last year to make more of an effort to keep this blog up to date and this past month has been difficult. Hopefully now with a more regular schedule I will be able to keep up with things this year.

A rollercoaster comes to mind when I think of this past year and this new one isn’t going to be any different. This year is staring of with some new things; a new home in Portland and a new job at Nike. I’m very excited about what other new things are in store for me.
My position at Nike is nothing fancy. I’m a Booking Specialist for Conference Room Scheduling in the Tiger Woods Center. I basically book meeting rooms for the entire Nike campus here at the World Head Quarters (WHQ). With 7,000 employees they need a small department of people dedicated to scheduling and keeping track of all the available meeting space.
I actually don’t work for Nike. I work for a staffing company that supports Nike but for right now it’s a foot in the door. This position will last until June or July depending on the schedule of the gal I’m filling in for who will be taking maternity leave soon. Until then I will be at Nike and hopefully this will lead to a more permanent job here at Nike WHQ.