A visit to Lucasfilm
Just gave a talk to Lucasfilm at their Presidio campus. The invitation included spending a night at the Skywalker Ranch — the stuff of dreams, for me.
I’d been to the ranch once before, in 1987. I was two years out of college, stalled halfway through the first Apple II version of Prince of Persia, and torn between pursuing a career in computer games or screenwriting. In fact, the old Broderbund Software building where I programmed POP is just down the road from the Skywalker Ranch (a long, winding, scenic road, often foggy and frequented by deer). So being invited back to tell Lucasfilm staff the story of POP’s 20-year journey — from 8-bit computer game to summer movie — felt pretty cosmic.
Especially considering that it all goes back to the first ten minutes of Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Both the Skywalker Ranch and the Presidio campus are seriously nice places — in idyllic natural settings, with a level of luxury and attention to detail rarely found in movie or videogame studios. And filled with sacred artifacts like the Original Millenium Falcon.
I got a tour and a sneak peek at some of the cool stuff the LucasArts guys have been working on, at least one of which I’m pretty sure I can mention without violating the NDA I signed along with the retinal scan.
Thanks, Lucasfilm, for a great and memorable visit.
Late-night drawing salon
My friend Justin Thompson sent me to this cabaret-themed drawing salon put on by the Gallery Girls. First time I’d been. I’d been working really hard all week, finishing up the first draft of Fathom, and it was a fun change of pace to decompress by spending an evening drawing people in crazy costumes with live music and a bar.
A lot of the artists there were pros and some had pretty mad skills. The guy sitting next to me, Joey Mason, amazed me with his dead-on caricatures that in a few lines somehow managed to look “more like” the model than the classic/academic, accurately shaded drawings other artists were doing (which amazed me too).
Attracted to watercolor
I bought a Moleskine watercolor sketchbook and a travel-size watercolor set and took them to my neighborhood life drawing workshop. I still have no idea what I’m doing and no control over how it comes out, but I’m starting to realize that’s actually part of why watercolor is fun.
Obama’s speech in Cairo
Okay, this speech has been heard by probably a billion people worldwide; he doesn’t need me to plug it… but I’m just so happy to have a President who says things like this:
All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time. The question is whether we spend that time focused on what pushes us apart, or whether we commit ourselves to an effort – a sustained effort – to find common ground, to focus on the future we seek for our children, and to respect the dignity of all human beings.
It is easier to start wars than to end them. It is easier to blame others than to look inward; to see what is different about someone than to find the things we share. But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path.
Can we?
House of Game
Had fun checking out some of this year’s E3 titles (without actually going to E3) at House of Game, a “vernissage” organized by the Hollywood gamers who started Nerd Poker.
Among the cool-looking upcoming titles: Tim Schafer’s Brutal Legend, Pandemic’s The Saboteur, Quantic Dream’s Heavy Rain, and, of course, Uncharted 2.
I especially enjoyed seeing some of the indie games: A USC student project called The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom. And Shadow Physics, a very cool mechanic in search of a game. Maybe because they’re works in progress, or just because they’re underdogs; but three hours later, I find myself thinking about them more than about the big studio fare.
Old Journals update
The first five years of Old Journals have now been posted, covering the development and first release of Prince of Persia. As of June 1990 — nineteen years ago — POP is struggling for life on two formats, Apple II and IBM.
I really appreciate the interest readers are showing in these journals, both on this site and on Twitter. I’ll continue posting one new old journal entry a day. Thanks for following!
