February 9, 1987
“When do you think you’ll be finished with your game?” Lauren asked me on the way back from the Butchery.
“I’m shooting for August,” I said.
We agreed the important thing is to make it as good as possible, and that a few months earlier or later wouldn’t really make much difference.
Today, for the first time, I constructed a really large level and played around in it. It was the first time this game had ever given me the feeling of space. It was kind of thrilling. I think it’s going to be a winner. I’m going slowly this time, building on a solid foundation, and I think it’ll pay off big.
February 14, 1987
It’s great having David here. All the stuff I’d gotten jaded about suddenly seems cool when seen through my little brother’s eyes. Like having a car, being able to drive anywhere I want, a place of my own, a key to Broderbund, free video games in the lunchroom… stuff like that. I’ll miss him when he’s gone.
February 16, 1987
Rented a camcorder and spent the afternoon in and around Broderbund, shooting more footage of David for the game. There were lots of people there even though it was a holiday.
March 5, 1987
The powers that be at Broderbund have decreed that Sensei (Tomi, Steve, Loring, Eric, Mike, and Robert S.), David Snider, Corey and I are all to be packed off from our present comfortable offices to a rathole on the second floor of 47 Paul. Tomi, Corey and I went there yesterday to check the place out. I’m seriously considering working from home.
The vibe at work has been kind of odd lately anyway. Doug is wrapped up in taking the company public, and the new people he’s hiring have no interest in games – or in software, for that matter. There’s really no reason for me to go into the office any more, except for cameraderie. I could always visit if I get lonely.
March 8, 1987
“This is a BAD day for you not to be at Broderbund, believe me. ‘Bye.”
Not the message you want to find on your answering machine when you get home at 5 p.m. after having taken the day off to play hookey and explore Mt. Tam.
I called Corey back. He told me we’d been evicted from our office and our stuff transferred to the dingy, unpainted, windowless attic of 47 Paul Drive. Corey was at the bottom of the deepest depression I’d ever seen him, and was ready to move back home.
Tomi had a plan. “You’ve got to get the small room,” she said. “It’s got windows and ventilation. It’ll be much better.”
“Corey said he already asked Adaire about that and she said…”
“Possession is nine-tenths of the law. If I were you, I’d go into work early tomorrow morning and move both your desks and all your stuff into that room.”
I called Corey back and told him the plan. He was terrified, but we did it that night, feeling like a pair of burglars.
March 9, 1987
I arrived at work to find Adaire furious. It seems they’d been planning to paint the room that day, and Corey and I, by moving in our furniture, had made it impossible for the painters to work. So we moved it all into the middle of the room and threw a tarp over it. We had to buy the tarp ourselves at the local hardware store, because the painters didn’t have one.
