When you should grab something, grab it. When you should let it go, let it go

Did you know that no word in the the English dictionary rhymes with "MONTH"?

I feel like I haven't written anything for ages, but boy what a busy couple of days. I wish I could say most of it was orientated around something to do with the creative process of Game Design, or even playing them (that would be nice) but unfortunately it has just been work, work, work. Although, I did get to relax and enjoy the company of my house-mates at a party over the weekend and got to meet some very nice people! But I digress!

The presentation went fairly well last Friday, except I messed up a little... You know you see those things in the world, like moments in a film where you relax in the knowledge that, that would never happen to anyone in the real world. Or perhaps a TV show where you actually become aggravated with the sheer improbability of that particular thing happening in that particular way at that particular moment! Well my situation wasn't quite as bad as that but I found myself addressing the issue, appropriately 2 minutes before(!!!) I preped the computer, and then it just popped into my head... Whether the rest of the year (group) were going to like it(!!!). Sure, I think it's a great idea, has plenty of potential, accessible to a large audience/demographic, lots of time and work has gone into it, etc, etc... But... what if they don't like it? Everyone is different after all, everyone's entitled to their own opinion.

And that was it, I was gone. My own mind had managed to knock most of the confidence I had out of my system. And the result was that I gave a pretty poor and weak presentation. Thankfully, it wasn't just me that was talking and so the other guys did a really good job and sold it well. The problem of course is that as Project lead, that's my job to do...

The good thing about all of this though is that the point of the cold (draft) presentation was for the tutor to pick up on anything that can be looked at in preparation for the real pitch with the developers of local companies. The irony is, the rest of the guys watching loved the idea/pitch. So at least I know have that to embolden me... there are actually people out there that like our game concept!

I got AC: Brotherhood on Friday, the lovely limited edition codex box. Was a tiny bit disappointed with the box lid, as the underneath has fallen out / come unglued. Play.com told me they could give me a refund for it but there were no more boxes, so they couldn't exchange. Obviously I didn't want to send it back, so I made the point of telling the rotters that 'this was my first purchase from them, and I wouldn't be making a second'. I was saying that I had a busy last few days, so I've not been able to play this at all yet. But it occurred to me the other day that there is another reason for not playing it... I'm a bit nervous if I'm honest! I love the franchise and the second one just took it to the next level. My head is expecting the same again and I'm worried that I'm going to be disappointed with it. How bad is that? That I'm being apprehensive to engage in something because it may shatter the pedestal that I've put Ubisoft on, when surely the logical thing to do is to take everything as it comes and go with the flow (kind of thing). I'm sure it means some kind of character flaw in my personality! Haha.

Speak soon my amici

Nulla è reale, tutto è lecito (Nothing is true, everything is permitted)

In true game geek fashion, I wanted to title at least ONE of my blogs with a quote from Assassin's Creed (more specifically the second one).

Speaking of 'geek', I heard an interesting bit of information the other day over the word 'Nerd'. You see it's supposed to come from 'Ner Do Well', which is old English, meaning 'Never do well'. Of course the irony in this has got be that it's almost always the Nerd that does do very well for himself. It's interesting how different bits of language get mixed around through time.

Well it was supposed to be the big day today, the day when me and my team gave our presentation on what we've been working on for the last 7 weeks or so. I have to be honest though, it well and truly hit me for six when I found out we'd be doing it to the tutors AND the rest of the group, so a good 40 people. But unfortunately (and I really mean that too) we ran out of time with there being no time limit for each pitch, other than the tutors steadily increasing tapping of her foot. So I've got another week to tighten things up even further. 

As the project lead I need to talk about who we are, what is the game, a brief synopsis about the game concept, a little about the back-story then its over to my team. I then make a comeback at the end with all the research, budget details and milestones I've set. I can't help but feel a little proud over how hard particular members of team have worked, and this shined through when I inevitably, in my mind, formed a contrast between our work and the other groups work they were showcasing. However, I'm not about to get complacent, so it's trying for that ultra professional look I can try give the pitch/presentation, so keep you're fingers crossed for me!

There was more today about the opportunity of doing an apprenticeship, I really really hope its a strong possibility! It's either that or try and meet the right kind of people (Games Company Staff) by networking.

Anyway, more soon. Don't forget, leave me comments if you have any feedback or just general comments :-)