Cut Loose Like A Deuce

As most of you are already aware, yesterday I was one of roughly 35 people at Propaganda Games to be ‘restructured’. If this were 1994, I would have been ‘downsized’, but that’s evolution for you.

It was a grim day, to be sure. At 10am the studio staff assembled in a meeting room offsite, where a Disney executive gave us the news that our project, which I can’t name, was being cancelled and layoffs would begin that day. Naturally it was explained as being part of the economic climate of the world - which I’m always skeptical of as an excuse. I can tell you that when you get your walking papers, though, that the reasons why really don’t matter. They could say that the moon crossing through the constellation of Aries was the reason my job was no longer of value; when you’re told you’re no longer needed you kinda sorta don’t give a shit as to why.

The actual firing procedure was painful and drawn out. After the morning meeting we were told to be back in the office by noon, at which point the studio brass would talk to each eliminated person individually. I had to wait until 2:30 to find out my fate. On one hand it was very classy and respectful that they let every fired person talk to the studio heads personally, and I could certainly tell it wasn’t easy for any of them. It was also nice that everyone let go wasn’t forced to leave the premises immediately; we all got to say goodbye, pack our stuff, shake everyone’s hand, and leave when we were ready. This usually doesn’t happen, as many others in the industry can attest. On the other hand, waiting over two hours to find out my fate made me anxious and nervous as hell.

I received a severance package - which I won’t share the details of or my opinion of - and have the services of a career retraining/recruitment service for the next three months.

Overall I don’t really know what to think. Like everyone else let go, I don’t feel like I was deserving of my pink slip. I think I did a very good job and accomplished a lot in the year I was part of the team, and in general I thought I ‘had my shit together’ more consistently than some others. But like that Chuck Berry song says, ‘C’est la vie say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell’.

As for the future, I’ll be thinking about it while I lie on a beach in Mexico and drink tequila for the next seven days. I’m thankful that we don’t have to make mortgage payments or raise a child or are burdened with debt (and feel awful for the people who were let go that do have some or all of the above). Maybe I keep doing UI art, maybe I don’t. I’ve always said that I don’t like the idea of spending my life in front of a computer, so maybe this is the opportunity to change that. At least I’ve got some time to think about it all.

Until I return in a week, here’s a video of Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing, featuring diminutive Steve Perry replacement Arnel Pineda.

Two More Sleeps

In about 48 hours the ladyfriend and I will be heading to YVR for our week-long vacation in Mexico. We’re headed back to the Mayan Riveria, where we spent our honeymoon, to do some things we wanted to do then but didn’t - like visiting some more cenotes, spending an entire day at Tulum, and making a trip to Cozumel. It looks like the next week will be rainy in Vancouver, so we’re getting away at the right time.

Tomorrow our studio is having a visit from some Disney executive. A lot of people are on edge about it - in case you haven’t heard, the video game industry in Vancouver (and worldwide) is in the middle of some serious job losses. Electronic Arts just let close to 150 people go from their downtown studio, which you can read about on Erwin’s blog, and Nexon, a Korean-based company, shuttered their whole studio (90 people) on Tuesday. Late last year, Radical Entertainment laid off half their workforce, Next Level Games shed about two dozen employees, and EA is expected to give pink slips to people at the Burnaby studio in the near future. While we have had no actual reason to fear for our jobs, the reality is that whether our studio escapes layoffs is in the hands of executives. I really don’t think tomorrow’s meeting will be bad news, but who knows? Nothing is guaranteed, especially given the unsettling trend of game industry layoffs. It’s interesting to note that 2008 saw higher sales, in dollars, of games than any other year on record.

Tax on the Stoopid

I regret to inform you that I did not win the $43 million 6/49 draw last night. In fact I only matched two lousy numbers out of the twelve that I picked. This means I will not be giving every reader of my blog $50,000, and it means I will not be building a midcentury modern rancher on the shore of a forested lake, complete with swimming pool, guest houses, and panda bear atrium. It means I will not be purchasing holiday homes in Norway and the Cook Islands, and it means I will not be having a 31st birthday party featuring Those Little Donuts, helicopter rides, and a special musical performance by Zooey Deschanel.

To cheer everyone me up, here is a clip from a game show my ladyfriend and I discovered on TLN (Telelatino Network) on Friday night. It’s called “Sexy Car Wash”, and the prize given out to winners is exactly what you see here - a bunch of well-endowed women hosing themselves down with soapy water, for the “Sexy King” who answers nine ridiculously stupid questions correctly. It’s an Italian show brought to you the world by - who else? - the Fox network. You may not want to watch this clip at work. You may also not want to watch this if you thought society as a whole was progressive.

Meltdown!

No, sorry, the title isn’t referring to a mental meltdown. Part of the whole world-economy-falling-apart thing meant that I was going to lose a pile of money in my RRSP, something that I was counting on using in the near future as a down payment for a place to live. I had not received any account updates since the summer, before everything went in the shitter.

Yesterday I got my account statement detailing the performance of my RRSP since January 1. The good news is, I still have some left to use, should the housing market go tits-up (and I strongly believe it will). The bad news is I lost 26% of what I had a year ago. I will not be discussing just how many dollars that is - if you want to know how much I earn, and how much I save, you’re not going to find out - but suffice to say it is somewhere between A Hell Of A Lot and Holy Shit Where Did My Money Go. It’s a little upsetting, seeing one’s “life savings” reduced by one-quarter, but at the same time this isn’t Argentina or Weimar Germany; we’re not taking wheelbarrows full of dollar bills to the bank in order to buy a loaf of bread. Things could be worse.

On a related note, please enjoy this video of Hinterland Who’s Who, featuring the mighty moose.

On The Edge of Forever

So here we are, on the eve of perhaps the most important era of the last quarter-century: Barack Obama will become leader of the free world, and begins what every rational person hopes is the start of something good. I am going to put aside any cynical views of the United States and its new president - despite everything facing Obama, most of which is going to be extremely challenging to address, I am going to believe in him and in his government. I’m going to believe that America can be less divided, that politics can finally stop being bought and sold by oil companies and military contractors, and that reconciliation and cooperation will be the dominant foreign policy around the globe. The cynical tings to do would be to sit back and say that Obama came to power because of a brilliant marketing campaign, that the American political system cannot be salvaged. But Obama deserves belief: he’s intelligent, he’s not guided by God or Jesus, his family does not come from Big Oil money, and he’s willing to admit that he will make mistakes.

The only concern I have is that Americans will demand that an Obama administration should have accomplished near-miracles in his first year. If people are unwilling to put up with (potentially) very hard times in 2009, if they’re not willing to stop merely looking out for themselves and start helping each other, or if fundamental Jesus-lovers refuse to accept rational and necessary social progression, that public opinion will turn on Barack. An example I’ve been reading about that I hope will not parallel Barack’s presidency is that of Jimmy Carter. Carter, in his one term, introduced environmental standards, automobile fuel efficiency limits, and was president when Roe v. Wade was decided - all things that every president since Carter never would have overseen - but is seen as a failure because of a hostage crisis that was only solved, courtesy of Ronald Regan, by giving weapons to terrorists. I see Barack needing to tackle very similar issues: the environment, energy/oil dependancy, stem cell research, universal health care, and a war with no positive end. If people aren’t willing to accept that America has tough times in the near future, their long term future will suffer. But like Fox Mulder, I Want To Believe. I want to believe that Obama can and will get things done, and his first term will be a turning point for the Western world. And I choose to believe because, as an observer in a country where our own politicians are by contrast a bunch of retarded pinheads, it’s something that is worth believing in.

Famous People Whom My Father Somewhat Resembles

Sam Elliott. My Dad’s hair isn’t quite this silver yet, but in another decade it could be. Did you know that Sam Elliott was born with a full moustache, and in fact is incapable of shaving it?

Steve Carell. Most of the resemblance is in the hair and general head shape. Maybe the nose, too. I don’t think Steve Carell’s ever grown a moustache, but if he did, he could pass as my uncle.

Tom Selleck. Okay, my Dad might not look that much like Magnum PI, but who wouldn’t want their father to look that good? Not even MacGyver had a moustache, and MacGyver would have been a pretty awesome dad.

John Newcombe. If my father let his moustache get out of control, and had an awful hairstyle, and had black and white photos taken of himself, the resemblance would be much stronger.

Daniel Day Lewis (as seen in There Will Be Blood). Factoid: my Dad would have made one helluva oil propsector. Plus I swear my Dad gave me the same speech about milkshakes once when he took me to Arby’s.