JasonBooth’s Comments

     So we've finally announced the game, and I can tell my friends what I've been working on for so long. It's hard to work on something really cool and keep it all inside; especially since I love to talk to others about the problems I'm working through. So, corporate masters permitting, that's what I'll be talking about in my blog; the problems and potential solutions you encounter when designing and implementing game systems, and more importantly the philosophy's which seem to form out of those challenges. I often find myself applying ideas from game design to other areas of my life and vice versa.

     But perhaps I should back up and explain a little about what I do before we delve into it. Eran gave me the title of 'Technical Designer' on this project, mainly because I fit into a role definition like a fat man fits into an economy seat on an airplane. I sort of leak out over the sides making everyone around me uncomfortable.

     My background is as a musician, like many people at Harmonix, but I actually got my start in the industry as a 3d artist, and have since worked as a designer, programmer, composer, and creative director. For me, games are about the integration of all of these elements; and while I fell into games by accident, I can't imagine working in an environment without this high level of integration. 

     I was brought onto Rock Band to help prototype many of the systems we'd need for the game's characters and venues. Prototyping is about failing early " it's about creating a very rough version of an idea to test it before you spend a lot of money 'making it real'. Sometimes you solve a debate by implementing the idea both ways, so you can really see which one is better. You furrow out the possibilities, making calls based on experience rather than speculation.

     For me, it's an ideal position. I get to heavily influence areas of the game design in a practical, iterative way. I can indulge myself in all my interests while improving and clarifying the work flow for others on the team. If no one is willing to pay me to sit at home and play guitar in my bathrobe, this is probably the next best thing.

Sunday, April 1, 2007