{"id":38,"date":"2008-07-31T23:09:42","date_gmt":"2008-08-01T06:09:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jighexadecimal.com\/?p=38"},"modified":"2010-06-30T03:56:05","modified_gmt":"2010-06-30T10:56:05","slug":"into-the-breach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jighexadecimal.com\/?p=38","title":{"rendered":"Into the Breach"},"content":{"rendered":"

I went to Bay Area Gaming Studio<\/em> this morning to sign my offer letter and complete other paperwork. Same as the day of my interview, I waited in a lobby with a couple other anxious people, no longer candidates but new hires. Another immaculate HR person hands us each a thick packet of documents, to be read and signed at our leisure, and guides us through the secure parts of the building in a notably less circuitous path.<\/p>\n

I am lead to the place I was to work. About a dozen people are already there, interacting with two long rows of LAN connected computer stations. It’s a multiplayer lab.<\/p>\n

I recognized one of the men who interviewed me. He had traded his bright shirt for a wool cap against the palpable chill in the room. Lots of running hardware in here – makes sense. There are vents in the floor among the ubiquitous cables.<\/p>\n

I was greeted warmly and invited to sit at a station with the other testers. I settled into the game, some kind of third-person shooter. Though I’d grown up watching my step-father play at these kinds of games, I had never tried to play one myself. I’ve typically preferred something more relaxed and thoughtful, and DOOM scared the hell out of me.<\/p>\n

The other testers were very, very good at this game. I tried to check my frustration over being unable to find the gun caches, negotiate the maps, or dodge snipers. I didn’t understand the team game objectives.<\/p>\n

Lunch was served two hours later, and my initial enthusiasm of the morning had turned soggy. How am I supposed to push the game capabilities past the breaking point when I could barely strafe? Why did my first project have to be a shooter?!<\/p>\n

The lab testers were friendly, took me in right away. As we walked together to the dining commons, they pointed out a long table to go back to when I had gotten my lunch. Between rich cheeseburgers and friendly words, I felt much better.<\/p>\n

We go back to the lab, and I felt determined to develop fighting skill. I eventually found a shotgun, and to my surprise, discovered an aptitude for it. The testers had explained the game rules to me over lunch, and I elected to guard choke points in my team’s territory, which suited the shotgun’s deadly yet limited range. I racked 14 kills in the first match of the afternoon!<\/p>\n

The day was over before I knew it, not just because I was finally having fun, but also because the lab room is not unlike a casino – no windows and no clocks. Knowing the time demands soon to be asked of me, I can see how this setup is beneficial. It’s easier to work 12-14 hours when you don’t see the time pass.<\/p>\n

I was reminded around 6pm to catch my train, that was the last time I left work before dinnertime.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I went to Bay Area Gaming Studio this morning to sign my offer letter and complete other paperwork. Same as the day of my interview, I waited in a lobby with a couple other anxious people, no longer candidates but new hires. Another immaculate HR person hands us each a thick packet of documents, to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-games"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jighexadecimal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jighexadecimal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jighexadecimal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jighexadecimal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jighexadecimal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=38"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jighexadecimal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":150,"href":"https:\/\/jighexadecimal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38\/revisions\/150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jighexadecimal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jighexadecimal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=38"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jighexadecimal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=38"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}