Changes...

So tomorrow is my last day at Day 1 Studios. I have accepted a position at a place I have wanted to work at ever since I started playing video games - Epic Games in North Carolina.

At Epic I will be their Art Production Manager. In this position I will be scheduling their internal teams and external outsourcing partners, working to ensure a high level of craftsmanship in their artwork, proofing and checking art assets before they enter the pipeline, and being the Epic liaison to their international outsourcing partners.

They utilize outsourcing firms in some pretty cool locations and I will probably get to travel to all of them and meet the people who make the great artwork there. Shanghai, Europe and Canada are a few of the places I will probably get to visit.

I really wanted to work somewhere I could be for as long as they would have me. My criteria for moving was to find a "world-class" firm that really appreciated their employees, was located in an area that was recognized for a high quality of life (Cary and Apex, NC have been recognized as these by Money Magazine), was warmer and preferably not on the West Coast (this was Michelle's wish - but my choices did not really reflect that...), and did cutting edge work. I applied to 5 places on a whim - Epic, Bioware, Google, Pixar and Blizzard.

As a result of this I heard from Epic and Bioware. I was shocked! When I accepted the Epic offer... I was one step away from possibly receiving an offer for an to be an Associate Producer Bioware in Edmonton (they were going to fly me up there for the final interview and start the immigration process) and had to turn down an offer from Midway Chicago to be a Development Director for a next gen project (this was a referral). This all happened in 24 hours!

After speaking from multiple employees at Epic one-on-one and en masse... this was the place for me. Both Midway and Bioware were very understanding and know that Epic is a great firm to work for.

The key here is to "dream big" and always keep that ultimate goal in mind... you just may attain it!

Leaving Day 1 was a hard decision. They are a bunch of great guys and I wish them all the best. I learned a heck of a lot in the last 4 years and put out 3 video game titles (2 are next gen... yeah, they were ports... but they had to go through Certification just like the rest of them). Not too shabby - I was really busy!

In the position at Epic I felt I could make an impact from the first day I started and really carve the position into an influential one. The people I met at Epic were great also with a determination to make great video games... I have never felt the kind of devotion I get from them from talking to employees at other developers. It's hard to describe.

So, we are trying to sell our house in this crappy housing market and for the next two weeks my vacation will be fixing anything the realtors say needs to be fixed to sell. I'll be pretty busy, but I'll try to update this again.

Games I am playing? Lots of Lumines for PSP (trying to break 100k), The Darkness, and some Viva Pinata. I think at Epic any game that uses the Unreal Engine I get a free copy (unless I heard wrong), so I'm waiting until I get there to see if we get copies of Bioshock. I've played the demo and it's pretty cool. I can't wait to play it.