Production of UAT Game Studio: Ascendance (Part 3)

Website Update:

Work on the website has been moving slowly.  This week I was able to get art assets from the team to add a background to the site.  I was also able to acquire photos and LinkedIn information of some of the team.  With the photos and LinkedIn information I was able to update the team page with some much needed images and information. 

Getting the photos and captions to look decent, I had to search the web on how to layout webpages using WordPress.  I was really hoping that there would be a simple drag and drop way of editing the pages but there was not.  Do to the lack of the WordPress UI I needed to start learning some basic HTLM so that I could layout some basic images.  I was able to get it done but was frustrated with the process for basic webpage layout.

Social Media Update:

As for Facebook and Twitter, this week we had our first Tweet and first posts on Facebook.  On Facebook a couple concept art pieces were posted and on Twitter the location of the Facebook page and Website were Tweeted.  I am still working on figuring out what a reasonable amount of information to distribute on social media would be based on the team dynamic.  I can only push the team so hard to create assets and participate on social media sites.  Hopefully my co-producer, the team lead, and I can get the team more motivated about getting the word out about Ascendance.

Game Update:

The actual game development seems to be moving more smoothly than the social media and marketing side of things.  I understand that most of the team just want to build a product, which I can relate to being a computer engineer, but I hope that they will soon realize the importance of creating hype for their game.  The better we are at getting the word out about Ascendance the more likely the team will get recognized for their work and the more they will benefit from its completion.  Some bugs were fixed this week, namely an issue with the character death screen not being exit able.  Also more textures are being worked on and finished.  Hopefully with all of this development we will have a demo product soon to share with the public. 

Weekly Readings:

This week’s readings were chapters 8 and 9 of Gamers at Work: Stories Behind the Games People by Morgan Ramsay and chapters 3 and 4 of Team Leadership In the Game Industry by Seth Spaulding.  The stories of Doug Carlston and Gary Carlston cofounders of Bröderbund Software, and Don Daglow founder of Stormfront Studios were covered in Gamers at Work: Stories Behind the Games People.  Team Leadership In the Game Industry covered how to choose a leader, how to build soft skills, and much more on what and why a leader becomes a leader and what makes a proficient leader.  I rather found the information on why a leader choose to lead really interesting, mainly because it got me thinking if I chose my current path for the right reasons.  I am still a little unsure if I made the right choice since I feel like I wanted to become a leader for both the right reasons, seeing value and unique ability, but also for the wrong reasons, money and career advancement.  

One of the things that stood out to me this week from Gamers at Work: Stories Behind the Games People reading was the education of Doug and Gary Calston.  I did not expect two men with degrees from Harvard in law and Scandinavian studies to start a software company.  I guess a hobby in programming can really lead to something amazing when combined with vision. 

Reading References:

Team Leadership In the Game Industry by Seth Spaulding (2009)

Gamers at Work: Stories Behind the Games People Play by Morgan Ramsay (2012)

Website and Social Media Links:

Website: http://www.gamerslifeproductions.com/ascendance/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AcendanceTeam/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AscendanceTeam/