Above is the poster I drew up for the event using the IGDA template, (click for the hi-res), exclusively featuring the first actual screenshot of the game released to the public. If you’re in Montreal on the 20th why not drop by and make a night of it – details in the poster.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Housed within the downtown EA Montreal studio, a slowly growing team of highly talented animators and I are creating animations and cinematic cutscenes for the sequel to our 2007 project. This is a new kind of game development where we are working remotely while connected directly to the Edmonton servers and are in daily contact with the team there. This is all made possible with the help of the fantastic folks at EA Montreal with whom we share a studio space, and a dedicated support team on the Edmonton side.

Additionally, over half of the Montreal outfit is made up of other former Mass Effect team members having worked in the Edmonton head studio before – helping to ensure that rather than just a random selection of folks under the BioWare banner, we are maintaining BioWare’s culture as well as the same high standards to which we are held. This percentage is only set to increase as more and more make the transition from the main studio to this new team.

Now to the important part – we are currently looking for one final exceptional animator to join the team, as well as environment artists and level designers. If you believe you are up to the challenge of helping create one of the most focussed and ambitious RPG sequels of all time and are looking for a new and interesting take on game development, please visit the BioWare website at careers@bioware.com.

Click here to view the embedded video.

It was becoming painfully obvious that my old PC just wasn’t cutting it for a supposed game developer, (I’ve never really been a PC gamer), especially when it wasn’t even hitting the minimum requirements for some of even the most basic of software. I was, however, loath to give up the dual-screen setup I’ve grown accustomed to at work and at home so have found some solace in the FW’s unique 16.4” widescreen.

If it even allows two documents or webpages side by side during my various forays into graphic design or simply gives the 3D viewports a little more breathing space, it’ll be worth finally breaking free of the constraints of the desk. Now to find a café sur le Plateau…

SketchUp is free to download and I’m sure is easy to pick up even for non-videogame developers, (well, easier than a full-blown 3D package), but I’d certainly recommend it to other devs looking to try out colour schemes and various furniture layouts in advance of moving into a new place. Our level design team is currently churning out levels created in SketchUp, allowing them to quickly prototype layouts and test them in the engine well in advance of an artist with years of Max/Maya experience having to get involved as the Pro version allows export to real production 3D packages. As such, I’ve added it to the resources area of the sidebar as anyone interested in level design could do far worse than begin playing around with this.

Props can be downloaded from the large online user-created library for free,  (I’ve managed to kit it out with the real-world IKEA furniture we already have), as well as approximations of other things. And it certainly wouldn’t be a good layout if I didn’t first figure out where I’m going to be gaming for the forseeable future – even items such as the TV and consoles here have all been pre-created by an avid userbase, (to greater or lesser quality).  Imagine a time when we’d no longer have to spend months of valuable development time recreating weapons and urban landscapes for the millionth time and could simply import them from huge, free online libraries.

In other news, I’ve begun to really move forward with my Canadian Residency application. This does fall short of full citizenship, (the main difference being I’ll still be unable to vote), but I should finally be able to pick up one of these fine accommodations that still seem to be very affordable in Montreal once my “Johnny Foreigner” status has been removed.

Not so much of a lie, more of a mistranslation this time. The other day I was thumbing through several old magazines scattered around the studio when, lo and behold, I find my own ugly mug giving me the thumbs up inside.

Turns out it was a write-up of the IGDA talk Steve (Audio Lead on Mass Effect) and I gave here in Montreal over a year ago. A rough translation appears to state that, among other things, not only will the Audio be mixed by Star Wars’ Ben Burtt, but the male player character will be voiced by none other than John Cleese.