Great Balls of Balls!

Perhaps the single greatest problem with the 3-4 month development cycle of a true casual game is the fact that you don't really get too many shots at do overs. Right now I am getting ready to send my game at Gameshastra into a Beta. That means if you really want to make sure that everything goes in a works right, looks good and really is put together nicely you better nail that on the first shot. Barring that the second. God forbid you need a third.

About three weeks ago I started working on the UI for the game I am working on. Now mind you I couldn't give it my full attention. But things just kind of went along and got implemented and they weren't exactly knocking anyone out. Hell, they were awful, the whole thing was getting to be brazenly inconsistent and I hadn't given it the attention it needed. That is until about six days go. That's when my life went to hell and crunch time began in earnest.

Since then I have been at the office 12 to 14 hours a day for 4 of the last 5 days. This is not because I thought this was a great idea. I know what crunch time does to me (makes me a loopy basket case) but I am really backed into a wall. Nothing to do know scrape together every last drop of gumption and just do the work.

The good news is I hit a style I can live with. I am drawing all of the Layer Style and Page Design mastery skills that Matt Petersen and Ben Savage could osmose into me during my years at EA. What I wouldn't give to have those guys around right now! It'd be done up in about 2 days!

Somehow I just hope I don't look at this work in two month's and hate it. There is nothing worse than grinding yourself down to the fallow nothingness of spent being only to find your labors for naught. It's not even that I worry if other people think it's O.K. It matters to me.

Well I am going to eat some food, read the internets and soon dream a quiet dream and imagine myself as comfy as any of my lazy dogs. I return home in a month and hopefully I can point to this post when I am knocking back a cold one and not working myself into an early on some storied Friday in October in Utah. The cold wind will chill my beer and I can sleep in the warmth of my bed surrounded by the things that love me back, it will be a refreshing change of pace.

Also, Holy Shit, I have a ton of people commenting on my stuff. Shout outs to Cholesky, Jason and Xavi. If anyone happens to stumble upon this hit up Cholesky's Lab, the bastard has sealed his fate in the eyes of God and Government and the Family. He is wed. I promise to update with like some honest to god art next time. In about a month I will have some mmm... mmm... good drops!