Jacob Repp » work

Big Backlog

proj — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 06:08:19 +0000

I have a backlog of over a dozen articles. I really need to chunk through some of these. If you come around much you’ll notice that I have been posting a bit more. I’ve moved into a new position to run ‘Consulting and Integration’ for NCsoft core technology group. This frees me up to do a lot more thinking and working with various NCsoft teams around the world. Interestingly I don’t think many cross-team problems are super technical. I think the best place to focus when working across groups is in communication. It can be really hard if you have a weird culture baked in around you. Scrum certainly isn’t going to fix anything. I think the real answer is getting face-to-face with people, being kind and respectful and letting your code walk the talk. A lot of executives talk about culture but very few get it right. The companies that do get culture right are the real winners. It may be necessary in some cases to spin off a new company in order to bake a new culture.

TR Preview Get

proj — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 19:18:03 +0000

This preview at warcry is really encouraging:

http://tr.warcry.com/news/view/75605

This really illustrates the how much fun combat is. Certainly the game isn’t for everyone and there are a few trade-offs made to get this kind of combat. I’m really excited to see how people will receive the back story and universe that has been developed for Tabula Rasa. I think the types of missions and story arcs especially later in the game are really unique.

Tips for Getting in the Zone

proj — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 17:01:58 +0000

Came across this post on programming.reddit.com today (the programming reddit has been one my guilty pleasures lately). The author has some good tips on staying in the zone. I have some tips of my own as I enjoy the feeling of being in the zone and lament when I’m not.

While it’s nice to get rid of distractions, block off big chunks of time and lay out large chunks of work here’s some tips that can help if you work on large teams and just can’t really get rid of all the interruptions.

Keep a pad of paper and pencil by your keyboard. Write your thoughts down and what you’re currently working on. Write down small ideas you have to fix up the code. When you sit down in the morning or interrupted look over your notes to get back on task. If you’re having trouble getting started on some code draw some pictures of what you’re trying to build.

Open your editor. Sometimes all that you need to get yourself started is to actually open the code and look at it. If you’re working on something new sometimes a blank screen in your favorite editor is enough to launch you.

Write unit tests. Unit tests are a great way to give yourself some small bite size piece of code to get the juices flowing. I can’t emphasise enough how good this is for your thought process. This is a way of kicking off the little positive feedback loop that is instrumental in getting you in the zone. You can immediately transition into the code side with the right mindset and at the same time you’re reaping a huge net benefit to your code quality.

Lastly, take real breaks. That is breaks away from your office where you actually get your blood flowing to other parts of your body besides your brain. If you can do some pushups, do a brisk walk or engage in some other kind of physical activity for even 15 minutes you’ll find when you come back to your desk you’ll have a fresh perspective and you’ll feel much better. The endorphins you get from physical activity are great creativity boosters.

Feel free to leave comments if you have any more tips.

Getting Closer to Launch

proj — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 19:09:39 +0000

This video shows off some of the new abilities creatures and armor. Personally I’m having a lot of fun playing as each build is getting more and more fun.

Moving to Austin

proj — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 17:44:53 +0000

I’ve accepted an offer from NCSoft and will be relocation to their main US office in Austin, TX. It’s been hard for me to come to grips with leaving the northwest. This is an area where I’ve spent almost my entire life. I’ll be leaving behind family, friends and a great job. On the good side I think that we’ll be very happy in Austin and I’m super excited to settle down there and start working on Tabula Rasa. I hope everyone will keep in touch.

NY Times Chimes in on PS3

proj — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 18:20:28 +0000

“For now Sonyâ€™s technologists seem to have won out over the people who study fun.”Â

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/20/arts/20game.html

This stuff is very hard to get right. We had more than two years to work on the dash and guide software and that was having over two years of service and software foundation to build on.Â That’s if you don’t count the stuff pulled in from NT and the G5 compiler work that spanned probably more than 10 years that was leveraged for 360. That advantage should not be underestimated. Sometimes it’s hard to see how good some things we’ve done on the 360 are until you can view them in context.

On the other hand you have nintedo who have taken a great path and stayed on message this whole time. I saw some screens of the new Wii shopping channel and I’m pretty impressed. It’s intuitive and friendly. I think the choice of going with 1c == 1 wii point was a wise one on Nintendo’s part. Also, looks like some people are getting a bit too into their Wii Sports!