Up until this week, my name was in four video game manuals, two NHL games, a Triple Play, and a FIFA. Today, I made into another one and my first as a software developer.
After a false start last week, I noticed this afternoon that various stores were reporting availability of Sonic Rivals for the PSP. In the early evening I went to the local Best Buy store to grab my copy. There weren’t many people looking for PSP games tonight. Much attention is now on the big three: PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360.
I didn’t see the game on the shelf. I had to ask a salesperson to help me. They had me go over to the store terminal to check it out. There were eight copies in store, all still in the adjacent warehouse. I was told someone would be dispatched to get one for me. While I waited, I wandered over to the LCD and plasma TV section. The 42″ plasma TVs are a thing of beauty. I can’t even imagine how many hours I would spend just revisiting my entire DVD collection on such a grand display.
After a few minutes, the salesperson located me and handed over a small, thin plastic case. There it was. Countless hours of effort from dozens of people distilled into a small package. I paid a hefty price of $57 after tax for the honour and headed home.
When I arrived home, I slipped out of my clothes and into my PJs. You knowing that doesn’t add to the story but you know what, I just wanted to include that detail. I took the plastic case and took off the plastic wrap that was around it. I snapped it open and immediately removed the manual. I flipped to the last two pages. In the section for Backbone Entertainment and under the heading “Engineers” was my name. It was in a plain Arial font but sure enough, it announced to the world that I pounded a few ones and zeros into the tiny disc that was still in the case.
The reality is that very few people will even glance at the credits. Not me though. Every game I play, even the bad ones, I read the names of all the developers. I skip all the presidents, VPs and suits but the developers, yeah, I read their names. I wanna know who had to eat OT meals out of a styrofoam container to get me the game in my hands.
So I finally got one down in the developer category now. It was four years in the making. I hope I don’t have to wait as long for the next one.