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Around 3pm today I was informed I could no longer attend the NHL 16 wrap party. I was told the party was really only for the core team and their spouses/partners. They wanted to keep the party intimate and for the team, not for any outsiders. I understood that and since it’s their party, they can do whatever they want. My friend on NHL was disappointed I could not join him this evening but I assured him it was quite alright. I believe my team’s production coordinator was even more disappointed I wasn’t going. She scored a ticket to the party as an organizer and we were joking at lunch that if I had enough drinks I’d be doing the worm on the dance floor. Well, let’s be honest, if I were going to the party, I don’t think I’d be able to pull of the worm, it’d more like kicks and thumbs.

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This evening, I’ll be attending the NHL 16 wrap party as a guest of my friend. Said friend has a wife but I think she has grown tiresome of these things, as she’s had the chance to attend many of them. I suppose there are only so many parties, attended by so many nerds that you can stand before you’d rather just stay home.

This is actually the same friend who allowed me to be his +1 for the EA holiday party last January. That indirectly led me to having my current job, so I still owe a great debt of gratitude to him. I’ve never attended someone’s wrap party other than my own. Other than my friend, I don’t know anyone on the NHL 16 dev team. That team sits two floors below me, so I’m sure they’ve seen my face around. I bet they’ll recognize me at the party and wonder why I’m there.

I feel like I’ll probably stick close to my friend for most of the party. I guess this is what it feels like to be a game development spouse when they attend one of these shindigs. I’m gonna quietly drink their beverages, eat their food, and hopefully win one of their raffle prizes (if they have any).

TONY HAWK’S PRO SKATER 5

This week Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 came out, the latest in the long line of video games featuring the legendary skateboarder.

As you might recall, I was part of the team that made three skateboarding games for EA in direct competition to Tony’s games. Despite having much higher critical acclaim, EA no longer makes skateboarding games and has left the genre for Activision to do as they see fit.

The latest entry to the Pro Skater line of games is not off to good start. Gaming review sites have almost been unanimous with comments critical of the bugs and odd design decisions that are present in the game. In the video above, you can see for yourself what is currently ailing the game. As a telling sign, the game required a day-one patch that was actually larger than the game on disk, though I wouldn’t have any experience with such matters.

Many people who have commented on these reviews and videos of Pro Skater 5 have called for EA to make skate 4. I don’t know what the EA executives think when they read these comments. In the end, a fourth skate game will probably not be made and it all boils down to money. It just wouldn’t make money for EA. In the meantime, we get to enjoy more Tony Hawk.