Robert Percival – Game Developer

Rob might do stuff|program|be your guy|think things|log on|dance|reflect|design|ramble|work|sing|listen|finish him|play|spam|surf|debug|submit|save it|support|solve it|open up|run|spawn camp|eat it|beat it|refresh|follow|exfoliate|log off|walk the dog|hypothesize|lead|relish|mumble|shoot her|hike|home in|autosave|quack|command|sosumi|guacamole|chimichanga|argue|argree|wind|back|snap|crackle|pop|splat|pivot|fire|rock|shake|roll|sweat|cry

Looking for a wholly serious worker bee?
Maybe don't?

Resume

Shipped

Titles

Ratchet & Clank Future: ToD

Front row with management worth emulating
Crystallized core support identity
Crunch time completion of new features

Red Dead Redemption

Full development cycle
Massive code and asset base
Constant interdisciplinary collaboration

Grand Theft Auto V

Extensive coordination with remote studios
Understand and champion design goals
Ongoing mentorship and direction with team

Wait but what

About

Self

Value: Exploration, Connection, Play
Thrive in: Chaos, Unknowns, Failure
Desire: Collaboration, Energy, Clarity

Process

Plan: Why is this important? What’s the core value? Has this been done before? How did they do it? Identify the dependencies. Rank uncertainties.
Act: Fill in uncertainties. Remove blocking dependencies. Do the stuff.
Reflect: Did we fufill the core value? What got in the way? What burden have we added? Opportunities uncovered?
Iterate: See ‘Plan’

Past

Support: How do I most benefit my surroundings? Multiply impact through others.
Design: Why do the things work? Why don’t they? Poking at the limits. Eschewing accepted wisdom.
Physics: Analytical methods. But sitting on fundamentally imperfect information. Estimation, ‘good enough’, a focus on the doing of reality.
Introspection: Meta-cognition. Considered action through self awareness. Ego watchdog.

Future

Expression: New Challenges, Abilities, Outlets
Team: Passion, Skill, Family
Culture: Clarity, Feedback

Ramblings

For Thought

Design

Breaking Boxes

Video games are hard to categorize. Genres bleed and the boxes of traditional media rarely fit. For both gamers and developers, conversations suffer. We can do better.

Nuts and Bolts

Page Animation Framework

I recently pieced together some web animation machinery. A few items seem to be fairly new to the web development landscape. I share links and lessons below.

Writing

Idea, Meet Reality

I like short stories. I like short stories a lot. Done well, they place meaningful signposts with space between for the reader to forge their own path.