Beta and Stress / by Ethan Moore

We are about to submit our beta build and stress is definitely getting to me. Because of my multiple roles on the team, I have to keep track of numerous things and make sure everything is going well, and the stress is definitely not piling up.

It would of course be different if I was only the lead designer or only the lead producer or only a tech designer, but it's something that I do and I must keep doing it. Currently, I'm trying to make our final menu system function. The vast majority of it does, but I have one final screen that is being a pain. It's requiring a surprising amount of complicated and tedious code and I'm not sure what to do half the time. It's required a lot of going through documentation that may not exist so its been a trial by fire throughout. On top of this, I have been implementing our sounds into the game, which is not difficult but tedious and time consuming. All this while trying to make sure no fires are going on or are being made in all the other aspects of the team. I love what I do, but man can it be stressful. I just have to hope and believe that the final product will be worth it, which I can still clearly see in my heart.

Beyond all the production stuff in my life, I'm on the final stage of interviews for a job and I'd be lying to say I wasn't nervous. It represents a fantastic opportunity and is something I think I could really grow and excel at. I have made it this far, and it's stressful to think this is the last stage. In some ways it's nice to know this is the final step. The problem is that this is the final step. I don't get another chance after this and it can slip away. I don't even have to be bad, the other guy could just be 0.5% better. So I have been researching, studying, and learning as much as I can about the game and the company so I can seem like a candidate who can jump right in as soon as possible, while also still being me. Fingers crossed.  I'll likely update this blog after the interview so I'll talk about everything more then.